Customer Reviews

Developing Intuition (Gawain, Shakti)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Shakti Gawain provides readers with this compact handbook on how to develop your intuition and use it in your daily life. For those who are novices in the field of intuition this book provides a decent introduction and covers all questions regarding intuition. It defines the word, tells us why there is such resistance to it and helps us to distinquish intuition from other "competing voices."

The greatest strength of this book are the exercises. After each chapter, the reader is provided with a number of exercises to open oneself in experiencing his or her intuitive voice. All of the exercises and journaling suggestions are right on target in enabling you to use your intuition. Those who are well acquainted with intuition literature would find it worth their time to review those various exercises.

Developing Intuition is not an in depth look at the subject nor does it bog you down in various theories. It is a very general book with helpful suggestions. Read it during quiet moments at home or when you're on your job. Its insights will lead you to consider trying another alternative mode for your life. It is an average book in the field of intuition literature.

This thin volume is a great little book if you want to understand more about intuition but don't want to spend a lot of time reading. Shakti Gawain gets straight to the point explaining what intuition is and how to become aware of it, trust it and use it in our daily lives. The explanations are succinct and there are simple exercises for the reader to help illustrate the points. If you are hooked and want to explore this topic further, I highly recommend both "Divine Intuition" by Lynn Robinson and "The Psychic Pathway" by Sonia Choquette.

I passed on this book many times, and finally picked it up - when I was really ready for it. I noticed a change within the very next day after starting it. No, my intuitive powers didn't magically multiply overnight, but I'm getting the guidance I need to develop this area of myself. This book reminded me that I have the freedom to trust my intuition. It's helping me to communicate with me.

I expected more from this accomplished author. There are a lot of books about intuition out there yet, but my own intuition hasn't been much help in finding a satisfactory one. This book asks some important questions, such as how can you distinguish your intuitive voice from other inner voices (i.e. how do you know when to believe your hunches and when to regard them with skepticism), but I don't think she goes far enough in answering them. The book is only about 25,000 words, which is about one-third of a book by most publishing standards, and reads as if it was written in a week. Also, there is a tendency in new-age self-help books to write for an audience of would-be entrepreneurs or creative artists, which is of little usefulness to many potential readers, who might be able to use their intuition to deal with truly difficult situations ("you should see a therapist" is her advice to those with problems...). Maybe worth borrowing, but I wouldn't buy it.

I think our intuition knows what we need to do at every moment of our lives...the trouble is we sometimes have difficulty getting in touch with it. This books helps the reader understand what intuition is, why it is so important to be aware of it, and how we can tune into it and follow it. I love Shakti's books and this is one of my favorites.

If you come from the kind of background where spirituality, an appreciation for the nonphysical side of life, etc. was not encouraged, I think this is a great introduction to a practical development of intuition skills.

One of the reasons why this book is good is because it demonstrates that intuition is a skill we all have equal access to--both men AND women--though it may be more highly developed in some rather than others. However, like any skill it has to be fine-tuned in order to make more advantageous use of it in our daily lives and regular undertakings.

If following your intuition is already a major practice in your life and you are looking for a more advanced work on the subject as opposed to an introduction, there may be books that are more helpful to you than this one. That said, I bought this book because the author's other book Creative Visualization was so well regarded and I therefore figured this book would be valuable as well. The author has a very accessible writing style and by and large, this is an easy, useful read.

"Intuition isn't mysterious or mystical: it's very practical inner wisdom that can be used as a tool for dealing with everyday decisions and challenges." - Shakti Gawain

Author Shakti Gawain teaches that intuition enlivens, informs, encourages and leads. If we would only listen, trust, and follow our intuitive guidance, we would make better choices, access divine wisdom, discover opportunities and meet challenges with optimism.

In the 52-card deck Developing Intuition, Gawain hand-selected various affirmations and passages from her book of the same name. Designed to awaken intuition and impart inspiration, these lovely cards demonstrate how utterly natural and empowering our inner voice is. Whether through "gut feeling", mental pictures, synchronicity or words, intuition makes itself known in a myriad of ways.

And, like any skill, intuition can be developed to the point where we can recognize our inner guidance system from all the other "voices" that compete for our attention.

Illustrated in soothing neutral tones, the Developing Intuition deck depicts images of sunflowers, shells and leaves--offering various passages, meditations and insight from Gawain's previous book. Here is some of the sage wisdom found in this deck:

"Trusting intuition involves giving up the futile effort to control everything. I will learn to enjoy this movement into the unknown, confident that I have a positive guiding force within me."

"My intuition is always trying to help me be more of who I am by fully expressing my power, truth, and creativity, and by living and trusting myself completely."

"Each of us comes into this life with a purpose--with lessons to learn and gifts to give. As I develop my intuition, I am guided toward fulfilling that purpose in every way."

"I know when I am following my intuition because when I do, I feel more alive: I literally have more of the life force moving through my body and mind."

"If we can develop the habit of checking our intuitive messages at least as often as most of us check our email, we'll be in great shape!"

The magnetic box top to the Developing Intuition cards doubles as a frame; simply flip open the lid, insert your card of the day (or any card you want to contemplate), and prop it up. Ouila! You now have an attractive display that reminds you of the power and flow of inborn intuition.

If you're looking for a deck to help you connect with your intuition, as well as aid you in recognizing, trusting and following this inner guidance, the Developing Intuition cards by Shakti Gawain will certainly assist in this life-enhancing pursuit.

(To see 6 images from this deck, visit the Reviews--Decks section at JanetBoyer.com)

Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present

I have enjoyed many of Shakti Gawain's books. Developing Intuition is easy to read and presented a concept of how to distiguish intuition from other "inner voices" which I found extremely helpful.

Gawain is a clear writer and able to present the language of intuition in a very clear and easy to understand manner. I have studied intuition for years and I respect her approach for those beginning on this path. Some other books written by Judith Orloff or Carolyn Myss talk about the working with intuition but either don't talk about how to begin sensing what is intuition or there presentation is very complicated. Gawain gives many examples of people using their intuition as well as easy to follow meditations that you can begin using right away.

One of the main points that Gawain discusses, and I found most impactful, was distinguishing intuition from other "voices". I have read other books where Gawain discusses this concept and I found it especially helpful in working with my intuition. The understanding that there were different aspects of myself that effect the choices I make in my life, relationships and how I interpret my intuitive voice, make this book unique and present a balnced approach to working with intuition.

I was exceptionally disappointed with this book: I was looking for a book that would have given me greater insight with regards to intuition. I have had some absolutely amazing insights and strokes of intuition that generally come out of the blue. I wanted to learn how to be able to recreate these epiphanies, but even though the author promises greater insight into intuition, what she wrote I already knew. The book is very basic and seemingly hurriedly put together, more geared up toward readers that are broaching the subject for the first time, so not a book that was of any help to me. In comparison Penney Peirce' s "The Intutive Way" is a far superior book that is equally fascinating to a first time reader on the subject or someone that uses their intuition but wants to gain greater mastery of it. It is a shame that so few truly exquisite books are written on such a fascinating subject as intuition

"The benefits of trusting the intuitive sense are numerous. Gawain presents case after case of situations where people followed their intuition, showing how the choices they made enriched their lives. The benefits of using intuition are clear. . . .It is a journey that is well worth the risk." --Foreword Magazine