Intuition is defined as a gut feeling, an immediate understanding or prediction of a possible outcome without a conscious thought process. It acts as a kind of "bypass" to the conscious mind, when the brain analyzes information from the past and the present at enormous speed and draws intuitive conclusions from it.
Intuition is a complex process, which is based on a combination of experience, complex cognitive processes and perhaps also a spiritual sensitivity, such that you can call it a sixth sense. It flashes as a sudden idea or feeling that cannot be ignored. the philosopher Immanuel Kant described intuition as a direct perception of reality that does not depend on logic alone, and modern studies support that intuition develops from experience and memory.
Is intuition a gift that helps, or should one rely only on intelligence and knowledge? There will be those who say that the key is balance. Students, writers, as well as musicians and researchers, claim that stuck things are released when you let them go and allow the inner voice to awaken. The feeling is that it happens suddenly. Something opens, the blockage is released and then it flows.
The playing, the writing, the doing that was stuck begins to move out of flow, without thought, without stopping. It seems as if the intuitive mind works when you don't think about the problem. Let it go, go to sleep on it. why sleep Because in sleep, there are many free neurons for the intuitive brain that worked subconsciously, and intuition knows how to light this light bulb for us that later we say about it: suddenly an idea came to me, suddenly the solution was revealed to me. In fact, by learning and getting enough rest, one can train the intuitive mind power. But if we are busy for many hours and sleep little, or require our children to cram knowledge and rest less, we weaken the intuitive mind.
Einstein He said "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the educational, rational thought is a faithful servant. We have created a society that respects the servant and has forgotten the gift."
Gut feeling is a second mind
Ifat , mother of 3, claims that intuition guides her: "When I listen to my inner voice, I come to know that it was the right thing for me. Even in retrospect, intuition turns out to be right, when I didn't listen to it enough. Examples? We were looking for a house, we saw some really nice apartments , which were apparently exactly according to the list, but something internal, some feeling I had, that it was not right for me to live there.
Despite the pressure from the environment, I insisted that it doesn't feel right to me and I can't live in a house that doesn't feel right to me. A few weeks passed and suddenly a perfect apartment appeared on the market, also in terms of planning, location, price, proximity to the children's schools, just for us. Of course we went for it. After all, they said it was lucky that I listened to my intuition, even though in real time they thought I was just being dramatic."
Researchers in the field of psychology and cognition discovered that intuition is related to a rapid process of processing patterns: the brain recognizes familiar situations and reacts to them in a way reminiscent of the "muscle memory" system. Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize-winning psychologist and economist, describes the rapid thinking of intuition as a state in which the brain bypasses normal logical processes to reach immediate conclusions. Often, these processes are based on information and experience accumulated unconsciously over the years.
Dr. Srikanth Panela, a multidisciplinary researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology, claims that it's worth staying curious, and keeping the creative part of our brain, and in the stomach - which is like a second brain. "It's more than a gift. It's worth training the intuitive mind" he advises, and suggests writing down the intuitive thoughts to open up possibilities. It seems that intuition is not just an innate talent - it can be cultivated. Many of the coaches and spiritual teachers recommend practicing mindfulness (mindfulness) and a personal journal to strengthen listening to the inner voice and discern intuitive messages. Exercises such as meditation and yoga can help a person develop a sense of full presence, which can encourage intuition.
Research on intuition has developed in recent years, and many fields such as neurology, psychology and economics have delved into its effects. Studies have found that intuition connects to brain wave activity in areas responsible for emotional and sensory processing and activates areas responsible for decision making.
The hidden language of the body and mind
One of the studies examined the influence of intuition in making financial decisions. It was found that investors who trust their feelings intuitively succeed in some cases more than those who rely only on rational analysis. This research combines the idea of unconscious familiarity with risks and suggests that there may be "hidden knowledge" that leads to the right decisions, even if they are not explained in words.
date, a marriage therapist and life coach, claims that intuition is not always right. "I have met more than one couple who said that when they met their boyfriend, they had the feeling that it was an enlightened pairing, and after a year or two together they discovered that the relationship was from hell and not from heaven. Sometimes what we call a gut feeling is actually the satisfaction of internal patterns and they don't always work in our favor. When it Really intuition, in my opinion most times it leads to a better way.
When I think about my personal path in the world, I see that I had moments of intuition, a gut feeling, and when I listened to them or said them, they turned out to be correct, like for example, when I first saw the man who soon became my husband, I knew we would get married. It was like an inner voice telling me that he was my one, and I should get to know him. It's like it burst into my mind when I saw him, even before I knew him, before I fell in love with him.
I have to make a reservation and say that there were also times of wrong gut feelings, like that really cheap apartment I didn't buy in Old Jaffa, because I didn't have a good feeling about it, and today its value is sky high. How do you differentiate? It seems that intuition is something that suddenly jumps into thought, it is not explained by logic. When they start saying it's a twin soul or a pairing from a previous life and all that, then it doesn't seem like intuition to me, but some inner need that seeks compensation."
Recent research claims that the neurons of the brain practice future responses when we are at rest. Which means the intuitive mind constructs possible future scenarios. While we sleep, we consolidate learning and label what the brain decides is important to us, based on our knowledge and past experiences, and produces a future prediction based on these decisions. (Article by Dr. Giorgi Bozeski: The mechanics of the brain decide which memories will be preserved).
