In a world clouded by noise, pressure and indecision, the key to clarity lies within. This piece explores how intuition — rooted in stillness, awareness and inner silence — can guide us toward wise choices, creativity and our highest potential
Have you ever observed the nature of confusion? Decision-making comes into play only when there is confusion, and a decision is always between what is good and what is better. It is never between good and bad. If someone asks you to choose between a log of wood and a sweet, there's no difficulty.
But if you are offered a chocolate and a sweet, you have to think. A decision is always about making a choice, and choice is always confusing. And so the question arises, how does one make the right choices in life?
There are two main reasons why you are unable to make decisions. One is when there is some feverishness of desire or greed attached. Then you find it difficult to decide. The other is when there is fear. The mind gets stuck between greed and fear, and this leads to confusion.
You cannot take life's big decisions based only on logic because logic changes. Logic depends on your understanding, and that is limited. So, we need to know how to develop the ability to make good decisions, and the answer lies in something you already have within you: intuition.
What is intuition?
Let's take an example of a business. Ask any successful entrepreneur, and they will tell you, some idea clicked, a gut feeling arose, and they followed it. Intuition tells you when to invest, where to invest, and how much to invest.
You may have experienced it at some point. It is having the right thought at the right time. The culmination of an action in success is intuition. If the decision didn't bring success, it was not intuition.
The first thought is the spontaneous one, the intuitive one. It is not the thought that comes after mulling over. Children can tap into this very easily because they are so natural and live in the moment. In the Intuition Process that we are now teaching children, their intuition gets kindled, they can feel through the mental faculty, and tap into the right thought at the right time. This process could become a revolution in the field of education.
Children can focus better, pay more attention, they are developing photographic memory, and are able to read and write in ancient languages not known to them. Children who were failing their exams and were shunned are now scoring very high marks. We have hundreds of blind children who have done the Intuition Process. They have learned to tap into their mind's eye, and today they can recognise colors, read numbers, shapes, and languages without using Braille.
This simply indicates that your consciousness is much more powerful than what you think or understand about it. A small indication of it is in the dream state of consciousness. In the dream, you see, hear, but you are not using your eyes or your ears. The Upanishads say consciousness, the Shiva Tattva within you, can see without eyes, can hear without ears, can touch without hands or skin, can move everywhere without legs. This is just a clue to how powerful consciousness is.
How to be intuitive?
We have always had the power of intuition within us. There's not a single person who doesn't have it. But we don't know how to access it at will. So, how can you do that?
Intuition cannot be forced. It blossoms in a calm, meditative mind. All innovation comes when the mind is relaxed. You will see, great discoveries have always come from a place of ease and rest. Newton was not working out equations when the apple fell. Archimedes was relaxing in a bathtub when he had his Eureka moment.
Freedom from the racing mind is the foundation of intuition. When you are in a hurry, you cannot do anything creative, and there's no intuition. You cannot 'quickly' write a beautiful song. You need a quiet space to write a thesis or a story, or even to study, absorb, and create. When we meditate, we slow down, we cool down, and in that calm, we perceive, understand, and express better.
The ancient seer lived in intuitive awareness. He experienced a state where every cell of the body was alive in the present moment, and the mind was absolutely quiet. This is Samadhi.
In this stillness, the right intuition, knowledge, and inspiration arise. Through this state, the ancient seers discovered universal truths and developed precise mathematical and physical principles that are still accurate today.
What stops us from being intuitive?
Intuition is at the very heart of innovation. In daily life, we are bombarded with so many thoughts and distractions that our attention and retention become weak. Stress is another obstacle that prevents you from getting in touch with your intuition. A stressed mind becomes impulsive, and impulsive decisions lead to regret. Even the best business plans, for example, can fall apart if the mind is restless or the communication is unclear. But when you begin to quieten down, even for a few minutes every day, your intellect sharpens, your awareness deepens, you get the right ideas, and your attention span expands. When the mind is still, awareness dawns. And awareness is the mother of all wisdom. Lack of awareness leads to mistakes. When you are partially aware, your perception is blurred. If you're preoccupied or you are busy chasing a desire, then you cannot be intuitive. You can never get a good idea when you are feverish.
At that time, you are far removed from wisdom. Feverishness becomes a block. Even brilliant students may fail exams simply because they got feverish at some point. When the mind is quiet, stable, and serene, brilliance emerges.
If you take three to four days each year just for yourself, to sit in silence, you recharge your batteries. Your ability to make the right decisions improves. A time comes when nothing can shake you and nobody can steal your smile.
The ease with which you handle your environment and your situation determines how much of your potential you are using. When you are in touch with your full potential, nothing can shake you. And to get in touch with your full potential, you need to go back to your source, the very seat of intuition.