Cultivating Intuition and Discernment

June 3rd, 2009

Discernment and intuition are two of the most useful traits we can possess. The two are easily confused, but understanding what they both are, and how to cultivate them deliberately, is crucial for any seeker of truth and self realization. For that matter, it’s crucial for anyone who wants to be a good judge of character in others, and who wants a healthy navigation system for sailing the sea of information we’re bombarded with on a daily basis.

When you begin (or find yourself suddenly plonked onto) a spiritual path, you will encounter a wide range of ideas, and it would probably be fair to say that 1. the vast majority of them are sketchy at best and toxic at worst, and 2. most of it will be presenting itself as “The Truth.” It is also common for spiritual seekers to gain sensitivity, either through deliberate practice or spontaneous opening of latent abilities, which opens them up to contact from various nonphysical energies, influences and entities. As I’ve discussed previously, not all of these entities are going to have your best interest in mind. Much like people, nonphysical entities are a pretty diverse bunch, running the spectrum from dangerous adversaries to valuable allies, to those who mean no real harm but can still divert your path with their craving for attention. Entities with shady intentions posing as divine figures is also one of the oldest tricks in the book. So how do we tell the difference between a true spiritual ally, and the hissing lizard-creature in the Virgin Mary mask that may not be who it says it is? Let’s get acquainted with the two friends who will let ya know, once you know how to work with them.

What is Discernment?

Discernment is the process by which we evaluate incoming information and either accept it as it is and incorporate it into our personal “operating system,” revise it, or reject it. This is mostly a mental sorting process, which measures new information against what we already hold, and uses the support of our emotional center to let us know what “feels right” vs. not. Using our discernment causes us to ask: is this information logically consistent? Does it fit with what I already know to be true? The trick with that second question though, is not to confuse “knowns” with “beliefs.” A belief can and should be challenged, and changed, in the face of new information — a known is what is left after all beliefs are stripped away.

In an ideal world, the disciplines of logic and critical thinking would be taught in schools as a basic skill… but unfortunately, in this world, that would conflict with the purpose that schools were designed for to begin with. Nonetheless, doing some study on subjects like logic, and recognizing logical fallacies, can be very helpful here. I did once take a college course on it which, while mind numbingly tedious at times (those times being the sections that involved proofs in the form of math equations *groan*) it was one of the most valuable classes I ever took, and I’d highly recommend it if you’re currently at a school that offers it. If not, Google and/or your local library are your friends.

At this point I should say that I realize there’s a tendency in many spiritual circles to react against the over-reliance on logic in other fields, and shy away from it entirely. I would also be the first to tell you that not all spiritual experiences are logical. Where logic does (or should) come into play, is evaluating the information we gain from our most abstract, wild experiences; our interpretations of those experiences, and where we choose to go from there. While there are no absolutes, information and interpretations that are logically consistent are generally more likely to be closer to the truth than that which is full of holes and contradictions. This gives us a framework for keeping ourselves grounded, even while having experiences that will “blow your mind, man.”

The usual approach to cultivating discernment is through hard life experience; sheer trial and error. You have some good experiences, and you get knocked around enough times, so you start getting some idea of how to increase the former and decrease the latter. The problem is that most people have no real system by which to process and organize the information that makes up their worldview, and don’t bother to consciously evaluate what’s already there, much less what new information is permitted to come onboard. This leaves us with a worldview that is scattered, disorganized, full of contradictions and epic leaps in logic. It is most often founded upon the ideas that were socialized into us from parents, religion and society about what is “good” and “bad.” Even those who have begun questioning their programming are left with the dilemma of what standard to measure the programming against. With a mind full of conflicting ideas, trying to find its way in a world to match, how do we begin to chart our own course? I’ll tell you how I did it, but first I’d like to talk about the faithful companion of discerment: intuition.

What is Intuition?

Intuition is in a sense, the opposite yet complimentary process. There’s no sorting or even much thinking involved here; our intuition provides an immediate sense of “knowing” about the truth of a given situation or piece of info; it immediately gives us a sense of What Is. This process takes place mostly in the emotional processing center of the navel chakra; the source of “gut feelings.” Intuition uses the support of the conscious mind in that we have to be aware enough of what our feelings are telling us, to act on them.

After finding themselves in a range of sticky, screwed up situations, many people claim that they either don’t have intuition, or that theirs is “broken.” I’m here to save you a lot of trouble by telling you that your intuition is always functioning perfectly, exactly as it should. “But Horse!” you might say, after (hopefully) setting aside the urge to pop me one, “how can you say this, if I keep ending up in situations that aren’t good for me?”

