“Intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect, in my opinion.”
– Steve Jobs
Over the last seven years, the World Economic Forum consistently highlights critical thinking and problem-solving as top skills that employers will value in the future. You may be competent in navigating complexities with intellect, logic, analysis, past experiences and reason up to a point. What happens when you hit a wall? A point beyond which the rational tools and techniques may not cut through. Thoughts of failure begin to hound you after wrestling with the problem for a long time.
According to Einstein, ‘The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution comes to you and you don’t know how or why. All great discoveries are made in this way.’
Intuition is a proportionate blend of reason and calm feeling. It is an inner knowing that leaps beyond incremental thinking to access exponential ideas and solutions. It is not sheer imagination or guesswork. Neither is it thinking your way through problems intellectually. Intuition is inner guidance that helps you perceive the essence of the matter with expanded awareness beyond. Paramhansa Yogananda defined intuition as taking tuition from within yourself. You innately have this capacity to be guided by your intuition. Intuition can be learned and practised.
How can one develop the faculty of intuition?
1. Calm the mind and heart – A busy mind leaves little space for intuitive problem-solving. When emotions are calmer and the mind quieter, you can hear intuition knock at your door. Meditation and mindfulness practices are effective aids to balance the energies of the head and the heart. A simple practice of calming the breath through inhaling, holding and exhaling the breath to a comfortable count of six to eight counts for about five rounds can be helpful.
2. Frame the problem to be solved clearly – What would you like to gain intuitive guidance on? As Einstein put it, “If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on it, I would use the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.” We sometimes pay scant attention to the totality of the problem and rush to solve them through brute force.
3. Be in a listen-only mode – With calm concentration, place the problem on the screen of your mind and wait for the answer with rapt attention. The mind needs to be a clean slate devoid of distractions. Be a neutral observer. Einstein referred to this as being in a state of mystical awe.
Through reflective practices, you will start to enjoy this inner consultation. Once you gain even a little fluency and confidence, it becomes a friend you will naturally lean more into. Intuition is a muscle strengthened by conscious cultivation and followed through with action. The response is not always instantaneous and requires a degree of alertness to recognise and reject false guidance. Your emotional state can be a reliable indicator. If you are calm and relaxed, you are on the right path. If you sense anxiety and discomfort, it needs more work and time. Apply common sense and test out one step at a time. Your capacity for intuition will gain momentum when pursued with joyful enthusiasm. Swim deep to fathomless depths and fly far into freedom with intuition. Intuition is free and within you!