HOW TO USE YOUR INTUITION

Why is it so hard for us to trust our gut? Sarah Gibson explores and explains the mystery within

-  Sarah Gibson

One thing you may not know about me is that I am actually a scientist. At least, I have a piece of paper that says so – that’s what I studied at university a long time ago. I suspect some of that early training is why, in the past, I’ve had such a hard time embracing the idea of intuition.

Despite those remarkable stories about people who’ve narrowly avoided disaster thanks to some gut instinct or instant connections between two people who became lifelong soulmates, it’s always seemed like metaphysical woo-woo to me. But after one too many ‘I knew I should have done this!’ moments, I decided to give intuition a (sceptical) closer look.

IS INTUITION REAL?

 As it happens, there’s some seriously hard science behind this slippery ‘sixth sense’. What’s been characterised as a kind of mystical clairvoyance may well be rooted firmly in our physiology. Studies of phenomena like subliminal priming (methods for increasing our suggestivity – in other words, the basis of a million marketing ploys), heuristics (efficient mental rules and shortcuts), instant emotional responses and non-verbal communication, account for different ways to subconsciously process the information around us, and be aware without being aware we’re aware.