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Benefits | Origins | SuperVision | About Us | ||
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As intuition is often used to proclaim or support irrational beliefs, intuition has been a subject of study in psychology, and a topic of perennial interest for members of New Age groups. The internet offers many pages about intuition training (over two million on Google just now). I note that the goals of these trainings are rather abstract, without evidence or checks to test whether intuitions are accurate, relevant or even useful.
No responsibility seems to accompany intuited advice. If their advice isn't effective - you're on your own. As for consequences, intuitive people seem most comfortable around other intuitive people (if they avoid discussing details), and do not seem overly tolerant of people with other perspectives. I Feel Therefore I AmTwo mental facilities are thinking (inner dialogue) and feeling (self perception). Our thoughts reflect what we consciously know or at least suspect, while our feelings seem to reflect our less conscious impressions. Many modern theories of brain function are based on the differential functioning of two brain sides or hemispheres. The left hemisphere is associated with logical expressions such as philosophy and mathematics, and the right with emotional expressions such as music and art. I have heard circular arguments many times that what feels right must be right because it feels right! But rather than trying to make the irrational rational, let's consider some consequences. A parents' predictions can enormously affect their children's' lives. If parents pronounce their guesses as infallible truth, the children must either deal with this at some age, or carry a burden throughout life. Most people in this world follow the same religions as their parents. It is easier to go with the flow. A person who offers intuitive advice/diagnosis to friends may lose many of those friends. But, if they are skilled orators, they may replace those friends with followers or even devotees. Truth or Consequences?Much depends on the definitions that we use. Some people's descriptions of intuition sound very much like thinking, some sound like guessing and others more like random association. I have talked with many people who make important decisions on the basis of intuition - both their own intuitions and those received or purchased from other people. If the intuited advice was beneficial, people give praise. If the advice was not beneficial - some intuitive people may blame the enquirer for thinking bad thoughts, having doubts or lacking faith. This leads to a dark side of intuitive advice ... mentor damage. Dysfunctional mentors may seek compliant adults and use their authority to treat those adults as if they were children, or use them to test the mentor's ideas. Some people need to influence others - especially disillusioned people or people in a mid-life crisis who want to create meaning in their otherwise meaningless lives. And some people use other people as guinea pigs or research rabbits to test their theories. You can probably recall unpleasant experiences that damaged your relationships - even relationships with friends or family. Following mentor damage, I find that many people become unable to discern who is good for them - and who not. Abused people may avoid any form of mentorship or seek out many forms of advice - often simultaneously! Both of these reactions can increase the inner chaos. Were you raised in a family and a community that preferred myths to reality? In my coaching, I often explore personal myths - some can be called:
Intuition and Identity LossMany people complain of chronic sadness, anxiety, anger or inner criticism. We often coach such people to recover parts of themselves which were split-off during trauma or disappointment (see Inner Child). Probably you can recognize people with these symptoms ...
Yet these missing or lost parts do communicate. Some parts will communicate inner criticism, many will communicate through emotions; while others can communicate abstract images. Bottom LinesWe constantly expose our integrity. When stuff (emotional baggage or learning opportunities) arise; how we handle our stuff and how we recover from it reveals the depth of our offers. We show people what they can expect in any relationship with us. My bottom line? We can use both feeling (intuition) and thinking (reason) when we choose and implement plans, without relying too much on either. Plagiarism is theft. Copyright © Martyn Carruthers, All rights reserved 1999-2010 |
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