In this episode of From The Center, feminine psychology and women’s empowerment experts Debra and Dr. Rob explain the difference between true intuition and a ‘gut instinct’ and how you can make the most of your own woman’s intuition. Debra also shares a bit of ‘Let It Be’ insight from Sir Paul McCartney.
Did you know…
The ‘collective unconscious’ is a concept originally defined by psychoanalyst Carl Jung. It is sometimes called the objective psyche. It refers to the idea that a segment of the deepest unconscious mind is genetically inherited and is not shaped by personal experience.
“Intuition gives outlook and insight; it revels in the garden of magical possibilities as if they were real.” ~CARL JUNG
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Transcript
Debra Maldonado 00:07
Welcome to Creative Mind Living a podcast for people interested in personal growth based on the principles of Carl Jung, neuroscience and Eastern philosophies. We are your hosts Debra Maldonado, and Dr. Rob Maldonado, founders of Creative Mind Coaching.
Robert Maldonado 00:31
We’re back.
Debra Maldonado 00:31
We’re back. Is your intuition awakened? So before we get started on our topic today wanted to have a brief talk about something relevant that we recently saw on YouTube. James Corden has this dark pool karaoke. And if you haven’t seen it, it’s really wonderful. He interviews a lot of people famous singers, and they sing in the car and he did one with our favorite Paul McCartney, Sir Paul Gar Sir Paul McCartney. And he was telling him about how he really got the inspiration for the song. Let it be which we all love that song.
Robert Maldonado 01:14
Yeah, it’s definitely a class and they were talking about how it’s lasted for so long. It’s been relevant for so long.
Debra Maldonado 01:22
And he was always thinking at the time that when is this going to end? And how long am I going to hang on to this fame? I mean, they really didn’t expect it to hang on that long. And he said he had a dream, and his mother had passed away and she came to him in a dream. And she said, don’t worry about it. Everything’s going to be alright. And she said, Let it be. And she he said he woke up feeling this sense of calmness and peace. And in those those moments we have in our dreams, we really touch that what they say in Eastern philosophy, the nectar of immortality.
Robert Maldonado 01:59
Right. As Jung would say, the collective unconscious.
Debra Maldonado 02:03
And so there’s so much available to us for a part of us that’s guiding us. And that’s able to communicate with us whether it’s through dreams and visualizations, and our everyday mind that today we’re going to talk about intuition. Yeah. And so that was a segue into our topic for today, one of my favorites, how do we access that? How can we consciously have experiences like Paul McCartney?
Robert Maldonado 02:28
Yeah, everybody has intuition, including Moi. But the question is, how do we know its intuition? Or if it’s our ego mind?
Debra Maldonado 02:41
So let’s talk about that a little bit. What is intuition? A lot of people think it’s that gut feeling when I have that gut feeling, I should do something or not do something. How do what is intuition, but how would you just define it?
Robert Maldonado 02:56
Yeah, I think everybody has an idea of what it is. But if you Ask him to define it and how it operates and how it works, they probably would come up short. Jungian psychology has a very definite idea of where intuition comes from? What is the source? How it work. How you can use it all. So first of all, you have to understand two pieces of the psychology one is the ego. And the ego is our internal voice and the center of our awareness in our everyday survival mind. It helps us make sense of the world. It kind of narrates our activities and kind of keeps track of stuff.
Debra Maldonado 03:41
So it says every everyday thoughts we have and how we identify ourselves with the way we were thinking,
Robert Maldonado 03:46
Yes, and it’s a very personal mind. It’s got a history, and you can trace it back to childhood and all the other pieces though the collective unconscious. Now, this is unique to Jungian psychology. Freud didn’t go there. Most of the psychology that followed did not go there. Jung was the only one that really developed this idea of collective unconscious mind. And it is what most people call the psyche. The, you know, psyche translates as soul in the Greek. And it is what most people would call the soul. But you don’t want to develop a psychology that accounted for the soul.
Debra Maldonado 04:33
So I think have to make it easier for people to visualize is the collective unconscious, we’re on this ocean of consciousness, we’re all a part of that we’re all connected to. And then the individual wave on the ocean is our individual self, or expression or soul or coming out of that ocean that’s not separate, that still contains and has access to the whole. And then that little bubble on the foam on the top of the wave is her ego. And ego is so tiny and fragile and it can burst at any moment. But that’s really, if we think about when we’re trying to make a decision from that little tiny bubble, not very effective. But we have access to this collective, Universal Mind that we’re all connected to, that we all came from and that is still within us and still accessible to us.
