Gut Feeling

We often hear about going with your “gut feeling”.  Is it an intuition, instinct or what? 
 
Some people have special insights that cannot be explained.  My wife has that special insight.  Whenever I wanted to hire someone in a sensitive position, I would have dinner with that person accompanied by my wife.  She would either give me thumbs-up or a thumbs-down.  She had a feeling about the person with no logical explanation, but I found her to be right in her feelings and relied on it.   
 
How often do we think logically about a situation and the indications appear positive, yet we get a feeling that what we contemplate doing is wrong?  I believe we are prompted about right and wrong and that applies to decisions we agonize about.  My guess is that they are collective intelligence.  Could it be our connection to the universe with past and present energy?

Yes, Abe; what Jung called the collective unconscious is one source for intuition.

Technically, there is a difference between "gut feelings" and intuition.  The chakra system provides an explanation.  Our 3rd chakra exists in the area of the stomach and has to do with our need for power and control.  At this level, our instincts still hold, and those instincts can come into play, tellingus what to do in certain circumstances.  Our 6th chakra is in the middle of the forehead, between our eyebrows, and is often called the 3rd eye - our source of insight.  This is more properly called intuition, as it connects to a higher source of knowledge.

Niether have anything to do with logic and reason, which Jung says are part of our "Thinking function" as opposed to Feeling, Sensing, or Intuiting.

Both gut instincts and intuition seem to be based on pattern recognition and the sense that we've been through something like this before, and our brains pick up on that when we are in the process of making decisions.

See Chakra System, Carl Jung, and Katherine Benziger for more info.

Thanks Ann.

And add Deepak Chopra - I just remembered you have read his work and like it.

Deepak Chropra;

 "Death itself was seen as a brief stopping point on an endless soul journey that could turn a peasant into a king and vice versa. With the possibility of infinite lifetimes extending forward and backward, a soul could experience hundreds of heavens and hells. Death ended nothing; it opened up limitless adventures. But at a deeper level, it's typically Indian not to crave permanence. A drop of water becomes vapor, which is invisible, yet vapor materializes into billowing clouds, and from clouds rain falls back to earth, forming river torrents and eventually merging into the sea. Has the drop of water died along the way? No, it undergoes a new expression at each stage. Likewise, the idea that I have a fixed body locked in space and time is a mirage."

Where is the proof of this? Is it based on a natural thing in nature? The sun comes up from the east, and sets in The west...I guess some, like the people of Egypt, have made this every day event also a religion. Deepak Chropra proves nothing..it just tickles the ear of those who do not know, "Truth can be proven"...if it can not be proven...it is not something to base one's life on.

To which Deepak Chopra book do you refer?

There are many, but all seem to follow the same path.

http://www.amazon.com/Life-After-Death-Burden-Proof/dp/product-description/0307345785

Quote :

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In India death is perceived very differently than in the West, "as a brief stopping point on an endless soul journey," says Chopra in this introduction to life beyond bodily existence. Chopra, a medical doctor and world leader in mind-body medicine as well as author of more than 45 books, now ventures to answer: what happens after we die? For Chopra, death deserves to be called miraculous, a "doorway to a far more important event—the beginning of the afterlife" and a mode of being that "can be as creative as living." Chopra effectively uses the classic Vedanta story of Savitri—a woman who comes home to find death, Lord Yama, waiting to take her husband, and who seeks the monk Ramana's advice to outwit death—to frame each chapter. Chopra grounds each topic in the long arc of this singular story, which is the perfect springboard for Chopra to introduce concepts such as Akasha (the highest stage a soul can attain) and Eternity within the Indian tradition (where we are beyond death, life, maleness, femaleness, and the experience of time). Chopra presents a fascinating account of life after death for Westerners that will certainly please his avid fans and draw in new readers as well

It's possible to take a set of thoughts out of context with writing so thorough and in depth as Chopra.  I would hesitate to say more than what I have said of any religious teacher:  he has looked into his heart and found the reality that makes sense to him.  His popularity indicates that many other people have found a similar point of view.

Combining Western and Eastern thought is full of sand pits.  It is much less complicated to adopt a religious point of view and stick with it, ignoring anything else.  

I believe that Abe, Ann, Dominick, LC and others who have pondered these things (I know I have left off a long list of people) have found their own answers that work for them just as my unsettled ones are the best I can do so far.

i would guess that you are right where you are supposed to be. Everyone's journey is unique.

I think the thoughts expressed here are important.  I value this connection.