A missing hand pulled the steering wheel
Intuition is a unique and mysterious tool that affects all areas of life - from making quick decisions to deep spiritual experiences. Studies show that the human brain is able to process complex information at enormous speed and derive intuitive insights from it, insights that allow us to react quickly to certain situations. Sometimes, this inner understanding surpasses all rational knowledge and leads us to true insights about ourselves and the world.
The field of intuition is full of fascinating personal stories, moments when a strong gut feeling led to a decision that saved a dangerous situation or opened up an extraordinary opportunity. Therapists, artists, and business leaders often report "moments of enlightenment" where intuition led them down a new path.
Irina who survived a car accident, is ready to swear that a missing hand pulled her steering wheel to the right side and thus avoided a collision with another vehicle. "I was driving on the freeway, two lanes, following a truck, and suddenly the cargo it had spilled onto the road. The vehicle on my left was thrown in my direction and without thinking my hand just pulled the steering wheel to the right side, and that saved me. Are you saying that the intuitive mind came into play? Maybe. It was So fast I can't understand. It felt like my hand was pulling the steering wheel to the right. Maybe a guardian angel did it only after the accident that by doing so I prevented injury to the people in the other car, and my life was also saved."
In a life and death situation, the conscious mind processes what we think is most important for our survival and gives only important instructions. The rest of the actions are dictated by the subconscious mind and pure muscle and brain memory without our conscious control. It's the intuitive mind, the gut feeling. The intuitive mind has access to data that we do not process consciously, it works with the brain energy when we are at rest or sleeping. The intuitive mind may set priorities based on our deepest thoughts.
The example that Dr. Srikanth gives is the predator and the prey. "The predator knows how to chase the prey, and the fleeing prey fully recognizes the terrain conditions without stopping and thinking. It processes information on the surface, what the predator is going to do, what maneuver or movement is really possible."
The courage to listen to the inner voice
neuroscientist Dr. Rosalyn Frey Found through imaging studies that intuition activates many brain networks, including the frontal lobe, which manages the decision-making process. She claims that intuition is actually a complex decision that is based on processing information that does not enter our awareness.
Many believe that intuition is related to a spiritual dimension. In meditations and various spiritual techniques, the process of strengthening intuition is used as a way to a higher connection with the self and the universe. Such experiences are reported by people who feel connected to an "inner guidance" or higher voice.
Rebecca, a 62-year-old divorcee, has gone through many crises in her life, but she claims that there were times when intuition helped her. "I don't always listen to my inner voice, what's more, it usually warns and scares and prevents. But there were times when I did listen, and my gut feeling was right. Especially when it came to relationships, financial matters in the family, things that weren't visible but I felt them. When I was young, intuition really She yelled at me and I didn't listen, looking back it's a shame I didn't listen today.
I think it has to do with self-esteem. Today I have the ability to distinguish what I want, and not how I please others. Today I know how to observe what I feel and know that I am allowed to say yes and I am allowed to say no, even if others think otherwise. When I was young I was a coward. The inner voice spoke to me, I just didn't dare to listen to it and let others lead me.
Many times when I ignored the voice of intuition and followed only the voice of reason, I suffered and got into trouble. Is intuition always right? There have been opposite cases. It's clear to me that sometimes you can feel something and it turns out to be wrong," she says and adds with a smile: "But we mostly remember the times when we didn't listen to the inner voice, didn't give room to intuition, and that failed us."
Intuition is an elusive and fascinating concept, which is sometimes related to the gut feeling or an inner voice that guides us in making decisions, even in situations where we do not have all the necessary information and is based on unconscious information processing processes. Intuition is based on rapid processing of memory and prior knowledge, which are collected over the years.
These unconscious processes are carried out so quickly that we hardly notice that our brain is doing a lot of processing and sending us the immediate insight. The studies of Dr. Gary Klein, a cognitive psychologist, found that experts in fields such as medicine and the military develop a high intuition that is based on years of experience.
Moments that connect the viewer with the hero
In many movies, intuition shapes the viewing experience through certain scenes or decisions that are made quickly and with a sense of security, the creators give the characters moments of intuition that lead them to act in a way that is not always understandable to human rationality. Intuition in movies appears at crucial moments.
Sometimes it is a feeling of imminent danger, a sudden decision to change direction, or a connection between characters based on an unexplained feeling of "familiarity". Characters use intuition to overcome complex challenges, choosing to listen to their cues and inner voice. In thrillers and horror films, the characters "feel" that something is wrong, but do not know how to explain what exactly is happening. In the film The Sixth Sense (1999), the main character feels that the world around her consists of hidden signs that lead her to an inner understanding that has no scientific explanation, it is this gut feeling that drives the story and leads to revelations.
In science fiction and fantasy films, intuition is sometimes presented as a supernatural power. Characters can predict the future, read minds, or sense danger moments before it materializes. In the Star Wars film series, the concept of "The Force" parallels the intuition that drives the Jedi Knights. The knights who feel the "current of the Force" and react to it intuitively. This ability allows them to identify invisible enemies, predict attacks and react in precise time.
When viewers see a character facing a difficult choice based on gut feeling, they often tend to feel empathy and identification. The characters make fateful decisions based on deep feelings, and in these films, intuition is not just a gut feeling, but a crucial tool that guides the characters at key moments. In the movie Matrix, the hero Neo is faced with a strong sense of intuition about the world he lives in, a feeling that leads him to decisions that change his life and the entire reality.
