Intuition and Gut Instinct

Intuition & Gut Instinct: The Mystery Of It All…

Have you ever had that ‘gut feeling’? Intuition that something might be about to happen? Something that just doesn’t add up or is not quite right?

Gut instinct, or intuition, is something that many people unfortunately ignore or are not in tune with.

For some people, the signals of intuition can be a rooted ingrained natural reaction to situations where something ‘is off’, and may even signify some sort of threat, hazard or danger.

What Is Intuition?

  • the act or faculty of knowing or sensing without the use of rational processes
  • a perceptive insight
  • a sense of something not evident or deducible
  • an impression
  • a direct perception of truth, fact, independent of any reasoning process
  • a phenomenon of the mind
  • the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or the use of reason

The Mystery of Intuition

It is somewhat a mystery how it works, given that we are not consciously seeking or reasoning for a specific signal – it just happens…

Most everyone has experienced it at one time or another. I wonder how many actually listen to it. I certainly do…

One’s intuition may span a wide gamut of situations. It may be a simple signal of questionable integrity. It might even be a perception of ‘knowing’ a probable outcome of a given unfolding situation. Maybe it pertains to something that may be immediately dangerous. The feeling may simply come out of nowhere…

I have read that your subconscious mind is processing far more than your conscious mind. Wow! And when you’re sleeping there is an amazing amount of ‘stuff’ going on in the noggin, and is a science in itself. Dreams.

Tuning inward to your intuition will heighten your overall situational awareness. Not only is it an important aspect to your personal security, but everyday life too.

I believe that the more you are exposed to circumstances, experiences and situations, the better your intuition becomes (for those things). That said, there does seem to be some mystery to it for other situations.

Someone on the blog once said, “Learn to listen. The more you practice listening the more you’ll hear.” Sounds like good advice to me…

For anyone interested, Gavin de Becker has spent a lifetime studying intuition and has written a best selling superb book on the subject. In the book he explains how it works, the psychology of it and how to become more aware of it. I bought the book years ago and enjoyed the read.

The Gift of Fear
(view on amzn)

May the force be with you.

Share some of your own experiences of intuition in the comments below:

34 Comments

  1. Intuition,
    Awareness of your surroundings. It’s what hunting and even fishing is all about. It’s the sum of all inputs, many of which we aren’t consciously aware of. It can occur in any environment. In the woods it’s usually a good thing, though bears, cougars, etc. would be the exception. I enjoy time spent in the woods. Just put all your senses on receive. In an urban environment, it’s more of a conscious effort for me.

    Intuition can be an unsettling experience. Somehow ya just know somethings up. It can truly be a benefit if ya learn to “feel” the ………? Whatever it is. I know I can’t control intuition, but I “think” a person can learn to let it in????

    1. It certainly is a unique thing while in the woods! I like what you said, “Just put all your senses on receive”.

  2. I refer to it as our 6th sense, it will protect us IF we listen to it. Many will reject it because it does not ‘fit’ within their scope of what reality is or should be, per their train of thought or logical reasoning.
    As I have learned over the years ignoring it has dire consequences.

  3. I was an air traffic controller for 29 years and when I was training new controllers the hardest part was to keep them from getting “tunnel vision” (focusing on one plane and ignoring what is happening to the others) especially during emergencies or bad weather and getting them to listen and hear what the pilot was actually telling them NOT what they expected to hear. Situational awareness relies on all your senses and if something “doesn’t feel right” it probably is not. When I worked in the tower I “kept my head on a swivel” always scanning and didn’t just focus on the radar scope. I carry these habits with me everywhere I go,

      1. I’m an adrenalin junkie so I loved it. The most stressful job in the world is the Saturday midnight waitress at an all night dinner next to a bar. 😀 Most of my “customers” were sober and I was separated from them by a radio.

        1. Romeo Charlie,
          yep, those Waffle House girls earn their money. : )
          always tip em well.

  4. I love that parting quote,
    May the force be with you!

    The way things are going we may be hearing another memorable line,
    May the odds be ever in your favor!

    My intuition tells me we are headed towards a combo of Atlas Shrugged and the Hunger Games, when the left tries and fails to screw everyone this next round of elections things will degrade quickly.

    1. Yes, my spidey senses about current events (ongoing and in the likely near future) influenced me to post this article.

