In Frederic Laloux’s recent groundbreaking book “Reinventing Organizations”, he makes the case for the value of developing your intuition:

     Wisdom can be a found in intuition, too.  Intuition honors the complex ambiguous, paradoxical, non-linear nature of reality; we unconsciously connect patterns in a way that our rational mind cannot.  Intuition is a muscle that can be trained, just like logical thinking: When we learn to pay attention to our intuitions, to honor them, to question them for the truth and guidance they might contain, more intuitive answers will surface.

Just as we prepare ourselves for an important interview or set our minds to achieve a challenging goal like running a marathon, we can take step to invite intuition into our daily experience.  The following are a number of ideas to ponder and exercises to do.  Consider adapting them in a way that speaks to you.

Revisit Your Perspective and Perceptions

• Consider the possibility that wherever you are now is now the optimal place from which to get where you want to go.  A Native American proverb says:  What do you do when you get lost?  Stand still.  The trees and bushes beside you are not lost.
• Look at a painting by Monet or Picasso and contemplate your ability to alter your perception of reality and bring forth something completely new and unexpected.
• Pay attention to details–like a word, color, or song that catches your attention or comes to mind for no apparent reason–as elements that have the capacity to reveal the whole.  Look around you with a fresh eye to rediscover the environment you’re in or all data and aspects of the situation at hand that you would like to resolve.

Get Comfortable with the Part of Life That Is Not Logical

• Don’t immediately ban an idea because it is paradoxical and appears illogical.  Welcome paradoxical data or situations.  The word “paradox” comes from the Greek paradoxos “opposed to existing notions, from para- + doxa opinion”; so something that is paradoxical is something we should all look for because we looking for new ideas, not what is already known and widespread.  
• When you receive information that appears to be out of context, take a moment to notice it.  It may appear to be out of context, but it could lead you to a deeper understanding of something that is not obvious.

Accept That You Are Not in Control

• Allow yourself to be carried away by energies that appear to be chaotic.  Your acquiescence can help the emergence of a new order that you could not have imagined.
• Try to stay in tune with your emotions, especially in moments of stress or chaos.  Emotions are energies that are all part of a same circle; if we shut one down, we break the circle, and we close ourselves off from all emotions, good or bad.  If we can avoid trying to harshly control emotions that feel uncomfortable, they will pass and we will return to a state of balance.  The more we accept our emotions, the faster they evolve and the faster we can move on.

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