Intuition VI

ELICITING IMAGERY SENT BY THE INTUITIVE MIND

But now visualization has entered the domain of the business. CEOs are forming new images of their businesses and where they ought to be going and are bringing those visions in to reality. The leader who would create vision sufficiently compelling to motivate associates to superior performances must draw on the intuitive mind.

J. Naisbitt and P. Aburdene

Re-inventing the Corporation

How Does Your Intuitive Mind Speak To You?

Awareness of your sense is the key to understanding and knowing how your intuitive mind will communicate. You can experience imagery through all your sense. Imagery will help you discover how your intuitive mind speaks to you; “seeing” things, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching them in your mind. In the receptive alpha level of awareness, you can go beyond these REPRESENTATIONAL SYSTEMS to experience related affective states that reflect you inner emotions, such as “feeling” happy or sad, and the kinesthetic state or inner awareness of body movement, such as the sensations that you are floating on a cloud or falling through space. Notice how you sense imagery.

AWAKEN & REFINE YOUR SENSES

As I said, becoming aware of your sense is the key to unlocking your intuitive mind’s communications. Notice what senses ARE activated:

Which of your senses were aroused as you read about this experience?

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How A Carmaker Used Intuitive Imagery to Change Its Image

Several years ago, top management at Buick wanted their employees to develop a strong image of the essence of Buick, which they could then communicate to their organization, dealers and customers. This campaign was mounted during a period when the image of Buick had become somewhat blurred. The goal of the conference was to make Buick personnel intuitively understand what Buick really represented by the time they left. The challenge was to create a conference to teach employees to communicate the Buick image without speaking a word.

After the executive team decide that Buick was going to represent the premium American motor car, their strategies suggested these four words to underscore what the product division was trying to convey: “substantive”, “distinctive”, “powerful”, and “mature”. Additional characteristics were added such as muscular grace, rich detail, comfort, accommodation, and image-enhancing technology. The image conference was designed to help people identify what those words really meant and how they related to Buick.

To do this they used sight, sound, touch, music, and videos to help attendees see, hear and feel the image of Buick.

To get an idea of the impact this image conference had on all the attendees, I will highlight two concepts – muscular grace and rich detail, to show how the images were presented. Imagine yourself standing in the middle of a large conference hall. Everyone you look in the enormous hall, you discover an image on the huge video screen, on the wall, or on any of the standing displays throughout the room. At one end of the hall, you pause to watch the video projected upon a screen. You focus on the ballerina swirling around and gracefully moving her body with agility and strength. The words muscular grace once again become etched in your mind as you watch thoroughbred horses in action, resplendent with grace and strength during their run. The images are very different – one a human and the other an animal – yet each strongly conveys the image of muscular grace.

The Buick imaginers were equally adroit in reinforcing the concept that Buick is rich in detail. The display included many examples of fine crafted objects like a finely detailed western saddle that reflect this rich detail. The object emphasized Buick as American and stressed the rich detail. The connection was made between the attentions to detail behind every Buick automobile and these finely crafted products. Without saying a word or using a chart or graph, these images and the others displayed at the conference strongly and easily communicated the Buick image to any customers or employee. It was just sensed or felt!

Do You Get The Picture?

You have now learned the first three IPS steps of identifying the problem, centering, and receptivity. Now we’ll focus on retrieving the imagery sent to you by your intuitive mind – how you can become attuned to the language of intuition through mental pictures, images, and symbols. The intuitive mind communicates by showing what you are thinking and feeling. Whenever I use a word “imagery”, I am talking about the “pictures inside your head”.

Imagine, for example, that you have just won two round-trip tickets to anywhere in the world. Where would you go? Personally, I would choose Brazil. When I think of Brazil, I imagine CRYSTALS and HEALING; I can see the shops with many different color size crystals at good prices. No picture of that area is complete for me without seeing the famous healer and the many sick people receiving healing. As I described these images, “did you get a picture?” Did you see, hear feel, or sense any of the Brazilian images I just mentioned?

Exercise

Picture a Getaway

Choose a destination that for you would serve as a welcome retreat. Write a paragraph or two describing the sensory images that come into your mind about this locale. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you feel? What do you smell? What do you taste?

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Have you ever tried to communicate a difficult concept to a workmate? After paragraphs pour forth, do you finally say, “Did you get the picture?” You are trying to “paint a picture” to describe your thoughts. Imagine a marketing group describing the sales campaign for the new product to the rest of the company. The first words out to the group leader’s mouth are “let me paint you a picture”. How about trying to get the attention of a young child. As they restlessly fidget around, do you drop an image in from of them, like being “quiet as a mouse, “ to get their attention? Do you entice them with images of ice cream, a video game, or a fishing trip?

One of my favorite cartoons shows a little boy saying, as he reads a book, “I like reading because it turns on the picture inside my head”. And people often prefer a book to the movie version of it because the latter rarely conforms to the “pictures inside their head” that the book created.

