An AA promise about Intuition
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An AA promise about Intuition
I am thinking today about intuition.
My starting point is some sentences from today's chapter in the AA book Daily Reflections.
"Listening deeply while others share can help develop intuition in handling problems which arise unexpectedly… Attending a meeting or calling a fellow AA member will usually reduce tension enough to bring relief." Elsewhere in the reflection, it says "Some problems will shrink into nothingness while others will require patient well-thought-out action."
This put me in mind of one of the AA promises which we often read at meetings: "We will intuitively know how to handle problems that once baffled us."
So what is this mysterious quality of intuition? We hear the word a lot but it is not usually defined. This is a definition I found in a book called The Coaching Bible by Ian McDermott and Wendy Jago: "Intuition is a label for processing that takes place outside the conscious awareness, and through associative thinking rather than logical analysis."
My assertion is that intuition is a high speed processing pattern which has been learned through repetition.
For example, a fisherman knows "intuitively" where to cast his net upon the sea because he has learned from experience and the example of others where the fish are likely to be.
A mother knows intuitively when to feed her baby because she has a deep connection with the child and has learned to process the signals of hunger and react to them almost instantly. In that sense, intuition has a close relationship to instinct.
Recovery starts with asking questions such as "Why am I feeling this way? What are the patterns of behaviour I could change? What are the implications of acting in a certain way?" To begin with, the answers may not be at all apparent. We will need to reflect deeply upon them - a form of meditation - or to share with other people, as the Daily Reflections reading suggests.
As we become accustomed to such probing questions, we begin to process them "outside the conscious awareness". The AA programme promises us an intuitive ability to handle problems. That intuition will develop when painstaking analysis and develops into a response that happens so quickly it seems to bypass our thoughts or even our emotions.
In that sense, intuition is the positive opposite of addiction. Addiction binds us to an activity which harms us and which we repeat without submitting our actions to conscious thought or analysis. We do not even ask ourselves how we will feel if we do or do not take a drug because the habit seems to be controlling our emotions as well.
Intuition steps in unconsciously before we repeat the harmful behaviour and enables us to act differently. In that sense, the AA promise of solving problems intuitively can be fulfilled.
We will not receive the gift of intuition without wanting it or asking for it. It will only follow a painful learning period. However, this invisible quality has the power to transform our lives.
My starting point is some sentences from today's chapter in the AA book Daily Reflections.
"Listening deeply while others share can help develop intuition in handling problems which arise unexpectedly… Attending a meeting or calling a fellow AA member will usually reduce tension enough to bring relief." Elsewhere in the reflection, it says "Some problems will shrink into nothingness while others will require patient well-thought-out action."
This put me in mind of one of the AA promises which we often read at meetings: "We will intuitively know how to handle problems that once baffled us."
So what is this mysterious quality of intuition? We hear the word a lot but it is not usually defined. This is a definition I found in a book called The Coaching Bible by Ian McDermott and Wendy Jago: "Intuition is a label for processing that takes place outside the conscious awareness, and through associative thinking rather than logical analysis."
My assertion is that intuition is a high speed processing pattern which has been learned through repetition.
For example, a fisherman knows "intuitively" where to cast his net upon the sea because he has learned from experience and the example of others where the fish are likely to be.
A mother knows intuitively when to feed her baby because she has a deep connection with the child and has learned to process the signals of hunger and react to them almost instantly. In that sense, intuition has a close relationship to instinct.
Recovery starts with asking questions such as "Why am I feeling this way? What are the patterns of behaviour I could change? What are the implications of acting in a certain way?" To begin with, the answers may not be at all apparent. We will need to reflect deeply upon them - a form of meditation - or to share with other people, as the Daily Reflections reading suggests.
As we become accustomed to such probing questions, we begin to process them "outside the conscious awareness". The AA programme promises us an intuitive ability to handle problems. That intuition will develop when painstaking analysis and develops into a response that happens so quickly it seems to bypass our thoughts or even our emotions.
In that sense, intuition is the positive opposite of addiction. Addiction binds us to an activity which harms us and which we repeat without submitting our actions to conscious thought or analysis. We do not even ask ourselves how we will feel if we do or do not take a drug because the habit seems to be controlling our emotions as well.
Intuition steps in unconsciously before we repeat the harmful behaviour and enables us to act differently. In that sense, the AA promise of solving problems intuitively can be fulfilled.
We will not receive the gift of intuition without wanting it or asking for it. It will only follow a painful learning period. However, this invisible quality has the power to transform our lives.
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: NC
Posts: 1,737
For me, the most significant change in my thinking since I got sober is the realization that very few things require an immediate response. I no longer react to every bump in the road, and the more upset a situation makes me the more likely I am to tell myself to relax, think it through, and consider all options before responding. I do not invite drama into my life, and avoid people who seem to thrive on emotional turmoil.
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Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Zion, Illinois
Posts: 3,411
I believe intuition can be defined as a feeling, a hunch or a subconscious thought that comes to us as we're about to do something, say something or think something. Personally, I think of intuition as the voice of my Higher Power/Conscience giving me advice. I know it's there but I have to learn to trust it. My brain is the most powerful computer there is. There are things stored up there from before I can even remember, that are sometimes triggered by current events and brought to the forefront. These remembrances or reminders are important to pay attention to because they're results of past encounters; good or bad and sometimes come as warnings. The problem with me is, there are times I ignore these intuitions because my selfish, self-centered me takes over. I need to learn to trust that quiet, small voice within when it speaks to me.
It`s ok to stay sober
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Central NC
Posts: 20,903
Jim W from Texas used to say God will give us "knowings" such as "We will intuitively know"....that don`t come from me,it comes from my HP.I used to know a very religious man who called it "unchions"
anyway
I find that to be true in my case.How can I let God lead me if I don`t follow those guiding thoughts when they come.The hard part is to recognize them and then act on them.Since step 11 says pray for the knowledge of His will for us and the Power to carry it out.Thats how that works.I sometimes get a gut feeling about something.I follow that feeling and it never has been wrong.So "strong gut feelings" and "common thoughts" are the main ways God guides me thru life
anyway
I find that to be true in my case.How can I let God lead me if I don`t follow those guiding thoughts when they come.The hard part is to recognize them and then act on them.Since step 11 says pray for the knowledge of His will for us and the Power to carry it out.Thats how that works.I sometimes get a gut feeling about something.I follow that feeling and it never has been wrong.So "strong gut feelings" and "common thoughts" are the main ways God guides me thru life
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