What Intuition Is and How to Use It Wisely

Introduction: Why Intuition Matters

Intuition is one of the most familiar yet least understood ways human beings know things.

People often describe it as a gut feeling, a sudden sense of knowing, or an inner signal that something is right—or wrong—before there is enough evidence to explain why. Despite how common this experience is, intuition is frequently misunderstood, dismissed, or confused with emotion, imagination, or belief.

In fields that deal with uncertainty—especially paranormal investigation—intuition is almost impossible to ignore. Many people expect paranormal work to involve psychics, intuitive sensing, or communication with unseen forces. Whether one approaches these ideas with belief, skepticism, or cautious curiosity, intuition often plays a role in how experiences are noticed, interpreted, and investigated.

This article is not meant to promote blind faith in intuition, nor to reject it outright. Instead, its purpose is to clarify what intuition is and how it can be used responsibly—particularly when dealing with the Unknown.

Throughout this article, we will draw from both experiential and instructional perspectives on intuition. One of the key influences referenced here is Laura Day, an American writer and teacher known for her work on practical intuition. She is the author of several self-help books focused on developing intuitive skills and is also known for offering financial and life guidance as an “intuitionist.” Her work emphasizes structure, disciplined questioning, and verification—qualities especially relevant to investigative and truth-seeking contexts.

Core Definition

Intuition is a nonlinear, non-empirical process of gaining and interpreting information in response to questions.

Characteristic	Meaning
Nonlinear	It doesn’t follow logical steps; it arrives in flashes.
Non-empirical	You don’t need data, experience, or evidence to receive it.
Gains information	Receives impressions, images, symbols.
Interprets information	You must “decode” the symbols to be useful.
Responds to questions	Asking a question activates intuition.

Intuition is Nonlinear

Logic = step-by-step
Intuition = instant “knowing”
Arrives as symbols, impressions, fragments
Must be assembled afterward

This perfectly matches Jung’s idea of intuition as “perception through the unconscious.”

Intuition is Non-Empirical

It doesn’t depend on:

data
knowledge
sensory input
reasoning

You can get intuitive information about things you’ve never studied.

But once the intuitive image is received, the rational mind can treat it like empirical data (e.g., “I saw this symbol, now I interpret it”).

Intuition Requires Interpretation

Intuitive impressions are usually symbolic, not literal
Symbols carry dense information
Interpretation is part of the skill of intuition

This is why two people can receive the same impression but interpret it differently.

Intuition Responds to Questions

This is one of the most important insights.

Intuition activates when you ask a focused question
Questions tell your intuition what to notice
Even unconscious questions activate it
Beliefs are “questions at rest”
We are constantly sending questions into the world, consciously or not

Meaning:
Intuition is goal-directed. It doesn’t float randomly — it points where you point it.

The Mind Is Always Generating Intuitive Answers

Millions of questions form in you each moment
Millions of intuitive answers begin forming
Most stay below consciousness
Training intuition = learning to notice what is already happening

✨ Intuition =

🔀 Nonlinear
📡 Non-empirical
🜂 Symbolic
❓ Question-driven

🌿 Intuition does:

🌀 Receive impressions (non-sensory)
🔍 Require interpretation
🧭 Answer questions

🚫 Intuition does NOT:

🧮 Use logic
📊 Require data
👁️ Depend on senses

Intuition Vs. Other Inner Experiences

1. Intuition is NOT Prophecy or Prediction

Intuition = perceiving non-sensory information
Prophecy = predicting the future

These are different, even if intuition can sometimes feel predictive.

2. Intuition is NOT Instinct

Instinct = biological reflexes (fight, flight, hunger, parenting drives)
Intuition = symbolic, informational perception outside the senses

3. Intuition is NOT Subconscious Pattern Recognition

Subconscious uses memory & experience
Intuition receives impressions without needing either
(though the subconscious may help interpret them)

4. Intuition is NOT Telepathy

Telepathy = mind-to-mind reading
Intuition = broader ability to perceive information symbolically
Telepathy is only one small subset of intuitive capacity.

5. Intuition is NOT Mediumship

Mediumship = communicating with spirits (interpretation varies culturally)
Intuition = receiving symbolic impressions
They require different states, though the same intuitive openness may be used for both.

Key insight:
Mediumship is a use of the intuitive channel, not intuition itself.

6. Intuition is NOT Dreams

Dreams are primarily:

psychological processing
emotional integration
memory consolidation

expressed as stories with you at the center

Intuition, by contrast:

delivers informational impressions
is often fragmentary, symbolic, and non-narrative
is usually external in focus, not about inner emotional life

Dreams and intuition both use symbols, but:

Dreams = subjective storyline
Intuition = symbolic fragments about external conditions

However—

Intuitive information can sometimes appear during dreams, but not all dreams are intuitive.

