The four levels of intuition

The four levels of intuition

Intuition operates in our body and nervous system on levels that range from basic, binary and survival-based communication to complete conversations that are elegant, sophisticated and evolved

by Simone Wright — 

Learning to develop and trust our intuitive intelligence is more important now than it has ever been before. According to a recent UCLA study, we are exposed to a tsunami of information that amounts to more than the content in 174 newspapers per day. That is more than five times the amount of information we were exposed to just 20 years ago. Included in this deluge of data are countless opinions, endless streams of expert advice and a myriad of gurus and guides telling us what we should be doing in order to live our best lives.

The reality is that the only guidance system we need to assist us in living our best life is the wisdom held within our natural intuitive intelligence. When properly developed, it can and will lead us to the choices, ideas and innovations that will guide us toward what is truly in our best interests and help us create the highest good in our lives.

Intuition is a subtle language, so understanding the various ways it communicates makes having a deep and meaningful relationship with it rewarding, reliable and much more fun. Intuition operates in our body and nervous system on levels that range from basic, binary and survival-based communication to complete conversations that are elegant, sophisticated and evolved. The four levels of intuition are as follows.

Level 1: Gut instinct — Attributes: safety, security and survival. Most of us have heard of this level of intuition and can recall a time when we have recognized it or felt its presence in our lives. Gut instinct may be the best-known and most mainstream interpretation of intuition, but it is only a small part of the entire intelligence system. We should not depend on it alone to guide us to our highest potential or outcome.

Gut instinct is simple, basic and binary, which means it communicates through the feeling of opposites and uses impressions such as yes or no, stop or go, and safe or unsafe to convey its message.

When your gut instinct is operating, it can answer questions, such as: Is this choice/person/relationship in my best interest? Can I thrive in this environment? Will this situation meet my deepest needs?

Level 2: Heart-based intelligence — Attributes: courage, compassion and communication. The intelligence in the heart encourages us to adopt the practice of courage, compassion and care and use them to communicate and connect with all other life forms in our environment. It guides us to what is appropriate to say or do in moments of need, allows us to connect and communicate in often unspoken ways, and helps us bond with people, animals and places in ways that cannot be described by words or rational thought.

This center of wisdom prompts us to ask questions like: Is my life filled with beauty? Do I love what I do? How can I discover my joy? What would I do if I were not afraid? Am I bringing the best of myself to my life and the world?

Level 3: Visionary power — Attributes: imagination, visionary certainty and creative possibility. The third level of intuitive intelligence is found in the mystical and often misunderstood power of extrasensory perception (ESP), expanded spiritual vision, lucid dreaming and other elevated psychic events. This is the level of intuition where extraordinary solutions, alternate ways of doing things and groundbreaking new ideas are commonplace.

When this center of wisdom is active, it guides us to ask questions, such as: What do I see as a solution or possibility? Is there something I am overlooking? What dreams do I have for my future that I have not given myself permission to make into reality?

Level 4: Connection to universal wisdom — Attributes: universal awareness and unity consciousness. The fourth level of intuitive intelligence is the most nonphysical of the group. This intelligence is often activated during deep meditation or advanced awareness practices, and it is sometimes reported after near-death experiences or times of great stress or trauma.

The highest level of intuition that humans can reach while in physical form is the one that allows us to access the realm of all things. We become consciously aware of our connection to and ability to create with the intelligence, the source of our reality. When we are aligned with this level of intelligence, we recognize that all things in life are valuable and appropriate, and that we have the power within us to change and heal our lives if we so choose. At this level, there are no questions, only consciousness.

As you become familiar with these levels of communication, your rapport with this natural form of intelligence will grow, evolve and expand, and it will not matter what the rest of the world is telling you to do. With the direct guidance of your own wisdom, you will be able to navigate any situation with a sense of joy, ease and greater satisfaction.

Simone Wright is the author of First Intelligence: Using the Science and Spirit of Intuition. She has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show and uses her intuitive skills to assist in police investigations, missing children cases and corporate business strategies. simonewright.com.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 33, Number 4, August/September 2014.