How
to sharpen your intuition
This page describes
how to increase the frequency and clarity of your intuitive insights
by gaining a deeper understanding of intuition: what it is, where it
comes from and what opposes it (Yes! Something in your own mind can
actually limit your intuition).
An integrated approach to knowledge
Through the outer approach, you can find valuable and valid ideas that
you might never have thought of on your own. Even if you could come
up with such ideas on your own, why reinvent the wheel when someone
else has already done the work for you? There are many valid and valuable
sources of knowledge in the world. It would be folly to ignore this
knowledge; you simply need to avoid falling into the trap of thinking
that outer sources of knowledge can give you everything you need.
To avoid falling into this trap, you must take the inner or integrated
approach to knowledge. When you take this approach, you use outer knowledge
as a tool for gaining deeper insights from inside yourself. Outer sources
of knowledge become an inspiration that stimulates the intuitive process.
Outer knowledge becomes a platform for gaining the deeper insights that
you can get only from your higher mind. Thereby, outer knowledge becomes
an integrated part of your consciousness, and this will give you both
the knowledge and the motivation to transform your life.
The teachings that Jesus presents on this site will give you answers
to the fundamental questions of life, yet those answers will not necessarily
do anything for you. To benefit from this site, you must use the site
only as an inspiration for getting answers from inside yourself. The
answers on this site are expressed in a language that might not “click”
with you. However, if you will apply the inner approach to knowledge,
you can receive an inner understanding of the ideas on this site. This
understanding will “click,” and it will help you improve
any aspect of your life.
When you take the integrated approach to knowledge, you use outer knowledge
only as a tool for stimulating the process of getting answers from inside
yourself.
The doubting mind
Why are there so few things that all human beings can agree upon? Why
are there always some people who will cast doubt upon any given idea?
The conclusion is simple. There is a certain element of the human mind
which is unable to deal with truth in an absolute sense (this is what
Jesus calls the lower mind or the carnal mind).
To this particular aspect of the mind, everything is relative. Therefore,
any idea can be doubted and any aspect of life can be used to further
a short-sighted egotistical agenda. This explains why it is virtually
impossible to find an idea or fact that no human being will cast doubt
upon or misuse.
The believing mind
If the doubting mind was the only element of our consciousness, then
we would never accept anything that could not be proven, and we would
not be able to function normally. Therefore, there must be another part
of the mind, and this part is what enables us to accept an idea even
if that idea cannot be proven in an absolute sense.
For example, most people believe the sun will rise tomorrow, but where
is the proof? You have personally experienced that during your life,
the sun has indeed risen every morning. However, you have no proof that
the sun will do so tomorrow morning. Therefore, the belief that the
sun will rise tomorrow is not based on an unquestionable fact. There
is no absolute proof that the sun will rise tomorrow.
Knowing without proof
So, why do you accept that the earth is round and that the sun will
rise tomorrow? Obviously, your acceptance of these ideas is not based
on the lower mind with its tendency to doubt everything. Therefore,
there must a different element of the human mind which enables you to
accept an idea even when you do not have an unquestionable proof that
the idea is true.
The conclusion is that the human mind has a faculty or ability which
enables you to accept ideas without proof. This ability is commonly
called intuition, but we could also call it “higher reasoning.”
Intuition is the ability to know that an idea is valid even if you have
no factual proof or even a rational, logical argument. You simply know
that you know. The aspect of the mind that enables you to accept ideas
without proof is the higher mind. Jesus calls this faculty for the Christ
mind or Christ self.
It makes sense
Intuition is not some mystical ability through which ideas or beliefs
appear out of nowhere. Intuition normally uses the reasoning faculties
of the mind to weigh evidence for and against a particular idea. For
example, by weighing the pros and cons, you intuitively decided that
the earth must be round. You did this because the idea “makes
sense.” That is, it makes sense to you with your present level
of understanding.
The point is that you have always used your intuition. If not, you would
not have accepted any “fact” or idea that could not be proven.
Obviously, your intuition has enabled you to accept many ideas that
are valid and reliable. If intuition can give you valid and reliable
answers about outer things, such as the earth being round, then why
couldn’t it provide valid answers to some of the more subtle questions
of life?
