Friday, April 10, 2020

I Had A Feeling

Anybody sense what today's word in the April A-Z Blog Challenge might be?

Day 9-I is for Intuition

Today's word is courtesy of my niece. I had a feeling she'd pick a good one-ha! I didn't really have a feeling. I knew she'd pick an interesting word because she's an avid reader and a fellow lover of words. In this case my feeling wasn't based on intuition, it was based on actually knowing her in person and expecting her to act accordingly. 

When I was growing up the word female was commonly placed before the word intuition, so we knew this mysterious phenomenon as 'female intuition'. I guess that's no longer pc, but women in particular do seem to have a sixth sense about certain things. 

There's loads of research and opinion on the topic, but in a nutshell intuition is when our brain uses past experience and present day cues to make a decision, all with lightning speed. So much so that we're not even aware of how we landed where we landed. We just know. 

There's also something going on inside our bodies that might give us what's described as a 'gut feeling'. These gut feelings signal the brain and also give us pause. At least they do if we acknowledge them and pay attention. 

Was there ever a time when you did or did not do something based on a 'gut feeling'? Your intuition? I can't think of something specific, but I know there have been many times I've had a sixth sense about my children. And almost always when I have a sense something is off with one of them, it is. 

I think we should pay attention to our intuition, but we also need to figure out what role our emotions might be playing too. Am I really just afraid to do xyz or is this my intuition telling me to hang on a second, take a step back, look more carefully at the situation?

I also think for Christians the Holy Spirit is a guiding factor in our decision making process, and is a more powerful force than human intuition alone. Sometimes we hear the Holy Spirit described as a still small voice, but how do we know if its something we're actually hearing or something we're telling ourselves?  For me personally, the only thing that works is to quiet my mind, read His word, and pray for direction, trusting He'll direct my steps. 

Still I don't think our human intuition should be ignored and I for one will always make that phone call/send that text asking 'Everything okay?' when my gut tells me maybe everything is not okay. 

Whew. This was a lot to think about on a Friday, wasn't it?

2 comments:

  1. In my later years (ahem) I have come to trust my gut/intuition all the time. It has never steered me wrong. I also think that gut feeling comes from a 6th sense that is God given and we do just have to quiet our minds and let that Holy Spirit roll through us. I believe!

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  2. This is such a tricky thing to discuss because it can easily become a discussion on following your feelings. You did a great job. I especially appreciate your explanation of the Holy Spirit and how God speaks to us from His Word!

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