If a child learns that intuition is something to disparage and that obedience is safer than decision-making, the effects may carry through to many levels of behavior. The image that occurs to me is a hospital syringe full of coloured dye being shot into my brain; it just kind of settles, and can influence decisions in areas that have nothing to do with the origin of the belief.

"Listen to your intuition." How long has intuition been regarded as suspect and ridiculed? Think about "women's intuition." And now executives are paying big money to learn to pay attention to that gut instinct, and communicate their feelings to others.

...researchers...are determining that emotions provide the bottom line for rational decision-making in our lives, based on survival or social risk. Emotions are felt as bodily states, and are the means through which the mind senses how the body feels. (Cooper and Sawaf, 1997, p. 81)

In my journal I wrote, "I'm wondering if there wasn't a rather sinister reason for children to be taught not to pay attention to that little voice. Because those who did pay attention would be better able to make decisions about whom to trust. Maybe "Mr. XYZ makes me sick to my stomach" had a far greater meaning than a child would be expected to understand—yet that child knew.

...Suspend the voice of judgment. Intuition adds to good judgment; it does not replace it...the point here is that the analytical, logical mind will keep telling you how silly it is to pay attention to impressions about things the 'facts' can't reveal. Your mental critic may whisper, "This doesn't make any sense" or "It's only your imagination" or "That can't possibly be right." Don't ignore such messages. Acknowledge and make a note of them—of every impression—for future consideration.... Wait to judge until after you sense the full range of your gut feelings and intuitive signals. If, for example, your first impression is about another person's intentions, feelings, or thoughts, be certain to seek clarification to know if you're right. (Cooper and Sawaf, 1997, p. 57)

I remembered times over the years when my intuition told me that I was in danger or should not trust a particular person. Finding out later that my worries did have a foundation—that my intuition was amazingly in tune with the truth—was certainly no comfort. At one point I hadn't protected myself; at another, I hadn't protected my children. Nuernberger (1986) says: "Whenever you face a problem that includes a personal threat, depersonalize it so you can maintain mental clarity" (p. 183).