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The mystical nature of intuition
Instinct, intuition, hunch, and gut feel are all synonymous. They refer to knowing something without the benefit of the five senses and the rational mind.
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Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Woodward gave two must-watch interviews on Nov. 7, one to Sarah Ferguson of Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the other to Ari Melber of MSNBC. From these interviews, we learn that President-elect Trump is a strong believer in instincts. These interviews have generated much interest in the topic of instinct.
Instinct, intuition, hunch, and gut feel are all synonymous. They refer to knowing something without the benefit of the five senses and the rational mind. Intuition is linked to the Sanskrit expression, Shruti, meaning revealed. A considerable amount of ancient Indian wisdom has come to us as Shruti.
Why Intuition is Important
Intuition is incredibly important to everyone but especially to leaders as they are often tasked with making split-second decisions at a moment’s notice.
How Intuition Can Be Measured
There are two methods for measuring intuition: (1) Muscle Testing from the field of kinesiology, and (2) Rudraksha Mala.
(1) Muscle Testing: The late Dr. David R. Hawkins, MD, developed a muscle test that requires a tester and a subject. For correct answers, the subject resists the downward force and the deltoid muscle remains strong while it goes weak for false answers. Thus, truth can be distinguished from falsehood. Dr. Hawkins has authored several books including one with Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling.
Monte et al., used Hawkins’ muscle testing procedure but with a computer-assisted dynamometer-based system to apply the downward pressure to eliminate bias. Unfortunately, in their study, the subjects knew what the correct answer was. In a real-life situation, the subject would not know what the correct answer is.
(2) Rudraksha Mala: In ancient times, Rudraksha mala (rosary made of the seeds of the Rudraksha tree) was thought to have been used by the wandering sages in the Himalayas to discern if water, fruits, etc., were safe to consume. That idea can be adapted to discern truth from falsehood. The adapted measurement device is a crystal pendulum hung with a chain and a glass bead attached at the other end. These pendulums are commercially available for a low price for anyone who wishes to conduct these experiments.
How Intuition May Be Enhanced
The Universal Peace Foundation conducts a seven-day yoga program for children in the 6-14 years age group to enhance their intuitive faculty. The program goes by the name “Aha Dharana”, meaning “Inner Focus” in Tamil, and has graduated 350 children so far.
At the end of the program, the children are able to read, draw, write, identify colors, find hidden objects etc., blind-folded which means their intuitive faculty has shot up. The training program success rate is 80 percent. I have witnessed a demonstration of the program. The process is simple enough for the children to follow.
In this video, a teenager Vanshi Chauhan can be seen reading from a book the Sony Entertainment TV team provided, blind-folded on Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s hugely popular TV program, Kaun Banega Crorepati (India’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire).
Link of Intuition and Melatonin Levels
Spiritual Guru Gurumahan suggests that intuition is linked to Melatonin Levels. Melatonin levels peak during puberty and drop for the rest of our lives and therefore, this training should be completed in childhood.
Intuition, Mindfulness and Emotional Excellence
In the demonstration session, the parents of children told me that they have seen a significant jump in the children’s emotional excellence as well. The children’s academic performance, emotional traits, interpersonal skills, etc., all improved. Gurumahan suggests that such children would be less apt to fall prey to addiction in adulthood.
I have a hunch that the program will bring about an improvement in mindfulness in adults as mindfulness is a step towards intuition, and an enhancement in emotional excellence even though they may not develop the intuitive faculty which would permit them to discern truth from falsehood. Mindfulness is important in all walks of life.
Importance of Emotional Excellence
Intuition and emotional excellence appear to be strongly linked. We have seen numerous instances of a high level of intuition as well as a high level of emotional excellence in Gurumahan.
My research spanning more than a decade discovered that a high level of emotional excellence is strongly linked to exemplary performance, creativity and innovativeness, interpersonal skills and less discord and violence. Combining these benefits with their link to intuition, emotional excellence would appear to emerge as a skillset worth cultivating. More detailed information on this article is available here.
The author is Professor Emeritus in and former Chairman of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Louisville.
(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of New India Abroad)
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