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Have you ignored a gut-instinct or dismissed a hunch
only to appreciate with hindsight the intuitive hit? |
What is intuition?
"Intuition (is) perception via the unconscious." - Carl Gustav Jung
Intuition is the inner-dialogue, the gut-instinct, the everyday hunches that we get, and it communicates to us through our thoughts, feelings, emotions, dreams, signs and synchronicities. The right-brain manages emotional intelligence, the creative and intuitive senses and is affiliated to the unconscious mind; the left-brain is affiliated to the conscious mind and its processing of rational and intellectual information.
Intuition is not just accessible to the spiritually inclined nor is intuition part of a religious domain or a cult movement. It is the sixth sense that we're all born with, and according to German psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer, author of "Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious", intuition is available equally to both men and women. We shut this ability down however, as we grow up, due to societal judgements and expectations; instead, we learn to place our focus on our rational and intellectual minds. Our intuitive skills, however, can be regained and enhanced through regular use.
Do you agonise over dilemmas, decisions, choices ... ?
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What's the best way forward with your current work project?
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What is the better solution for a problem at hand?
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Will the new employee you're about to engage be a good fit?
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Maybe you're at cross-roads in your career?
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Or relationships are a challenge - how do you choose associates, friends, partners?
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What do your instincts convey to you when you're in a dialogue with other individuals?
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Or on meeting someone the first time?
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Your intuition offers vital and relevant information
that is in your best interest! |
Quiet the mind and focus on the question at hand to allow the intuitive messages to surface; turning down the volume of the inner critic that's steeped in peer taunts and societal labels is essential - this allows you to discern the intuitive messages from the dross. You're describing intuition when you say, "I can't explain it but it feels right" or "I knew it somehow" or "... and then I saw the solution clearly!"
Intuition is an additional resource to the logical, rational mind - harnessing your intuition and integrating it with linear thinking, allows you to make informed decisions and wiser choices. When you allow your intuition to guide you, you achieve your objectives effortlessly - like a puzzle, the pieces fall in place.
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"Often you have to rely on intuition." - Bill Gates
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"The only real valuable thing is intuition." - Albert Einstein
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"Follow your instincts. That's where true wisdom manifests itself." - Oprah Winfrey |
Isn't it time you tapped into your intuitive capabilities?
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Copyright 2008 Miranda Kaur All Rights Reserved
Healthy Times Newspaper HK Dec 2008 - Jan 2009 Top |
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"Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words.
Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits.
Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny."
- Mahatma Gandhi
Are you plagued with fears of not measuring up? Do you wrestle with self-doubts and self-recriminations? Does personal and career success continue to elude you?
Your beliefs have a considerable influence on how you approach, engage and react to the numerous experiences of your life!
Your unconscious mind stores beliefs and learned behaviours from childhood conditioning; for example, when a little boy is repeatedly told that he is not good enough, or a little girl who continually receives the message that she is silly - each with their young, malleable mind, perceives the characterisation to be a true reflection and so starts to believe in it. They grow up defining themselves through these limiting beliefs.
Your conscious mind is the logical, rational mind; it processes your future goals and envisions your dreams; but it only manages seven, plus or minus two, bits of information at a time.
Your unconscious mind however, tracks millions of bits of data every second. Thus the major chunk of your mental processing is at the unconscious level. This means that the beliefs in your unconscious mind are your dominant beliefs - regardless if they are accurate or not.
The little boy and little girl in the above example, may grow up to obtain notable qualifications and remarkable achievements but the beliefs in their unconscious minds will continue to lead them to question their self-worth.
The beliefs in your unconscious mind can be changed through a conscious effort. Begin by being aware of the perceptions that do not serve you - the mindless chatter, the belittling thoughts, the inappropriate choice of words. Identify the distorted beliefs and analyse the accuracy of these beliefs - challenge them logically, rationally and factually. Finally, consciously choose to replace the flawed beliefs with authentic beliefs - you override your unconscious beliefs by being in the present moment.
Copyright 2009 Miranda Kaur All Rights Reserved
Healthy Times Newspaper HK Feb - Mar 2009 Top
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When Fear comes Knocking on Your Door...
We experience fear in many ways - fear of being rejected, fear of being ridiculed, fear of failing and fear of being controlled. These fears may be in different forms but the common thread they share is that they are expressing messages we have taken on about ourselves. These messages could have originated from childhood conditioning or acquired in later life.
We maintain the status quo in many areas of our lives just so we can remain feeling safe. Our choices might not be working for us, but to avoid stepping out of our comfort zones, we stay in careers and jobs that don't fulfil us, relationships we've outgrown, and routines and habits that don't serve us any longer.
