WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

The last sense of the six senses we have mentioned might not be what you think. This isn’t the X-Files or Mysterious America. No psychics here, sorry Shawn. The truth is the last sense, that mysterious sixth sense that has been with you all your life, and you probably already knew this if you went with your first thought - Intuition. Intuition is the ability to know something without any proof. It is sometimes known as a gut feeling or instinct. Intuition is a rider's sixth sense, an instinctive awareness that gives us a hunch or a gut feeling about someone or something.   Intuition is an ancient concept, and most of us are familiar with it in our own lives. It’s a feeling we get occasionally: a kind of sixth sense that often comes in the form of a sudden, mysterious impulse towards a particular decision: I can trust this person; I shouldn’t walk down that dark alley; I better get out this lane right now! We are all born with this natural ability, so whether you're psychic or not, you can still use your intuition to guide you through life. Studies and evidence reveal that our intuition or gut feelings are correct an astonishing 80% of the time. How often have you thought of something and then decided on the next step based on logical thinking, instead of your gut feeling? So many of us kick ourselves when we have acted in a contradictory way, and indeed our intuition is proved right. Our instinct is an inner voice, often flagging up an intuitive sense that may feel like just a strong 'knowing' or a feeling of suspicion against what our brains are telling us. Our intuition if you like, bridges a gap between logical thinking, instinct, and reason, between the unconscious mind and the conscious. I believe this is a combination of a built-in human nature combined with our past experiences and knowledge. Think about a few of these life and riding scenarios… The first comes from a Fire Department from the Windy City. A fire broke out in the kitchen of a house in Chicago, Illinois. A team of firefighters kicked down the door of the house. They stood in the living room as they sprayed water at the fire in the kitchen. Strangely, the fire would not go out. One of the firefighters had a feeling that something was very wrong. “Get out, now!” he ordered. The team ran out of the house. Moments later, the floor they had been standing on in the living room collapsed. Looking back, the firefighter believed his brain must have had the ability to know the future. A researcher who studies decision-making wasn’t so sure. He talked to the firefighter about what was going through his mind before he told everyone to get out of the house. The researcher found out that the firefighter had noticed three strange things: water was not putting out the fire, the living room was unusually hot, and the fire was unusually quiet. The researcher believed that the firefighter’s intuition recognized this pattern and knew that the situation was not safe. A part of his brain beyond his own awareness knew that the fire was also in the basement underneath the living room, making the living room unusually hot and the fire unusually quiet. He listened to his sixth sense. Here is another example. Helene is sitting in the left lane at a red light. It is late at night or early morning and this part of town is void of any real traffic. Her music is playing low in her headset and, as the light goes to green, her brain goes into Spidey-Sense mode. She looks into her mirror and she shoots forward and to the far left of the lanes – just as a drunk driver in a silent Tesla shoots by half in the middle lane and half in the left… missing her by inches. Brad is riding along one of his favorite backroads. The day is a stunner and his ride has been one of the best of the year. As he approached a blind right-hand turn he tucked in preparing for a late apex and to roll on the throttle. Then something deep in his brain says “SLOW DOWN” and as Brad comes around the turn, at a much slower pace, he comes upon a bad traffic accident. Police and emergency vehicles are on the scene and one officer is in a jog to get to the entrance of the turn to warn approaching drivers of what’s up ahead. Brad makes his way through the mess and as he rode home he wondered how or why he felt the need to slow down at that point. Brad went with his intuition and with all three examples lives were probably saved. Trust your gut – you are probably right.