Home > Document
Intuition
Knowledge beyond logic
Only with the help of intuition can a person comprehend the difference between the intellect, logical thinking and the more inclusive realm of the spirit. Logic is how the mind knows reality; intuition is how the spirit experiences the experience of reality. Osho's discourses on these topics are extraordinarily expressive, sometimes amusing, and - utterly captivating. We all have a natural capacity for intuition, but social conditioning and formal education often work against it. We are taught to ignore our own instincts instead of understanding and using them as the basis for individual growth and development. And in the process, we undermine the very roots of our innate wisdom that was meant to blossom into intuition. This book contains excerpts from Osho's talks in which he talks about exactly what intuition is and explains how to learn to recognize it in others and in yourself. We can learn to distinguish between genuine intuitive insight and "wishful thinking" that can easily lead to wrong decisions and undesirable consequences. The book also includes several specific Osho exercises and meditations designed to nourish and support each of our individual, natural intuitive gifts.
#
Foreword
#
CARDS
#
Head, Heart and Being
#
Past, Present and Future
#
Three Step Stairs
#
OBSTACLES TO KNOWLEDGE
#
Knowledge
#
Intelligence
#
Imagination
#
Politics
#
STRATEGIES
#
Peel the Bulb
#
1. Physical sense organs
#
2. Conditioning
#
3. Rationalization
#
4. Sentimentality
#
5. Suppression
#
6. Perverted intuition
#
Act from the Feminine
#
Move from Thinking to Feeling
#
Relax
#
Find the Inner Guide
#
Make Happiness Your Criterion
#
Turn to Poetry
#
Afterword: No Destination
Foreword Intuition cannot be scientifically explained, because this phenomenon itself is unscientific and irrational. The very phenomenon of intuition is irrational. From the point of view of language, it seems natural to ask: "How to explain intuition?" But this is what it means: "Can intuition be reduced to the level of intellect?" And intuition is something beyond the intellect, something that does not belong to the intellect, something that comes from somewhere that the intellect knows nothing about. Therefore, the intellect can feel it, but cannot explain it. The leap of intuition can be felt because it leaves a gap. Intuition can be felt by the intellect: it can notice that something has happened - but it cannot be explained, because a causal relationship is required to explain. Explanation involves answering the questions of where intuition comes from, what for and why. And it comes from somewhere outside, not from the intellect itself - and there is no intellectual cause. No reason, no connection; intuition is not an extension of the intellect. Intuition is another realm of occurrence, completely unrelated to the intellect, although it is capable of penetrating into the intellect. It must be understood that the higher reality can penetrate into the lower, but the lower cannot penetrate into the higher. Thus intuition can penetrate intellect because it is higher, but intellect cannot penetrate intuition because it is lower. In the same way, your mind can enter the body, but the body cannot enter the mind. Your being can enter the mind, but the mind cannot enter the being. That is why if you move into being, you will have to separate from the body and mind. Neither one nor the second is capable of penetrating into the highest manifestation. If you are moving into a higher reality, the lower realms of happening must be dropped. In the lower there is no explanation for the higher, because there the very terms of explanation do not exist, they are meaningless. But the intellect can feel the gap, can know about the gap. He can feel, "Something happened outside of me." Having done even this, the intellect has already done a lot. But the intellect can also deny what has happened. This is what is meant by "belief"* or "unbelief." * Faith (English) - Hereinafter, the translator's notes. If you feel that what you cannot explain does not exist, you are a "non-believer". Then you will continue to live in this lower existence of the intellect, chained to it. Then you won't let the mystery in, then you won't let your intuition speak to you. That's what a rationalist is. The rationalist will not even see that something has come from the beyond. Having received a traditional upbringing, you will not let the higher into yourself; you will deny it, you will say, "It cannot be. It must be my imagination; it must have been a dream. I won't accept it until I can rationally prove it." The rational mind remains closed, closed within causal boundaries where intuition cannot enter. But the intellect can be used without becoming closed. Then you can use reason as a tool, but remain open. You are receptive to the higher: if something comes, you are receptive. Then you can use the intellect as an aid. He remarks, "Something happened outside of me." It can help you understand this gap. Also, the intellect can be used to express - not to explain, to express. The Buddha does not "explain" anything. He expresses, does not explain. All the Upanishads are expressive without explanation. They say, "So and so; that's what happens. If you like, come in. Don't stand outside; no explanation is possible from the outside. Come in - see from the inside." But even when you enter and see from within, you will not receive any explanation; you will know and feel. The intellect may try to understand, but this attempt is doomed to failure. The higher cannot be reduced to the lower. Intuition travels without a guide - that is why it is a jump; that's why it's a jump. It is a jump from one point to another, without any relationship between them. If you advance gradually, it is not a jump. The jump happens only if you advance without any transitional steps. BUT
