Intuition vs Instinct

Intuition has gotten a lot of press lately. 

As an intuitive, I've found over the years that many people are interested in knowing about this part of themselves and learning about how to tap into it.

Intuition is many things, and the way YOU feel your intuition may and most likely IS different than the way your neighbor would.

One of the areas that I feel is often misunderstood is how intuition differs from instinct.

Instinct is not necessarily intuitive, it is more primal.  When we instinctively feel something, while it may be an intuitive 'hit' it may also be an emotion-generated experience based on a more animalistic feeling or even a memory that is triggered. 

For example, let's say I'm out with a friend and someone approaches us and I immediately feel on guard. 

I may feel on guard for many reasons, here are three examples. 

Reason one may be I get that intuitive hit that there is something I feel uncomfortable with about this person.  I don't feel unsafe.  Perhaps I feel unsettled or perhaps I feel something is not authentic.  If this is my reality, it would make sense in this experience to learn more before I decided whether or not to take an action.

Reason two is I get an instinctual hit that is also intuitive telling me that something is off and I'm truly unsafe at the same time.  This is the time I don't need to wait for a 'why' as my intuition is strong and I listen and I leave the situation.

Reason three is I get an instinctual reaction - without intuition - and I feel unsafe but it doesn't seem right.  I may, for example, notice that this person who came up to us is wearing the same cologne as someone who was abusive to me in the past so the experience is triggering a memory of abuse that isn't even about this person.

Can you see the difference here between these scenarios?

What I'm looking to show you here is that intuition is something we have and also something we learn to discern how to use and understand for ourselves.  Instinct can be triggered when intuition isn't.

Hope you found this helpful!

If you are interested in learning more, I encourage you to see my upcoming course on Exploring Your Inner Knowing.