Awakening Intuition
The subconscious mind manages 95 % of the brains capacity.
Humans receive 2 million bits of information every second of which we can only
process 134 bits. We would be unable to perform routine activities if the
subconscious mind did not absorb and filter selected information to our
conscious mind. Even those apparently
conscious activities such as driving, walking, swallowing food, even breathing
or keeping our heart beating, are managed by the subconscious.
Artists are known to tap into the subconscious to allow
their creativity to flow through the use of intuition. Most artists speak of
suspending organized thought to let their intuition take over, or what one
artist called “ an overwhelming sense of knowing” . This is not simply a flashlight moment like a
hunch, but involves judgement and emerges from contemplation, introspection and
investigation.
William Duggan, author of “Strategic Intuition: The Creative
Spark in Human Achievement”, further separates intuition, or immediate insight
such as practiced by experienced doctors,
from strategic Intuition which he
says is a much slower process. Strategic Intuition is at the heart of
outstanding achievements in every domain of human endeavor - a system used by scientists,
visionaries, artists, inventors.
While the intuition of experts is based on years of
experience, strategic intuition works to make new connections that take time
for the brain to explore and process. It
is common to make a distinction between rational thought and creative
imagination, especially after Roger Perry’s 1981 theory of right and left brain
functions. Strategic intuition combines
both.
Artists have different personal strategies to tap into their
subconscious. The Surrealists, who made the subconscious their subject, are an
extreme example. Knowing that the conscious and subconscious are most strongly
connected just before sleep, Salvador Dali would place a tin plate on the floor
and hold a spoon over the plate and relax himself into a trancelike state. As
he would drop off to sleep, the sound of the spoon hitting the plate as it feel
out of his hand, would wake him and he would immediately paint what his
subconscious came up with. Exquisite Corpse
is a game in which participants draw on a piece of paper and fold it for the
next person to add to. This became popular amongst artists of the 20s. Yves,
Tanguy, Joan Miro, Man Ray and Max Morise, exhibited a painting made
collectively called Cadavre Exquis or Exquisite Corpse.
Automatism as a method of painting suppresses conscious
control allowing the unconscious mind to make decisions. Doodling is its simplest form, sometimes
elaborated into art works. Jackson Pollock’s action paintings may be considered
a manifestation of strategic intuition. Stream of Consciousness became a
literary device, based on the natural flow of thoughts. Free improvisation is
music performed without any rules.
Typically the
subconscious stores information as images, feelings and metaphors, rather than
words, which makes a more natural transition to art, music and dance.
It is not only the creator, but also the viewer who
perceives art works intuitively, using the senses rather than the conscious
mind. The emotional impact of colour and
forms have been studied extensively. The Gestalt theory developed in Austria
and Germany in the early 20C describes how certain shapes evoke specific
emotions. Interior designers and advertisers use colours that evoke
subconscious responses as desired by marketing strategists. Using slow music in
shopping malls and hotels makes customers stay longer.
The US Navy is investing in research on how intuition can
assist in decision making especially in asymmetric warfare. While there exists a
cultural bias against using one’s intuition, Francis Colle, author of The
Intuitive Compass suggests, the aim is not to reject scientific ogic, but rather achieve balance between the
two.
Durriya Kazi
December 17, 2019
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