Another Diagnostic Tool

A former student, Ginger Ingalls, is undergoing treatment for cancer. She posted a "thumbs up" on Facebook today to the doc that helped find the cancer. In addition to the usual tests -- bloodwork, x-rays, etc. -- he also trusted his intuition that said there was "something" else there.

If he hadn't trusted his intuition, it would have taken much longer for Ginger to learn about the cancer. We all know what happens when a cancer diagnosis is delayed.

The allopathic medical community is deeply indebted to the many sources of data about our bodies that are now available to them -- blood tests, x-rays, CAT scans, MRIs, etc. etc. etc. -- with good reason. These diagnostic tools allow the medical practitioner to "see" into the body in a way the naked eye usually can't.

However, there's another diagnostic tool that has been drummed out of the diagnostic corps -- the intuition of an experienced practitioner. Intuition is not some kind of wispy surreal fakery. It's not make-believe. "Intuition" is the name we use when we're taking in information outside of the normal blunt cognitive processes. It's frequently the result of some very sophisticated integration of experience, observation, and standard data.

Sadly, for medical professionals it also often involves actually touching a patient, which doctors do less and less.

The other truth is that intuition can be taught and learned. It's not limited to the spiritually advanced or restricted to those born with a "gift". We are all born with the capacity. That capacity is often trained out of us during our formative years but it can be trained back in. The primary lesson you need to access your own intuition? Learning to listen to yourself.

But that's not a standard cognitive process. It doesn't come from a book. You can't get an advanced degree in it. It can't be measured with our current stable of measuring devices. (Though it can be tested for efficacy.) Therefore, it can't be "real" or useful.

Pity, that.