Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung defined intuition as a method of perception drawn from inner or imaginative experiences. This concept is in contrast to sensing, where we draw  information from the external world. Scientists at the Institute of HeartMath define intuition as “a process by which information normally outside the range of cognitive processes is sensed and perceived in the body and mind as certainty of knowledge or feeling (positive or negative) about the totality of a thing distant or yet to happen.” The result is that you often “just know,” without realizing how.  Have you ever heard the term “sixth sense” or  “gut feeling”?  People experience intuition in different ways.  Some may just have a feeling or hunch, others may hear or see an image, sound, or bodily reaction (tingling, goosebumps, etc.). Intuition might also come as a dream.  Intuition is only recently becoming something more than just a mystical feeling.  Evidence-based medicine had long been the standard, and anything beyond empirical data was deemed undependable. Historically, however, notable scientific discoveries had come by way of intuition, many in the form of dreams. 

“Our senses enable us to perceive only a minute portion of the outside world. Our hearing extends to a small distance. Our sight is impeded by intervening bodies and shadows. To know each other we must reach beyond the sphere of our sense perceptions. We must transmit our intelligence, travel, transport the materials and transfer the energies necessary for our existence.” - Nikola Tesla (2013). “The Nikola Tesla Treasury”, p.508, Simon and Schuster.

If we consider that there are probably no inherited traits that cannot also be enhanced, decreased, or entirely produced or eliminated by enough of certain kinds of life experiences, it opens the doors to learning how we might tap into this trait and way of thinking in order to help our community / country / and even the world to move forward.  

Dr. Judith Orloff, a psychiatrist and intuitive and best-selling author, says “Anyone can learn this.” The problem again comes back to how to encourage and cultivate this super-power, rather perpetuate the idea that it is not normal and even worse, less desirable.  There is a cultural component to how these “super powers” are perceived. In China, “shy” and “sensitive” children were among those most chosen by others to be friends or playmates. (In Mandarin, the word for shy or quiet means good or well-behaved and sensitive can be translated as “having understanding,” a term of praise.) In America, those who are highly sensitive are more likely to label themselves negatively as “inhibited,” “introverted,” or “shy.”  Since mental health professionals grow up influenced by the same values as the broader culture, research and standards often reflect the assumptions of the broader culture.  Psychological research in the US, for example, unwarrantedly associates introversion with poor mental health. This creates a paradox when HSPs themselves internalize these labels, causing them to be extra stressed: “their confidence drops lower, and their arousal increases in situations in which people thus labeled are expected to be awkward” (Aron, 14).  

In cultures in which the trait is more valued, she points out, “such as Japan, Sweden, and China, the research takes on a different tone. For example, Japanese psychologists seem to expect their sensitive subjects to perform better, and they do. When studying stress, Japanese psychologists see more flaws in the way that the non-sensitive cope” (15). - Dr. Carie Little Hersh is an American cultural anthropologist, former attorney, and teaching professor in Anthropology at Northeastern University.

This added social pressure affects us - not only how others may treat you, but how you have come to treat yourself.  But if we take a step back and look at the cultures who flourish, it is the more thoughtful group, often acting to check the impulses of the warrior-kings, who have the foresight to look out for the well-being of those common folks on whom the society depends, those who grow the food and raise the children.  They warn against hasty wars and bad use of land.  As is normally the case with HSPs and intuitives, we are often the first ones to see what needs to be done, but may be discouraged from acting due to the cultural disadvantages posed from not conforming with the norm. 

This has always been something I have struggled with, both professionally and personally.  I tend to see a path or solution in a way that seems clear or obvious, but may either hold back for fear of being judged or wrong, or worse, will express my thoughts and become discouraged when others don’t understand or believe my reasoning.  I will expand on this further in future posts.