Intuition: a thing that one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.

Could we live without intuition? What if it simply didn’t exist? Would it make any difference to our lives? Well, I don’t believe that any of us would be here today if human beings were incapable of intuitive reasoning. How would our earliest ancestors have made sense of a world that was, for them, an unknown quantity – an unpredictable and often hostile environment, with potential danger around every corner? Every single day would be a steep learning curve – and instinct a powerful deciding factor in who survived and who didn’t.  

In modern times we no longer need to rely so heavily upon our natural intuition, even though we still use it to one degree or another. There have been many examples of collective intuitive promptings throughout time, and one that comes to my mind involves animals, spontaneously moving to higher ground shortly before the arrival of a devastating tsunami (animals are incredibly ‘aware’, as most pet owners will testify). 

Anyway, getting back to the question, ‘could we live without intuition?’: imagine not being able to say, “I just knew that was going to happen!”, or, “I had a feeling about her, and I was right!” What if we couldn’t sense anything? What if there was no way of gaining insight or foresight? What if we just had to accept everything at face value, and couldn’t even rely upon our own instinct, because it wouldn’t actually exist? The experience of life would be horrendous, at least for the vast majority of us. We’d be nothing more than living, breathing robots! 

You see, intuition is not just about psychic prediction and sudden, inexplicable feelings. It is our connection to something greater than ourselves – an energetic network of existence, of which we are a vital, working part. Even if we say that we don’t believe in it, we still can’t not be it, and we can’t live without it. It is as natural to us as breathing, which is something we do without even thinking about it (unless we are meditating, or have a serious health condition). Intuition is the way in which our higher self communicates with us, at a conscious level; it is, I believe, the language of the spirit, and the spirit is the language of the soul (which is what we are!). When all is said and done, our spirit is the record of our journey, and who we choose to become in response to our incarnation. (I talk more about this in my book, Our Life Beyond Death – An Incredible Journey). Of course, souls who pass at a young age are more ‘clean’, and their spirit is light, even if their physical experience has been unbelievably challenging. They are still forming themselves, taking their cue from the adults in their lives and the circumstances that surround them. I acknowledge that there will sometimes be young souls who appear to be incredibly troubled, displaying self-destructive or violent tendencies. I can only conclude that something deeper is probably at play here, possibly mental illness, or ongoing exposure to highly negative influences; either way, it is incredibly sad.

The problem with intuition is, it’s inconsistent. Or, more likely, it’s us who are inconsistent. After all, ‘modern’ human beings have only been around for about 200,000 years, on a planet that is approximately 4.5 billion years old. We’re still the new kids on the block, figuring things out at many levels. And, it has to be said, we have been going backwards and forwards. We once knew things that we no longer appear to know, and we once believed in things that we now dismiss as woo-woo or delusion. Looking back, what happened to us, that we became less enlightened and aware? Today, intuition has forceful enemies who wish it to be denied and forgotten about; they do their best to hamper our understanding of it, ridiculing or ostracizing those who are open to it. Scientific and religious minds can sometimes be the most closed and judgemental, easily exerting influence over people who don’t tend to think outside of the box. How many of us have been teased or mocked by our own family members or friends, because of an intuitive flash or insight we shared with them (the same people who dismissed it as coincidence when it emerged that we were right)? Over the years, I lost count of the number of women who came to me for a consultation, confiding that they hadn’t been truthful with their partner in regards to their whereabouts, as they feared a row or a lecture. “He doesn’t believe in ‘this kind of thing’ you see”, they’d explain. That’s fine, they don’t need to. But, they shouldn’t be forcing their views upon others, with the intention of controlling what they do. The argument would be that they are trying to protect them from con artists who prey on the vulnerable – and yes, I am the first to admit that intuitive and psychic work does tend to attract some dubious characters. But hey, rather than waste time, let’s just declare that everyone who believes in intuition is incapable of thinking for themselves, and tar every single consultant or reader with the same dirty brush. Makes life easier, doesn’t it? To be perfectly honest, it no longer bothers me (it used to, but I decided to grow a thicker skin!); however, I do feel for those who are patronised and made to appear irrational and silly. I advise them to ask their critics whether their spoutings are based upon genuine research and education… or, are they merely offering uninformed opinions? If it’s the former, great, let’s discuss it; if it’s the latter – who the hell cares? Come back when you’ve got something worth listening to!

Anyway, before launching into a mini-rant, I was talking about intuition and inconsistency. How is it that we can see or sense some things, but not others? Why this but not that? We can ‘receive’ insight, or warnings about stuff that is of no major importance, and yet have no idea that we are going to be involved in an accident, or lose our job. Terrible things sometimes occur, which we wish with all of our heart could have been avoided: “if only I had known,” we say; “if only we hadn’t gone there, if only we had changed our plans.” I genuinely don’t know why it works this way. Obviously, we cannot be prepared for and protected from every single eventuality in life; it is only through experience that we get to grow and become wiser. However, I am sure that every last one of us will wonder why we didn’t get a heads-up about something that caused us serious upset or challenge. Could it be that our inner voice is selective, or has the attention span of a gnat? Maybe we ourselves are like radio receivers that haven’t been tuned in correctly, and are picking up only snippets of what is actually being broadcast?