If you are serious about answering the deeper questions of life, you
need to become consciously aware of your intuition so that you can use
it more effectively. When you consider some of life’s more subtle
questions, you quickly realize that there is no way to provide an absolute
or factual answer to such questions. How can you give a factual answer
to the question: “What is the meaning of life?” Obviously,
there is no factual answer. Yet, throughout history some people have
found answers to this question, and so can you.
However, to find such answers, you might have to take your intuition
to a higher level.
The evolutionary and revolutionary forces
An objective look at intuition will show that this ability has had a
profound influence on the history of the human race. Some of the greatest
discoveries have sprung from an intuitive experience, and this is true
even in the field of science.
For example, it was an intuitive experience that enabled Albert Einstein
to formulate the Theory of Relativity. While contemplating the properties
of light, Einstein tried to imagine what it be would be like to travel
on a light beam. In an intuitive flash, he realized that if he was traveling
at the speed of light, a light beam would seem to stand still. It was
this intuitive realization that formed the basis for his Theory of Relativity,
a theory that revolutionized the science of physics.
In fact, a study of scientific history shows that science is driven
by two forces. There is an evolutionary force trough which scientists
fill in holes in existing theories (the outer approach to knowledge).
Then, there is a revolutionary force which enables scientists to go
beyond existing theories and take science to an entirely new level (the
inner approach to knowledge). Most of the great scientists, from Galileo
over Newton to Einstein, used their intuition to bring forth revolutionary
advances in their fields.
You too have intuitive faculties, and if you want to get answers to
the deeper questions of life, you must realize that the only way to
find such answers is to use your intuition. You too can bring forth
ideas that will revolutionize your own life and perhaps the lives of
others.
As stated earlier, intuition is a process through which a higher part
of your mind communicates ideas and insights to your conscious mind.
This definition allows us to explain some of the most common questions
about intuition.
Why isn’t intuition always accurate?
Many people are
aware of their intuition, and although they see some value in it, they
are also somewhat cautious. They have experienced that intuition doesn’t
always seem reliable. Sometimes you get no answers, sometimes you get
incorrect or skewed answers and sometimes you get incomplete answers.
Why does this happen?
The idea that your higher mind is using intuition in an attempt to communicate
with your conscious mind provides a possible answer: Something interferes
with the process and prevents your conscious mind from receiving clear
and accurate insights. What is that something?
Your conscious mind can be compared to a radio. As a radio has the capacity
to tune in to different stations, your conscious mind can tune in to
other aspects of your mind.
For most people, their conscious minds are often attuned to their subconscious
minds, or what we have called the doubting or lower mind. If that is
the case, the insights from the higher mind can only reach the conscious
mind by passing through the lower mind, and this mind can act as both
a barrier and a filter.
Why people close their minds
You probably know people whom you consider to be very closed-minded
or narrow-minded. Such people are very attached to certain ideas or
beliefs, and they simply will not consider anything that casts doubt
upon their chosen beliefs. Likewise, they are very reluctant to consider
new ideas that go beyond their existing knowledge and beliefs. To explain
such behavior, you only need to consider the idea that every human being
needs a stable platform of ideas and beliefs.
We have already seen that you have a container in your mind and that
this container holds the ideas that you consider to be reliable, true
or beyond question. Once an idea is inside that container, your lower
mind becomes very attached to that idea. The lower mind is the doubting
mind, and it doubts any new idea. Yet, once an idea has been admitted
into the container of your core beliefs, the lower mind considers the
idea to be off limits or above questioning.
The lower mind becomes very attached to keeping it that way, and that
is why it will not consider any ideas or evidence that might cast doubt
upon a core belief. If confronted with such evidence, the lower mind
will immediately begin to cast doubt upon it.
For some people, the conscious mind has become predominantly attuned
to the lower mind, and that is why these people have closed their conscious
minds to new ideas. They simply want to hold on to their core beliefs
that give them a sense of security and comfort. Anything that seems
to question a core belief is seen as a threat that must be avoided,
denied or perhaps even eliminated (which explains why some scientists
were burned by the stake for saying the earth was round).
Open-minded people
You probably also know people who are open-minded and who are constantly
expanding their knowledge and refining their beliefs. These people regularly
consider new ideas, and if an idea seems valid, they will incorporate
it into their core beliefs without feeling threatened by it. If the
idea seems invalid, they simply ignore it without harboring negative
feelings towards the person who presented the idea.
