Option two: Learn
Tell us about a time you learned a very valuable lesson. What was it, the circumstances around it, how did the learning process go and what was the result?
Option three: Mystery
If you could find out the answer or solve any mystery on the planet what would it be and why would you like unravel it's secrets.
Happy weekend, everyone. I was trying to think of my answer to this week's prompts, and there was a variety of ideas running through my mind. When I finally narrowed it down, my choice is a combination of options two and three. It was a lesson that I learned, personally, but it's something that still remains a mystery to mankind. The topic I discuss this weekend is whether or not humans have a sixth sense. Throughout this post I sometimes refer to it as intuition or gut instinct.
Back in 2009, right after graduating college, I was working from home for a graphic design job. During the middle of day, I would sometimes walk to Central Park for a break. One day, I decided to walk up into the wooded part of the park, also known as The Ramble. This happened before The Ramble was renovated, when it was a little more sketchy. I'd like to state that I was incredibly naive at that age. I was walking in a wooded area, by myself, with headphones in my ears (I think I had an MP3 player. Remember those?)
As I was walking downhill in the woods, toward a more open area, I suddenly had the sensation that I was being watched. I was looking straight ahead, and didn't hear anything behind me. But something told me to turn around. It was none of my five senses. I turned around. Sitting on a large rock, maybe twenty feet uphill behind me, was a man with his pants down, watching me and doing something I probably can't say on here. You can probably imagine what it was, though. Of course, I ran downhill until I could find a safe open area with people around.
Whenever I think back to this memory, I rarely think about how unsettling it was. I tend to ruminate on the inclination I had to turn around. There was a sensation of being watched, but none of my five senses had picked it up. I think it was my intuition. I learned two lessons that day:
- Don't walk in the woods with headphones on.
- I should trust my instincts more often.
I think intuition, a.k.a. sixth sense, is still a mystery. There aren't a lot of facts to back it up. However, I think many would agree that it's something we have. The problem remains in being able to logically explain a gut feeling that we experience. We are born with instincts, just like animals, but they are eroded by a society that values reason and logic. I'm not saying I don't value reason and logic. I'm an INFJ on the Meyers-Briggs test, but I've scored INTJ before. The only difference between these personality types is F and T. The F stands for feeling and the T represents thinking. I've always seen this as being right on the border between feeling versus logic. I think facts and logic are incredibly important to function as a society. However, there aren't many facts that apply toward a gut instinct.
I'd like to unravel the secret to a sixth sense because I'm sure there is some sort of logical reasoning to it. Have you ever just known something and someone asks you for the facts, and you're left speechless? For example, when you hear about autistic people being able to predict the future, it's really just their brains enhanced pattern-spotting ability. Another example is our ability to spot microexpressions. Our brains do this subconciously, and then we're left feeling like someone didn't like us, had ulterior motives, etc.
Has there ever been a time when your gut instinct or intuition turned out to be right, regardless of facts?