real jump even deeper. It means that something exists first at point A, then at point B, and there is no existence between them. This is a real jump. Intuition is a jump - not something that you take step by step. It is something happening to you, something coming to you - happening to you without any cause, without any source anywhere. This sudden occurrence is intuition. If it had not been sudden and completely detached from what had happened before, logical thinking would have discovered its trajectory. It would take some time, but it would be possible. Logical thinking could know, understand and control it. Then, at any moment, it would be possible to develop an instrument like a television or a radio that would receive intuitive signals. If intuition came through rays or waves, we could create an instrument that perceives it. But no instrument can capture intuition because it is not a wave phenomenon. It is not a phenomenon at all; it is simply a leap from non-being into being. Intuition simply means this leap - that's why reason denies it. Reason denies it, being unable to face it. Reason can only encounter those phenomena that can be divided into cause and effect. Reason sees two areas of existence: the known and the unknown. Unknown means that which is not yet known, but one day it will be. But mysticism says there are three realms: the known, the unknowable, and the unknowable. By unknowable the mystic means that which can never be known. The intellect is concerned with the known and the unknown, but not with the unknowable. And intuition works with the unknowable, with what cannot be known. It's not about the time it takes to know - it has the quality of unknowability. It's not because your instruments aren't sensitive enough, or your logic isn't perfect, or your math is primitive - that's not the point. The quality of unknowability is inherent in the unknowable; it will always exist as unknowable. This is the realm of intuition. When something from the unknowable comes into the known, it is a jump - there is no connection, no transition, no movement from one point to another. But it seems incomprehensible; therefore, when I say that you can feel but cannot understand... - when I say such things, I know very well that I am talking nonsense (Nonsense). "Nonsense" simply means that which our senses cannot understand. And the mind is one of the sense organs, and the most subtle. Intuition is possible
because there is the unknowable. Science denies the existence of the divine, because science says: "There are only two divisions: the known and the unknown. If there is any God, we will discover him by laboratory methods. If he exists, science will discover him." The mystic, on the other hand, says, "Whatever you do, something at the very bottom of existence will always remain unknowable - a mystery." And if the mystics are wrong, then I think science will destroy the very meaning of life. If there is no mystery, the whole meaning of life and all its beauty is destroyed. The unknowable is beauty, meaning, aspiration, purpose. Because of the unknowable, there is something in life. If everything is known, everything becomes flat. You'll get bored of it, you'll get bored of it. The unknowable is a mystery, it is life itself. I will say this: Reason is an attempt to know the unknown, and intuition is the occurrence of the unknowable. It is possible to penetrate the unknowable, but it is impossible to explain it. Maybe a feeling, not an explanation. The more you try to explain, the more closed you become; so don't try. Let reason * work in its area of causality, but always remember that there are deeper spheres... Deeper causes*, causality* of which cannot be understood... Higher causes beyond the comprehension of causality*. * Wordplay based on
different meanings the words
reason.
CARDS Reason is an attempt to know the unknown,
And intuition is an incident in the world of the unknowable.
The unknowable can be penetrated, but it cannot be explained.
Perhaps a sensation, but not an explanation.
When the body acts spontaneously,
it's called instinct.
When the soul acts spontaneously,
this is called intuition.
They are similar and at the same time
far from each other.
The instinct belongs to the body - gross;
intuition belongs to the soul - subtle.
And in the gap between them - the mind, the expert,
which is never spontaneous.
Mind means knowledge.
Knowledge is never spontaneous.
Instinct deeper than intellect
And intuition is higher.
Both are beyond the intellect,
both are good.
Head, Heart and Being The individuality of a person can be divided ... - only for the purpose of understanding; otherwise there is no separation. This is one whole, unity ... - on the head, heart and being. Intelligence is a function of the head, instinct is a function of the body, and intuition is a function of the heart. And behind these three is your being, whose only quality is witnessing. The head only thinks, so it never comes to any conclusion. It is verbal, linguistic, logical, but because it has no roots in reality, thousands of years of philosophical thought have not given us a single conclusion. Philosophy has proved to be the greatest exercise in uselessness. The intellect is very skillful at creating questions, then answers, and then more questions out of those answers. He can build palaces out of words and theoretical systems, but all this is just hot air. The body cannot rely on the intellect because the body must live. That is why all the basic functions of the body are in the hands of instinct - for example, breathing, heartbeat, digestion, blood circulation - a thousand and one processes take place in the body in which you do not participate in any way. And it is good that nature has given the body its own wisdom. Otherwise, if your intellect had to take care of the body, life would become impossible! Because sometimes you can forget to breathe - at least at night: how will you breathe when you fall asleep? You are already confused enough by your own thoughts; who, in this confusion, will take care of blood circulation, of whether the right amount of oxygen enters the cells? About whether the food eaten decomposes into its basic components, about how they are sent to their destination? All this great work is carried out by instinct. You are not needed. You can stay in a coma; yet the body continues to work. Nature has left all the essential functions of your body to instinct, and everything that makes your life meaningful, has left ... because just to exist, just to survive is meaningless. To give meaning to your life, nature has endowed your heart with intuition. From intuition arises the possibility of art, aesthetics, love, friendship - all kinds of creativity are intuitive. But the market doesn't need your intuition. He is not concerned with sensitivity, love; he deals with very concrete and everyday things. That's what the intellect is for - the most superficial part. Intelligence is needed for everyday interaction with others, in the marketplace, in the world; it allows you to function. This is mathematics, geography, history, chemistry - all sciences and technologies are created by your intellect. Your logic and geometry are useful - but the intellect is blind. He just goes on creating things, but he does not know whether they will be used for creation or for destruction. A nuclear war will be a war created by the intellect. The intellect can be put to good use, but by some unfortunate accident it has become the master of your whole being. This caused great disasters in the world. The master is hidden behind these three layers: body, mind and heart. The master is hidden behind them - and this is your being. But you never go in; all your roads lead outward, all your senses lead outward. All your achievements are in the outside world. The intellect is useful in the world, and all your educational systems are designed to escape the heart and bring the energy into the head. The heart can create difficulties for the head - the heart knows nothing about logic. The heart has a completely different center of action - and that is intuition. It knows love, but love is not a commodity of value in the world. It knows beauty, but what do you do with beauty in the marketplace? People of the heart: artists, poets, musicians, dancers, actors - they are all irrational. They create great beauty, they are great lovers, but they absolutely do not fit into the society organized by the head. In your society, artists are considered almost pariahs, people of a slightly crazy, abnormal type. Nobody wants their children to become musicians, artists or dancers. Everyone wants their children to become doctors, engineers, scientists, because these professions are well paid. Painting, poetry, dancing are dangerous, risky - playing the flute, you can end your life on the street in poverty. The heart is rejected - and, by the way, it will be useful to remember that the rejection of the heart was also the rejection of the woman. And until the heart is accepted, the woman will not be accepted either. Unless the heart is allowed to grow along with the head, women cannot be free. The woman is the heart and the man is the head. The difference is clear. Instinct nature took over. And no matter how we invade the realm of instincts, it creates perversions. All religions have done it; every religion has interfered with the instincts of the body - and the body is absolutely innocent, it has done nothing wrong. If you accept the body in its absolute naturalness, it will be of great help. It will help the heart, it will enrich the heart. This will help the mind to become sharper, because the nourishment of the intellect comes from the body, the nourishment of the heart comes from the body. And if the head, heart and body are in symphony, then finding a being is the easiest thing in the world. But because they are in conflict, your whole life is wasted in this struggle between instinct, intellect and intuition. A wise person is one who creates harmony between head, heart and body. In this harmony, a person comes to the revelation of the source of his life, its very center, the soul. And that is the greatest ecstasy possible - not only for human beings, but in this whole universe, nothing more is possible. I don't mind anything. I am only against disharmony, and since your head creates the most inharmonious situation, I want the head to be put in its place. It is a servant, not a master. As a servant, she is very nice, very helpful. Having finished his daily delivery, the Dublin milkman parks his cart and horse at the entrance to the bar and comes in to wet his throat. After refreshing himself, he returns an hour later and sees that his horse is painted bright green. Very angry, he again runs into the bar and exclaims demandingly: - Which of you painted my horse green? An Irish giant of two meters rises and, towering over him like a tower, says: - Me. Any questions? The milkman chuckles nervously and replies, "I just wanted to tell you that the first layer is dry!" Intelligence helps! There are situations in which intelligence is required - but only as a servant, not as a master.
