Instinct or Perception?

Some have stated that intuition is like animal instinct; yet, more precisely, it is the ability to perceive information beyond the range of intellectual or conscious reasoning. It transcends the reptilian brain function of survival. “I smell a rat” is a phrase indicative of this kind of knowledge—and of the reliance in days gone by on the olfactory sense for perception of subtle information—such as a predator being near.

Intuitive insight enhances cognitive processing; it opens the door to more for intellect to reason into daily life. It is the connecting link with dimensions not discernible with physical senses—those which language terms spiritual. It is often in religio-spiritual-philosophical traditions where you find the first recorded observations of these connections.

Many psychiatrists, psychologists, physicians, and other health professionals say they listen with the intellect as well as intuition. Judith Orloff, MD, writes, “One thing I’m certain of: if you follow your intuitive voice, you can’t go wrong. Stay true to it. Intuition is about empowerment, not having to conform to someone else’s notion of who you should be. It’s about being true to yourself, and all the goodness that comes from that.”*

Shafica Karagulla, MD, in her remarkable book Breakthrough to Creativity described physicians, CEOs, and many others, who expressed what she called “heightened sensory perceptions (HSP).” Those in health care employed conventional diagnostic procedures out of protocol and caution, though they relied more on HSP to discover disease causation and treatment. They hid their intuitive abilities, knowing from experience they would face censure. Others used their HSP to solve problems or make improvements in technology and in business relations.

Summing Up

Intuitive insights increase with focus. At any time anyone can quiet the beta-brain waves so that your left brain relaxes from the wave activities of linear thought into alpha and theta waves, and particularly gamma. Meditation, focusing on breath for 10 minutes, letting thoughts come and go, lighting a candle, being quiet in nature, all these and more are ways to engage intuitive insight. This engages the intuition link within the right brain.

Yellow Balloons: A single candle light can illuminate many portions of a dark room.

 I attended among many others over the past ten years an intuitive-practice workshop, this one conducted by social worker Anna Raimondi, who has also been a seer since childhood. This practice was to open the mind and heart to obtain information from that shimmering Field we sometimes call spirit. At one point Anna invited anyone in the group to receive a message relevant to one of 100 or so attendees and verbalize it. There seemed to immediately come to me a playful and happy set of images or thoughts that flooded into my mind/brain.

Anna had just led the group through a centering meditation. So I had a clear mind and open heart, which led to that innate knowing or intuitive perception. I raised my hand to speak, just as this flood of words and images came to my awareness.

Anna called on me. “I’m seeing yellow balloons. The message seems to be to blow them up and play with yellow balloons. Have fun. Put them on strings in the back yard. Have them in the house too, so that everyone can bounce them around and hit each other with them and laugh with each other. Enjoy it. Party!”

Anna: “I think this is a child. Can anyone here relate to what Scottie said?”

 A woman raised her hand and stated, “I think that was my little boy giving a message. It’s his birthday tomorrow. He died recently from cancer. His hospital room was yellow. It sounds like something he wanted to say to us, to play, to have balloons and celebrate his birthday with a party. He’s saying this to help us understand he’s still with us.”

Spiritual Focusing

I have received many messages such as that one over the past ten years, which is about when I decided to open up to others who might want such counseling. Perceiving with the heart, with intuition, fetches subtle and helpful information. You allow the heart to lead and mind to assess and serve. Here is a wonderful article about seeing with the heart told by a man who became blind and adjusted his perceptions.

Even while the mind predominates, insights of the heart, realized from epiphanies and spiritually transformative experiences (STEs) can unfold during that time. These are gifts of awareness. They might come at the most unexpected of times, often seemingly unconnected to any conscious effort to evoke them. However, there are desires, devotions, and commitments or intentions that play a role.

You find how much power there is, not that you force it, in heart and intuition and in thought. The ability to think thoughts is a profound power. The brain is both a receiver and a transmitter of thoughts. Although each person has sovereign choice, the ability to entertain any thought calls for discernment.

Thought is shared with and by the primal force behind creation. This is the cosmic creative essence beyond words; this is the something that gives freely to all. The power of thinking allows the thinker to transmit into the environment within and without.

Original Thought

There is original thought, which can be called love, or union. or the Word. Then there are thoughts that thinkers altered from that Essence. A person’s mind/brain can take the original and enduring thought of unity and alter it to perceive only separation. This is the ego’s play. It can lead to misalignment.

