Practices From the Inside Out: Is Spiritual Life Intuitive?

Is Spiritual Life Intuitive?

I was raised with the expectation that things were supposed to make sense.

Life did not necessarily come with instructions, but you could sit down and figure it out. The idea was once you learned how something worked you could take it apart and fix it. If you were going to drive a car, you should know how to replace a tire and change the oil.

Not only cars and other machines were supposed to make sense.

Life followed patterns and rules. Once we learned how the rules worked we could stop and fix whatever might not be working.

Times have changed. We no longer expect to be able to figure things out and fix them on our own.

We may perceive some of those changes as ways we are falling behind. Other changes may be changes for the better.

I know people who miss being able to figure things out for themselves. If they could, they would open up their smartphones and explore what makes them work. Not being able to tune up their car’s engine without a computer frustrates them.

It is still important that we can understand how things work.

At the same time, it has become more important that life is intuitive.

When I was growing up being intuitive was not very significant. People taught me about being analytical and intellectual. It was very rare that anyone talked to me about being intuitive.

Even spiritual life was something which ought to make sense. As much as possible, we wanted to be able to take care of spiritual life ourselves. At least we wanted to be able to do the routine maintenance.

Why is Intuition Valuable?

Intuition is the ability to appreciate something without the need for conscious reasoning. It is similar to instinctive feeling, like someone who is naturally gifted.

One personality index puts people who rely on their intuition at one end of a spectrum. People who depend on what their senses tell them are at the other end of that spectrum.

I grew up in a time and place where it was valued to be grounded, practical, down to earth. We wanted to be people who understood which nut to turn to tighten the right bolt.

Many people saw practicality as important in dealing even with emotions and spiritual life. We wanted to be able to sit down and figure everything out.

As our understanding of the complexity of life grew, our analytical models became more complicated. It was more challenging to understand all the pieces and how they fit together into the puzzle. Even when we could not keep the whole schematic in our head, we could get a feel for the overall.

Intellectual analysis can be hard work. An approach which appreciates what is intuitive can help us get off to a good start. We can gain a sense of the picture and then fill in the pieces analytically.

Even people like me, with strong analytical skills, are beginning to appreciate intuition. Some of us are learning to depend on intuitive ability we did not recognize we had.

It is important for us to understand sensory information and intuition are not opposites. Even if we are at different ends of a spectrum, each gives us significant insights.

Spiritual life, for example, is not a question of one or the other, but both. Our intuition and our reasoning help us appreciate the overall consistent picture.

Fitting Together

Spiritual life is more than a set of philosophical conclusions and more than the sum of our feelings. As spiritual life takes root and grows in us, our instincts begin to develop.

It is not enough for us to gather information and gain knowledge about spiritual life. Spiritual life is not merely tugging at our emotional heartstrings.

My intuition grows out of my friendship with myself. I needed to get to know myself better, and appreciate myself more, to recognize my intuition.

As the various aspects of who we are become integrated in more healthy ways we are in touch with ourselves. We relate to ourselves and understand ourselves more deeply.

Spiritual life seeks the deepest parts of who we are. The Sacred truths of who we are reflect the Sacred truths all around us. Spiritual life in our hearts is the same spiritual life which surrounds us. Spiritual life does not inform us as much as form us, shaping us and guiding us.

As we are formed we recognize the trustworthy, mature aspects of our intuition.

It continues to be important for me to learn to trust the pace of my intuition. There are times when intuition makes connections much faster than analyzing. At other time intuition takes its time and slows me down.

For me, appreciating intuition is much more a process of trusting than of learning a skill.

Intuition and Spiritual Life

Is spiritual life intuitive?

My experience is intuition can take me beyond some of the limitations of thinking. I have intuitive potential I never saw myself having. Spiritual life has sparked a new trust of intuition in me. At the same time, intuition is opening new parts of spiritual life to me.

It is important for me to remember intuition is not just the new big thing. Intuition changes the way I see other parts of who I am, and they change the way I see intuition.

Yes, spiritual life is intuitive. It is also analytical and emotional, experiential and personal. One of the ways spiritual life attracts me most strongly is how it integrates who I am.

It is very helpful when something we cannot understand, like spiritual life, is open to us. Intuition helps us recognize and appreciate what is beyond our understanding.

It is crucial for the information we receive to make intuitive sense to us. Intuition is how we recognize spiritual life stands to reason.

How intuitive is spiritual life for you?

What are the ways spiritual life is shaping you this week?

[Image by A. Strakey]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual life mentor and leadership coach in Southern California. He is a recovering attorney and university professor, and a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California. Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com, and his email address is StrategicMonk@gmail.com.