Past, Present and Future You have a past, present and future. Instinct is that which belongs to the animal past. He is very old, very strong; it is a legacy of millions of years. And when I call him "animal", I don't judge him. With a word
animal all priests of all religions have associated some kind of condemnation - but I'm just stating a fact, without any condemnation. Our past is an animal past. We have gone through the stages of all possible animals; our evolution has gone from fish to man, passing through all kinds of animals. Mankind has made a long, long journey. Intelligence is human. This is our present. That's how we function - from the intellect. All our sciences, all our business, all our professions, everything that happens in the world: our politics, our religion, our philosophy - all this is based on the intellect. Intelligence is human. The instinct is almost infallible because it is so old, so hardened, so mature. Your eyes are blinking - do you do it yourself? They keep blinking by themselves - it's instinct. Your heart is beating; breathing continues; it is not the intellect that takes care of all these essential things of life. They are in the hands of instinct, because instinct is absolutely infallible. He never forgets to breathe, he never forgets anything. The intellect has a great margin of error because it is very new; this is an innovation. He only stumbles in the dark, trying to figure out what is where and what is what. And because it has no roots in experience, it replaces experience with beliefs, philosophies, ideologies. They become the focus of the intellect. But all of them are not sinless, because they are created by man, invented by this or that clever man. They do not apply in every situation. They may be right in one situation and wrong in another. But the intellect is blind, it does not know how to deal with anything new. He always gives the old answer to
new question. Paddy and Sin sat opposite the local brothel in Dublin and extolled the virtues of the Catholic faith. Suddenly, local rabbi Gideon Greenberg approached the door and, looking around, ran up the steps. - Did you see it? roared Paddy. - I'm glad I'm a Catholic. Ten minutes later an Anglican clergyman appeared at the door, looked around quickly, and rushed up the stairs. "Another hypocrite," laughed Paddy. Thank God I'm a Catholic. A few minutes later, Sin pushes Paddy and says, “Hey, look! Here comes Father O'Murphy. They watch in stunned silence as the Catholic priest disappears into the brothel's flight of stairs. Suddenly Paddy jumps to his feet, overshadows himself
sign of the cross and shouts to Sin: - Where is your respect? Get up and take off your hat! Someone must have died in this house! The intellect lives by prejudices; he is never fair. By his very nature he cannot be just because he has no experience. Instinct is always just and shows you exactly the natural way, the way of relaxation that the whole universe follows. But, oddly enough, instinct is condemned by all religions, and intelligence is praised. Of course, if everyone followed instinct, there would be no need for any religion, no God, no priest. Animals do not need God, and they are quite happy - I did not notice that they lacked God. No animal, no bird, no tree misses God. They all enjoy life in all its beauty and simplicity, with no fear of going to hell and no greed of going to heaven, without creating any philosophical distinctions. There are no Catholic, Protestant and Hindu lions. The whole existence is probably laughing at man, at what has happened to human beings. If birds can live without religions, churches, mosques and temples, what hinders man? Birds never fight religious wars; neither trees nor animals do this. But I am a Muslim, you are a Hindu, and we cannot coexist: either you convert to my religion, or get ready - I will send you to heaven immediately! It is because of the fact that if instinct were encouraged, these religions would lose all rationale, all reason for being, religions praise the intellect. And the third thing in your nature is intuition. These words must be understood. The instinct belongs to the physical - it is your past, based on the experience of millions of years, infallible; instinct is never wrong and works miracles inside you that you are not even aware of. How does food get into the blood? How does the breath keep working even when you are fast asleep? How does the body separate oxygen from carbon? How does the instinctive world of nature manage to consistently give each part of your body exactly what it needs? How much air does the head need to keep the mind active? Precise doses are sent through the blood throughout the body, distributing oxygen, removing old, used, dead cells, replacing them with new ones, and carrying them away to places where they can be discarded. Scientists say that we cannot yet do what instinct does for a person. In a small body, instinct does so many miracles. If one day science wanted to do the work of the human body, it would need at least a square mile factory for one human being. So many equipment! And yet it would not be infallible: the equipment may fail, stop, electricity may fail. But for seventy years, for some people even a hundred, the instinct continues to work uninterruptedly and flawlessly. Electricity never goes out. Not a single mistake is made; everything is going according to plan, and this plan is embedded in every cell of the body. The day we succeed in reading the code of human cells, we will be able to predict everything about a child before it is born, even before it is conceived in the womb. There is a program in the cells of your parents, and this program contains your age, health, diseases that you can get sick with, genius, intelligence, talents - all your destiny. Like instinct, but at the other pole of your being - beyond the mind, which belongs to the world of the intellect - is the world of intuition. The doors of intuition open in meditation. Meditation just knocks on the door of intuition. Intuition is also quite ready. She doesn't grow; you have inherited from existence and it. Intuition is your consciousness, your being. Intelligence is your mind. Instinct is your body. And just as instinct works flawlessly with the body, intuition works flawlessly with the mind. The intellect is between them - a corridor to go through, a bridge to cross. But there are many people, millions of people, who never cross the bridge. They just sit on the bridge thinking they've arrived home. The house is on the far bank, behind the bridge. The bridge connects instinct and intuition. But everything depends on you. You can start building a house on the bridge - then you will get lost. The intellect will not become your home. It is a very small tool to be used only to move from instinct to intuition. Therefore, only a person