    2. Kulafarmer
      Thank you for saying it, have thought of those two combinations for some time but kept it to myself. You get that look from your family that says her/his bubble is not on the plumb mark! 🙄😣
      When it starts happening before their faces, they tend to ignore your/our past wisdom. 🤔

      1. AC,
        I’ve been getting those “1/2 bubble off of level” looks all my life. (when i stop getting them, I’ll start to worry, LOL).
        Personally, i believe, in general, that people see what they have been taught they want to see, and hear what they have been taught they want to hear. A very small percentage of people live their lives actually observing without bias. Basically 95% of the people “just don’t get it”.
        Intuition, or Gut feeling, is developed by the observing peoples and allows them to seemingly “see the future”, when in fact what they “see” is a “future scenario” of high probability based on past experiences. The sum of all inputs and trends forms the probable “future scenario” in their mind.
        Separate from this are metaphysical abilities to “see” things, that by normal observation could not be known. Many people have abilities like these, to say find hidden ground water, or minerals deep underground, and “remote viewing”. Many people believe that these abilities are “unnatural” or ” Un-Godly”. But i believe that these are given by God as a gifts, and should be used as such.
        Whether we have great “intuition” or “metaphysical powers” to “see the future”, these are all God given gifts that should be used to help the masses that are oblivious to what is happening, and going to happen around them. All good that we have, all good that we are, is by the grace of God.

        1. minerjim
          That is what I have explained to my family. Still there are those who look at me as if I were alien from another planet. Last time I looked in the mirror, no, do not resemble any of those portraited from Star Trek or Star Wars–thank goodness!! whew..lol
          Our gifts are indeed a blessing, but they also can come with a heavy heart.

        2. If spiritual gifts were unnatural or un-Godly, they wouldn’t be mentioned in the scriptures so often. What I would say in that sense is “Beware of Mentors who charge high prices to train your gifts.” Those prices aren’t always physical, and the cost of a bad teacher is always greater than the reward.

        3. Me too Miner and AC
          The first time i was able to deliver a dose of reality was when we had that incoming missile alert, i pulled out the iosat pills and a printed readout of Kearneys book, everybody was like wow,,,
          Then when they suddenly locked everybody down and everything was in short supply and we didnt need anything anyway, now my significant other is on board 100% .

          We will be fine no matter what, the rest o the world, who knows

  5. To me, it’s the spirit of God whispering in my ear, be careful. So according to me, we have a gift from God, that’s why some people have no idea what’s up., until God reveals it to them. After all, we have been prepping for this moment for years. Considering that I’m a Calvinist, I’m not boasting because there is nothing special about me to receive the gift. God gets the Glory we get the benefit. :=)

    1. Totally depraved
      Unconditional ?????
      Limited atonement
      Irresistible grace
      Perseverance of the saints

  6. Many old sayings have real physical meaning such as ‘Gut Feeling’ it is unmistakable. Humans have lost so much of the gift of intuition given by the Father and the holiness of our inner body is a gift too. Listen to it every time. Materialism has blinded us to much we should remember.

  7. intuition comes from being there and done that, and surviving it.
    it’s not something that is God given but rather something that is learned over time. in my case the hard way.
    and yes Ken, my spidey senses are in overdrive now. it’s not looking for the home team.

    1. In many cases it is learned. Sometimes it is not. Knowing that someone is going to do something stupid on the road. Hearing that voice in your head that says to stop when the light is green. I grew up with a mother who always knew. I remember one time specifically, when she said my sister couldn’t go to a party (daughter of a good friend, just teenage girls, fully chaperoned). My sister badgered her, and finally she burst out “I don’t know why!”

      Turned out to be a good decision.

      The gifts of the spirit are real. Whether we acknowledge and develop them is up to us.

      1. The sheer number of people who didn’t show up for work at the Twin Towers on 9/11. Friend of a friend, his three year old daughter threw an absolute screaming FIT (not normal for her, apparently) and wouldn’t allow him to leave the house so he missed his train.

        Consciously unrecognized warning signs can account for some of it. I’ve experienced too much to even suggest it can account for all.

