Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
“
We think conscious thought is better, when in fact, intuition is soaring flight compared to the plod-
ding of logic. Nature's greatest accomplishment, the human brain, is never more efficient or invested
than when its host is at risk. Then, intuition is catapulted to another level entirely, a height at which it
can accurately be called graceful, even miraculous. Intuition is the journey from A to Z without stop-
ping at any other letter along the way. It is knowing without knowing why. . . . Some people say about
rape, for example, “do not resist,” while others say “always resist.” Neither strategy is right for all
situations, but one strategy is: Listen to your intuition. I do not know what might be best for you in
some hazardous situation because I don't have all the information. Do not listen to the TV checklist of
what to do, or the magazine article's checklist of what to do, or the story about what your friend did.
Listen to the wisdom that comes from having heard it all by listening to yourself.
”
—Gavin de Becker,
The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence
From climate change, to terrorism, to an economy clouded by the peak in global oil production,
we all face a future filled with uncertainty. Whatever actions and strategies we may have used
successfully to guide our lives and businesses over the past few decades may not continue to
work in this next period of rapid change. Clear intuitive messages can provide the extra guid-
ance needed to navigate the murky waters of an uncertain future. I like to call it
the intuitive
edge
, and many businessmen take high-priced seminars from intuitive experts to improve their
“gut feel” and the accuracy of their business decisions.
Intuition is a powerful ally, especially in dangerous situations. Intuition is one of nature's
gifts to us. It is a beautiful example of how natural selection has biologically programmed into
human beings an incredible survival mechanism to protect the organism (us) in times of
trouble. Intuitive hunches have been credited with saving many a person's life, and with guid-
ing numerous entrepreneurs and investors on their road to success. I'm sure that nearly all of us
can remember times when we received strong intuitive guidance about something. If we
listened to that guidance, we usually found that we were glad we did. If we didn't listen, we
may have been “burned” in some kind of painful life lesson.
This “inner compass” inside each and every one of us provides the ability to simply know
what to do, without having to “figure it out,” because in ancient days when human beings were
being chased by a saber-toothed tiger, or confronted with a snap decision on the battle field,
they did not have time to “figure things out,” so they had to rely upon their own innate sense to
guide them to make the best snap decision in no more time than it takes to blink an eye. Those
humans who did not have access to this inner compass, well, they simply did not make it, and
their genes died out.