These people are open-minded because their conscious minds are predominantly
attuned to their higher minds. Therefore, their sense of stability does
not come from their outer knowledge and beliefs; it comes from a part
of the mind that is above the relativity and doubt of the lower mind.
Through this atunement, these people attain a deeper sense of stability
than what can be gained from the relativity of the lower mind. One might
say that the security based on the lower mind is a house built on sand
and that the security based on the higher mind is a house built on solid
ground.
For open-minded people, life is simply an ongoing journey of discovery
through which they continually deepen and refine their understanding
and beliefs. For closed-minded people, life is a constant battle to
maintain their core beliefs against the onslaught of a hostile world.
What can this teach us about intuition?
Intuition interference
When your conscious mind is attuned to the lower mind, the insights
from your higher mind must pass through the lower mind before they can
reach your conscious mind. Your lower mind is very attached to your
core beliefs, and therefore any intuitive insight that seems to question
or go beyond a core belief will be seen as a threat by the lower mind.
The lower mind acts as a form of static that prevents the signal from
reaching the radio receiver of your conscious mind.
In some cases, an intuitive insight might be blocked entirely. In other
cases, it may go through as a fragmented or distorted idea. In other
cases, the insight does go through, but your lower mind immediately
begins to cast doubt upon it.
You have probably heard the saying that first impressions are the most
accurate. For example, many people have experienced meeting a person
for the first time and immediately receiving the impression that the
person cannot be trusted. Yet, because of the person’s status
or credentials, you cast that impression aside only to find out later
that it was accurate and that the person really wasn’t trustworthy.
The conclusion is that one of the major reasons why intuition isn’t
always reliable is that your lower mind produces static that interferes
with the insights coming from your higher mind. You hear only what your
lower mind wants you to hear. To overcome this, you must make an effort
to attune your conscious mind with your higher mind and to neutralize
the lower mind by being less attached to your existing beliefs. Being
open-minded begins with a decision.
You can only receive according to your understanding
You might have heard the saying that “to him that has, more shall
be added,” and it is true as far as intuition is concerned. Remember
that intuition is a form of communication from your higher mind to your
conscious mind. This communication is based on ideas or concepts, and
your higher mind can only give you new insights about a topic that you
know something about.
If your higher mind wants to give you an insight about astrophysics,
it cannot do so if you know nothing about the topic. If you don’t
have some outer knowledge of a topic, your higher mind has nothing to
work with. Intuition can expand your understanding, but there must be
something to expand. If you know nothing, you simply cannot grasp or
accept the insights that come to you from the higher mind.
Therefore, if you want to increase your intuition concerning a particular
aspect of your life, you must begin by studying that topic. You must
apply the outer approach to knowledge and gain some understanding, so
that you can understand the language spoken by your higher mind. The
more understanding you have, the more intuitive insights you will get.
Summary: How to increase intuition
When Albert Einstein
had his intuitive insight that led to the Theory of relativity, he fulfilled
the following requirements:
- He knew a lot
about the topic (in this case physics, but this applies to any topic).
He had spent years studying the topic and considering some of the
questions that current scientific theories could not explain. He had
literally saturated his mind with knowledge about the questions he
was trying to answer.
- He was open
to an answer, even if that answer went beyond his existing knowledge
and beliefs.
The Theory of Relativity
was in complete opposition to the orthodox scientific theories of the
time. It went so far beyond existing theories that many physicists refused
to accept it. Why did Einstein receive this new theory? There were many
other scientists who knew as much or more about the topic as Einstein.
Normally, people assume that Einstein was a genius, but what if there
was another explanation?
What if Einstein was simply the most open-minded scientist of his time?
Perhaps it was Einstein’s open mind that enabled him to receive
an insight that was so far beyond existing beliefs that many other scientists
would have rejected it as pure nonsense? Perhaps true genius is simply
an open mind that is willing to look beyond existing knowledge and beliefs?
Intuition has levels
Let us return to the question of why intuition isn’t always accurate
or complete. For example, some people might receive an intuitive prompting
to accept a certain belief system. Then, years later, they come to a
new realization that goes beyond that belief system, and they end up
feeling distrustful of their intuition. Some even feel that they received
wrong direction the fist time.
