By Edie Raether



(excerpts from Why Cats Don't Bark)

?I did not arrive at my understanding of the fundamental laws of the universe through my rational mind. The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution comes to you.? ? Albert Einstein

Unlike traditional IQ, with a century of research behind it, intuitive intelligence is a new concept. It is a different kind of intelligence. In recent years, it is gaining in respectability largely because psychologists are recognizing it as a natural mental skill that helps us make decisions, solve problems, generate creative and even forecast future events. We are beginning to realize that intuition is not just a mysterious gift or an accidental insight.

As you get rid of the emotional cataracts and your vision becomes clear, you will find the walk upon your path effortless as you proceed with ease. Fears will dissipate as you relinquish yourself to a greater cause or your reason for being. You will feel in sync, not out of touch. You will experience your work as an extension of your ?self? or you very soul, feeling one with the process of becoming. You will achieve a level of unconscious competence where excellence and peak performance feels effortless as the energy is allowed to flow through you. Perhaps that is why Michael Jordan refers to this as being ?in the flow.? Other sports use different buzz words, although the experience is the same. In golf, it is referred to as being ?in the zone.? Tiger Woods would qualify. In the current world of musicians, Wynton Marsalis seems to become one with his instrument, as does any exceptional musician. The question is, can we all achieve this supreme level of mastery? I believe the answer is ?yes,? if we are in sync with our instinct and we learn the mind-empowering strategies that provide access to the inner unconventional wisdom of our intuition and instinctual intelligence.

While all living things grow into their nature with a supportive environment, we must also have the courage to be different to make a difference. We must transcend from success to significance. As we gravitate toward our own uniqueness, we must respect the direction of our ?future pull? which is our present self becoming our future authentic self. Singleness of purpose means avoiding exterior clutter like power, prestige and possessions, which may interfere with the chief purpose of our lives. Shakti Gawain, author on visualization, explains,

?Every time you don't follow your inner guidance, you feel a loss of energy, loss of power and a sense of spiritual deadness.?

Activities and life experiences which derive from our purpose are not burdensome because there is harmony between what we feel we are supposed to do and what we want to do. Unfortunately, we are often derailed and live in someone else's comfort zone other than our own. Our parents often encourage and coerce us to manifest their own unfulfilled wishes and destiny which, if we obey, is a violation of the soul.

Until we do the work of excavating, claiming and expressing our uniqueness, we run the risk of putting our life script into someone else's hands. Joseph Campbell, in his book Myths to Live by, warns,

?The world is full of people that have stopped listening to themselves to have listened only to their neighbors to learn what they ought to do, how they ought to behave and the values are that they should be living for.?

Unfortunately, for many people, Campbell is right.

All of us are far richer than we imagine. None of us possesses a life devoid of magic, barren of grace, divorced from power. Our inner resources, often unmined and even unknown or unacknowledged, are the treasures we carry, what I call our spiritual DNA?the stamp of originality, which is the blueprint of our unfolding.

Human curiosity, intuition, practicality and logic are the fulcrums of personal and professional achievement. They are the revitalizing forces for converting raw human energy and potential into sound judgments and creative ideas. Intuition cannot be ordered, commanded, contrived or predicted. We simply have to be ready for it.

Jack Schwartz, reknown researcher and author, has a theory that at the moment of indecision, there is simultaneously a solution. However, it may take years for us to discover that awareness and act on it, creating confusion and learned helplessness, as we become victims of toxic logic. Yes, ?look before you leap,? but sometimes we just have to take an intuitive leap and trust that the net will be there.

To be fully intellectual beings and experience those ?leaps in consciousness? that Albert Einstein believed are necessary for bringing solutions to us, we will need to develop our intuitive abilities as well.

Edie Raether is a performance coach and expert on the champion mindset. She is also a psychotherapist and has been a college professor as well as an ABC talk show host. She is a frequent expert resource for hundreds of publications and trade journals.