Robert Maldonado 05:27
That’s what I was gonna say. But, okay, so what does this have to do with intuition? So what is it about to do? Well, let’s go back to ego. It’s got very powerful defense mechanisms, which means
Debra Maldonado 05:44
The ego has.
Robert Maldonado 05:45
Yes when you’re about to make a decision, it’s going to use those defenses often to maybe stop you from making a decision or talk you out a bit because you’re moving out of your comfort zone.
Debra Maldonado 06:05
So basically, when you’re saying talk you out of it, that egos getting the information from past experience.
Robert Maldonado 06:12
Yes.
Debra Maldonado 06:13
So what you’re really not feeling is intuition. It’s more like instinct like you have this, like instinct to protect and survive.
Robert Maldonado 06:20
Yes. And it’s just an example. But you know, there’s obviously, decisions where they’re easy to make, and we just kind of decide, but what I mean is those decisions that take us out of our comfort zone. Often people think that the defense mechanism is an intuition. And it’s simply a defense mechanism, right? It’s trying to prevent you from going into the unknown.
Debra Maldonado 06:50
Well, here’s a good example of that if you’re a coach or in the service industry. And I work with a lot of women who are in the service industry and asking for money for their services. And when I encourage them to raise their rates, you know, demand more higher pay, even in the corporate world, and then we get a kickback or pushback that someone says they can afford it or someone says you’re too expensive. Or if you’re in the corporate world, your boss says, sorry, that’s way out of your paygrade or out of your experience. You’re not qualified yet. They think that’s intuition that Oh, I’m pushing too far. And see, my intuition showing me that it’s a sign. Your intuition showing your intuition showing me like it’s a sign like this. It must be a sign that I shouldn’t do this, or I shouldn’t pursue this or I need to take a step back. And I’ve heard people say, they gave up on their their dream job or going for their dreams because of a setback. And they said, Oh, well, my intuition told me that I need to go back to the corporate world and it just doesn’t make, that’s not how the intuition works. Intuition is never pulling you backwards. It’s often pushing you forward.
Robert Maldonado 08:04
That’s a good point. And it’s pushing you forward because it’s coming from what some people call transpersonal psyche, the collective unconscious. So that collective unconscious, it goes beyond our personal experience. It is kind of our roots and our inheritance that we’re drawing from this reservoir of creativity, of inspiration, of ideas that are surging through us. And they often come through dreams or through intuition.
Debra Maldonado 08:39
And that idea of creativity and innovation and all those great things that our mind comes up with, it doesn’t come from that little ego mind. It comes from that other place.
Robert Maldonado 08:50
That’s right. So this definition of intuition is that it’s coming from the collective unconscious from the deeper side. And it is not an ego decision. It’s not an ego defense. It’s distinct. Now, what’s the benefit of developing this intuition?
Debra Maldonado 09:13
Maybe you don’t want to repeat the same patterns anymore. You don’t want to be stuck in the same income level, the same career level, the same relationships over and over, the same problems in your life, the same dynamics and family, the same weight, everything is all basically driven by that conditioned mind. And so when you’re accessing the intuition, it’s an invitation to be more and to access a greater part of yourself. So for example, if you are really intuitive tapping into your intuition, when you’re in a partnership, romantic partnership, like you and I, we often know when the other person made a shift, psychologically, wow, what happened? What are you doing earlier because to me, we talk, and I felt it. I felt something shift. And you have that basically unconscious connection with your romantic partner. You can also have this with the people in your worlds, your career, the people on your staff, your customers. If you’re in the corporate world, it’s your customers. But if you’re a coach or if you’re a thought leader, think about you having that ability to sense and feel and pick up in the room, where to go, where to take people, where to teach them one on one coaching. How do I really be clear and be present with this person without letting my ego get involved? How can I clearly connect to that unlimited part of myself that can reach that other person on a deeper level and if we can reach ourselves FROM SOUL TO SOUL each other. That’s where true awakening happens. And if you’re a coach, what a great experience your clients have if you can really connect with them on that level. Now, they’ll feel like you’re you’re seeing a part of themselves that they can’t see or the unknowing, and it’s a deeper connection.
Robert Maldonado 11:09
All those and so much more because if you’re a creative person, tapping into the collective unconscious through your intuition is invaluable. This is a source of ideas, songs, music, books. I have new ideas for coaching, for business, on and on, right? It’s very practical and very useful. So it’s not, you know, a lot of people think intuition belongs in the left field somewhere else and reading tea leaves. But it’s really a very practical skill to develop.