The key to overcoming this distrust is to understand that intuition
is very much affected by your present level of consciousness and understanding.
Your higher mind is constantly seeking to raise your understanding and
your level of consciousness, but it can only do so at a pace that your
conscious mind can accept.
Your higher mind knows truth in an ultimate sense, but your conscious
mind might not be able to grasp or accept ultimate truth. Therefore,
your higher mind isn’t concerned about communicating ultimate
truth to you. Your higher mind wants to give you a particular idea that
you can grasp and accept at your present level and which will take you
to a slightly higher level.
The path to understanding
To illustrate this, imagine that life is a path. The goal of that path
is to take you to a level where you have the answers to all of your
questions about life. However, you will not attain that level of understanding
until you reach the last step of the path. Right now, you might be somewhat
below that last step. Therefore, your higher mind is not trying to make
you jump from where you are now to the last step of the path. Your conscious
mind simply could not handle that kind of change, and it would propel
you into an identity crises.
Your higher mind is only concerned with helping you take the very next
step on your personal path. Consequently, your higher mind will seek
to give you an intuitive insight that you can grasp and accept at your
present level on the path. Then, when you have come up a number of steps,
you are ready to receive a higher understanding.
In other words, today you are at a higher step of the path than you
were two years ago. Therefore, you can receive and accept insights that
are beyond what you could receive back then. In fact, you might receive
an insight that is so far beyond what you got back then that it seems
to invalidate your previous beliefs. However, in reality your previous
insight was simply a product of your past level of understanding. That
understanding might have been limited by your attachment to certain
beliefs or by your lack of outer knowledge of the topic.
The key to personal growth: non-attachment
You must realize that it is your lower mind that becomes attached to
your existing beliefs. This part of the mind has an extreme need for
security, so it is constantly seeking to discover the ultimate belief
or belief system. People who are dominated by their lower minds become
very attached to their existing beliefs and they want to hold on to
those ideas instead of looking for the higher understanding that is
right around the corner.
Consider the following story:
Imagine that you are walking down the street and find $10 on the sidewalk.
You pick up the bill and look at it while considering how to spend it.
Suddenly, you hear a voice and notice a man standing a few feet away.
He says: “That’s nice that you found $10, but there is $100
right around the corner. You can have those $100, but to get it, you
must let go of the $10 you have in your hand.”
Your first reaction might be disbelief. How do you know there really
is $100 around the corner. The man reads your thoughts and says: “Just
take one step forward, and you can see the $100.”
What are you going to do? Are you going to take that step and look for
yourself, or are you going to cling to what you have and what you know?
If you do take the step and see the $100, you probably wouldn’t
hesitate to let go of the $10 to get the $100.
Unfortunately, many people cling to their current beliefs and refuse
to open their minds to a higher understanding of life. They are not
willing to take that one step forward to see the higher understanding
that is right around the corner. They want to stay where they feel safe
and comfortable. They value security over growth.
If you valued security over growth, you would not be reading this. Therefore,
you must consciously recognize that you are indeed willing to take another
step forward on your personal path to greater understanding. You must
simply begin to use your intuition more consciously and systematically.
And to do this, you also need to let go of the lower mind’s attachment
to your present beliefs.
Let go of attachment
It is only your lower mind that is attached to existing beliefs. Your
conscious mind is naturally filled with curiosity. Unfortunately, that
curiosity can be dampened by negative experiences that cause you to
tune your conscious mind to the doubts and fears of the lower mind.
However, your conscious mind is stronger than the lower mind.
If you find it difficult to let go of existing beliefs, try bringing
those belief into your conscious mind. In most cases, you will find
one of the following:
- The attachment
of the lower mind is very illogical and irrational. Once you see why
your lower mind is attached to a particular idea, you clearly see
that this attachment limits your growth. Therefore, you can choose
to consciously override the attachment.
- The attachment
was created in the past (often in childhood), and it was a product
of the understanding and maturity you had at the time. You have now
matured way beyond that level, so there is no longer any reason to
hold on to that idea. Imagine that an adult insists on wearing a pair
of pants that he received at the age of five. The pants no longer
fit, but he loves them so much that he can’t possibly let go
of them. Obviously, you would think that such a person is silly. So
isn’t it silly to hold on to ideas and beliefs that you accepted
many years ago and that no longer fit your present level of understanding
and maturity? Let us look at this from a different angle.
