Intuition is Receiving

John Holland’s book got me fired up over the nitty gritty details of how we intuit

If you are a follower of mine, then you know that I am both a student and a teacher of intuition development. I’m student because I’m fascinated by the intuitive process and there’s always more to learn. I’m a teacher because I love to help people become more aware of their own God-given intuition, how to trust it, and how put it into action in a way that improves their life.

I share this with you so you understand, why I got so fired up when I read a statement in a book by psychic medium John Holland. Just so you know, I have nothing against John Holland. I know him only from his books, which I enjoyed reading. I also like the fact that he is from my hometown area, or at least his business post office box is Exeter, NH, which is just 20 minutes from where I grew up. It’s kind of cool thinking that a famous psychic medium might be going to same grocery store my family does! Plus, I appreciate all the work he does works to elevate the professionalism of the psychic industry.

So what got me all fired up? On page 83 in Bridging Two Realms he wrote, “When it comes to information, you could say that a psychic perceives whereas a medium receives.”

You were probably expecting something a lot juicier and much more controversial, right? So what’s the big deal and why did it get me worked up?

I’m not typically a nut case about semantics. But in this case, the semantics matter. The less ideal word leaves too much room for error. While the better word, sets the stage for helping you recognize when you are truly intuiting vs. thinking or worrying about something.

First we receive then we perceive

My beef is in the use of the word “perceive.” My understanding of the word “perceive” is that it means to “see or to discern or understand.” The later especially implies a thinking process. It is the “thinking” aspect that I have an objection with. I don’t want those learning about intuition to incorrectly determine that the act of intuiting, in any way, involves thinking (the cognitive process our brain performs). Instead, we initially want our thinking, judging minds out of the way, so we can clearly intuit.

One of the arguments I make, to encourage students to not rely so heavily on analytical thinking alone, is to point out that we humans have over 160 cognitive biases or faulty ways of thinking. That’s 160 – which is huge! Therefore, I believe we shouldn’t solely rely on our perceptive or thinking processes. Of course, we do need to use our analytical abilities at some point, but first we receive (intuit), then we perceive (think).

The difference between mediums and psychics

I believe that all intuition is receiving. Much like an antenna receives incoming data from its surrounding, we too intuitively receive incoming data in a non-cognitive fashion. Therefore, as I see it, the difference between a psychic and psychic medium is where we get our information from. It’s a matter of which station or realm we’re tuning into. When we intuit, we can receive information from other people, departed loved ones, angels, spirit guides, the Akasha, our higher self, the higher self of another person, light beings, fairies, plants, trees, animals, God, etc.

Mediums, like John Holland, specifically receive information from the realm of deceased loves ones. While psychics receive information from other people, other realms or entities such as spirit guides, angels, ascended masters, the collective consciousness, and so on.

Some psychics specialize in working in a particular realm or with an entity. For example Ester Hicks channels Abraham, Edgar Cayce accessed the Akasha, and Helen Schucman channeled Jesus and wrote the A Course in Miracles. I think all would agree that they receive first, then perceive secondarily. Some would probably say they didn’t perceive at all, instead they strictly channelled the information with no interpretation at all.

What about seeing auras and dead people? I think the same premise applies. If you weren’t receptive to other frequencies and realms, you wouldn’t be able to see (perceive) auras and spirits. First we receive, then we perceive, see, understand or discern, what we see.

Decide for yourself

As of yet, no one has definitely proven exactly how intuition works. Those of us who teach about intuitive subjects are doing their best to take something obscure and make it understandable. Ultimately though, the best guide is your own intuition. The next time you get an intuitive hit or you are proactively working with your intuition, I invite you to notice how the information comes into your awareness. My bet is that you’ll notice that you receive – a gut feeling, a flash of insight, or a symbol, that is perceived in your body, emotions or mind, from which you then think about and interpret a meaning.

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Additional Resources

• Ten Benefits of Nurturing Your Intuition
• Videos Tips on Intuition: