Week 2 - How do we differentiate between intuition/ gut feeling/ divine inspiration and our own thoughts?

The World, The Empress, 10 of Wands

We move in circles. Even though our language would have us believe otherwise, we are not linear creatures. Yes, we go from birth to death, but our journey doesn’t end there. Whether we believe in reincarnation or not, we live on in the memories we leave behind in the minds of those who outlive us. We live on in what we have created and what we have destroyed. We move in circles.

So where does the journey begin? It begins at the point of “ignorance”. Where we don’t know anything. When a child is born, it is seen as innocent. It has to be taught, trained, and tamed into the ways of the world. And so its brain begins to start a journey on a path that looks straight. Until a curve arrives. It can no longer see what lies ahead. It has two options. The first option is to depend on all that it understands about the path so far and then take the next step. This is the way of the mind. Imagine yourself in place of the child. Your mind wants to protect you. It loves knowledge because it creates the illusion that by knowing it all, you will make the right decision. You will be in control. It will make you feel in charge of your life. You will hold your breath. Or breathe shallowly. You will clench your jaw. You know it all, yet you are nervous. This is how you know.

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The second option is to choose to admit that there is no way to predict what is around the bend. You decide to slow down. Breathe deeply. And sit in silence, as you look at the curve, wondering what the path has planned for you. You accept that you have no control. You acknowledge that the knowledge that brought you this far cannot take you any further. But there is no fear. There is acceptance of a reality greater than the one you are aware of. And in this state, new information starts to emerge. From within. Either as a bodily reaction. Or a new thought. A thought free from any emotion. A completely new truth. Unfamiliar. But peaceful. That is how you know.

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We all carry within us the intellect and the intuition. The difference between the two is very simple - the way each feels. Intellect draws on knowledge, acquired through experiences, information, or proven facts. It is heavy. And no matter how much you know, it is never enough. It is the kind of library that requires you to read and know what every book is about. Intuition is light. It is always enough. It gives you only what you need in the present. It is like a library that shows you just the right book, the right page, the right paragraph, and the right line for the moment you are in.

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It is difficult to distinguish between thoughts and intuition because they both arise within us and speak to us in the same language. But they sound different. Mind-driven thoughts talk faster and have a lot to stay. Intuition speaks slowly, surely, and with fewer words. Thoughts come with very little effort but take up space and leave us energetically drained. Intuition and divine inspiration must be sought. One needs to prepare to receive them. Become a calm and settled vessel for the same. And trust that it will arrive. And when they do, they ask us of nothing.

With awareness, we can listen to both and know which one to use in a particular situation. The mind helps us stay human. The intuition helps us transcend our humanness. There is a place, a need for both on this path.