Intuition and answered prayers

[Unveiled Artist]

A thought just came. Maybe intuition is the thought/action to something before the mind can catch up to interpret it. For example, if someone has a feeling their loved one is sick and they happen to be, if the mind focused on it, it may invalidate its true. When one doesn't focus on it, the body/sense knows whether it's true or not without our interpretations sidetracking it with analyzing and thought.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

It's spooky sometimes. I just tell myself, "I'm not psychic. I just see patterns... I'm not psychic, I just see patterns..." LOL

Those patterns, huh? I wonder if that's what I mean by intuition or are they one of the same coin?

 

[metis]

It's spooky sometimes. I just tell myself, "I'm not psychic. I just see patterns... I'm not psychic, I just see patterns..." LOL

Trust me-- I hear ya!

At first I was questioning my own sanity, or thinking I'm just letting my imagination go wild, but it was the "pattern", as you say, that gradually convinced me otherwise. Several years earlier had someone post here that this happened with them, I would not have written any denial of that possibility but I would (and had been on many occasions) very skeptical. But then it happened to me, and my background is in science, so very I'm used to being skeptical.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Those patterns, huh? I wonder if that's what I mean by intuition or are they one of the same coin?

It's taken me a long time to develop a notion of what intuition is and what it's good for, and I'm sure I'll continue to revise it as I get older, but here goes.

Yes, I think that a large part of intuition is the biologically passed on ability to see faces and patterns. The drawback is that we see faces and patterns where none exists, aka our "intution " can sometimes be too good to be true. We see demon eyes in the reflective light in the darkness, or the Virgin Mary in the tile patterns of the church floor. Even seeing a face in a circle that has two dots and a curve is from our intuition. Its just so strong that we amuse ourselves with the error.

Another chunk of intuition is reading body language, especially faces. A person says something, and you know they are lying because everything about their body tells your their a dang liar. LOL Or that they're scare. Or hiding something. Or bored with you. Or are only pretending to pay attention.

And when a person from childhood spends all their time honing this skill, and combines it with pattern forming of BEHAVIOR, it can be downright creepy just how much they can "guess" correctly. Because it isn't a guess. It's based on evidence. It's just not evidence that a person is consciously processing.

It's all survival skills that have evolved over long long ages. We have needed these skills to know if that rustle in the bushes means we are going to get eaten, or whether the stranger trading with us is planning to kill us for our water. Some people have more intuition than others. Some prefer to trust their intuition more than their reasoning or vice versa. And survival sorts out which genes get passed on.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Trust me-- I hear ya!

At first I was questioning my own sanity, or thinking I'm just letting my imagination go wild, but it was the "pattern", as you say, that gradually convinced me otherwise. Several years earlier had someone post here that this happened with them, I would not have written any denial of that possibility but I would (and had been on many occasions) very skeptical. But then it happened to me, and my background is in science, so very I'm used to being skeptical.

OMGosh I am intensely skeptical. Sometimes I reflect on my own belief in God. shudder! So psychic phenomena is out. It's quackery mostly. But I think many of the folks that think they are psychics just have very good intuition, and get blown away by what happens on occasion. True life is stranger than fiction as they say.

Have you ever seen a mentalist in action? Dr Phil had a famous one on his show, who was so so so sensitive to every little move a person made that he could copy what a person was drawing just by feeling the movement of their back muscles against his back. He was astounding. And it was all perfectly natural.

 

[dfnj]

I have strong intuition but never really thought it was a thing 'till I saw books on it. I hear testimonies of answered prayers and it sounds like the more people are connected to spiritual faiths, the higher their intuition and awareness; thus, the closer they get to the foundations of their spirit-ual (or however one prefers to call it; context focused) faith abrahamic and not.

Do you guys have strong intuition? Doesn't need to be connected to god. Strong I mean a bit more often than once a week or every other month.

Prayers being answered seems to me to be a bit more like superstitious pareidolia. Human beings see meaning in everything. Often it is said the left side of the brain is logical and mathematical. And the right side of the brain is more intuitive and artistic. The right side of brain can come to some pretty goofy conclusions!

It seems to me God is mostly indifferent to the affairs of man. I would rather put my faith in the scientists researching a vaccine for the coronavirus than prayer to God to keep me safe. God has a tendency to drop the ball when it comes to unnecessary evil or suffering in favor of His long term plan. If we crap in our own beds it is up to us to clean it up. If people are suffering to the point where they are making prayers to God then I think it is up to us to take care of each other. We are the answer.

"Pareidolia is a type of apophenia, which is a more generalized term for seeing patterns in random data. Some common examples are seeing a likeness of Jesus in the clouds or an image of a man on the surface of the moon."

 

[dfnj]

It's all survival skills that have evolved over long long ages. We have needed these skills to know if that rustle in the bushes means we are going to get eaten, or whether the stranger trading with us is planning to kill us for our water. Some people have more intuition than others. Some prefer to trust their intuition more than their reasoning or vice versa. And survival sorts out which genes get passed on.

I heard and interesting idea that I am still trying to wrap my mind around. The idea comes from people trying to argue the many-Worlds interpretation in quantum physics is correct. And all the possibilities, that is our choices, exist. In our imaginations there are constellations of possible outcome potentialities. And our imaginations are more than just creating some king of imaginary image but our minds are actually surfing actual existing physical Worlds. And when we choose we determine which World we jump into.

