Intuition, Wisdom, Understanding and Humility

^“ And God said unto him, Because thou (Solomon) hast asked this thing (an understanding heart), and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.” (I Kings 3:11-12)

Introduction

My initial intent was to write an essay entitled “Intuition”. On its own, the topic is deserving of, and has received, great attention philosophically, psychologically, spiritually and mystically. (By ‘mystically’, I am referring to mysteriousness, not ‘esoteric mysticism’.) Yet, after considering what the finished product would likely be composed of, I decided that including the words wisdom, understanding and humility in the title was justified, and because the four are profoundly connected and dependent on each other as to their individual effectiveness and proper use.

As was the case in my essay, “Being An Introvert”, my goal here is to lean more on my own experience and knowledge to the extent I understand these things, instead of taking an academic or theological approach. I much prefer and enjoy sharing my own views, insights, experiences, opinions and personal antidotes rather than regurgitating dry, technical and intellectual rigmarole.

Definitions

Intuition: an ability to understand or know something immediately based on your feelings rather than facts

Wisdom: the ability to use your knowledge and experience to make good decisions and judgments

Understanding: knowledge about a subject, situation, etc. or about how something works

Humility: the feeling or attitude that you have no special importance that makes you better than others

These were not the only definitions available at dictionary.cambridge.org, but the ones I deemed most accurate and intuitively agreed with (based more on my feelings rather than facts). It is interesting that intuition and wisdom are defined as abilities, and humility as a feeling, attitude, or state of being. An ability, or gift, or talent, is much different from a feeling, but I see all three being virtues; integral, indispensable honorary gifts, bestowed upon the individual. As with other blessings, they are poured out in varying quantities.

God’s Chat With Solomon

Appearing to young King Solomon in a dream, God asked what he wanted from Him. The new king asked for ‘an understanding heart’, but God went one better and gave him ‘a wise and an understanding heart’. The narrative continues as a beautiful, loving interaction between the king and his Maker. The Lord was so pleased with what Solomon asked for, and things he didn’t ask for - a long life, riches, the life of his enemies – that He gave him all-of-the-above, and even upped the ante, throwing in wisdom for good measure. We need to go back to our definitions for context.

‘Understanding’ is limited to knowledge, but ‘wisdom’ is ‘the ability to use your knowledge’ and God knew Solomon would require both understanding, and the wisdom (ability) to apply that understanding, to meet the challenges that lay ahead of him as King of Israel.

Intuition Is Not Mind-Reading

I don’t know how to read other peoples’ minds and I’m quite alright with that. It’s noisy enough in my head without the thoughts of others being in there, too. And I don’t want that ability, either. I see it as more akin to a curse than a blessing; way too much information. Even being intuitive is sometimes a handful (I suppose ‘headful’ is more accurate, but you know what I mean). Besides, if I could read minds, I’d probably have way less friends than I do now, and being an introvert, that would mean getting into the single digits. I don’t want to know what others think of me at any given time or in all situations, and I don’t think they’d want to know what I think of them; at least not always. They might like what I think of them early in the day, but by dusk, that may change.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), an incredibly accurate personality type testing instrument, of which I am a big fan, has repeatedly scored me as an INFP type (Introvert, iNtuitive, Feeling, Perceptive). Within the scope of this system, the folks at personalitymax.com explain that:

“People with Intuition live in the future. They are immersed in the world of possibilities. They process information through patterns and impressions. As intuitives, INFPs value inspiration and imagination. They gather knowledge by reading between the lines. Their abstract nature attracts them toward deep ideas, concepts and metaphors.”

That’s all well and good, but in addition to this, as defined earlier, intuition includes “an ability to understand or know something immediately based on your feelings rather than facts”. The MBTI system is concerned mainly with the preferences we have regarding our use of cognitive functions. But as an intuitive, and apart from the MBTI theory, knowing something intuitively is not reliant on cognition or preference. I’m never in control as to when, why, where or how it manifests within my mind, or soul, or spirit, or wherever it comes from. That’s the mystery of it. It is part of me. I wish it had an on/off switch, and I suppose I’d keep it on more than off, but it doesn’t work that way. I don’t know how it works, but I know that it works, and I pay very close attention to it when it’s in operation.

