Quantum
HEALTH “
Issue 11 April 2011
This is the nature of genius: to be able to grasp the knowable even when no one else recognizes that it is present. –Deepak Chopra
Gut instinct and intuition are also associated with right-brain thinking. According to research done by American psychobiologist Roger Sperry in the late 1960’s, the brain has two distinctly different ways of thinking. The more rational, linear thinking left brain processes verbal information in an analytical, sequential way. Whilst the intuitive, lateral thinking right brain processes lots of visual input simultaneously and looks more at the big picture. Although left brain processes are more logical and right brain processes more creative, one way of thinking is not better than the other. However, overuse of your left brain thinking is more likely to drown out the quiet messages coming from your gut. Because the Information Age now presents a constant barrage of options and choices to consider, the ability to access right brain lateral thinking and to follow gut instincts becomes more important than ever.
Trust Your Gut Instincts
Information overload leads to mental indigestion. More choice means more confusion and less decisiveness. The brain can’t keep up. As part of the survival instinct, over 95% of the brain is wired to search for danger. But because your cognitive brain is overwhelmed with incoming data, when something negative is perceived out of the corner of your eye, you may not even notice. However, as these seemingly insignificant bits of information get digested by your gut, all of these tiny messages add up. Suddenly your gut will send you the message ‘Danger!’
A good example of this was when I went snorkling off a beautiful beach in Hawaii. One end of the small bay was shallow sparkling blue water that was full of tropical fish, giant turtles and colourful coral. After enjoying that for awhile, I became curious about where the turtles went as they swam away. I wondered what the other side of the bay, where the surfers
28 Quantum Health
played, was like. Bravely following a turtle out into the deeper water, I discovered another world: huge architectural crowns of coral and larger, more fascinating fish. But suddenly, for no logical reason, my heart began beating very fast. Although I tried to calm myself down, looking around and logically reassuring myself that all was safe, my gut decided otherwise. A sense of terror forced me to swim back to the sunny shallow waters as fast as I could. Later I read in the papers about the surfers being very prone to shark attacks in that same bay. Had something registered in the corner of my eye or in the energy vibrations against my skin?
A similar intutive knowing can occur in social situations and when entering new and different environments. Law enforcement officers claim they immediately sense when a suspect is in possession of a weapon or an illicit narcotic substance. Although they are not aware of the sensory evidence at the time of the event, later on they can retrospectively identify the danger signals that were correctly interpreted. It’s estimated that over two million bits of information bombard your senses every second. There’s no way your cognitive brain can assimilate that much input. As the overall patterns get sifted, sorted and digested, the brain in your gut decides whether or not it likes what it’s been fed. Ignore the signals it sends at your peril!
Your Intuition Displays Genius Today’s fast-paced world also demands uniqueness: the ability to be noticably different and stand out from the crowd in order to achieve success. So people need to make better use of all sources of brain input. Just thinking rationally is not enough. Linear thinking has been superseded by lateral, creative thinking. It’s through making intuitive leaps that new ideas are born. Dr. Edward de Bono invented the concept of ‘lateral thinking’ back in 1967. His famous book The Six Thinking Hats describes six different types of thinking. Each type of thinking tackles a different perspective for a different purpose. The idea is simple to put into practice in a group: have everyone agree to select the appropriate colour hat for each phase of a meeting until all colours
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