Now that I've finished my first article on intuition, it's time to talk a little bit about receptivity. Why receptivity? Because it plays a key role in working with intuition.

Let's say that we are using the Yuen Method or Yuen Mastery system and we are looking for an answer to a question.  We start by using logic. Using logic is an active process. A good question provides a framework for our intuition, because it will tend to narrow down the possible choices. After all, any computer faced with 10 billion choices will take longer to find the right answer than one faced with 1000 choices.  

Once we ask our question and stop thinking, we can feel for strong or weak.  Next we can perceive and allow our intuition to take over. Being receptive is a lot like emptying your cup.  It's passive but not without discernment because you maintain awareness of your perception. If you are still thinking or having emotions after you have asked your question, there's not much room for your intuition to work. Another way to see it: you are creating empty space for your awareness or perception. If there is no space, how can you perceive anything? 

The central nervous system, including the brain and the spinal cord, is both a transmitting and a receiving station, or a kind of antenna. Think of a person as a kind of microcosmic galactic node. Electromagnetic fields of varying amplitude, frequency, and phase are constantly washing over us. Intuition is able to tune into this energy (waves) and provide us with answers. Finding the right answer that is applicable to the situation is a lot like tuning into a radio station.

You might think of intuition as a sensitive instrument.  You cannot rush the results, but you can increase the sensitivity of the instrument with practice. It's also good to remember that sometimes the answers seem incredible or even unbelievable.  

More unbelievable is our reluctance to trust in our own innate abilities. Once we are able to do this, we have achieved a new kind of mastery over our own lives and we're in a much better position to benefit others.

So it's a good idea to learn how to empty your cup. Finding answers with your intuition cannot be forced or hurried.  It's mostly a question of getting out of the way. We are constantly getting in the way of our intuition. Better to learn how to step aside and let the answer find you. 

© 2009 by Adam Shiffman, all rights reserved.

It's a legitimate question.  First of all, most of us in the West are raised and educated to use reason and logic. If we are lucky and took an art class or two, or happen to be artistically inclined, we might have a better idea of what intuition does for us. Then again, maybe we do not. 

Why is intuition so fleeting and difficult to pin down? It's because most of us spend a lot of time in automatic modes of thinking and feeling (emotions); so much so that we never even notice our intuition at work. 

Intuition is fast and accurate. It is not guessing, or conjecturing in any way. In fact, intuition is 100% accurate. It's true, sometimes we mistake intuition for wishful thinking but they are not the same thing.  

Why do we care about intuition? We care because it provides real answers to life's questions. Intuition is a human being's best barometer for living well. There is a relationship between creativity, spontaneity (doing things for the same of doing them), and intuition. When that triad is strong in a human being, their life is working for them at 100% capacity with infinite potential.

What is intuition exactly?  Some of us talk about having 'gut feelings' when we just know we should take some action, or avoid doing something. This is intuition. But intuition can also be extremely subtle. If we are used to working with coarse energy in our lives, then it must naturally present itself to us in a more coarse manner. If we are used to working with finer energy, intuition will speak to us in a different way. Intuition can even speak to us through our dreams. The more we refine and simplify our inner life, the more we have access to our intuition.

Is intuition the same thing as meditation?  No, not at all.  Meditation may lead us to our intuition, but there's no guarantee.  As long as you hold on to thinking and having emotions you will remain far from your intuition. Sometimes we are near and sometimes we are far. This is not mysterious at all, every human being is born with the capacity for intuition.

And it's not so much that we have to 'train' our intuition as much as we need to 'untrain' our habitual ways of thinking and feeling. It's more like intuition is asleep in most of us.  We go about our daily lives, working, eating, sleeping, relaxing, and copulating. But most of us don't pay much attention to our intuition, assuming we can even recognize it in the first place. 

Intuition is what connects us with answers. It is fast, very fast. In fact, intuition is faster than the speed of light because it works outside of time and space. Yes, we are equipped with a weird quantum-like capability that seems to defy the laws of physics. Intuition is able to make use of all of our senses to quickly instruct us on what to do in any given situation. Some people might try to place intuition in the realm of the paranormal.

But it's more like we live habitually in 'subnormal' states of consciousness. Clairvoyance, remote viewing, telepathy, and other so called states of 'ESP' are intuition at work. There's really no such thing as paranormal anyway, these are just words. 

So how do I increase access to my intuition? Stop any unnecessary thinking and emotions. Then increase your sensitivity and your need. Learn how to use logic to ask good questions. Learn how to feel (the difference between strong and weak), then stop. Now perceive. Intuition is more like direct perception of truth, so you must pay attention or you will miss it!

You must have a clear mind, an open heart, and sincere intention.  This triad cannot be faked.

And please don't let anyone tell you that truth is entirely relative. This is false and misleading because it implies that we can never really know the truth. The truth is wordless and cannot be named. The truth that can be named is not real truth.  The sages of old understood this implicitly.