I had a feeling that something weird was happening. I couldn’t figure out why. Nothing specific was out of the ordinary, or even the slightest bit untoward. But something in that instant message gave me the creeps, even if I trusted the source. I logged off as quickly as I could and tried to the shake the feeling that my friend was up to something sneaky and trying to drag me into a bad situation.

For the next few weeks, I couldn’t stop thinking of that weird interaction. How self-centered can I be? Do I honestly think that my friend has nothing better to do than try to screw me over in very obscure ways? Well, as it turned out, that’s exactly what my “friend” had in mind.I’m grateful that my sixth sense shoved me out of harms way.

I actually prefer the term ‘intuition’. It just sounds more legit (and has fewer creepy Bruce Willis associations). The incident described above happened a few years ago, and I was reminded of it recently after chatting with police officer. In describing when it would to call the police, he specifically mentioned the sixth sense. When you feel the hairs on your arms rise, trust that feeling, was his advice.

As it turns out, what we perceive as intuition often has very real roots. You notice something out of place, a behaviour that’s unusual, or a change in a person’s mannerisms. You’re not consciously aware of all these details (Can you imagine having to actually process all those thoughts?), but you’re still absorbing them anyway. When something falls out of place, you notice you get a feeling of intuition.

For many of us, it’s not a question of whether we have moments of intuition, it’s when to actually use that information. There’s no real answer for this, but it’s rarely a bad idea to heighten your awareness of your surroundings and the people around you. I’m not recommending living your life on edge, just offering a bit of encouragement. What might seem crazy is sometimes the voice of reason.

When you’re faced with a ridiculous amount of input and stimuli, sometimes you’ve got to go back to the basics when sorting through it all. Sometimes that can mean listening to your gut, even if you’re convinced your guts are wrong. Have you had moments of intuition that turned out to be right? How about completely wrong? And is intuition real and trustworthy, or just the basis of irrational fear?