1.1. The types of intuition

The definitions of intuition certainly indicate that this is a process rather than a skill, ability or aptitude. If its etymology tells us the truth, then anyone can intuit, and intuition is not reserved for specific individuals or women in particular.

Throughout history and over time, intuition has been tackled in different ways. In the 19th Century, intuitive teaching in Germany was based on the sensory observation of appearances, whereas in Francel, Buisson had developed from teachings on “the mind” and “the soul” notions also associated with sensory exercises. It is thus that he defined his intuitive method [UBR 14].

Descartes [DAM 95] described “intuitive knowledge” as a direct vision of the mind, whereas for Bergson [BER 69] intuition is “an immediate consciousness, a vision which is scarcely distinguishable from the object seen, a knowledge which is contact”, and the principal function of intuition is “the direct vision of the mind by the mind”.

The human nature of intuition is undeniable for Kant: “time is a subjective condition of our human intuition” [KAN 04], whereas Spinoza regards intuition as “divine” or of otherworldly origin. For him, intuition is knowledge just like reason or imagination.

According to Plotinus, intuition is a rational activity: “The perception of external things is actually the image of an inner contemplation…, that of the intelligible forms… which constitute the source of three rational activities specific to humankind: reasoning, opinion, and intuition” [AUB 04].

Fritjof Capra shows that Tao focuses on the careful observation of nature. This observation, combined with a strong intuition, led the Taoist sages to profound ideas confirmed by current scientific theories. “When the intellect is reduced to silence, intuition produces an extraordinary state of consciousness: we apprehend what surrounds us directly without the screen of conceptual thinking” [CAP 75]. Intuition develops through the silence of the mind and thanks to a development of the introspective look of the self. Intuition is a “direct, immediate, gushing, and spontaneous form of knowledge independent of will, which does not involve reasoning and constitutes the result of an unconscious work”. