Intuition saved my life: Understanding intuition. What is it?
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Intuition, often referred to as the ‘gut feeling’ or ‘sixth sense,’ is a complex yet fascinating aspect of human cognition. At its core, intuition represents a form of subconscious knowledge that influences our decision-making process. Unlike rational thinking, which is deliberate and analytical, intuitive responses are rapid and automatic, arising without conscious reasoning.
The critical role of intuition in personal safety and well-being cannot be overstated. Intuition is often an early warning system that signals impending danger or informs critical decisions.
Our subconscious mind often picks up on subtle cues that our conscious mind may overlook. This sensory processing can alert us to potential threats or opportunities before logical reasoning occurs.
Intuition saved my life.
I was 19 years old and had recently started a new job at an Activity holiday centre in the beautiful Mendip Hills in Somerset. I worked in their equestrian centre, teaching people to ride or taking them on a trail through the Mendip Hills. The Job provided accommodation and meals. I loved working there.
On my day off, I decided to go to the village. I didn’t have a car then, so I planned on walking there. The hotel receptionist told me about a shortcut.
There was a path that went alongside the quarry. All I needed to do was walk across the landowner’s field. When I got to a big wooden gate, I would go through and follow the path which would take me into the village. I was glad I didn’t need to walk the long way via the country roads.
It was a beautiful summer’s day around 1 o’clock. I set off across the field, got to the gate and followed the path. There were trees and bushes on both sides. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be there because my employer privately owned the field I walked across. After walking for about 5 minutes, I suddenly felt I was in danger. It just came out of the blue. It was like my thoughts were not my own anymore but somebody else was using my thoughts to communicate with me.”You’re in danger and you need to get out of here”.I’m thinking. Why do I suddenly feel so afraid? I tell myself, “Don’t be so silly, you’re fine”.
The more I did this, the more overwhelmed I felt and the louder the thoughts taking over my own kept telling me, “You’re in danger; you need to get out of here immediately” I was getting nervous, so I started to walk quicker and quicker. Thankfully, I finally arrived at the village after about 15 minutes of walking on the secluded path. I bought what I needed and then reluctantly headed back towards the path that would take me home. I fought the warnings and told myself to stop being so silly, but I couldn’t walk up it once I got to the path. The dread was intense, and the gut feeling repeatedly told me not to go. I didn’t know the other way back and wondered if this was all in my head. I sat at the bottom of the path for nearly an hour before building the courage to walk up there.
An older man appeared; he was walking down the path and walked off. I remember thinking he looked creepy, and maybe he was the cause of my gut feeling. I waited for him to walk further away, then started my walk up the path. I would have only been walking on the path for what felt like five minutes when suddenly, a man stepped out from behind a tree about 20 feet in front of me. It felt like he had been hiding in wait, and because I had taken so long to walk up there, he came out and suddenly realised I was there. He appeared to pretend that he was looking at something up at the tree.
He walked a couple of steps to the right, looked at me, then looked back at the tree, then walked a couple of steps to the left, looked at me, then looked back up at the tree.
My heart was racing. I’m quickly thinking about what to do. I bent down to pretend I was doing my shoelace on my trainer because this gave me a few seconds to think. I decided to pretend I had a big black dog and would ask him if he had seen him. The path wasn’t very wide, and I didn’t want my back to him when I walked past. I knew running the other way wasn’t an option because he could have caught me, and I was quite far from anyone being able to hear or see anything. I also thought It would distract him long enough for me to get past and around the corner out of sight so I could run.
I asked the question as I approached and walked past so I could see him rather than having my back to him, and I pretended to act calm and friendly. “Hi,” I said. ” Have you seen a really big black dog run up here by any chance? “He can’t be far,” I said.
I’ve never forgotten his facial expression. I was now at arm’s distance from him and remembered how he looked at me with pure evil. He was a stockily built man, about 5’7, Asian with dark hair and piercing dark brown eyes, possibly in his late 30s / 40s. I was 19 years old, 5’5, slim with blond hair. I knew I didn’t stand a chance if he attacked me.
He stared at me and didn’t say a single word, but he just shook his head very slowly from side to side. Everything felt like slow motion like I was living on the edge in my own true-story horror film.
My intuition told me not to look afraid, so I pretended not to notice his evil demeanour and said, “OK, well, if you see him, would you mind sending him up here? He’s probably in the trees somewhere.” He slowly turned around, staring at me before walking down the path, and I walked up the path. Asking him this question enabled me to pass him while looking at him because my gut feeling was telling me he was going to grab me from behind.
