Intuition has served me well, as an innate skill. I got an intuitive double dose, somewhere along the way but I admit – I received a little less than others when logic was doled out. 😉 I’m not much of a concrete thinker, but I can sway that way when life requires it. You know – tending to taxes, reviewing data. This isn’t a question of skill. I know how to do the logical, process-focused work – the measurable, quantifiable, and observable but left to my own devices, I’d bet the farm based on my gut every time, because it’s my comfort zone. (That looks so reckless as I read what I just wrote. Reckless, but honest.)
I’m reading a book by Matthew Hutson, The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking that a dear, equally driven intuiting friend recommended, and it’s captured my curiosity. Hutson has a background in neuroscience and one of his specialties is delving into the power and mystique surrounding intuition.
As a therapist, I often rely on personality assessments (like the well-known Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) based on the work of Carl Jung, as a favorite tool of the trade. Honing in on a client’s preferences for ‘Intuition’ vs. Sensing’ typically provides insight about relationships, career and job satisfaction, along with the other indicators (Extraversion vs. Introversion; Feeling vs. Thinking and Judging vs. Perceiving).
Intuitive types rely on the input of emotion and the discernible human impact of circumstances. Sensing types say bring me data…let me evaluate, review, tabulate and consider. One type isn’t better than the other – same for the other scales – but awareness of each person’s preferences and natural tendencies on each continuum can propel us toward satisfaction in life – as we endeavor to honor our truest, natural selves.
It comes as no surprise that the value and potency of intuition as a skill is hotly debated. Highly intuitive types perform worse, generally, on tasks requiring logic and can veer off into the land of magical thinking, which in Hutson’s view includes astrology, ghost stories, auras and so on, relying on “signs” and signals construed from seemingly random, unrelated events.
Intuitive types prefer to rely on feelings as they make decisions. This does not mean they/we are incapable of thinking logically, but the scales might get tipped toward affect and emotion more than data and details. Hutson wrote a short piece on the topic a few years ago, highlighting his thoughts about “Eight Truths About Intuition”. If you’re curious, it’s worth a peek.
On my list of exploratory topics is delving into generational traits, genetic, inherited preferences for intuiting. My mother struggled with demons of all sorts, but one of her challenges came from her powerful insight and capacity to “read” others, detect nuances of emotion. I’ve theorized that her intuitive sense was used in a self-protect manner but wonder if the inherited traits and preferences for intuiting were passed to me and to our “DD”, our dear daughter. The older our daughter becomes, the more I see parallels and “signs” 😉 I can’t ignore.
If you have a moment, take a look at my post today for Heart of the Matter. Our sweet DD gave me an unexpected gift and I share the story there. Food for the soul for parents or caregivers, whether you identify as an intuitive type…or not!
Vicki ❤
Victoria Ponders 
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