Developing Intuition: The Highest Intelligence Known to Man

Because we all have unsolved questions in our hearts.
Intuition: the ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning.
Whether we consciously realize it or not, we use intuition, gut feeling, or hunch, in our daily lives. For example, when we meet a stranger, our rational mind can’t tell us what kind of a person they are. But our intuition just “knows”. 
Our intuition takes in all the visual and auditory information – their intonation, subtle gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, posture and synthesizes it to make a quick judgment on that person’s character. Basically, our intuition catches on the “vibes” the stranger gives off. Hence, we should focus on developing intuition to access new opportunities and profound wisdom.

Your Gut Has Its Own Brain

There’s a strange yet compelling finding that shows our gut feeling is perhaps the greatest intelligence there is.
According to Richard Cytowic, Professor of neurology at George Washington University,
“There’s an entire ecosystem of bacteria and a vast neural network operating in our guts. This ecosystem is our second brain, and comprises some 100 million neurons, more than the spinal cord.”   Scientists call this neural network the second brain. Although it doesn’t think or reason, it strongly influences our mood throughout the day.
Our gut is so powerful in influencing our moods that if we eat healthy foods to nourish it, we won’t suffer from anxiety, depression, neuroticism, and social anxiety [1].
This is a remarkable finding as we live in a society where 20% of people suffer from such mental health issues and traditional medicines have side effects and aren’t as effective as we think they are.
Here are some habits of highly intuitive people you can use for developing intuition.

1. Practice Mindfulness

Yes, “mindfulness”! This word is being advertised so much these days as the “cure all” for all problems that some of us may doubt its authenticity.
But it is actually a great tool for developing intuition. All we have to do is become aware of the present moment – your emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations. Once we silence the inner chatter of the mind and step out of the never-ending narrative of the mind, we are able to listen to the inner voice, our intuition.

2. Nurture Your Creativity

Creativity is a powerful tool for developing intuition. But sometimes we are so busy working or using technology that we forget to be creative, to do something new and feel amazing about creating something unique and meaningful to us.
Whether it is sketching a painting of an imaginary home or travelling to a new place on the weekend to feel the beauty of stepping into the unknown, when we enter into our creative space, we also connect to our infinite potential, in turn activating our intuition.

3. Ask Reflective Questions

The strange thing about “developing” intuition is that we already have it. We just need to tune into it. And one powerful way to do that is to ask reflective questions.
Focus on any area of your life – spirituality, finances, relationships, career, health – and ask a question about something that is important to you. Then simply listen to the answer that comes forth. But before you do this exercise, take a couple minutes to relax and silence your mind.

4. Enjoy Solitude

To strengthen our inner voice, first we need to get away from the external noise – of other people, constant distraction from technology, and so on. There are many ways to enjoy solitude – go for long walks, write in your journal, meditate, listen to your favorite piece of music, travel alone to a completely new place, or read a book.
In the end, to get in touch with our intuition, we have to silence the thinking mind and start feeling things. Once we slow down and stop functioning on autopilot, we are able to listen to the infinite wisdom of our intuition.