Kiki Paul is the director of Access Your Intuition, an organisation that is dedicated to giving people access to their own intuition. Kiki's experience in Public Relations, Human Resources, IT and Management has proven her ability to translate intuition into practical application in the business environment.

"Running on raw gut-feeling" I heard someone say the other day.  As a small business operator, I know that a lot of decisions are made on more than just the facts. Sometimes the cold hard facts just don't give you the full picture and you must rely on your 'gut feeling' or intuition.

For many years, intuition has been down and out regarded as silly. However, the tide is starting to turn as more and more managers 'confess' they made important decisions based on intuition.

Among its many definitions, intuition is called the act or faculty of knowing without the use of rational processes; immediate cognition.

Another definition is the capacity for guessing accurately; sharp insight. Precursors include the Latin "intueri," to look at or toward, contemplate; the Middle English "intuycion," contemplation; the Latin and French roots, in -- inside and tuicion -- to watch, guard, protect.

Intuition is an unconscious, specialized source of information which thousands of years ago people understood as a source of protection. Intuition is knowing without knowing how you know.

Our intuitive brain

Dr. Paul MacLean, Senior Research Scientist at the National Institute of Mental Health (USA), has made significant contributions to the understanding the human brain. His Triune Brain Theory, based on an evolutionary model of the brain, proposes the idea that the human brain is really three brains in one.

The archipallium brain (primitive brain) is similar to the brain of reptiles and controls basic, instinctive survival thinking and behaviour.

The palleomammalian brain (limbic system), which is similar to that of lower mammals, seems to be the source of emotions, some aspects of personal identity, and some critically important memory functions.

The third and outer formation of the brain, called the neopallium brain (neocortex), like the brain of higher mammals, is devoted to higher order thinking skills:  Creativity, Imagination, Cooperation, Intuition, Logic.

The Neocortex is divided into the famous two halves, commonly referred to as the Left and Right Brain. The Left Brain holds the centre of language, picks up information in steps and reduces facts to the simplest elements, uses logic and processes data.

The Right Brain looks at the whole picture, abstract concepts, and is the centre of creativity and intuition. It can send non-verbal data to the Left Brain, which then processes and translates into words.  Both halves are used in day to day life.

Our culture places great value on logic. The communications of the Right Brain, such as intuition and creativity which cannot always be logically explained, are generally treated with less respect than logic. As a consequence people tend to be more guided by their Left Brain than their Right brain.

A common misconception is that intuition has no structure, appears and disappears at will and comes in "flashes". And it's not available to all of us. However, if we believe that scientists have done their work, then the above only shows that intuition is an intellectual skill that can be taught.

When you train your intuition, you consciously activate your Right Brain and use your Left brain to interpret the information. When taught a proper structure, anyone can access their intuition at will and apply it whenever they choose to. It is simply a matter of training - and not a very hard one at that.

How do you know?

Intuitive messages can be relayed to us in a number of ways:  a sudden flash of insight that THIS is going to solve the problem or an "Aha!" experience, a sense of the source or location of a problem that is not obvious, a "little voice" in the back of our head informing us of something or even a experience of "seeing" - "I just saw how it needed to work!"

Often the sensation of an intuitive message translates into a certain feeling in the abdomen, hence the term "gut feeling".  Personally I often get goose bumps when I get pure intuition coming through.

Check and double-check

If you have these experiences then how do you trust them? Well, you simply check. In the majority of instances, these hunches can be investigated. Invest some energy into finding out whether your hunch was right or not. Often a hunch is just your intuition telling you that you do need to check further.

All humans have intuitive capabilities and it seems we were "hardwired" for it. Most likely our intuition was used as an exceptional tool for survival in times that were not so technologically developed. Nowadays survival is no longer really an issue for most of us and thus we don't require the use of it.

But wouldn't it be nice have access to an extra level of information and make life somewhat easier?

For more information visit Kiki's website www.accessyourintuition.com.au