I say this because your intuition, as the more unconscious part of your navigation system, is always guiding you exactly where it’s told to. Intuition simply tells you What Is — but it’s your personal collection of information, programming and old buried emotional material that you’ve got stored in your subconscious mind and energy centers, that determine how you respond to its signals, or whether you even recognize them at all. Refer back to what I said above about holding a scattered, disorganized worldview, and the picture becomes more clear. Whatever direction your entire mental, energetic, emotional and subconscious systems are most oriented in, is what your intuition will guide you toward. More likely, if your system is full of all sorts of mutually contradictory programming, intuition will seem harder to spot… not because it isn’t there, but because it’s leading you erratically in all directions, and you have to figure out and calibrate which of those directions you actually prefer in order to hone your relationship with your own senses. If, to use a common example, you were raised with a version of Christianity that taught you that you’re a sinful being who deserves to suffer, your intuition says “right boss!” (quite possibly in the Bronx accent I’m hearing in my head), ~~iceberg~~ suffering, dead ahead!”

Most people are stronger in either intuition or discernment, and sometimes there’s a tendency to downplay the weaker area. Women are often said to be better with intuition, while men are assumed to be more proficient in logic. In reality there is nothing inherent in either gender that makes them automatically better in either area; this has more to do with the fact that logic is a more mental process, intuition is more emotional, and our cultural conditioning categorizes men and women into the two separately. I started out much more logical than intuitive, but once I got rid of everything that was interfering with my intuition, and figured out how to use it, it began to feel just as natural. Among people who are better at logical discernment, intuition is often thought to be too “warm and fuzzy,” and among the intuitively gifted, logic is viewed as “cold.” It’s natural to gravitate toward what we’re already good at, but the best use of these two skills are as a complimentary, balanced whole. After all, information can be logically valid, while not being beneficial to incorporate in our daily lives, and conversely, something might feel right, but on closer inspection, not lead us in a direction we would want to go. Logic gives intuition a framework within which to focus itself; intuition provides our logic with a sense of direction.

In order to discern or intuit the nature of any person, entity, information or situation, you first have to be intimately familiar with YOUR nature. Who are you? What are your values? By what set of standards do you measure what’s good for you vs. what isn’t? You’re already doing this, probably largely unconsciously, but you’re doing so with a set of standards that you’ve been programmed with over the course of your lifetime, rather than ones you’ve chosen deliberately. When you have a clear sense of self, things that conflict with it will naturally begin to feel very dissonant, and things that synch up with your internal compass will feel comfortable and “right.” So how do we change our programming and begin choosing values that are truly our own?

Meet the Bouncer

There is a part of the subconscious mind I call The Bouncer, because it fulfills a function similar to a person with that job – it’s the part of you that operates at the border between the conscious and subconscious, and decides which information passes the threshold. The information that gets through becomes your personal programming, and holds a degree of influence over your experience and worldview from that point forward. Additionally, in contradiction with most of the “law of attraction” material I’ve ever read, I’ve found that simply changing a belief on the surface; deciding not to believe it anymore; doesn’t necessarily alter the influence it’s having over your life. When a piece of information gets past the bouncer, you’ve basically installed it as mental software. If you’ve reinforced it in various ways over time, it will be buried deep. Changing your conscious beliefs and actions is a bit like deleting a shortcut from your computer’s desktop – but if you want the program fully gone, you still have to uninstall it. Changing beliefs on the surface will condition the subconscious mind eventually, in an indirect way, but there are ways that are much more efficient.

Fortunately, working with your bouncer doesn’t require any fancy hypnosis techniques or deep trance that most people typically associate with subconscious work (although reading up on self hypnosis and familiarizing yourself with the methodology wouldn’t hurt). He operates close to the surface, but can “run errands” at deeper levels if you ask him to, so working with him doesn’t require much more effort than getting relaxed, addressing him directly and telling him what you want to achieve. I’ve even named mine and developed a specific way that I address him, which means that at this point he’s only taking information from me and sources that are aligned with my values, rather than absorbing it willy-nilly. If you realize that a belief or piece of information you’ve been hanging onto is limiting or unhealthy, simply ask your bouncer to remove it and all its influence from your system at all levels, and if you wish, replace it with something else. More information about changing your beliefs at the subconscious level can be found in my post, Beliefs Create Experiences. The recent guest post Coralie’s Manifestation Manual also has a great section on sorting through your belief system.

I assume most of my readers probably know themselves at least well enough that they can get a good start on sifting through their internal archives. However, if we take into account that the packages of information offered by all religions, politicians, societal institutions and especially modern advertising and media, are deliberately designed to bypass your bouncer and head straight for the depths of your subconscious mind, it starts to become more obvious that we need to give our bouncer some “rules of engagement” by which to accept or reject the constant flow of information. After peeling away so much of my own programming like layers of an onion, and realizing that there would probably be no end to the process in this lifetime if I didn’t find a way to blow through more programming in a shorter period, I began to recognize the importance of giving my bouncer a specific, concise Mission Statement to operate with. I’ll pick it up there in my next post.

–Palehorse
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