Have you ever said, "I'm not psychic, but I can be quite intuitive at times!" I've heard that statement many times. It must be a common sentiment. There is a difference in the connotations of these two terms. People tend to describe intuition as natural, whereas references to psychic often involve supernatural references.
In her book, Natural-Born Intuition: How to Awaken and Develop Your Inner Wisdom, Lauren Thibodeau describes psychic as a process of reaching outside of ourselves, while she describes intuition as a process of going within. Her distinction reminds me of the difference between facts (coming from outside) and wisdom (coming from within).
Sometimes Edgar Cayce distinguished intuition from psychic events and sometimes he spoke of it as a psychic ability, as when he said that intuition is the highest form of psychic ability. In some of his readings, it seemed that he had to add something to his psychic impressions to gain the insight he needed. Cayce could hear the thoughts of someone for whom he was searching, but indicated that it took a bit more to know whether the person was alive or dead. He gave the impression that intuition is a more highly evolved attribute than the psychic senses.
It is common to link intuition with a form of knowing and psychic with the senses. Mediums frequently speak as if they are seeing or hearing spirits, but not always understanding what their psychic senses are telling them. Intuition may be involved in the process of understanding, or interpreting sensations. It can also operate in the absence of sensations, with direct knowing "out of the blue." Brain research shows that the brain interprets sensory data prior to registering it, implying that a lot of "thinking" goes on in the act of "seeing." Intuition may involve both.
Karlis Osis once conducted a fascinating experiment with Ingo Swann (the artist who invented "remote viewing") that demonstrated the difference between "knowing" and "seeing." Dr. Osis created a puzzle for Swann to explore when he was in his psychic, out-of-body state of consciousness. The puzzle consisted of a closed box with objects inside. He arranged these objects so that when viewed through a little peep hole, one would see an optical illusion and not realize the true nature of the objects. If it were a matter of knowing what was in the box, the actual objects would come to mind, and the optical illusion would not be relevant. When Ingo awakened from his out-of-body experience, he described seeing the illusion, but did not report knowing the nature of the objects.
As another example, suppose we wanted to find an inspiring quotation in the Library of Congress about how dinosaurs felt as they realized they were becoming extinct. If we used "remote viewing," a psychic form of data acquisition, we would begin by scanning all the words in all the books to find senten5B4ces that included "dinosaur." From these, we would scan for sentences that contained "extinction," and so on. Such a process would take a long time and leaves some doubt as to how this skill could decide upon the "best" quote. On the other hand, we might randomly walk about the library and accidentally discover a perfect quote simply falling into our hands. Intuitive people speak about such synchronicities all the time. Clearly, the task of finding a suitable quote in a mass of information takes more sophisticated mental skills than simply being able to read the words in a book without opening it. Intuition may include psychic ability plus some other qualities.
There's another way in which Thibodeau's distinction makes a lot of sense. Many people with psychic sensitivities report being disturbed often by their impressions. Being bombarded by undesired information can be overwhelming. On the other hand, people who say they live intuitively seem to be in harmony with themselves. It is this blessing that Dr. Thibodeau hopes the reader will achieve through intuition.
Her techniques for developing intuition are entwined with accessing inner wisdom, almost as if they were the same thing. This conjunction reminds me of Cayce's suggestive remarks indirectly crediting our intuitive nature to our guardian angel. Research confirms a relationship between being intuitive and following the soul's directive. Investigating people's moods at6F0 random moments reveals that when people are in moments of intuitive flow, quite likely they will also report that they are doing what they feel they were meant to be doing at that moment, as if fulfilling part of their purpose in life. Trusting one's intuition can bring a sense of peace, which psychic ability alone can not accomplish. Intuition is psychic, but it's wise enough to keep its own counsel on the way to Heaven.
Henry Reed, Ph.D., is on staff at Atlantic University He has been the prime designer of A.R.E.'s psychic development program, in its various aspects, for the past twenty some years. He is one of the trainers of A.R.E.'s most successful, and long running, psychic training conference, "The Edgar Cayce Legacy: Be Your Own Psychic." He developed A.R.E.'s program of evaluating psychics. He has published scientific articles on his research into intuition and psychic functioning. He is the author of Edgar Cayce on Awakening Your Psychic Powers, Edgar Cayce on Channeling Your Higher Self, and Your Intuitive Heart.
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