Humility

When I know, or think I know, something intuitively, I must turn to humility as my gatekeeper. I must be willing to acknowledge I may be wrong in interpreting what my intuition is telling me. My mind contains, among other things, a mass of emotion, thought, memory, knowledge, bias, judgment and pride simultaneously clamoring for my attention. When intuition arrives, it’s usually not alone: I lack the ability to accurately and consistently differentiate between the disruptive usurpers, and the discernment/intuition I’ve been given. Sober second thought is humility at work. It puts pride and ego aside so the mind can slow down enough to yield to the possibility of wrong conclusions and actions.

Knowing That You Know

Along with its on/off switch, intuition also has its own volume control and dimmer-switch for brightness. (Metaphor and allegory are necessary when trying to describe its mode of operation, for it exists beyond the realm of the five senses.) Ability to read body language and facial expressions, along with being aware of a speaker’s tone and inflection of voice, are all helpful when mere words are not enough to achieve clear understanding as to what someone is trying to communicate. But for me, when my intuition arrives loud, clear and bright, and overrides my five senses or any contrarian facts in front of me, that’s when ‘I know that I know’.

In the late 1980’s, I got a job as a printing department supervisor and immediately enrolled in a human resources management course at the local college. One class was called, “Interviewing Skills”. It covered the legalities as to what questions the interviewer could and could not ask, and how to skillfully glean information from the interviewee to ensure the best candidate was chosen. But it didn’t cover an interviewer’s use of intuition; listening to our “gut”. I went on to make use of the skills I learned in that class, but my “gut” turned out to be my best friend. Sometimes, only seconds into an interview, I knew what my choice was to be. As for outcomes, I didn’t bat a thousand, but the vast majority of those I hired turned out to be perfect for the job.

Careful attention to resumes and giving due diligence to reference checks were indispensable and saved me from several disasters. But when it was too close to call, I trusted my intuition, and it rarely led me astray. And it would prove reliable in my personal life, too.

I was quite the partier in my teens and twenties. I tended to drink…heavily, back then, and had many, shall we say, exciting weekends. (I even remember a few of them.) Anyway, being drunk or stoned seldom, praise God, blurred the effectiveness of my intuition. Whether at a house party, bar, campsite, or wherever else I was indulging, I would often feel a shift in the energy before things turned ugly. Sometimes there was little time to react and get to safer ground, but rarely did any harm come my way. Occasionally, I would feel the potency of violence in the air before things went kinetic.

Also, I had a type of inner alarm that would go off before the police arrived, likely saving me from a few arrests. On Monday mornings at school, it was not uncommon for friends to ask me, “How did you know to leave just before the cops got there? It’s an uncanny awareness of peoples’ moods and the ability to ‘read the room’ having just arrived. Life is like that as an intuitive.

Often, I meet people I intuitively know are intuitive. How do I know for sure they are intuitive? I don’t…just a hunch that comes from time spent in their company. Oddly, as far as I can tell, the majority of intuitives seem to be introverts. I allow for the possibility that, being an introvert, I may be projecting that upon them. I think it’s true, but I’m not sure. The mind is a tricky thing. Mine is, anyway.

Conclusion

I think we all have some level of intuition. I don’t know that in the same way I know 2 plus 2 is 4. I’ve never lived in anyone’s head except my own. But I think most people know it if/when it shows up. And, just so you know, I don’t live by the adage, “always trust your gut”. It’s not wise, for reasons I’ve already explained, but I don’t ignore it, either. It’s a precious and valuable gift, best used with caution.

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Thanks for stopping by.

Daniel (Murphy) Kennedy