Sadly, for the most part, fear is viewed negatively. It's an emotion we're not encouraged to acknowledge or give a voice to.
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.
The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."
- Nelson Mandela
When fear comes knocking on your door, it is attempting to pull you back into a comfort zone. But instead of allowing your fear to hold you back, it can be a catalyst for achieving all that you desire. Your fear is your in-house alert system - when fear shows up, it is essentially presenting you the opportunity to choose to either take on a challenge or run away from one! Note that the intensity of your fear will be in proportion to the challenge - the greater the challenge, the more intense the fear - but the exhilaration of meeting the challenge will be all that much more sweeter too!
"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek."
- Joseph Campbell
Copyright 2009 Miranda Kaur All Rights Reserved
Healthy Times Newspaper HK Apr - May 2009 Top
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Harnessing intuition is rapidly becoming a skill set of the main stream corporate world with more business leaders prescribing to using their intuitive skills. A 2006 PRWeek/Burson-Marsteller CEO Survey revealed that "62 percent of CEOs indicate that gut feelings are highly influential in guiding their business strategies."
Intuition is available to everyone and like any skill it can be developed and enhanced to give you results that can help you work smarter. Intuitive and creative capabilities are part of the right-brain functions while lateral and intellectual capabilities are part of the left-brain functions.
Your intuition is already communicating with you through a myriad of situations - for example, data for a work project appears to be correct, but your gut-instincts give you a sense of unease; or hiring a new team-member purely on a hunch that he or she would be a better fit, notwithstanding his or her lack of paper qualifications; or choosing to drive via a different route to the office on the spur of the moment because you have a strong feeling to do so, only to learn later that there was a major traffic tail-back in your usual route. Assimilating intuition with intellectual data allows you to solve problems, to work out dilemmas and to make appropriate decisions, thereby allowing you to work smarter, not harder.
Some pointers about intuition:
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Finally, to be more receptive to hearing your intuition, clear your mind of mindless-chatter either through meditation or a contemplative exercise - this will allow your intuition to surface through the silence.
Copyright 2009 Miranda Kaur All Rights Reserved
Healthy Times Newspaper HK Jun - Jul 2009 Top
Do you experience compassion on a deeper level than most? Do people tell you that you are too sensitive? Do you get startled easily? Do bright lights put you on edge? Do you find multi-tasking stressful?
If the above questions resonate with you, then you could very well be a Highly Sensitive Person. According to psychotherapist Dr. Elaine Aron* about 15 to 20 percent of the population have this personality trait.
In our Asian societies however, this innate trait is rarely acknowledged or given full support. As a result, highly sensitive individuals are misunderstood and sometimes labelled as difficult. Invariably, they go on to experience low self-esteem issues. Many also choose to remain detached from their sensitive personalities so as to avoid being viewed as weak individuals.
Highly sensitive individuals are averse to loud noises and abhor violence. They are more reactive to their physical environment too, and consequently experience allergies and skin related issues. In addition, highly sensitive individuals have sensitive digestive systems and as a result are more prone to experience stomach upsets.
When the highly sensitive trait is accepted and appreciated, it enriches one's life, from enabling one to empathise more with others, to being methodical, conscientious and creative. Highly sensitive individuals are intelligent and detail-oriented too. When highly sensitive individuals are nurtured and supported, they flourish and are able to live to their highest potential.
*Dr. Elaine Aron is the author of The Highly Sensitive Person.
Copyright 2009 Miranda Kaur All Rights Reserved Top
What is your life's purpose? How do you identify it?
Here are some questions to help you get started:
1. What are your personal values?
2. What are your unique personal qualities?
3. What would your family members or closest friends say are your strengths?
4. What are your natural talents? For example, are you creative or perhaps you are a good listener?
5. What school projects or activities did you enjoy the most?
6. What are you passionate about?
7. What turns you on?
8. What puts a smile on your face?
9. What or where do you gravitate to for some down-time or to de-stress?
10. What are your hobbies?
11. What books, music or movies do you find inspiring?
12. Who are your role-models? Or who would you wish to emulate?
Once you have identified a direction that resonates with you, take steps to learn more about it - do some research, talk to people with the know-how. Then incorporate it into your existing lifestyle, beginning with small steps so as to test the waters; set yourself mini-goals and take the appropriate action-steps. Finally, recalibrate accordingly.
Your life's purpose is a process, a journey if you will. It is not defined by set parameters, rather it is fluid. The goal is to be able to evolve with the process because as you learn and grow, your life's purpose evolves too.
Copyright 2009 Miranda Kaur All Rights Reserved Top
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