The key
to growth: looking beyond
As stated earlier,
the key to improving any aspect of your life is to first increase your
understanding of the situation that you want to improve. The key to
solving your personal problems is to gain an understanding or insight
that you do not have right now. The solution to your problem can be
found only by looking outside of your current knowledge and beliefs.
As long as you keep looking in the same places for the missing solution,
you will not find that solution.
The catch is that as long as you allow your lower mind to trick you
into holding on to your current beliefs, you will not be willing to
look outside the framework of those beliefs. Therefore, your higher
mind simply cannot give you the insight that will empower you to move
forward. Your lower mind will block or interfere with your intuition,
and you will remain stuck in your current situation until you decide
to take a step forward and open your mind to a higher understanding.
It really is that simple. To improve your life, you must get a new understanding,
and that understanding must come from inside yourself as an intuitive
insight. To get that understanding, all you have to do is open your
mind!
Don’t seek absolute truth - seek higher understanding
Many people sincerely seek a higher understanding of life, yet they
are limited by the lower mind and its need for security. The lower mind
seeks to satisfy this need by declaring that a particular belief system,
be it religious or scientific in origin, represents the absolute truth.
When you elevate a belief system to the status of absolute truth, you
automatically limit the type of intuitive insights you can receive.
This has a number of potentially negative effects:
- If you think
a belief system is the absolute truth, it must be able to answer all
of your questions about life. If you have a question that cannot be
answered, then you must reason that the question itself is somehow
wrong or invalid. Therefore, you abandon the question instead of applying
the inner approach to knowledge (which is the only way to answer the
question).
- If you ask a
question that the authority figures of your belief system cannot answer,
they might make you feel like there is something wrong with you. You
might decide to stop asking such questions so that you do not suffer
unpleasant consequences (for example become an outcast in your community).
The key to growth is to ask questions, so if you don’t ask,
you won’t grow.
- Many people
have questions that their current belief system cannot answer. If
they are not willing to look beyond that system, they often come up
with some very bizarre ideas in an attempt to stretch their belief
system so that it can answer their questions. It would be far simpler
to look for a higher understanding by applying the inner approach
to knowledge.
- If people are
very attached to a particular belief system, they will do some very
bizarre things to prevent the emergence of ideas that seem to question
their belief system. For example, a church built on the ideas of Christ
(do onto others as you would have them do onto you) might decide to
torture or kill people who do not accept the official doctrines of
that church. Suddenly, you have the inquisition. Or a community based
on the principles of science (objectivity and the willingness to consider
all evidence) might decide to reject any evidence that indicates that
there is more to life than the material universe. Suddenly, you have
a materialistic culture.
A lesson from history
When you take an objective look at history, it becomes obvious that
the need for security, and the resulting quest to find or define absolute
truth, has led to some of the worst atrocities witnessed by humankind.
Therefore, you might find it helpful (at least for a time) to set aside
the quest for absolute truth. This is not to say that absolute truth
does not exist. If you follow the teachings given by Jesus on this site,
you will come to know absolute truth.
However, if
life is a path, it might not be possible for you to grasp absolute truth
until you reach the higher stages of that path. Until then, the need
for absolute truth will probably cause you to become attached to a particular
belief system, and that will close your conscious mind to insights from
your higher mind.
If you are to truly internalize absolute truth, you can only do so through
the insights from your higher mind. Attachment to an outer belief system
will prevent you from gaining these insights, and thereby prevent you
from grasping absolute truth.
This does not mean that you have to abandon your current belief system.
It simply means that you must open your conscious mind to insights from
your higher mind, even if those insights are a bit beyond your current
beliefs.
Therefore, consider setting aside (at least on a temporary basis) the
quest for absolute truth. Instead, seek a higher understanding than
what you have right now and continue to do so until your higher mind
tells you otherwise. As long as you seek a higher understanding, you
will not stop growing. To grow or not to grow; that is the question!
To learn a systematic approach
to sharpening your intuition.
Go back to How
to find answers main page.
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Copyright
© 2003 by Kim Michaels |
