Intuition VII

Achieving Mental Clarity With The Intuitive Problem-Solving Formula

What lies behind us and before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Putting Intuitive Problem-Solving To Work For You

Have you tried to execute the perfect balancing act between work, family, and social responsibilities? Many people feel tired just thinking about how to address all these needs. Ponder a “time management” dilemma and set out to find a solution using the IPS process. Review the background, which is that the job requires a lot of time. You desire to bring balance into your life, so put the problem in a question format and ask, “How can I balance my work life with my family life?”

Become centered, sit and concentrate on a geometric pattern. Then, to become receptive, use the “hang-sah” breath and imagine walking through a forest, down a hill to a house, and up a staircase to a room that is similar to yours and enter when you did the IPS exercise. Just as in that exercise, see a box on the table and a special book sitting on a shelf. The imagery is vivid. See a salamander in the box and the word “poison” written on the inside of the book.

Use the amplification interpretation technique to interpret the imagery of the poison. There are several associations you can make to the word “poison”, like toxic, venom, death, and antidote. The word “antidote” feels significant, so amplify further and get the word ”tonic”. If a bit confused about the salamander image, take a resting period by walking around. While walking, the solution can come like a flash of lightening.

Further interpretation comes as you remember reading that salamanders are very sensitive to subtle changes in environment, especially increases of temperature. Like the canary in the coalmine, they are good indicators of the earth’s well being. Realize that you must maintain a proper environment and balance in life. Realize that your family and social life act as a tonic to balance work life. The demands of your work will poison you if unbalanced with friends and family. Also look for a tennis partner and work on improving other games.

Each step of the IPS process is written in italic type. Let’s review these steps so we can put all that you have learned in this unit together to discover how IPS can take you from mental chaos to clarity.

• Problem: Succinctly put problem in question form.
• Centering: Say an affirmation, use visual or verbal focusing, listen to music.
• Receptivity: Use one of the four breathing and/or six relaxation techniques to become receptive to the intuitive mind.
• Imagery: The flash will flow spontaneously or you may have to elicit the imagery more actively.
• Interpretation: Use one of the four techniques – amplification, word association, clustering, and mind mapping – to decipher the underlying meaning of the imagery. If you actively elicit imagery and intuitively know the “right response” you won’t need to use one of the interpretation techniques.
• Resting Period: Take time out from the problem.
• Further Interpretation: Elicit new flashes of insight.
• Activating the Solution: Implement the solution shown.

How To Use These Variations On The Intuitive Problem-Solving Theme To Solve Problems

These examples will show you the many ways of working with intuitive problem solving (IPS). Sometimes, the intuitive answer comes after the first image is presented. This is the case with the first two problems, on a personal matter and the other a work concern. The third example shows how the symbol has been further interpreted to arrive at a resolution to the problem posed. The fourth and fifth examples show variations on the IPS theme as a number of questions are posed to elicit imagery so clarity about the problem can be achieved.

Example 1: A Family Communication Problem

Background:
Brian’s oldest daughter has just turned 14. She seems to be at odds with her mother, and they do not communicate well. He is concerned and would like to do what he can to help them through this difficult time in their relationship. This is how he uses IPS to find a way to help them bridge the communication gap.

• Problem: How do I help my daughter and my wife improve their communication?
• Centering: My home is a very busy place, and it is not easy to find any quiet time for myself. I steal away to my room early one evening and relax on my bed. From our second story window I can look out at the sky and trees in the woods behind the house while resting in bed. The house is quiet, as everyone is outdoors.
• Receptivity: I do some “hang-sah” breaths. I feel the tension drain with every breath as I become enchanted by the patterns of the tree branches against the evening sky. When I feel sufficiently relaxed, I ask myself the question of how to improve the communication between my wife and daughter.
• Imagery: The image I elicit is of my wife’s new white Reebok shoes. She has just bought them for walking, which she does every evening for exercise. I see them very clearly and distinctly.
• Interpretation: I use amplification technique to the word Reebok and make the following association: walk, run, “walk all over you”, white and aerobics. The answer I am looking for is walk, since my wife walks in the evening and likes to have someone go along to talk with her. Usually she asks me or the neighbor, but what if she were to ask our daughter. I decide to wait for the right opportunity to discuss it with her.
• Resting Period: The next day my wife mentions that she has no one to walk with her that evening, so I go along. I mention that she should ask our daughter the next time and that it would do them both good. She agrees and says she will.
• Further Interpretation: Notice that this step is not needed here.
• Activating the Solution: My wife has agreed to ask our daughter, in a nonchalant and off-handed way, to walk with her. The nonthreatening evening walks together way enable mother and daughter to communicate more easily.

Example 2:An Engaging Work Concern

• Problem: Should I hire a new general foreman?
• Centering: I am sitting out on my patio late one evening. By watching the reflection of the moon on the rippling water, I have a natural focusing object. I listen to the crickets making their won music.
• Receptivity: I do some deep breathing and become more relaxed. Then, I imagine myself walking down ten steps.
• Imagery: I “see” a new penny surrounded by others, older coins.
• Interpretation:

The new penny represents someone new from the outside and a new way of doing things. It is a penny among more worn coins of larger denominations. This new person is coming into an environment of people who have been there longer and have a good deal of experience in their current job.

• Resting Period: I watch TV and temporarily forget about my question.
• Further Interpretation: Before going to sleep, I have a sensation of motion, as of a car moving in the fast lane. I sense that the new general foreman needs to move into the position quickly and learn his job from there.
• Activating the Solution: I interview someone who is a perfect fit for this position. I will recommend that he be hired immediately.

Example 3: A Moving Decision

Background:
My wife has been looking at moving into a larger home. I’ve resisted her suggestions because moving is something I absolutely despise doing and feel would be a waste of time. Yet my wife persists and continues to look at house listings and stop at houses that have “for sale” signs. Lately I have started noticing all the little things that are wrong with our house and I begin thinking that perhaps it’s not such a bad idea to look around.

• Problem: Is this the right time to move?
• Centering: I find a bench close to the river and take in the sights and sounds of the area. I particularly focus on the leaves of a nearby plant.
• Receptivity: The river water flowing over the dam is a very comforting sound. I do some deep breathing and the “autogenic relaxation” technique.
• Imagery: I see someone in the bed – resting, not sleeping. I relax some more and continue to see this peaceful, restful bed.
• Interpretation: Using amplification I make the following associations:

I repeat these words over and over. Sleep is a word you can associate to a bed, but the person I see in the bed isn’t sleeping. A bed can be soft, but that and comfort do not feel right. Sleep can be restless and, even through this decision is a major one; I ‘m not losing sleep over it. Sex doesn’t ring a bell yet. Rest – the word strikes an intuitive chord. My interpretation of the word “rest” is that we should not consider moving at this time and that we should rest and wait awhile before making such a decision.

• Resting Period: I let the problem go for a few days.
• Further Interpretation: A dam appears and I continue to amplify. Associations to the dam are water, pretty, fish, power, and hold back. I get the “Ah’ha!” when I repeat the words “hold back”. A dam is used to hold back water. This comforts my first impression that we should wait and relax about buying a new house and “hold back” on any plans.
• Activating the Solution: The next step is for me to sit down with my wife, discuss how I feel about buying a new house, and share my opinion that we should hold off for now.