I HAVE four challenges. The first challenge is to realize and acknowledge that your intuitive mind does in fact send images to you. The second challenge is to find out how your intuitive mind speaks to you and through which of your senses. The artist Gauguin said, “I close my eyes in order to see”. Not everyone can retrieve a clear image and “see” after they close their eyes. Suppose I said, “Close your eyes and imagine you are looking at a tree”. Some people will actually see the tree, but others may hear the leaves rustling in the wind or smell the scent of pine needles. All are imagining they are looking at the tree, AND SOME are actually seeing it. So rather than asking, “Get the picture?” I might say, “How does this sound to you?” Or “Are you getting in touch with what I am saying?”

The third challenge has to do with the way in which intuition comes to you – actively or passively. Are you aware of these pictures or images when they are presented to you? Often, imagery is fleeting and forgotten. Imagery can also be somewhat faint, especially when drowned out in a sea of words. The following examples reflect the passive or spontaneous side of intuition, although intuition can come to you more actively or deliberately when you ask a direct question and get a reply. You will learn how to actively access the pictures and images showing intuitive replies and creative directions, and how to become more attentive to the spontaneous imagery presented by your intuitive mind.

The fourth challenge is to learn how to test the progress of your imagery by rating the quality of your intuitive pictures, symbols, or images.

How To “See” The Imagery

If you think you can never see or picture anything, you’re mistaken. You just don’t know how and since your intuition is already working, your challenge is to strengthen the pictures and images you receive so you can consistently gain access to the solutions your intuitive mind presents to you.

To activate your imagination, let’s take a guided imagery trip so you can see that your intuitive mind does in fact speak to you. As the word “guided” implies, I will be leading you with my words and directions to elicit specific imagery.

Exercise

A Guided Imagery Trip

Preparation: To ease into the receptive alpha level, take five “ha!” breaths followed by the “progressive” relaxation technique. Start the “ha!’ breath by either standing or sitting upright. It helps to place your hands on your stomach just above the waist with your fingertips meeting near you navel. You begin by inhaling and inflating an imaginary balloon, then exhaling with an explosion of air as you say out loud, “ha!”. Repeat this sequence five more times.

Begin to “progressively” relax your body as you close your eyes and imagine energy coming into your body on the inhale breath. It helps to visualize the energy as colored light, like rays of sunshine for example

First, as you exhale imagine the tension flowing out through the soles of your feet, like the tide, of the ocean as it is going out. Inhale the energy in and exhale out tension out.

Now, inhale and direct the rays of energy to your legs. Exhale and imagine the tension flowing down your legs and out through the soles of your feet. Inhale the energy in and exhale the tension out.

Inhale, bringing the golden rays of energy into your chest and upper back.

Exhale and let the tension flow down your spine, through your legs, and out through the soles of your feet. Again, like the outgoing tide. Repeat.

Inhale and direct the rays of energy into your arms and hands.

Exhale and imagine the tension flowing down your arms and out through your fingertips. Do this again.

Inhale and direct the golden rays of energy into your shoulders.

Exhale as you imagine the tension flowing down both arms and out through your fingertips. Repeat this and imagine the tension flowing down your arms, through your hands, and out through your fingertips.

Inhale and direct the energy into your legs and neck. Exhale, and let the tension flow down your spine, down your legs, and out through the soles of your feet. Do this once again.

Now you are ready to tale a guided trip to the woods.

Directions: It is a beautiful day for a hike in the woods. The sun is shining and the trees and in full foliage. As you walk, you are sensitive to the fragrant aromas released from the flowers. Surrounded by nature’s sound and color, you feel delighted. Walking through the woods, you notice animals scurrying across the path and even see squirrels running up the trees. They seem to run to the opposite side of the tree so you can’t see them, but you know they are there. Chickadees and other birds fly from tree to tree. Listen to the beautiful call of the cardinal as it sings in the trees.

Walking along your path you hear running water in the distance. You come across a small stream and begin to walk alongside it, glancing occasionally at the gravel and rocks beneath the stream. The water is very clear. You notice a fish darting from rock to rock. Continue walking along the stream. After walking for an hour, you feel the warmth of the sun on your head. You stop by a place in the stream where the water has been diverted into a small pond. It is about eight feet across and may be three or four feet deep in the middle. The water trickles in at one end and then out the other end, going back into the stream and finally down the river. You sit down by the side of the pond and élan against a tree. After taking your shoes and socks off, you put both feet in the cool water and feel them relax.

Leaning against the tree, you look up at the sky to see the cloud formations. You are fascinated by the different forms and shapes. Some are shaped like animals. Others seem to look like numbers. A familiar object or person may appear.

The clouds contain a clue that will help you solve a recent problem, make a decision, or provide an innovative touch to a project. Pose your problem or decision to the clouds. The solution could even come in shapes of the clouds!

Is a special person on your mind? Can you see them in the clouds? What are they doing? Observe these clouds for a while. In back of your mind, record everything you are seeing so you can easily recollect the details.

After a while you know it is time to leave and return to your current surroundings. You wave good-bye to the clouds, stand up, and take a wonderful stretch. Going back, you follow the stream and eventually come to your starting point.

Return your awareness to your room as you stretch and look around. You feel refreshed and revitalized. Answer the following questions to help you achieve clarity about anything that happened during this experience.

How do you feel?

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How clear was your imagery?

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