Cate Howell - Intuition: Unlock the power!

This book came about by chance (or maybe it was more than that!). On a typical Melbourne day, I sat with my publisher in a beautifully grand Italian restaurant and discussed ideas for future books. As we spoke, I mentioned how I had attended a workshop the previous weekend with my sister on developing ones intuition. This ignited further conversation between the publisher and myself, and we both agreed what a fascinating subject intuition is. The conversation also raised many questions about intuition in my mind: how do we actually define it, how does it come about, how useful is it, what is the science around intuition and can we learn to be more intuitive? As you can gather, our conversation that day travelled in very interesting directions, and the result was this book!

I feel excited to be writing about intuition. My work involves helping people and I genuinely enjoy working with people and hearing their stories. In carrying out therapy, I choose to work in a multimodal way, drawing on a range of approaches, as one approach is not necessarily helpful for all individuals. Over the years I have learnt that I can be of service in many ways, through applying learnt knowledge, building therapeutic relationships, guiding individuals toward change, being compassionate, or tapping into my creativity and my heartfelt knowledge or intuition.

I have had a long-held interest in complementary therapies and the spiritual dimension of life, but these interests do not always sit comfortably in medicine. We are taught to utilise evidence-based treatments, and while this approach is absolutely vital, it raises a question in my mind: If we focus on these to the exclusion of all else, do we lose some of the art of medicine, do we forget the centrality of our relationship with our patient, or might we miss useful information or opportunities for healing and change? The answer I believe is to take a holistic view, in essence to draw on the science and the art of healing.

My journey towards writing this book has been lifelong. As I listened as a child and absorbed ideas and knowledge from the people and the world around me, I became aware of the presence of intuition at an early age. I got to know my maternal grandmother well, especially as she lived with my family for a number of years. My mother would tell me that Nana seemed to know when people were going to drop in, or she would head to the phone just before it would ring. She would also know that a particular letter from a friend might arrive before it did. I was curious.

How could Nana know what she did? And how did I know that a friend who had been overseas was back in Australia when she didnt let any of us know? At times the demands of study and work, family or personal life have taken my full attention and intuition has taken a back seat in my life, but it has always reappeared. I have learnt from experience that my intuition is most active when I am feeling centred and relaxed, or when Im incorporating time for creative activities. Different experiences during my life have reminded me of the value of tapping into my intuition, and over the years I have focused on it and utilised it more and more in my professional and personal life.

In writing this book, I have applied a holistic approach to my exploration of intuition. I define intuition before looking at the available literature to draw out more on the existing knowledge and understanding of the subject. I also include experiences of colleagues and friends around intuition and incorporate my own experiences. Much has been written in scientific literature about intuitive thinking and how human interaction and perception are involved. I look at these aspects and also invite you to view intuition from a range of different perspectives. The essence of this book, however, is that it is a practical guide to give you the opportunity to explore your own ideas on intuition and take you through a range of skills designed to further enhance your intuition.

At its heart then, Intuition is an exploration of the who, what, when, where, why (the Ws) and the how of intuition. There are many questions to answer:

I will also adopt a particular metaphor for this book. I have always loved gardens and nature, and when I was young I had my own area in the garden for vegetables, flowers and various creatures. I adored the book The Secret Garden, and the film that followed much later, as the story incorporated both intrigue and hope. For those readers not familiar with the plot, two young children discover a secret walled garden in the grounds of an English manor, accessed through a wooden door. They find the key to the door and enter the garden. It is in a very neglected state so they set out to bring it back to life. This resonates with me today. I still love the feeling of my hands in soil or sitting in the garden with a cup of coffee. Gardens connect us with nature and help us to stay in the moment and enjoy it, inviting creativity. For these reasons, I have chosen the garden (and its key) as a metaphor for understanding and developing intuition. This book is all about finding the key to your intuition garden and nurturing it step by step so that it grows and flourishes.