Intuition Can Be Scientifically Explained

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Years ago, I had a life-changing decision to make. I was about to drop everything in my life, from my successful career to my steady boyfriend, to my friends and my beloved tropical island, Dominican Republic. I was about to move to Sarajevo to take care of my sister who had cancer.

In my process of moving to the other side of the world, Covid broke out, and complicated things significantly. On top of that, my sister and I had a fallout, and I had my back against the wall about moving or not. My heart screamed, “GO! Move, leave everything behind without even looking back.” My reason, on the other hand, questioned this decision.

I remember someone I really looked up to advising me not to leave. Against my wishes, I listened. But being a firm believer in fate and destiny, I knew I would end up at the right place at the right time. I soon discovered what my intuition was so intent on letting me know. My dharma, or life purpose, was to be here, in Sarajevo. The city where my life is meant to unfold (at least for now…)

Have you ever gone through a similar situation, where you have to choose between what others tell you is right, vs. what actually feels right? Which path was I meant to take?

What Does Psychology Have to Say About Intuition?

Psychoanalysis

If you take into consideration Freud’s psychoanalytic theories about the unconscious mind, you could easily compare the unconscious mind to an overprotective parent that stores most of the information we acquire, selecting the most simple information for the conscious mind.

It’s always trying to protect us from emotional pain, but sometimes this information escapes via dreams, or what others would describe as premonitions or God speaking. This is why sometimes we find answers to some of our inquiries during our dreams, or why our perceptions play out while we sleep.

But be careful to assume that every dream is a sign from your intuition, because if we repress emotions or desires, this is also the place where they exert themselves. After all, they’ve got to come out somehow!

Social and Cognitive Psychology

In a very similar way, theories in Social and Cognitive Psychology state that the unconscious mind is a lot more attentive than the conscious mind, and therefore stores a lot more information. It “catches” clues that we can’t consciously grasp. These sciences were able to empirically prove that Freud’s questionable theories do have some truth in them by doing experiments that use “complex hidden clues” in specific tasks.

With Artificial Grammar Learning, participants are told to learn strings of letters or words with random letters in them. After they memorize these strings of letters, they are told that these strings follow grammatical rules, and even though these grammatical rules are never taught, they can properly categorize them properly. This indicates that the human brain can detect complex patterns unconsciously.

Wouldn’t this uncanny ability to decipher “complex hidden patterns” and the capacity of storing exclusive information from the conscious mind make you question whether these automatic perceptions may be wiser than a deliberate analysis?

Analytic Psychology

On the other hand, Carl Jung, founder of Analytic Psychology, was a firm believer that we are all governed by one of 4 main psychological functions, which are thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition. In that manner, people whose main function is intuition have strong “irrational” perceptions that guide their actions.

According to Jung, intuitive people are a lot more “on point” when perceiving energies from the exterior world and listening to their inner voice. These people just grasp reality differently. Their perception is governed by a process that is mostly unconscious, and also, quite vivid. For instance, one of his patients described her gut feeling as a “black snake coiled up at the bottom of her abdomen.”

There’s one thing I consider important to point out though. We all have intuitive abilities. It simply comes much easier to some than to most. But like every personality trait, it is something that can be nurtured. It’s about paying close attention to that inner voice.

Now let’s explore intuition within the brain and its relationship with having what may initially seem a gut feeling for no reason.

Cognitive Neuropsychology

According to neuropsychologists, intuition is directly associated with the right side of the brain. Contrary to the left hemisphere, this side of the brain does not operate on words. It works in an analog manner, and as such, it’s guided purely by hunches or sensations.

Intuition also draws from the hippocampus, which is the part of the brain in charge of storing information. Intuition derives its sensations from quickly retrieving information from this archive of stored data. In that sense, intuitive decisions are based on information recollected all our lives.

Is this telling us that perhaps a conscious and deliberate debate when making important decisions is unnecessary? Your unconscious has already (automatically) done it for you. Additionally, when your unconscious starts to detect important information that you can’t fully understand, the body starts firing neurochemicals in both the brain and gut.

Neurogastroenterology

Studies within Neurogastroenterology indicate that the digestive tract has a separate and autonomous nervous system called the Enteric Nervous System. It is considered the “second” brain because:

• It controls gut behavior independently.
This means it doesn’t need any help from the Central Nervous System to digest food.

• It has an entire network of neurotransmitters also found in the CNS.
This indicates that those queasy sensations are actually generated by your second brain within your gut. A mind of its own!

• It is interconnected with CNS and is in constant communication with it. If If I perceive something through the right side of the brain, it automatically communicates it to the gut — ergo, the “gut feeling.”

Should I then, perhaps, listen to this gut feeling because it is telling me something my conscious mind can’t tell me?

How Can You Connect With Your Intuition?

Follow Your Heart

Decisions based on intuition tend to be naturally generous and empathetic, and they don’t necessarily follow materialistic impulses such as money-making or egotistical purposes. There is no right or wrong when making decisions, and it is defined by what a person internally considers valuable and not by what the mind tells you is more convenient or logical.

In my case, my sister was, and always will be the most valuable gift I’ve had. My intuition led me to selflessness and love. Decisions based on love generate outcomes that translate into individual and general well-being. The unconscious mind is always looking for secretive ways to protect our conscious mind.

Aim for a Relaxed State of Mind

Clarity rarely comes when the mind is busy. It comes when the mind is quiet and still. Meditation leads you to a relaxed state that allows you to distinguish intuition from basic emotions such as fear or self-doubt. It helps you successfully connect with the unconscious mind.

It is widely known that meditation often has religious connotations. This is because when you meditate you achieve such high levels of awareness that you can get in touch with some kind of ‘inner force’

Christians attribute this inner force to the Holy Spirit, scientists say it’s the unconscious mind, and Buddhists say it’s reaching “Enlightenment.” In this case, we will call it your intuition.

If you decide that meditation is not for you, you can always find alternatives to achieve a relaxed state. Any activity that helps you stop the incessant chatter of the mind will do the trick. Once you quiet the mind, you leave room for the “inner force” to emerge. It is in these moments of peace that we can get these “aha moments”.

This is how certain practices are considered therapeutic. It can be contemplating the beautiful scenery on a beach or simply putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Carl Jung recommended the use of mandalas. It’s up to you to find what’s relaxing enough that will help you develop this inner voice.

Also, pay attention to that gut feeling. It’s real.

Whenever you feel anxiety, mixed signals, discomfort, sleepless nights, or an upset stomach (a gut feeling), then perhaps the path you’ve chosen is the wrong one. This precisely described how I felt when I doubted my move to Sarajevo.

Intuition Is Knowing Without Having a Logical Explanation

Intuition is a feeling derived from knowledge within — knowledge acquired through experience.

Revolutionaries such as Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, and Oprah Winfrey have attributed their success to their intuition. According to Steve Jobs, “Intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect.”

That being said, intuition is powerful because it’s the voice of the unconscious mind, which has proven to be far more powerful than the conscious mind. It processes information in the blink of an eye and sees a lot further than the conscious mind can grasp.

So, next time your intuition is nudging you towards a path, will you trust it, or will you question it?

For more insights about intuition, download my eBook, The Psychology of Intuition. Within these pages, I provide valuable insights on how you can nurture and trust this powerful ability.✨