Debra Maldonado 11:48
So how do we develop it? How do we develop it to a point where we know we’re really connecting to our intuition? We’re going to let you know after this commercial break. Are you passionate about personal development and empowering others? And when it turn that passion into a new career, you can become a highly trained coach in our Creative Mind Life Coach Training Program. The next class begin soon. So visit us today at Creativemindcoaching. com to find out more and get a free consultation. Okay, we’re back and we are ready to do a little work on how to develop that intuition. Well, from what I’m hearing from you, Dr. Rob, it means that we need to learn how to transcend the ego. If we’re really going to access and it’s not getting rid of the ego, but it’s not identifying as the ego and being able to see it have an experience of yourself outside of the ego.
Robert Maldonado 12:53
Yes, because if we identify powerfully and strongly with the ego, we start to believe that we are this little ego. And we feel very small and fragile and we need those defenses. But as you start to to realize that there’s more to you than this ego mind, then you’re able to tap into those deeper resources.
Debra Maldonado 13:16
And so how does one do that?
Robert Maldonado 13:18
No, that’s the secret.
Debra Maldonado 13:19
Yeah, the secret, well, the process that Jung called individuation, which obviously we can’t go through the whole process on our podcast today, but it really is this process of understanding yourself, your psychology, the patterns that your ego has created, the defenses it’s created. And when you know what you are, how those condition parts of yourself are created. And you can see them clearly, then you’re able to see what you are the ego is not, which is all the other wonderful parts of ourselves. We can learn it through what Jung called active imagination or visualization. We can visualize and connect with our deeper selves. That way, through dreams, we can really start to listen to our dreams and understand ourselves in that way. And then meditation just kind of meditating and holding the space. But one practical way I see is that we could do this really fun exercise. It’s to play with our intuition to really play and awaken this part of ourselves by using it. So think of a decision in your life that you have to make a choice. That you’re having a hard time. That maybe both sides seem appealing. But you’re saying, I don’t know. What’s my intuition and what’s my ego. So here’s a really quick exercise. Imagine that there’s two doors in front of you. They’re both closed. And think of one door has the letter A on it, and the second door has the letter B on it. And they’re both closed. And I want you to imagine that you’re looking at them. Right now facing them, and then turn your back on them for a second and assign door number A to choice A and door number B to choice B. And then turn around really quickly and just watch which of those doors open first. And what will happen is immediately your mind is going to make a judgment on what door you opened. And that judgment that kicks in is your ego. So your intuition will make a split, kind of try to creep into your mind. But then the ego takes over and the defense’s takeover and they start to second guess what the decisions are making. And that’s what causes the cloudiness because we’re not clear. But if you understand that it’s your ego that kicks in, then you’re able to separate which is my intuition and which is my ego.
Robert Maldonado 15:55
So you’re saying as you turn around the first door that opens, that’s your intuition. You just go with that. But then if you observe your mind, all the objections are gonna come up and say
Debra Maldonado 16:09
Why wouldn’t door number? I wanted door number B to open, and I don’t want door number A. And so you’re really checking in and watching the defenses. And what this is really key is that that defensive dialogue that happens is what the ego’s doing all the time. So if you start practicing that, you’re going to notice the same old stories and excuses are going to pop in all the time. And then you’re going to recognize your ego and say, Oh, there it is again. It’s saying you can’t do it or you’re not ready. Take your time. Don’t make a rash decision. And then also, Rob, you had mentioned before in one of our trainings about how our brain makes a decision and how it makes it unconsciously before we’re even conscious of it/
Robert Maldonado 16:56
Yeah, that’s a whole other topic, but maybe we’ll do a podcast on that. But essentially, the neuro science shows that our brain is making decisions for us up to 10 seconds before we become conscious of that decision. So a simple example is you’re out shopping, and you want to choose between two different pairs of shoes. Your brain has already made up its mind.
Debra Maldonado 17:26
And so when they look at the doors, what do you think that is?
Robert Maldonado 17:30
I think it’s your intuition because it is essentially flowing through us all the time. But our ego covers it, and distorts it.
Debra Maldonado 17:43
And so truly the way to be free in our life is to make more conscious decisions. And being able to awaken the intuition within us is really awakening or soul, awakening our deeper selves to really live our potential and life. So probably one of the most critical things we can do.
Robert Maldonado 18:04
Absolutely.
Debra Maldonado 18:05
So we love this topic. If you are interested in learning more, come to our website, the jugnianlifecoach.com. And next week, we’ll have another fun filled episode. And please join us on our podcast page in Facebook. Just find us on Creative Mind, and say hello to us. Let us know what topics you are interested in. And we’ll see you on the next show. See you soon. Take care
