ravenest
Have we had a formal definition yet ?
Intuition - what is it to you?
Have we had a formal definition yet ?
ravenest
Same probs;
Intuition is the prompting of the soul. Intuition is the means by which the soul becomes aware of itself.
Intuition can be of many types and be prompted by many things not just the soul, which, if this statement stand alone (with the rest of the quoted passage) still doesn't define what soul is ... except that process that prompts intuition.
In my experience the means by which the 'soul becomes aware of itself' does not rely on intuition, in some ways it may aid it, but again, a lot is being left out and soul is still undefined, except as something which becomes self aware through the means of intuition.
nisaba
And following from this, an individual intuitive thought is a thought that springs unbidden into the mind, with nothing to prompt it or lead to it. Thoughts that *do* have something leading up to them or are prompted by - say - pictures, are stream-of-consciousness, not true intuition.
ravenest
Just a gentile reminder that the definition below is the generally accepted definition of intuition in the English language. It is consistent with what Silver Birch meant when he used the term.
in•tu•i•tion
/ˌinto͞oˈiSHən/
Noun
The ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning.
A thing that one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.
Synonyms
insight - instinct
Well, now we have A definition - ... but is that enough ? It totally left out the spiritual concept on which so much of Silver Birche's definition relied on and you guys (and me) keep talking about...
Just a dictionary definition ?
One of the original questions was “thought it would be interesting to ask people what the definition given above means to them.” And the observation that “Silver Birch's definition is congruent with scientific thinking on intuition.” So why be restricted to a dictionary definition? That seems to restrict the discussion from what you originally intended?
Why not look at “scientific thinking on intuition.” ? - I mean you suggested it has validity similar to Silver Birche’s.
“In more-recent psychology, intuition can encompass the ability to know valid solutions to problems and decision making. For example, the recognition primed decision (RPD) model explains how people can make relatively fast decisions without having to compare options. Gary Klein found that under time pressure, high stakes, and changing parameters, experts used their base of experience to identify similar situations and intuitively choose feasible solutions. Thus, the RPD model is a blend of intuition and analysis. The intuition is the pattern-matching process that quickly suggests feasible courses of action. The analysis is the mental simulation, a conscious and deliberate review of the courses of action.
According to the renowned neuropsychologist and neurobiologist Roger Wolcott Sperry though, intuition is a right-brain activity while factual and mathematical analysis is a left-brain activity.
The reliability of one's intuition depends greatly on past knowledge and occurrences in a specific area. For example, someone who has had more experiences with children will tend to have a better instinct or intuition about what they should do in certain situations with them. This is not to say that one with a great amount of experience is always going to have an accurate intuition (because some can be biased); however, the chances of it being more reliable are definitely amplified.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intuition_(psychology)
firecatpickles
I prefer the more literal definition you provide below, in particular, the synonym with instinct. I don't believe that humans are the only living spirits or sentient beings on this planet. I believe that all creatures, including animals possess a soul or spirit---and "atman" or generation of energy from the same source. Of course this is a belief and thus unprovable...
Just a gentile reminder that the definition below is the generally accepted definition of intuition in the English language. It is consistent with what Silver Birch meant when he used the term.
in·tu·i·tion
/ˌint
Noun
The ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning.
A thing that one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.
Synonyms
insight - instinct
Is intution another word for human instinct? I associate the two as two sides of the same coin. How do animals know to run from fire before it starts? Or how can they predict earthquakes (such as giant parrots and other birds?)
I disagree with the Birch meaning. It differs quite significantly from the dictionary meaning, namely, there are other vocabulary words that need to be defined first before one can understand what he is saying: "attunement", "spirit", "aware ", "process of reason", "lightning speed", etc. What do these terms actually mean? Meanings vary from person to person. For instance, as a non-dualist, I feel any response I have (personally) to my environment is a physio-anatomical response; perhaps hormones (which I have a problem with) are involved. For example, a spiritual awakening could come from "kunadlini rising" (just throwing this out there as there are many other pathways) or it could come from an emotional resposne to a tragedy (such as when a 125 mother lifts a 2-tons vehicle from the ground to rescue her child.
This definition works better for me. It's almost like instinct, yet there is more there...
