An excerpt from Radical Intuition by Kim Chestney

Throughout the ages, the most extraordinary human beings — from Einstein, DaVinci, and Joan of Arc to Steve Jobs, Oprah, and Stephen Hawking — have attested to one common factor as the secret to their life success: Intuition.

 

In her new book Radical Intuition: A Revolutionary Guide to Using Your Inner Power, author Kim Chestney reveals an all new understanding of intuition and how to use it to live an extraordinary life. We hope you will enjoy this excerpt from the book.

 

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To live intuitively means honoring our inner voice over the voice of the world. Once we realize that we can trust our self above all others, we live our lives differently. We make our choices differently; we aspire differently; we understand one another differently; we experience the world in a whole new way. When we follow our intuition, we participate in something that touches the depth of our being — something more profound than we know.

 

We become extraordinary by making intuition an ordinary part of life, by relying on it so much that it becomes second nature. With every step of the way guided by higher insight, we are more aligned with our own success, happiness, and personal growth. As more and more people around the world do this, we begin to normalize intuition. Any and all of us can use our intuition to improve all aspects of our lives.

 

Intuition should be a normal part of life because learning to use your intuition is no different than learning to use your intellect. Intelligence and intuition are two sides of the same coin; when they work together, they create an extraordinary mind. We go to school to get smarter, so why shouldn’t we go to school to become more intuitive? Now that we are learning more about the way intuition works, we can embrace new opportunities to rebalance the two complementary aspects of our cognitive nature.

 

This revolutionary union of once-seeming opposites — bringing the thinking mind and the intuiting mind together — is a reflection of the fusion that will define life in the years ahead. With this togetherness, we become wiser and more insightful as a collective people.

 

With intuition in the mix, we move deeper into the experience of life and the connected awareness that unites us all. When we create a culture of intuition, we create a culture of unity, of inclusivity, of the interconnected human experience.

 

Beyond Mindfulness into Insightfulness

In recent years, the practices of mindfulness, presence, and meditation have become the cornerstones of our culture and personal development. The power of being still has become a crucial counterpoint to the busy world we live in today. In the stillness, we find our peace, but it is in the stillness, too, that we find our power.

 

To be mindful is to be aware. It is an awareness of life, an awakening from our unconscious habits, thoughts, and actions. Living consciously, we embody a new sense of presence in all we do — with an ability to fully embrace each moment. In the ever-present now, we escape the traps of the mind — habitual judgment, relentless thinking, fear. We move out of the constant flow of thought into the quiet space between those thoughts — the stillness. But the stillness is not empty; extraordinary things await there.

 

In the silence of your quieted mind, in the space between thoughts, the voice of intuition arrives. The stillness speaks. Only in the place of no-mind can you hear your intuition. The thinking mind is a bully; only when it settles down can your inner wisdom get through to gently touch you. Whether in meditation, in the shower, or during a walk in the woods, insight draws close when the critical mind is far away.

 

Radical Insight

Here, in the mindful place of peace, you can receive your greatest power — the extraordinary insight of higher awareness. First, we become mindful; then, we become insightful. Presence is the gateway to insight; insight leads us to the truth. All wisdom and creativity emerge from the still, quiet gap between your thoughts.

 

This is why stillness, the silence of meditation, is not the final destination for those of us who are still at work in the world. We are not ready to retreat to the mountaintops; we still have work to do. We have a world to change. We have a life to live and a spirit to evolve. We can be, but we still have to do.

 

This is not an either-or situation. Like yin and yang, our fulfillment comes with the union of complementary forces — the balance of existence and experience, of awareness and actualization. The completeness of our human condition requires us to be both mindful and insightful, to be aware and to become more aware. Insight brings the gift of more awareness.

 

In the refuge of stillness, intuition is your guide. The practices of meditation and conscious living enable you to move into the calm center of your being. Then what? Out of the tranquility, your inner voice calls you to what’s next: the next thought that will change the way you understand your life; the next idea that will improve it; the next action you can take to further elevate your consciousness. Real illumination comes from both contemplative stillness and inspired action — the two complementary paths to enlightenment.

 

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Kim Chestney is the author of Radical Intuition. A globally recognized innovation leader and the founder of Intuition Lab, her work has been featured or supported by leading-edge organizations including SXSW Interactive, Carnegie Mellon University, Comcast, and Hewlett-Packard. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Visit her online at http://www.KimChestney.com.

 

Excerpted from the book Radical Intuition. Copyright ©2020 by Kim Chestney. Printed with permission from New World Library — www.newworldlibrary.com.