 

[sun rise]

What do you mean by fulminations of your lower mind?

Partly I was thinking of the Buddhist idea of the "monkey mind" which hops around wildly from thought to thought.

This can be contrasted with the faculty of intuition which knows.

 

[metis]

True life is stranger than fiction as they say.

Yes, and I also now rather strongly tend to believe that some people can have a "spiritual connection" with someone else that they may no longer see, which is one of the things that happened with me in terms of "premonition". I have searched my own skepticism on this, and it's the only thing that seems to make sense.

In my case, part of this involved a young woman that I dated over 50 years ago who inspired me and changed my life, thus many of my premonitions have involved her. And then there's other strings of premonitions with the woman who became my wife of 53 years now.

 

[dybmh]

Could you give an example?

Hmmm, I'll see if I can come up with something.

 

[dybmh]

Hmmm, I'll see if I can come up with something.

OK, A few times I've picked up on clues that someone I'm speaking with is in grief. On one occasion, I recall being slightly too comforting, by accident.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

I heard and interesting idea that I am still trying to wrap my mind around. The idea comes from people trying to argue the many-Worlds interpretation in quantum physics is correct. And all the possibilities, that is our choices, exist. In our imaginations there are constellations of possible outcome potentialities. And our imaginations are more than just creating some king of imaginary image but our minds are actually surfing actual existing physical Worlds. And when we choose we determine which World we jump into.

I've considered this. Back in my thirties, I remember a late night conversation on metaphysics where I said to my friend, "Maybe there isn't any such thing as imagination. Maybe there is only perception."

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Yes, and I also now rather strongly tend to believe that some people can have a "spiritual connection" with someone else that they may no longer see, which is one of the things that happened with me in terms of "premonition". I have searched my own skepticism on this, and it's the only thing that seems to make sense.

In my case, part of this involved a young woman that I dated over 50 years ago who inspired me and changed my life, thus many of my premonitions have involved her. And then there's other strings of premonitions with the woman who became my wife of 53 years now.

I think that our loved ones do live on in our hearts, and that for some of us, this happens in very creative ways. Sometimes, for those creative few, very strange things can happen. I make no judgments on what is actually happening. I have never died, and don't know what is on the other side, so who am I to say.

 

[sojourner]

I have strong intuition but never really thought it was a thing 'till I saw books on it. I hear testimonies of answered prayers and it sounds like the more people are connected to spiritual faiths, the higher their intuition and awareness; thus, the closer they get to the foundations of their spirit-ual (or however one prefers to call it; context focused) faith abrahamic and not.

Do you guys have strong intuition? Doesn't need to be connected to god. Strong I mean a bit more often than once a week or every other month.

I think intuition and spiritual wellness are strongly linked. Intuition is a spiritual attribute, and the clearer one is spiritually, the more intuitive one is. That said, I don’t think spiritual wellness has much to do with belief or doctrine — or even spiritual practice.

 

[sojourner]

Actually, intuition is older than reasoning, therefore part of the "lower" mind.

Hmm... in my study, intuition is what is called the sixth body (of seven, in ascending order). Maybe “older” doesn’t indicate “lower?” (Scratches head)

 

[sojourner]

There are basically two forms of thinking: reasoning and intuiting. While a religious person can engage reasoning in their faith, faith itself is in essence an intuition. Intuitions are a biologically passed on ability to judge social situations, like reading faces, judging tone of voice, discerning patterns, etc. Everything about religious practice hones intuition. This doesn't mean that every intuition is going to be correct. Just like people make mistakes in their reasoning (and I mean people make errors in reasoning a LOT). So it is a good idea to always have a little humility and know that one's intuitions could be mistaken.

Yes, my intuition is very strong, you might say gifted. But not as strong as, say, a mentalist. And of course, I'm much more limited in print.

BTW one mistake that intuition consistently makes is seeing patterns where none exist. You have to be very,very careful of not allowing this flaw to make you see "answered prayers."

Interesting. I agree with most of your post. But in my experience, intuition is never wrong. It may be misinterpreted; I think many of us haven’t learned to step out of our own way.

 

[dfnj]

I've considered this. Back in my thirties, I remember a late night conversation on metaphysics where I said to my friend, "Maybe there isn't any such thing as imagination. Maybe there is only perception."

You needed to add there are no new ideas just thoughts recycled!

 

[metis]

I think that our loved ones do live on in our hearts, and that for some of us, this happens in very creative ways. Sometimes, for those creative few, very strange things can happen. I make no judgments on what is actually happening. I have never died, and don't know what is on the other side, so who am I to say.

Amen.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

OK, A few times I've picked up on clues that someone I'm speaking with is in grief. On one occasion, I recall being slightly too comforting, by accident.

Was it tone of voice, you're rationship with the person, etc?

If so, have you had intuitive moments without prebiases?

 

[dybmh]

Was it tone of voice, you're rationship with the person, etc?

It was the trajectory of the conversation. Both of us were coping with recent loss. This was a neighbor, newly moved in, we had just met.

If so, have you had intuitive moments without prebiases?

No. That's interesting though.