Or, possibly, we aren’t even supposed to be able to sense or see anything intuitively – and yet, somehow, still manage to do so? 

Well, it is my belief that we are designed to be intuitive, and to transmit and receive. We tap into those around us, unconsciously and haphazardly, absorbing and experiencing feelings and emotions not generated by ourselves. We are all also affected by the global energy field, as its invisible backwash ripples across the planet. Any occurrence that is of a highly charged nature, be it negative or positive, touches every human being, everywhere in the world – even though most of us remain consciously oblivious and unaware. As far as I can see, there are two main reasons for this: 1) we are programmed to live on busy autopilot, focusing only on what is currently going on in our lives; 2) it has never occurred to us that energy travels, and that something taking place miles away could feasibly have any kind of impact upon us. 

Of course, some people are more naturally aware than others; they were just born that way. Others have chosen to explore, develop, and strengthen their intuitive side. Many merely dip an occasional toe into the ‘spiritual’ arena, mildly curious but too involved in everyday life to consider it a priority. The first group tends to include those souls who are ultra sensitive, and who, as a result, regularly experience feelings of devastation and helplessness – particularly connected to the levels of cruelty and injustice that they know are being inflicted upon other human beings or animals, somewhere in the world, every single day. Most of us do care deeply, but have found a way of coping with the dark side of life on planet Earth, so that we don’t become overwhelmed by it. Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple for those who have come into this world with a heightened sense of empathy, and a finely-tuned energetic resonance with the world around them. They feel things in a way that other human beings don’t, and are often misunderstood or closed down. You might wonder what this has got to do with intuition… and I will explain. Intuition requires a pathway to flow along, and a means of connection, if that makes sense. It is about feeling. A sudden, psychic vision can be intriguing; however, without an accompanying sense, it can be about as informative as a picture in an instruction manual that has no instructions! Psychic connection is only a part of the process; without emotional intelligence it is akin to a cardboard cut-out: you can see it, and it might be interesting to look at, but it isn’t ‘alive’. Some souls are born with what could be described as an overdose of feeling – an unwitting ability to experience not only their own, but also the collective emotional pain, and the capacity to overly empathise. These individuals have to learn how to manage this ‘gift/curse’, and channel it in a productive way, otherwise it will engulf them. And I know, because I am one of those souls, and so is my youngest daughter. The difference is, I have had more time and experience to recognise and process it than she has. Cruelty and neglect of animals, and genuine injustice, are the two things that haunt her the most in life… and I can absolutely relate to both. I imagine that many of you out there can, too.

Don’t get me wrong, however. You might imagine a highly sensitive soul to be endlessly nice, and keen to avoid confrontation at all costs; In fact, the opposite is often true! Strongly empathic souls tend to be passionate, and are usually intolerant of bulls**t and excuses. And insincerity. Fear of being insincere has led me to pull too far in the opposite direction many times in my life. I have had to consciously focus on delivering what I have to say in an honest way, without being too straightforward… and I have fallen short often! I don’t want to flatter people and butter them up, especially in my line of work. Intuitive assessment and guidance requires an honest approach, otherwise it has become something else entirely. I have been able to recognise so much potential within so many people throughout the years, but I have also come up against a lot of resistance. We humans aren’t comfortable with change, and we particularly don’t like to hear that we might need to rethink a few things in order to get to where we want to be! I believe that intuition exists to inform, strengthen, and empower us – but that it is our job to continue to accept responsibility for our own choices and actions. 

I suppose that what I am trying to say is that there are degrees of intuition. We might occasionally experience a brief sense of something, without paying too much attention to it; we might have become more consciously aware, and therefore have more intuitive ‘flashes’; we might have actively embarked upon a journey of development, motivated by the promptings of our own inner world. Some human beings appear to have less awareness than the rocks on the beach (and I am probably doing the rocks a disservice). They bludgeon their way through life, requiring everything to be about instant gratification or entertainment, and without an ounce of appreciation for the world around them. Even though they will naturally have the occasional psychic experience, they are not operating intuitively.

Speaking for myself, I believe that the act of intuitively connecting with another soul’s inner world is an incredibly intimate thing to do – and that, ideally, it requires emotional intelligence. I have noticed that intuitive folk tend to be reflective and curious, and are always pondering things; they observe life, often engaging in people-watching; they question a lot, and are compelled to look for the meaning behind things. They also tend to be self-reflective, and open to understanding themselves in different ways. However, that doesn’t mean that they love everyone and forgive everything! They see through things in a way that the indifferent don’t, and they tend to stand up for whatever it is they believe in. Out there in the world, there are those who wouldn’t consider themselves to be at all intuitive – and yet, they are! And I am going to finish by saying something that will probably sound confusing and contradictory: I believe that it is possible to be psychic without being particularly intuitive, to be intuitive without being particularly psychic – or, to be both psychic and intuitive! It doesn’t really matter, though – because, wherever we are at, we all have the capacity within us to be more… if we so wish.