  8. My LDS friend calls it listening to the Still small voice. I like that. I normally call it my BS Meter or gut feeling. I went with my gut feeling when all my rich clients went on “permanent vacations ” years back. That’s when I started taking my preparations to the next level. Then coming here and reading Ken’s articles and other people’s posts. What my gut was telling me was being confirmed here. I have been fortunate to get my kids/grandkids within walking distance. That’s when I had to adjust my prepping paridym to a new situation. Personally, my BS meter has been pegged since January 6th.
    With the sheer craziness going on I think my BS meter has broken…

    1. BJH,
      we must have the same model BS meter. I used to listen to it intently and the last couple years it has been ringing incessantly to the point I quit listening. Seems like everything I hear is noise. Now I’m just trying to listen for the quiet. Someone said in an earlier post that it takes 3 weeks to decouple for the city life. Not me. Every weekend after driving 2 hours to my cabin and I open the truck door, all the city dirt falls out on the ground, I’m back where I belong and there is no more noise. I can hear all the critters, I can see farther, breath easier. The last 2 years has been full on prep to be able to live out there permanently. DW and I had plans for it to be near regular retirement age in 15 years or so. But the goal now is that it will be within the next 2 years. I’m still working from home so I’m going to try my hand at doing my same work from out in the woods, still connected to a very little bit of that technology signal that comes in over the hill. If that goes away then we’ll know we’re on our own. To get ahold of me then will only be by ham radio or show up and walk down my driveway. I’m really glad to see a lot of people on this list that are more like me than the people I have to deal with every day. I look for you all every day when I’m out.

  9. Call it what you want. Intuition or sixth sense.Sitting on an ambush I didn’t see or hear anything but my gut and the back of my
    neck told me they were coming.

  10. Interesting subject. I grew up rural and spent most of my growth time in the woods or on water; hunting, fishing, trapping, just learning about wildlife, weather, tracking, feeding. One grandfather made a living doing this so i was able to learn from everyday lessons. Many times stand hunting I would see nothing when in preditor mode; alert, scanning, ready to fire. Too many times to count I would “zone out”; sitting there quiet, could not recall what I was thinking, just part of the environment-absorbing, mentally blending in i guess. More times than not, an animal would wander through, without heighten awareness, no danger sensed. Hard to explain, but once you feel the complete stillness and notice it, you are back in thinking mode. Could also be too many chocolate bar coma in the woods.

  11. Whatevery you believe, or not, I believe in the small still voice, especially when trying to work through a diffficult subject, the direction, or decision, or simple answer just arrives. How I do not now, but there it is, if you hear it.

  12. More than once, while Pheasant hunting in Massachusetts as a teen-ager back in the 50s, it was so peaceful in the woods , I would lie down and fall asleep. Upon waking, I would find myself amidst a flock of wandering, grazing, Pheasants.
    However, no matter how carefully I tried to move, as soon as I did – POOF – there they went in all directions.
    Peace and quiet in the woods – nothing like it !

  13. The issue is so nebulous, it is beyond the scope of this forum for me to convey my experiences properly, or at all. I will merely say I am alive only because of this mental ability, which, for me, has always been associated with emotionally charged events, or dire threats upon my existence. There are levels to this ability and I have experienced the entire spectrum.

    At the highest levels, the ability is the most profound experience our consciousness can have…and is akin to one’s mind directly connecting with Omniscience. One not only grasps volumes of information, instantly. The information is gained as fully formed concepts, immediately, without the use of your normal internal language..or the words of your thoughts. The knowledge “becomes” all at once, and it may take much time for one to then translate it into language, which will allow it to be conveyed to others.

    It is akin to religious epiphany, which then dominates the rest of one’s life…and provides the foundation of an unshakeable faith.

    Many people experience a profound sense of Unity and Purpose and Place via this ability, that, “everything is as it should be”…realization, which brings calm and acceptance to most.

    As I said, too nebulous…

    1. Ision,
      agreed, and i thought it was just me. it’s not something that can be explained to others, it just has to be experienced. i have come very close to dying a few times and there was away’s a calm that came over me. i was not scared and i accepted the fact that i was not going to make it. somehow i did.
      i can’t explain it to people, i wouldn’t know how to even start. but they were epiphany moments for me. it changes a person.
      i am no longer afraid of death.

  14. scout, you practically took the words out of my mouth. I can relate to you. I also am no longer afraid of death.
    BBC

  15. Well, I can say I’m not afraid of death.
    I am afraid of how it’s going to happen.

  16. Interesting subject. The stories of being in the woods are so familiar. The one story i have thought about the most doesn’t involve me. My mother was driving in heavy city traffic when an accident started. Her first reaction was to brake, but my grandfathers voice calmly told her to accelerate instead. The car behind did brake and started a secondary crash. The thing is this all happened in a fraction of a second, no time for actual words. Same grandfather used to say, sometimes you can’t hear the thunder but you still know its going to rain.

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