Dreams	Intuitive Information in Dreams
Story-like	Fragmentary or symbolic
Emotion-driven	Emotionally neutral
You are the main character	You may be absent or peripheral
About inner life	About external conditions
Subjective	Potentially verifiable

Recognizing the Intuitive State

“How do I know if this is intuition—or just my fears or hopes?”

Laura Day’s honest answer is simple:

You don’t know—at least not in the moment.

This uncertainty is the core challenge of using intuition.

1. The Only Reliable Test: Feedback Over Time

Intuition is recognized after the fact, not during the impression itself.

If an intuitive impression is later confirmed by experience, it was likely intuitive.
If not, it was probably emotion, opinion, or wishful thinking.
A single correct hit could still be luck.
Patterns over time are what matter.

With repeated practice:

luck cancels out
accuracy becomes noticeable
the feel of genuine intuition becomes familiar

2. Practice + Reality Checking Trains Discernment

To learn intuition:

Ask a question
Receive impressions
Record them
Compare them later with reality

This process quickly teaches you to distinguish:

intuition vs fear
intuition vs hope
intuition vs imagination

3. Key Indicators of the Intuitive State

Remember:

A. Intuition speaks in symbols

Images
Metaphors
Fragmentary impressions

Unlike reasoning, intuition rarely arrives as words or explanations.

B. Intuition is emotionally detached

No fear
No excitement
No urgency
No desire for a specific outcome

If emotions appear—especially fear, anger, or hope—you’ve likely shifted from intuition to reasoning or projection.

A strong warning sign:
When your inner dialogue starts using the word “should.”

C. Intuition has no expectations

Searching intuitively means:

openness
neutrality
no agenda

Expectation contaminates perception.

D. Intuition perceives wholes, not logical sequences

Intuition gives complete fragments
Not step-by-step reasoning

If you notice thoughts like:

“If this happens, then that will happen…”

You are reasoning, not intuiting.

🧭 A Simple Rule of Thumb

🌿 Quiet + neutral + symbolic + whole = intuition

🔥 Emotional + logical + story-based = not intuition

Using Intuition to Improve Decision-Making

1. Intuition Should Add to Judgment — Not Replace It

Intuition is not meant to make decisions on its own.

Intuition should add information, not replace logic, evidence, or judgment.

Relying only on intuition is just as risky as relying only on logic.

Good decisions come from integration, not dominance of one mode.

2. The Proper Role of Intuition

Intuition works best when it is used to:

add missing information
highlight possibilities
point to future outcomes
guide further investigation

Not to:

dictate action without verification
override evidence
replace thinking

Intuition answers “What else is going on?”, not “What must I do?”

3. When Intuition Is Most Useful

When data is limited
When outcomes involve the future
When situations don’t follow clear patterns
When logic alone feels incomplete

When strong, reliable data exists, linear reasoning may be preferable.

4. Keep Decision Inputs Separate (At First)

For maximum effectiveness, intuition should initially be kept separate from other inputs.

Laura Day identifies four sources of information in decision-making:

Knowledge – what you know, remember, or have learned
Judgment – your interpretations and reasoning
Feelings – emotional responses
Intuition – non-sensory impressions

Each has value. None should be used alone.

5. The Power of Integration

A strong decision occurs when:

intuition suggests a direction
feelings align
facts support it
judgment confirms it

This creates a system of checks and balances, not blind trust.

6. Emotion Is the Least Reliable Input

Laura Day makes an important distinction:

Emotions are reactive and easily distorted
Feelings are emotional facts (e.g., “I feel anxious”)

Feelings are valid as data, but emotions should not lead decisions.

7. Why Intuition Is Often Ignored

Intuition is easy to lose because:

it’s quiet
it’s subtle
it’s mistaken for emotion
logic often overrides it
confusion amplifies noise

Without practice, intuitive data gets drowned out.

8. How to Extract Intuition Clearly

Laura Day recommends writing decision inputs separately:

What do I know?
What does logic suggest?
What do my emotions want?
What do I intuit?

Only after separating them should they be combined.

This turns intuition from a “hunch” into usable information.

9. Intuition Is Accurate — Interpretation Is the Risk

According to Laura Day:

Intuitive information itself is objective
Errors come from misinterpretation, not intuition

To reduce error:

keep intuition separate at first
verify against facts
investigate when inputs disagree

10. Intuition’s Unique Strength

Unlike logic, intuition can:

access future-oriented information
perceive non-patterned situations
sense outcomes without precedent

BUT when intuition, logic, emotions, and belief don’t agree, pause and investigate further.

Intuition should inform decisions, not replace judgment.
Separate intuition, logic, emotion, and knowledge first—then integrate them.
Intuition is valuable, but interpretation requires care and verification.

Next: Characteristics of good questions for intuition

- Chris