who uses the intellect to go beyond it can be called intelligent. Intuition is existential. Intuition is natural. The intellect only stumbles in the dark. The sooner you go beyond the intellect, the better; the intellect can be a barrier to those who think that there is nothing beyond it. The intellect can be a wonderful communication channel for those who understand that there is undoubtedly something beyond it. Science has stopped at the intellect - that is why it cannot perceive anything from consciousness. Intelligence without awakened intuition is one of the most dangerous things in the world. And we live under the threat of the intellect, because the intellect has given science great powers. But these forces are in the hands of children, not in the hands of sages. Intuition makes a man wise - call it enlightenment, call it awakening; they are all just different names for wisdom. Only in the hands of wisdom can the intellect be used as a beautiful servant. And instinct and intuition work perfectly together: one on the physical level, the other on the spiritual level. All the problems of mankind come down to the fact that it is stuck in the middle, in the mind, in the intellect. Then you will get suffering, anxiety, agony and meaninglessness, and all possible tensions with no way out. The intellect makes a problem out of everything and knows absolutely no solutions. Instinct never creates any problems and needs no solutions; he just acts naturally. Intuition is a pure decision, there are no problems in it. Intelligence has only problems, no solutions. If you see the division correctly, it is very easy to understand: if instinct is not available, you will live like a dead person. And if intuition is not available, there will be no meaning in your life - you just trudge through life. It is a kind of vegetable existence. Intuition brings meaning, glory, joy, blessings. Intuition gives you the secrets of existence, brings immense silence, a serenity that cannot be disturbed or taken away. With instinct and intuition working together, you can use the intellect as well. Otherwise, you have only means, but no goals. The intellect has no concept of goals. This has created the current situation in the world - science continues to produce things, but does not know why. Politicians go on using these things, unaware that they are destructive, that they are plotting a worldwide suicide. The world needs a great rebellion to take it beyond the intellect into the silence of the intuition. The very word
intuition* needs to be understood. You know the word "learning" ** - learning comes from outside, you are taught by someone, a teacher *** . Intuition means something that is within your being; it's your potential and that's why it's called
intuition **** . Wisdom is never borrowed, and what is borrowed is never wisdom. And unless you have your own wisdom, your own clarity, your own eyes to see, you cannot understand the mystery of existence. * Intuition. ** Tuition. *** Tutor. **** In (English) - here, inside. As for me, I'm all for instinct. Don't disturb him. All religions have taught you to go against instinct - what is fasting if not a violation of instinct? Your body is hungry and asks for food, and for spiritual reasons you starve it. A strange spirituality is taking over your beings. This should be called stupidity, not spirituality. The instinct asks for water, the body is thirsty; the body needs it. But your religions... Jainism does not allow anyone even to drink water at night. As far as the body is concerned, it may be thirsty, especially in summer and in a country like India - and there are Jains only in India. As a child, I felt guilty because I had to steal water at night. In the hot summer I could not sleep without drinking water at least once a night, but at the same time I felt that I was doing something wrong, that I was committing a sin. Strange and stupid ideas are being forced on people. I'm for instinct. And this is one of the secrets that I want to reveal to you: if you are completely for instinct, it will be easy for you to find the way to intuition. Because they are one and the same, although they operate on different levels: one operates on the material level, the other on the spiritual level. If you accept your instinctive life absolutely joyfully, without any feeling of guilt, this will help open the doors of intuition - because they themselves are no different, only their levels differ. And just as instinct operates beautifully, quietly and without any noise, intuition operates - and even quieter, even more beautiful. Intelligence is anxiety. But it is up to us to make it a worry or a support for the next step. When you meet a stone on the street, you can either consider it an obstacle or lean on it to rise to the highest level. Those who understand use the intellect as a support. But the masses are under the control of the religions which teach them: "Use the intellect as a force to suppress the instinct." They are fond of fighting instinct and completely forget about intuition. All their energy goes into fighting their own life force. And if you are constantly fighting with instinct... A Jaina monk must remain naked all year round, even in winter, even on cold nights. He cannot use a mattress, he cannot cover himself with a blanket, he cannot cover his body with anything day or night. He must fast. The longer he fasts, the more holy he becomes in the eyes of people of the same conditioning - thirty days, forty days... This is a struggle against the body. This is the subordination of the body and the material, this is the victory of the spirit over the body. This situation is common to all religions, with different superstitions. They turn the energy of your intellect against instinct, and this destroys all possibilities for the flower of intuition to bloom. Intuition is the mystical rose that leads you to ultimate ecstasy and immortal life. But people seem to be absolutely helpless in the hands of the dead past. Whatever the old scriptures tell them, they do it without considering the whole science of man. These are the three layers of human science. The instinct must be allowed to flow in relaxation. Never, for any reason, interfere with it with the intellect. And the intellect must be used as an entrance to intuition. It just has to give way to intuition so that it can rule your life. Then your life is a life of unspeakable light, radiance. It becomes a constant celebration.
We all have a natural capacity for intuition, but social conditioning and formal education often work against it. We are taught to ignore our own instincts instead of understanding and using them as the basis for individual growth and development. And in the process, we undermine the very roots of our innate wisdom that was meant to blossom into intuition.
How to explain intuition?