Feelings akin to depression, anger, frustrations are signals that the thought mind is entertaining at that moment is out of harmony with the originating Source’s basis. The existence of Wholeness requires surrender of the mind to the heart’s insights. The mind is to serve these. The world is full of potential distractions otherwise.

Too, it is replete with resources for living a life of joy and delight. Another way to say that is there are many portals to go through with the mind. Thought and intent attract potentials. By wondering, desiring to go further, to go through one of the gateways to a desire, requires asking—fervent requesting brings fulfillment.

 Union and Alignment

 The feeling of unity is one of wholeness and alignment with Source, All That Is, in consciousness. The heart vortex knows everything manifest is in this context or matrix. All of what is in life is there by design or cooperation. It may not have always been deliberately aligned, though all and everything is that way. What anyone is asking for is an integral part of the one asking!

 A more mundane or common example of what one attracts can be seen in the profusion of information available on the world wide web. By the use of even a small hand-held device capable of connecting with the internet anyone can find within a few links what their thought might desire. This can be entertainment or news and other media, household items, and literally any factual knowledge of almost any kind.

Therein is an example of potential for either daily distraction—or fulfillment from the focus or intent to evolve in creativity, knowledge, and experience, or wisdom. There can be subconscious programs from childhood that spur one on to the immediate gratifications of diversion. However, a propensity toward portals of amusement can be a digression. When you have consciously grown to desire something deeper, unless you sustain that focus each moment you can reenter confusion, distress, and perplexity rather than peacefulness.

 Wholeness

 Once there is a glimpse of the truth of wholeness, the passion will be integration of it. This is a consciousness moving toward a greater understanding of Consciousness. You wouldn’t want at the end of your day, or your life, to find that your potential is shortened or dissipated. There is desire to awaken fully while in human expression.

It is innate to express the qualities of joy, peace, love, strength, humility, appreciation, and courage. This requires heightened awareness of the value of thought all day. This is to step into each day aligned to an inner code or blueprint of the spiritual and physical ideals one wishes and knows. That makes all the study, prayers, and time spent of value in the life lived.

There is wisdom to expressing gratitude each day upon arising. This is for the Life given us that is ever present. It is to admire the vastness and abundance of life as well as the mystery. It is to begin the day connecting with the wisdom and vastness of the soul and tuning to its blueprint for this life. It is a formula in alignment with the divine plan. It is fulfillment of the wish to live physical and spiritual ideals while expressing in human form.

 Being in True Power

To begin a day this way, in meditation, contemplation, is to more easily negotiate the many variables of the world. Such attuning will influence the day and all relationships as they come and go in awareness. There will be more liking and loving of self and others. Asking for assistance, guidance to be attuned, for the strength from all in the Divine to make this so is to interact with all that is.

Asking is an opening to receiving and centering with the heart. The center of being is then large and carrying it becomes present. Entering the world with direction and purpose may appear to bring fortune. However, the source of luck is this focused intent. It ripples out and attracts.

Will there be falling down or going a step backward in the journey? Yes, of course. The child who is learning to walk stumbles and then gets up again and again. She doesn’t give up and say, “I’m too stupid; I’ll never walk.” This is about realizing a greater identity than only material or physical human being. Seeing, feeling, and believing this brings it home to attention.

These words are repeating thoughts, expressed in various ways by others beautifully and more comprehensively. Is there a new thought or does a personal self experience one for the first time? The emotion from any thought leads to the experiencing of it.

This self has the ability for embracing or rejecting; welcoming or acceptance of the thought leads to adopting or believing it. This may seem just a mental game, but it is much more. It is an example of the power of personal thoughts in individual experience. It’s the importance of making the heart’s insights about every thought the master guide. []

I found myself drawn to be in a career as a journalist, which started with The American Theosophist (now Quest Magazine, theosophical.org), focused on philosophy, religion, science, and the arts, and this supported my interest in all things spiritual. This path lead to being an author, and then as editor and founder of several more publications, most recently Well Being Journal. See more at https://scotteminers.substack.com/ My books include Thoughts, Attitudes & Your Health and, with Shannon McRae, PhD, The Healing Effects of Energy Medicine: Memoirs of a Medical Intuitive.