Perhaps instinct is to the body what intuition is to the mind? Finally getting somehwere in my mind. The concept of intuition has always bothered me. Starting to make more sense now...
ravenest
I cant following from that ... because 1) if it comes from the UNconcious how do I know that it had nothing to prompt it or lead it? According to the scientists above thoughts, decision and experience are part of the intuition process.
And 2) You just wiped out the possibility of using 'intuition' (by your definition) with a tarot reading .
We can have stream of consciousness thoughts from pictures that are not intuition but ... well, stream of thought consciousness.
But if we see a picture and don't 'think' about it and it 'passes' into 'unconscious cognition' and the associations are made (or already made) in the unconscious and that leads to stream-of-unconscious and a resultant awareness, and that is passed on to the conscious that could be called intuition.
What I find interesting is that people like Tesla and apparently some or many autistic people and that guy on TV the other night (on new Aussie ABC improve the function of your brain show)
seem to be able to consciously operate that function that is working in the unconscious in 'true intuition'. That is, those scientific definitions above aint gonna explain Tesla (even at school they would fire complex calculus questions at him ... he would see the answer 'written' down in his head and it would be right or he could run the original formular and all its stages progressively through to the answer, follow it or not, back it up read a bit he might want to understand, get it and go on ... or just go ziiiip to the end ... and there was the answer.
But it seems always related to an image, a map, a collection of rooms in a house, a chalk board, a video screen, stage sets (magical memory theatre) filing draws that open and fold out and expand ... guy on tv said in his system every thing works with an associative image, with three aspects; the thing itself and its association, an action OF the thing and a setting where the action happened. Eg. The thing he wanted to remember ( I cant remember what it was
) but it reminded him of Greg Norman, so it was Greg, playing golf at .... and got filed in a box , under sport, cross referenced to places ... 
and that helped him have a perfect memory ... and they say I am complicated!ravenest
BING! Lovely!
Here is a similar one (but better IMO) ... pheromones.
Those little trickers that carry hormones from others to inside us (or visa versa)
I think some people might feel it is 'intuition' when they KNOW that so and so is 'right' for them, proved by when they get together they fall madly in love.
Forgetting for the moment that 'love' is that feeling genetics give us when we meet someone with compatible baby making genes.
{ravenest runs off ducking the assorted missiles thrown at him by .... }
But pheromones are a GREAT trigger for 'intuition' (and are still within the boundary of my simple original definition).
[Note smell is often equated as the sense that relates to 'spirit', the other 5 relating each to an element.]
k_png
It's ok, keep it that way. I enjoyed reading ur views. Haha.
I haven't had time to read properly everything from where i left off, maybe tomorrow or so when I have some to spare.
Meanwhile, what's your original definition of "intuition"?
Sar
Intuition is everything for me. I rely on it for everything.
momentarylight
Silver Birch was speaking from the point of view that human beings are both spirit and physical body. The Catholic theologian, Teilhard de Chardin reflected that belief when he said that human beings are spiritual beings having a human experience. That indicates a whole belief system which I don't propose to go into here. But elements of that belief system can be found in many world religions and belief systems. It is simply that we are spirit within a human body. Some people call that spirit 'soul' others, other things. Incidentally, I believe that every aspect of life is a manifestation of a greater Spirit.
Silver Birch also said that when a person experiences intuition (that lightning response which outpaces human reasoning) it is a sign that the spirit within that person is awakening.
I think that is wonderful to realise and posted it here because I believe Aeclectic is a place where that often happens to people as they develop their tarot practice. The dictionary definition I gave is consistent with Silver Birch's comment. SB simply gave additional meaning to it according to the belief system.
Intuition has often been discussed here, and I thought this would add something to those discussions. Tarot, because it is a tool which people use to evoke insights and understanding within themselves, is often the first time people in the Western World, particularly, have an opportunity to see their own spiritual nature in a way they may not have been able to previously.
People come to spiritual and other realisations by different pathways. I think I have been reasonably clear and it is OK if what I 've said causes a question or disagreement, or provides a gift of insight. I was genuinely curious to hear other responses but don't wish to enter any arguments because that was not my point in posting.
