How You Can Develop Profound Intuition (2)

This is the second part of a series of posts I am writing here on CLN about how to develop powerful intuitive skills (integrated intelligence). Integrated intelligence is closely related to the classical idea of intuition, connecting us with a stream of consciousness which transcends the limits of immediate space and time. Each of these posts is an extract from my upcoming book “How to Develop Profound Intuition.” So stay tuned for further insights. (And, in case you missed it, here's Part 1.)

The second obstacle to developing profound intuition comes as surprise to many.

The fear.

Make no mistake. Developing the intuitive mind will be met with resistance from your “rational” mind. The rational, analytical mind is used to being in control. It is also used to seeing itself as a discrete, isolated entity, separate from the world. However, as soon as you develop what I call integrated intelligence it will become apparent that the latter is, in part, an illusion. Your mind is intimately connected with other minds and consciousness fields, and with the world around you. There is a part of you that transcends time and space. It also transcends your self-concept, that delimited idea you have of who you are.

Let's talk about control. In a certain sense, the rational mind is an attempt by your biological organism to keep you safe by controlling as much of your experince as a possible – insisting that it is largely in control of your life experience – when in fact it is not. A great deal of religious and spiritual practice is an attempt to maintain this illusion of control. Prayer is often an attempt to control the world. Leaving offerings at temples is typically an attempt to receive some payoff. Similarly, much of the practice of the idea of the law of attraction is an attempt to establish the illusion that the mind can control the world.

I'm not telling people they should not attempt to manage and organise their lives, nor to use their minds and hearts to create desired futures. Creating desirable lives is a wonderful thing.

Nor am I saying that there is not a relationship between the mind and the cosmos, nor that thoughts and energy structures within the mind do not play a role in the unfolding of life. I believe they do, as I wrote in my book A More Attractive Law of Attraction. I am simply telling you that much of “spiritual” practice is often centred on the idea of gaining control of stuff that we have limited control over – because we are scared of losing control. And the fear of losing control typically reflects a poorly developed relationship with the mind within, and the world outside us. Ultimately, fear of losing control emerges from the fear of abandonment and death – but that is more than I can go into here.

If you develop profound intuition and have a genuine gift for clairvoyant perception (not everyone does), one thing that will become obvious is that we live in a complex multi-verse of entangled consciousness structures. All of us are being pushed and pulled by such forces. They emerge from other people's minds, collective or group energies, and spiritual guides and discarnate entities. Some of these energies are neutral or benevolent. Some aren't.

My point is that if you really go deep with this stuff, it can be frightening. But for most people it is not necessary to try to peer into the hearts and souls of others, nor to flay wide the intimate secrets of the world and cosmos. Indeed, any such attempt can be confusing, time-consuming and counter-productive. In fact, I tend to discourage people from getting caught up in the psychic mind. It can be a distraction from simply living here and now, enjoying life in the world of the present moment. That's what we are here for anyway, and to learn from that experience.

Personally, I love, the idea of not being in control. I consider myself to be a slightly dangerous individual. If I had control of life and the universe, some people might get hurt. Starting with a few of my ex-employers. But I do digress.

There is something of a contradiction here. We need to find the right balance between controlling the things that keep our lives ordered and manageable, and relaxing and allowing the right relationship with mind and cosmos to unfold. It is not ideal to go so far into the mentality of control that we become tight, joyless robots terrified that everything is going to go wrong.

If a prime goal in developing profound intuition is to also develop the right relationship with mind and world, you need to release the insistence that the outcome will be the one that you want or expect. You need to allow life and the cosmos to be the wonderful mystery that it is. You need to be humble. Because the universe is a whole lot bigger than you and your tiny mind. You might think of yourself as special. But come on! How important could you possibly be? So just relax and enjoy the ride.

Okay. So here's the final great paradox. Developing powerful intuition DOES grant you a greater degree of control over life. It enables you to better read people's true intentions. It enables you to read your own motivations more truthfully. Further, you often get to sense the outcomes of decisions before they are made; to sense the way things will unfold. For example, you might have a strong feeling that you should walk down this street or that street on your way to the shop – because it feels right. You may not know why. You may simply know that there's energy on taking that path.

Let's address a further possible disturbing thing you may experience as integrated intelligence enhances your perception of the connectedness of all things. You may increasingly become aware of the effects of your thoughts and behaviours on others. Yes, I did say “thoughts”, because our thoughts do affect others, and projections of emotional energy can be harmful to those around us. Sometimes they can be very destructive. Therefore, you are not going to be able to just think and do whatever you want anymore. You have to be more responsible for your emotional projections, and that includes those that were previously unconscious and repressed. This inevitably involves doing some healing work, and connecting with the hurt and angry parts of your psyche. For some people, this might be quite a challenging journey. Certainly in my case it has been.

Developing profound intuition is a bit like getting out of elementary school. You are not a little kid anymore, and suddenly you have to start being more responsible and accountable for your life – and indirectly accountable to those around you (even though most will have no idea that you are doing so).

Now, you are probably thinking that others may well be affecting YOUR mind as well. And you'd be right. Some “crazy” people are not quite as crazy as is often assumed. Some are actually perceiving the thought projections of others, but cannot distinguish them from their own. If you become particularly lucid at an auditory level, you might even start hearing the voices of others. You might also have visions which reveal their dark side and their metal projections. All this can be quite frightening. And this is why many rebel at the idea of the intuitive mind. I have received plenty of correspondence from critics slamming me for teaching others how to be intuitive, and for is very reason. These are often people frightened of what they might see and experience if they open the Pandora's box of integrated intelligence. Some of these emails are very angry ones, because when people get scared, they get angry and then they tend to attack.

The final great fear that you will likely have to face as you become increasingly intuitive is the terror of seeing what lies within yourself. This is related to the requirement to become more present, because to be genuinely intuitive, you really need to become more present in your body, and more present to the world and others.

So as your awareness expands, you will need to see what lies within your own psyche. Even worse, you will probably need to start FEELING what lies within. And in the end, this is what really terrifies people most. A key function of the rational mind is to maintain your emotional state at manageable levels, and to stop you from feeling all the pain and hurt that lies within you.

This is particularly true in many Asian and Confucian cultures, especially China, where I have lived and worked for many years. I first saw this first hand when I attended a mindfulness retreat in Beijing just a few years ago. Master teacher Leonard Jacobson led that group into profound levels of presence. And as that stillness emerged, the repressed emotional energy of various individuals began to surface. Some people began to express deep grief, others great fear. Others tapped into extreme rage.

This is perfectly normal, whether you are Chinese, African or Brazilian. Yet what are we to do with these deep emotions if our culture is not open to expressing them? I will leave that as an “open” question. (Read Discover Your Soul Template for more insight).

Thus, if you are to become more deeply present, you will see and feel more. In truth, developing integrated intelligence requires a simultaneous healing journey. Profound intuition does not come Scott free. There is a price to pay for this stuff. You have been warned. It requires commitment and courage. Yet it is also truly transformational. You will not complete this journey as the same person who started it. That I promise you.

Continue reading Part 3…

Marcus T Anthony, PhD is the author of ten books about human awakening, including Discover Your Soul Template. He is also a life coach and teacher of profound intuition. His web site is www.mind-futures.com.