When I got around the corner, I just ran, but then I stopped running when I shouldn’t have because I thought to myself that maybe he wasn’t going to do anything. At that very moment, I turned around to see the man running fast towards me, not saying a word. He just looked really angry.
I ran for my life. I felt like I could fly, like I had a guardian Angel on each arm, lifting me and flying me out of there. The feeling was so surreal. It’s unbelievable how fast you can run when adrenalin kicks in. I remember seeing the 5-bar gate ahead of me. I knew I wouldn’t have time to open it because he was getting closer, but I strongly believed I was going to fly over that gate like I had been given some sort of superpower. As I approached the gate, I could see it was off the ground by about 60 cm, which enabled me to throw myself on the ground and roll under the gate, then keep running.
Unfortunately, I was now in a big open field. I knew he was going to see me so I ran towards some bushes in the middle of the field and suddenly spotted my friend riding in the distance. She was taking a small group on a hack. I shouted her name repeatedly two or three times while running towards her, and was relieved when she heard me and started to quickly ride towards me. At that point, I turned around to see the gate was wide open but the man was gone.
My employer called the police. One officer drove along the village and another drove me to the top of the path at the end of the field with a police dog. I remember getting out of the van and the police officer letting the police dog off. Just at that moment, his colleague called him to say that he had found and arrested the man in the village. My description of him was a stocky Asian man, wearing a black tracksuit with an orange stripe going down the side of his arms and legs, so he was easily identified.
That day, when I was giving my statement to the police they asked me what I thought he would have done to me. I told them. I remember both the police officers looking at each other and slowly nodding. I could tell by their facial expressions they agreed with me.
Later that evening my employer told me one of the police officers had told him the man who chased me, used to be in the Parachute regiment. He wouldn’t give me any more information and told me that it was better if I didn’t know.
Later that week I saw the headline in the local newspaper. Man in court after chasing woman near quarry. I never did find out or ask what happened to this man. I can only presume he was known to the police which is why my employer didn’t want to tell me what he was known for.
I remember sitting on the end of my bed that night, thinking how I could have been a missing woman mentioned in the newspaper or the woman whose body had been found like other poor victims who had succumbed to such an awful end to their lives, possibly someone in the past I may have heard or read about in the news.
I remember thinking how distraught my parents and family would be. I would say the experience was probably on my mind for a while but then it made me determined to be strong so I took up kickboxing, muay tai boxing and later Krav Maga. I worked out to become strong.
The experience taught me to never doubt my intuition. Life can be very challenging at times and it’s easy to brush feelings off, as being just in our head, but intuition is different. It comes from your gut and feels like someone is communicating with you through your thoughts like your guardian angel. I truly believe my guardian angel was there protecting me that day.
Intuition: What is it?
My experience is one of many. There are plenty of examples of strong intuitive feelings that people experience every day. A person entering a room and instantly feeling uncomfortable without identifying a specific reason—only later linking that sensation to subtle cues their brain processed subconsciously. Another might avoid taking a particular route home, driven by an indistinct but powerful unease, later discovering that an accident occurred on the route they avoided.
Intuition emerges as a critical element of our cognitive toolkit, often guiding us when time or data is scarce. Understanding its underpinnings and respecting its role can bolster our decision-making processes, blending the subconscious with the conscious in a powerful symbiosis.
I often think it’s amazing how animals just know when a huge storm is on its way. Are they more intuitive than us? Are they more intuned with the energy fields around them? I guess it’s their senses that help them to survive in the wild. Take for example the Tsunami that occurred in Thailand on Boxing Day in 2004. The birds and other wildlife took to high ground well before the ocean erupted through the town killing and injuring hundreds of people and demolishing people’s homes and livelihoods.
My experience of intuition is that it feels different from feeling nervous such as before a competition an interview or an exam. The physiological signals, such as a sudden sense of unease or gut feeling carry a significant intuitive message.
Recognizing and interpreting these signals can guide you in making more informed decisions. However, it is essential to distinguish between genuine intuition and irrational fears or anxieties.
I guess the more you listen to your body the better you become at trusting what your gut is telling you. Perhaps those gut feelings are there to help us survive in this world, just like animals who can sense danger in the wild. Are we any different? We all have an instinct within us to want to survive.
Intuition is such an invaluable asset. Our subconscious mind can often pick up on subtle cues that our conscious mind may overlook. This sensory processing alerts us before logical reasoning kicks in.
Therefore intuition is not merely a vague feeling but a powerful tool that, when acknowledged and refined, can significantly benefit our well-being and even help to save our lives.