Intuition: Can It Be Trusted?

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Intuition illustration

Are you intuitive? I suspect most of us are to some degree. But what is an intuition anyway, and how do we know it’s the real deal? As best we can tell, it is the capacity to recognize or know something by means other than conscious, rational or logical thought. Psychoanalyst Carl Jung called intuition “perception via the unconscious mind,” and we suspect it arises from that deep well of shadowy cognition in the brain.​

Regardless, intuitions often appear out of nowhere, leading some to regard them as a way of “seeing with the soul.” However, traditional psychology views them as subconsciouslygenerated conclusions based on a depth of prior experience and knowledge pieced together to create an epiphany of sorts. Take your pick. No matter the source, when an intuition arrives, it can present a conundrum. Can we trust it? How do we distinguish between a true intuitive upwelling and mere wishful thinking or an impulsive emotional response?

That was Olivia's dilemma. Having received a job offer for a position she had long coveted in a firm she admired, she found herself shaken by an unsettling sense she was making a mistake. “I was talking it over with a close friend when, all of a sudden, I felt this apprehension. It wasn’t just butterflies. I’ve had those before, and this felt different,” she explained.

“I’m guessing you’ve had valid intuitions before, so how does this experience compare to those?” I asked.

Sense of Foreboding

Olivia recalled a phone conversation with a close friend. Although this person claimed she was “just fine,” after hanging up, Olivia felt a sense of foreboding and called her back. Sure enough, this individual then came clean, tearfully sharing that her marriage was in crisis.

“The feeling I’m getting about the job is similar to what I felt at the end of that call,” she replied.

Thankfully, there are some guidelines for distinguishing a bonafide intuition from a cognitive imposter. These aren't infallible, but generally prove reliable, as follows:

• Most often, an intuition appears with little or no advance warning. Usually, it interrupts one’s train of thought or some habitual activity, creating a pause in one's consciousness. This suddenness may be the subconscious mind’s way of getting one's attention. Still, many of us routinely overlook or minimize our intuitive experiences in favor of so-called rational thought or self-doubt.
• Frequently, an intuitive upwelling comes along with a palpable gut feeling. This confirmatory experience emerges in the body itself, not just the mind. It is a blend of emotion, physical sensation, and altered consciousness. “It gave me goose bumps,” one person explained. Others have compared it to “a surge of energy” or “a mental bucket of water to the face.”
• If considerable anxiety accompanies an intuition, proceed with caution. Research shows anxiety messes with our intuitive capacities by making us risk-averse and uncertain. Basically, it drives us toward the safe choice, which may not be the intuitive one.

Even when one feels certain an intuition is the real deal, another question may remain. What does it mean? Was Olivia’s disquiet telling her to decline the job offer, ask for more information, request a follow-up interview or something else altogether? So, when garbled in translation, it’s important to dwell with an intuition for a time, perhaps by meditating, journaling or talking it over with a trusted confidant. This can be tricky, as the so-called rational mind may intervene, over-analyze and muddle things even more.

For Olivia, this period of reflection, along with some answers to questions posed to her prospective employer, confirmed what she suspected. When asked why she passed on the job offer, her simple explanation was not well received. It was, she told the hiring manager, “a gut feeling.” Several months later, she learned the company in question was sold to a much larger firm.

Intuition is not foolproof. When it comes to decisions, nothing is, but make no mistake. Intuition can provide a kind of knowing that offers reliable guidance. As poet Kahlil Gibran told us: “When you reach the end of what you should know, you will be at the beginning of what you should sense.”

For more, visit philipchard.com.