The leap of intuition can be felt because it leaves a gap. Intuition can be felt by the intellect - it can notice that something has happened - but it cannot be explained, because a causal connection is required to explain. Explanation involves answering the questions of where intuition comes from, what for and why. And it comes from somewhere outside, not from the intellect itself - and there is no intellectual cause. No reason, no connection; intuition is not an extension of the intellect.
Past, Present and Future.
You have a past, present and future.
Instinct is that which belongs to the animal past. He is very old, very strong; it is a legacy of millions of years. Our past is an animal past.
Intelligence is human. This is our present. That's how we function - from the intellect. All our sciences, all our business, all our professions are all based on intelligence. Intelligence is human.
Like instinct, but at the other pole of your being - beyond the mind, which belongs to the world of the intellect - is the world of intuition. The doors of intuition open in meditation. It is your consciousness, your being.
These are the three layers of human science.
Obstacles to knowledge.
What is the difference between knowledge and cognition? Knowledge is theory, cognition is experience. It is thanks to knowledge that a person has become separated from the whole - knowledge creates a distance. Meditation is a state of not knowing. Meditation is a pure space, unclouded by knowledge. Drop the contents first - you will become half empty. Then drop consciousness – you will become completely empty. And this complete emptiness is the most beautiful thing that can happen, the greatest blessing.
Imagination.
The ability to intuition and the ability to create your own reality are not only different, but diametrically opposed things. Intuition is only a mirror. It does not create anything, it only reflects. It reflects what is. It is pure, still, crystal clear water that begins to reflect the stars and the moon; She doesn't create anything. This clarity in the East has been called the third eye. The eyes do not create anything, they simply report what is.
Politics.
The world of politics is basically instinctive. It belongs to the law of the jungle: the one who is stronger is right.
Politics is the will to power.
Relax.
Everything great in science has come not from intellect, but from intuition.
Relaxation is the basis of meditation. You relax - when you relax, all tensions are dropped. Scientific discoveries always come from meditation, not from the mind. And every time something comes from the mind, it's not science, it's technology. Technology is a poor thing; it is not an insight, but an instrument of insight. Technology comes from the mind because the mind itself is a technological tool, a biological technology.
Science comes from no-mind, just as religion comes from no-mind. The sources of science and religion are not separate, the source is the same - because they both depend on breakthroughs, insights, intuitive flashes.
Find the Inner Guide.
You have a guide inside you, but you don't use it. And you haven't used it for so long, so many lifetimes, that maybe you don't even realize that this vehicle exists within you. Be serene. Sit under a tree and just let your thoughts settle and subside. Just wait, don't think. Don't make trouble, just wait. And when you feel that the moment of no-thinking has come, get up and start moving. Wherever the body moves, let it move. Just be a witness. Don't get involved. The lost road can be found very easily.
Make Happiness Your Criterion.
Does an intuitive person always succeed? No, but he is always happy whether he is successful or not. And a person who does not live intuitively is always unhappy, regardless of whether he succeeds. Be clear in mind - don't be success-oriented. Success is the greatest failure in the world. Don't try to succeed, otherwise you will fail. Think about being blissful. Every moment think about how to be more and more blissful. Then the whole world can say that you are a failure, but you will not be a failure. You have reached.
Only with the help of intuition can a person comprehend the difference between the intellect, logical thinking and the more inclusive realm of the spirit. Logic is how the mind knows reality; intuition is how the spirit experiences reality. Osho's discourses on these topics are extraordinarily expressive, sometimes amusing and - completely exciting.
We all have a natural capacity for intuition, but social conditioning and formal education often work against it. We are taught to ignore our own instincts instead of understanding and using them as the basis for individual growth and development. And in the process, we undermine the very roots of our innate wisdom that was meant to blossom into intuition.
This book contains excerpts from Osho's talks in which he talks about exactly what intuition is and explains how to learn to recognize it in others and in yourself. We can learn to distinguish between genuine intuitive insight and wishful thinking, which can easily lead to wrong decisions and undesirable consequences. The book also includes several specific Osho exercises and meditations designed to nourish and support each of our individual, natural intuitive gifts.
Foreword
Intuition cannot be scientifically explained, because this phenomenon itself is unscientific and irrational. The very phenomenon of intuition is irrational. From the point of view of language, it seems natural to ask: "How to explain intuition?" But this is what it means: “Can intuition be reduced to the level of intellect?” And intuition is something beyond the intellect, something that does not belong to the intellect, something that comes from somewhere that the intellect knows nothing about. Therefore, the intellect can feel it, but cannot explain it.
The leap of intuition can be felt because it leaves a gap. Intuition can be felt by the intellect - it can notice that something has happened - but it cannot be explained, because a causal connection is required to explain. Explanation involves answering the questions of where intuition comes from, what for and why. And it comes from somewhere outside, not from the intellect itself - and there is no intellectual cause. No reason, no connection; intuition is not an extension of the intellect.