It isn't everywhere you can discuss religion and politics.  Sometimes it gets a little rough here because people are invested in their viewpoints; however, the diversity of viewpoints and the similarity of others makes for a challenging mix of ideas to ponder. 

I appreciate those who are opposite to me in their thinking.  It helps to understand the things that happen in this world for which there seems no rational explanation. 

The behavior of the human species is very complex.  Do you ever wonder why?  Some people are imbued with such unimaginable intelligence and ability to learn and think things through that surely something really fine is in the future?

I feel wasted at present.  I just threw out all the materials I once used to lead training workshops in communications, diversity, strategic planning etc. I am an excellent trainer, but I'm not in a position where anyone wants my services.

It seems a waste for older people to just leave the workplace and all their abilities and talents behind.  Oh, many volunteer; but I can't afford to volunteer.  I need the income.  Volunteering takes gas and time.  As my teaching and social service colleagues often said, we spent our careers volunteering when you consider our low income and what we have left.

Yet, we still have much to offer.

"In India death is perceived very differently than in the West ..."

This is probably because life is cheap in India. A hundred years ago large families in western culture were the norm. Now the average number of children per family in the UK has dropped to 1.7. Life is precious and attitudes to death have changed. The way we perceive things is very much dependent on the world we create around us. As Ann would say, we create our own reality, but in doing so, that reality is a reflection of our changed circumstances.

Shelagh wrote:

...we create our own reality, but in doing so, that reality is a reflection of our changed circumstances.

Yes.

dkchristi wrote:

It isn't everywhere you can discuss religion and politics.  Sometimes it gets a little rough here because people are invested in their viewpoints; however, the diversity of viewpoints and the similarity of others makes for a challenging mix of ideas to ponder. 

I appreciate those who are opposite to me in their thinking.  It helps to understand the things that happen in this world for which there seems no rational explanation. 

The behavior of the human species is very complex.  Do you ever wonder why?  Some people are imbued with such unimaginable intelligence and ability to learn and think things through that surely something really fine is in the future?

I feel wasted at present.  I just threw out all the materials I once used to lead training workshops in communications, diversity, strategic planning etc. I am an excellent trainer, but I'm not in a position where anyone wants my services.

It seems a waste for older people to just leave the workplace and all their abilities and talents behind.  Oh, many volunteer; but I can't afford to volunteer.  I need the income.  Volunteering takes gas and time.  As my teaching and social service colleagues often said, we spent our careers volunteering when you consider our low income and what we have left.

Yet, we still have much to offer.

I felt the same way when I left Sylvan. I was getting fewer hours and it was costing almost as much to drive to the center as I was making after I got there. It was a combination of fewer students overall and a tendency to give the hours to younger tutors first, partly because they were earning less per hour.

It is easy to say that it is fine to "just be," but just being doesn't help to pay the bills. Many pensions that once grew to keep up with inflation no longer do so. Living a more simple life only goes so far.

Finding our ways to contribute that pay us back for the service becomes more of a challenge, as does keeping our sense of self in the process.

Keep writing, DK. You have an audience that appreciates what you do.

DK.  I can understand your feelings.  What a waste of talent.  In my last position as employer, it finally hit me.  Instead of looking for young people, I opted for older people who had experience and were more dependable.  At that time it cost more to provide benefits (healthcare) for older folks, but it was worth it.  I hope that with ACA, hiring older people will not be a deterrent.
Having a job for the money is what many do and in many cases, a necessity.  I’ve been through that, hating my job, but with a family to support, doing it anyway.  Sometimes we simply must make a break.
My daughter Christine started with a small firm as Secretary.  She grew with the firm and within a few years the firm was very successful.  She was Number Two in the company, earning very good money, with company car, etc., however she was constantly stressed-out.  Secondly she abhorred the necessity to kill animals to produce the product.  (Producing leather seats for luxury cars meant the killing of thousands of cattle for their hides on a monthly basis.)  As an animal lover, what the company was doing went against her principles as well as the fraud the company was committing with tax evasion.  She quit her job.  She went into training to take care of senior citizens in a hospital environment.  There was a demand for such personnel and as it turns out, she simply loves her job.  She enjoys the interaction with these people and lots of time is spent on just listening to the people.  They have stores to tell and much of their therapy is allowing them to tell their stories.  The older they are the more childlike they become.  Getting to know the patients and their specific needs/wants helps.  Some want to be tucked-in at night as would a child.  This job has been great therapy for her.  She is happy, relaxed and wears a great smile.  The pay is not great, but the rewards compensate for that. 
At some stage in life, improving the resume is no longer important.