I is for Intuition – A Pagan Blog Project Post

in·tu·i·tion/ˌint(y)o͞oˈiSHən/Noun:

1. The ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning.

2. A thing that one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.

My uncles were both in professions that required trusting your intuition – one was a fireman and one a policeman. Growing up we used to spend a lot of summers together as a family and during those hot summer nights, after the sun had set and the dinner dishes had been washed and put away, my grandmother would break out the cards and she, my cousins and I would sit on the screened-in porch (which was the length of the house), play cards, eat Breyers Butter Pecan ice cream and listen to the adults tell stories.

My uncles loved to tell us stories about their exploits on the job. Sometimes I think they were trying to make a point about safety but we were too enthralled in the danger to get that point, at least back then we were. During the telling of these stories both uncles referred to the gut feelings they got as just another tool at their disposal. They didn’t think it was unusual, of course my mother’s family is gifted, most of them don’t acknowledge it but just about all of them have heightened senses, a stronger intuition if you will.

One story really stands out in my mine. One of my uncles also served in the military and was deployed overseas during the Vietnam War. His unit came under heavy fire and the soldier carrying their radio was killed. Despite that they were in a dangerous area and could be attacked again at any time my uncle KNEW he had to retrieve the Radio, even though it was heavy, it may not work and would slow him down, he had to do it. It was a gut feeling. So he took the time to retrieve it, strapped it on his back and kept moving on. About 15 minutes later their unit was attacked and suffered major casualties. The radio strapped to my uncle’s back saved his life. It took the brunt of the attack and he survived. When the attack happened, my grandmother was doing the dishes and saw my uncle in the window above the sink in her kitchen which faced the back yard. It was a brief glimpse of him in his fatigues and she heard him say “Ma, I’m OK”. She didn’t officially hear about the attack or that my uncle was OK for quite some time.  

Listening to my uncles taught me to trust my gut/intuition and my intuition has saved my hide on more than one occasion. Sometimes I feel silly, driving home a different way than normal, crossing the street sooner than I had planned on, or any number of things that may seem like a waste of time to others are common place to me. I have no idea why I get the feelings I do but I trust them. Who knows what could have happened had I not crossed the street based on that gut feeling. I could have been bitten by a dog who would have crossed my path, I may have tripped over something because I wasn’t paying attention, or any number of things, all I know is that my intuition is one of my senses, just like my sight and my hearing and I am going to use it just as I do them.

I believe that our intuition is just one more sense that we can use, just like our sense of taste, hearing or sight. If we listen to it, I believe our lives will become richer because we are using more information to make the decisions that affect our lives and the lives of those around us. If you are not used to trusting yourself, start slowly but start now. The more you trust in yourself and your intuition, the stronger it (and you) will become.

I missed a couple of PBP posts but I am back on track now! Check out this post, my 100^th for a chance to win a couple of dragon related things I picked up in Chinatown last month.

Autumnwind