How can I develop my intuition?

I have a question about intuition.

I was looking at the Myers-Briggs personality inventory and they classify intuition into two types: extraverted intuition (NE) and introverted intuition (NI). NI is supposed to operate on a nebula of ideas or patterns that are then coalesced, using intuition, into one 'intuition' like "this guy is a doctor". But you don't necessarily know why the guy is a doctor. NE is supposed to be like a supernova; you explode one object into all of its symbols and meanings (for you) and make connections based on that.

On this website, they give an example of how to access the two styles, to determine how you use them. For NI, you can "close your eyes and identify what the object symbolizes or means to you." For NE, you can, "with someone else, talk about everything you could do with the object that you have not done before."

So, 'Deverlop Powerful Intuition' sounds to me more like NI (correct me if I'm wrong). How could I go about developing NE using a hypnosis download?

This question was submitted by 'Seth'

Mark says...

Hi Seth and thanks for your interesting question.

How to develop intuition is a big question and worthy of a whole article in itself. There may well be different levels of intuition, including so-called 'think slicing' in which an experienced person can intuit a whole pattern from a small part; a kind of super-fast unconscious deductive reasoning giving rise to feelings of 'just knowing' because you have seen something 'behind the scenes' of a situation giving you a strong sense of certainty. Here I'm reminded of the words of the great mystic artist and poet William Blake:

To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

And above and beyond this, there may be a level of intuition that works even more directly, sees into things by somehow becoming what you observe as in Goethe's scientific method, a direct perception as a different way of seeing and observing without 'separateness from what is being observed'. It might be that we all have this capacity to know in an extrasensory sense, but that it is covered over by the workings of the 'conditioned' or what Sufis call the 'commanding self' - the superficial and artificial, socially and emotionally conditioned self that we take to be our everyday personalities full of fears, desires, and self-deceptions.

So if this is true, that we have to 'polish the mirror' of ourselves before we can develop or reconnect with the part of ourselves that can perceive reality in wider and more immediate ways, then a first step would be to begin the journey of overcoming the parts of oneself that cause problems such as anger, addictions, and so on. Once we become 'the rider' and not 'the ridden', then - so mystics in all times and places have stated - we are in a better position to develop latent capacities. Of course, too much desire to develop intuition for personal power, vanity, or needing to impress would still be working within the 'commanding, limited, and conditioning self' and therefore prevent the development of the very thing you wanted.

I am no expert on intuition; I am just discussing my thoughts and understanding. Everyday intuition works best when we are calm, so any hypnosis that helps people become calm will help cleanse the window through which they view the world, letting them see more clearly. Strong emotion always distorts perception - as we see on the news every day.

We use hypnosis to help people overcome emotional and even some physical difficulties and perform better. A side effect of having a fulfilling life relatively free of emotional turmoil will inevitably be a great capacity to perceive the reality of situations. As you noted, we do have a specific download to help with everyday intuition. We don't claim this is some 'spiritual' method, but one based on common sense and basic psychology.

I hope this is useful and I feel that it will be. ; )

Mark