One of the most important skills you will need to develop to be successful in life is intuitiveness.

Quite often it is believed that instinct and intuition are interchangeable, that intuition is indeed instinctual.

However, this is fallacy.

Intuition is not an instinctual drive.

Instinct is, “A natural or inherent aptitude, impulse, or capacity.”- Merriam Webster

Therefore, Instinct is inborn. Meaning we are inclined to act in a certain manner by nature. Thus it is deemed to be natural or come naturally.

Such is not the case with intuition.

Babies are born with the ability to develop intuition  but not with intuition itself.

Based on  infant cognitive research, “They found that infants already have an intuitive understanding of certain physical laws by 2 months of age, when they start to track moving objects with both eyes consistently and can be tested with eye tracking technology. This innate “physics” knowledge only grows as the infants experience their surroundings and interact more with the world.” (Castro)

Instinct is rather impulsive in nature.

“Like all animals, humans have instincts, genetically hard-wired behaviors that enhance our ability to cope with vital environmental contingencies. Our innate fear of snakes is an example. Other instincts, including denial, revenge, tribal loyalty, greed and our urge to procreate, which now threaten our very existence.” Pianka

Such is not the case with intuition.

It is, “The power or faculty of attaining to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference”.- Merriam Webster

Meaning that, it is an automatized response based on gained knowledge that is accessed without purposed cognition in times of crisis, prodding one to act.

Intuition is honed intelligence. Repeated experiences build a solid base for automatic action.

It is “a feeling that guides a person to act a certain way without fully understanding why.”- Merriam Webster

 

 

 

How is intuition  gained?

Intuition is gained through experience (interaction with the world).

Each series of lessons learned are sent as signal input , cataloged in the brain, and stored on ones intellectual hard drive.

In short, lessons learned  from repeatable experiences (similar observances or outcomes), become integrated into one’s central processing unit.

 

Then a queue of automatic responses is created (learned behaviors).  In latter moments those  environmental cues which occur in tandem, in varied situations,  set off an alarm.

The brain processes, aligns, and links specific triggers  to their linked outcomes.

Fundamentally, when the external stimuli coincides with the triggers, one’s response systems is heightened.

This results in deep feelings or calls to action, which may manifest as physical or mental anxiety; an unsettling (Gut feeling).

It is the “intuitive mind,”a fully operational recognition-recall system

 

 

 

 

Intuition is powerful even to the saving of lives.

 

How the conscience works with one’s intuition

The conscience is the inner guide.

The conscience is the personification of one’s moral inclinations.

The voice that drives one to do the right thing.

It is the echo in  your spirit.

Conscience awakens and directs .

The conscience is what often refers man to pay attendance to his or her intuition.

The intuition prods one to a course of action.

 

The intelligent man or woman’s learns to hone their intuitive abilities and to act accordingly.

This is why purposed and directed learning is so important.

We are like sponges constantly absorbing information for later recall.

Everything we put in comes back.

Our brain uses our store of information to direct action.

You can not act in a manner in which you are unfamiliar.

Lack of knowledge in any situation can only bring about uncertainty, which lends to inaction or ignorance, which lends to wrongful actions.

Environments are important

Situations you place yourself in are crucial.

The people you attend to bear great significance.

What you consume is what will either save you or end you.

Always be mindful.

Everyday you are either constructing a minefield or a gold mine.

 

 References

Castro, Joseph. (2012). “Infants Grasp Gravity innate sense of physics.” Web. 8 June 2015.  http://www.livescience.com/18101-infants-grasp-gravity.html

Pianka. Erica R. (2012). “Can Human Instincts be Controlled.” Web. 8 June 2015. http://www.zo.utexas.edu/courses/Thoc/HumanInstincts.html