Osho along with Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru and Buddha changed the destiny of India. Osho - modern mystic which helps people to find the hidden strengths in themselves.
There is a phenomenon called intuition that we are hardly aware of anymore.
Intuition is a phenomenon of a completely different kind than reason. Reason argues; the mind uses a process to come to a conclusion. Intuition jumps - it's a quantum leap. She does not know the gradual process. It simply reaches the conclusion without any process.
There were many mathematicians who could solve any kind of mathematical problem without going through the whole process. Their action was intuitive. You simply state the problem, and before you have even finished speaking, the conclusion is already ready. There is absolutely no gap. You have spoken, and the moment you have finished, or even before you have finished, the conclusion is ready. Mathematicians have always been puzzled by this paranormal phenomenon. These people... how do they do it? If a mathematician were to solve this problem, it would take him three hours, two hours, an hour. Even a computer will take at least a few minutes to do this, and these people do not need a second. You speak, and immediately... So in mathematics, intuition is a recognized fact.
When reason fails, only intuition can work. And all the great scientists were aware of this: their great discoveries were made not by reason, but by intuition. Madame Curie worked on a certain problem for three years and tried to solve it from all possible sides. All attempts have failed. One night, completely exhausted, she went to bed and decided... This incident is almost the same as what happened to Buddha. That evening, she decided, "I've had enough. I've wasted three years. This search seems useless. I have to drop it." That night she dropped it and went to sleep.
At night, in her sleep, she got up, went to the table and wrote down the answer. She then returned to bed and fell asleep. In the morning she couldn't even remember it, but the answer was on the table. There was no one in the room, and even if there was, the answer would be impossible. She worked for three years - one of the greatest minds of her age. But there was no one else, but the answer was. They looked closer—the handwriting was hers! Then suddenly a dream popped into her mind. She remembered as if she had dreamed at night that she was sitting at the table and writing something. Then, little by little, everything cleared up. She came to her conclusion through another door, not through reason. It was intuition.
The Buddha struggled for six years to achieve enlightenment, but could not. One day he dropped the whole idea of achieving something. He lay down to rest under a tree, and the next morning it happened. When he opened his eyes, he was in samadhi. But first the mind must be exhausted. Intuition works only when reason is exhausted.
Intuition has no process; she just jumps from problem to conclusion. This is a cut corner. This is a flash.
We corrupted intuition. The man's intuition is almost completely corrupted. A woman's intuition is not corrupted to that extent - that's why women have something called "premonitions". Premonition is only part of intuition. It cannot be proven. You want to fly somewhere, and the woman just says that she won't go and won't let you go. She seems to have a premonition that something is going to happen. This is such nonsense - you have a lot of work to do, everything is planned, and you have to go, but the woman does not allow. And the next day you read in the papers that this plane was hijacked, or it crashed, and all the passengers died. The woman cannot say how she knows this. There is no way. It's just a premonition, just an underlying feeling. But it is also corrupted, and that is why it is only a flash.
If all five layers have disappeared and you have dropped all obsessions - because you have been taught that reason is the only door through which one can come to a conclusion - when you drop this obsession, this obsession with reason, intuition begins to blossom. Then it is not like a flash, but like a constantly available source. You can close your eyes, enter into it and always get the right direction from it. If these five layers are broken, something arises in you that can be called an inner conductor. You can always enter the energy of your intuition and always find the right advice. In the East it was called the inner guru, the inner master. Once your intuition starts functioning, you no longer need to go to any guru for advice.
Intuition means being in tune with yourself, perfectly in tune with yourself. And out of that alignment, out of nowhere, solutions emerge.
Only with the help of intuition can a person comprehend the difference between the intellect, logical thinking and the more inclusive realm of the spirit. Logic is how the mind knows reality; intuition is how the spirit experiences reality. Osho's discourses on these topics are extraordinarily expressive, sometimes amusing, and - utterly captivating.
We all have a natural capacity for intuition, but social conditioning and formal education often work against it. We are taught to ignore our own instincts instead of understanding and using them as the basis for individual growth and development. And in the process, we undermine the very roots of our innate wisdom that was meant to blossom into intuition.
This book contains excerpts from Osho's talks in which he talks about exactly what intuition is and explains how to learn to recognize it in others and in yourself. We can learn to distinguish between genuine intuitive insight and "wishful thinking" that can easily lead to wrong decisions and undesirable consequences. The book also includes several specific Osho exercises and meditations designed to nourish and support each of our individual, natural intuitive gifts.
