The human brain is divided into two hemispheres, and we now know that they work in entirely different ways. Both are equally important, but disturbingly one whole half of it is being almost completely underused in modern Western culture. Consequently only those gifted with a natural inclination to use this half are benefitting from its power when most people missing out COULD make use of it if only they could see the benefit and submit to a little training.
In the left hemisphere, LOGICAL thinking takes place. This is the type of thinking that is considered the "norm" in normal interactions. Logical thinking is the "problem-solving" mode - its function is much like that of a computer - raw data is fed in and a conclusion is drawn that results in an action, decision or view of reality. Logical thinking really "took off" in the later 18th Century in a philosophical revolution known as "The Enlightenment" - its central premise was that instead of putting faith in the teachings of tradition and religion, it should instead be placed in one's own ability to reason.
There is much to be said for this idea - technological progress and scientific understanding began to be free to develop without fear of persecution from the church and social taboo. Alongside this development came a new rationale - SKEPTICISM, the view that nothing should be accepted as reality until backed up by measurable reproducable evidence. There were many benefits to this rationale, particularly in the development of modern western medicine, eliminating quackery and driving forward effective treatments.
The downside of this shift was an undermining of the appreciation of INTUITIVE thinking. Intuitive thought, centered in the right hemisphere of the brain makes decisions subconsciously rather than consciously. This is a much faster type of thinking as conscious awareness is very energy-consuming. Bypassing the need to visualise situations and processes saves vast amounts of energy and time. Unfortunately intuitive thinking is no longer promoted or taught in the crucial early years of development, so that apart from the naturally gifted, most people are severely restricted in their use of the intuition.
The reason there is so little training available on the intuition is because of the underlying social paradigms of logic and skepticism. Intuition simply cannot be measured and defined. There is also no agreement as to the resources intuition is drawing on. Some restrict it to the subconscious, which in itself is a vast reservoir of data, but others argue it can tap into a universal field of consciousness. However intuition works, it does not need to be understood to be exploited, in the same way one does not need to understand the mechanisms of a car in order to drive it.
Most successful people are risk-takers who rely on their intuition to make the best choices. They rely not on facts, figures and probabilities, but on an inner feeling that something is right or wrong. The biggest barrier to developping intuition is a lack of faith in that inner feeling. There is in many people a deep inner fear of getting it wrong, but to submit to that fear leads only to paralysis, and you end up doing nothing different.
In my 1-2-1 sessions with clients, those who wish to develop this intuitive power are first taught to calm the the mind down, an essential first step in developping intuition. They are then taught how to let go of logic, which is useless in the world of risk-taking, and to pay attention to the feelings within themselves. With practice they build confidence and integrate intuition into their daily life.
Intuition and logic are not mutually exclusive, in fact both are essential for business success. Apply logic and reasoning where you have all the information, but in uncertain undefined uncharted territory, trust deeply in your intuition, and a whole new dimension of operating in the world will open up to you.