Foreword
Intuition cannot be scientifically explained, because this phenomenon itself is unscientific and irrational. The very phenomenon of intuition is irrational. From the point of view of language, it seems natural to ask: "How to explain intuition?" But this is what it means: "Can intuition be reduced to the level of intellect?" And intuition is something beyond the intellect, something that does not belong to the intellect, something that comes from somewhere that the intellect knows nothing about. Therefore, the intellect can feel it, but cannot explain it.
The leap of intuition can be felt because it leaves a gap. Intuition can be felt by the intellect: it can notice that something has happened - but it cannot be explained, because a causal relationship is required to explain. Explanation involves answering the questions of where intuition comes from, what for and why. And it comes from somewhere outside, not from the intellect itself - and there is no intellectual cause. No reason, no connection; intuition is not an extension of the intellect.
Intuition is another realm of occurrence, completely unrelated to the intellect, although it is capable of penetrating into the intellect. It must be understood that the higher reality can penetrate into the lower, but the lower cannot penetrate into the higher. Thus intuition can penetrate intellect because it is higher, but intellect cannot penetrate intuition because it is lower.
In the same way, your mind can enter the body, but the body cannot enter the mind. Your being can enter the mind, but the mind cannot enter the being. That is why if you move into being, you will have to separate from the body and mind. Neither one nor the second is capable of penetrating into the highest manifestation.
If you are moving into a higher reality, the lower realms of happening must be dropped. In the lower there is no explanation for the higher, because there the very terms of explanation do not exist, they are meaningless. But the intellect can feel the gap, can know about the gap. He can feel, "Something happened outside of me." Having done even this, the intellect has already done a lot.
But the intellect can also deny what has happened. This is what is meant by "belief"* or "unbelief" [* Faith (English)].
If you feel that what you cannot explain does not exist, you are a "non-believer". Then you will continue to live in this lower existence of the intellect, chained to it. Then you won't let the mystery in, then you won't let your intuition speak to you.
That's what a rationalist is. The rationalist will not even see that something has come from the beyond. Having received a traditional upbringing, you will not let the higher into yourself; you will deny it, you will say, "It cannot be. It must be my imagination; it must have been a dream. I won't accept it until I can rationally prove it." The rational mind remains closed, closed within causal boundaries where intuition cannot enter.
But the intellect can be used without becoming closed. Then you can use reason as a tool, but remain open. You are receptive to the higher: if something comes, you are receptive. Then you can use the intellect as an aid. He remarks, "Something happened outside of me." It can help you understand this gap.
Also, the intellect can be used to express - not to explain, to express. The Buddha does not "explain" anything. He expresses, does not explain. All the Upanishads are expressive without explanation. They say, "So and so; that's what happens. If you like, come in. Don't stand outside; no explanation is possible from the outside. Come in - see from the inside."
But even when you enter and see from within, you will not receive any explanation; you will know and feel. The intellect may try to understand, but this attempt is doomed to failure. The higher cannot be reduced to the lower.
Intuition travels without a guide - that is why it is a jump; that's why it's a jump. It is a jump from one point to another, without any relationship between them. If you advance gradually, it is not a jump. The jump occurs only if you advance without any transitional steps. BUT real jump even deeper. It means that something exists first at point A, then at point B, and there is no existence between them. This is a real jump.
Intuition is a jump - not something that you take step by step. It is something happening to you, something coming to you - happening to you without any cause, without any source anywhere. This sudden occurrence is intuition. If it had not been sudden and completely detached from what had happened before, logical thinking would have discovered its trajectory. It would take some time, but it would be possible. Logical thinking could know, understand and control it. Then, at any moment, it would be possible to develop an instrument like a television or a radio that would receive intuitive signals.
If intuition came through rays or waves, we could create an instrument that perceives it. But no instrument can capture intuition because it is not a wave phenomenon. It is not a phenomenon at all; it is simply a leap from non-being into being.
Intuition simply means this leap - that's why reason denies it. Reason denies it, being unable to face it. Reason can only encounter those phenomena that can be divided into cause and effect.
Reason sees two areas of existence: the known and the unknown. Unknown means that which is not yet known, but one day it will be. But mysticism says there are three realms: the known, the unknowable, and the unknowable. By unknowable the mystic means that which can never be known.
The intellect is concerned with the known and the unknown, but not with the unknowable. And intuition works with the unknowable, with what cannot be known. It's not about the time it takes to know - it has the quality of unknowability. It's not because your instruments aren't sensitive enough, or your logic isn't perfect, or your math is primitive - that's not the point. The quality of unknowability is inherent in the unknowable; it will always exist as unknowable.
This is the realm of intuition.
When something from the unknowable comes into the known, it is a jump - there is no connection, no transition, no movement from one point to another. But it seems incomprehensible; therefore, when I say that you can feel but cannot understand... - when I say such things, I know very well that I am talking nonsense (Nonsense). "Nonsense" simply means something that our senses cannot understand. And the mind is one of the sense organs, and the most subtle.
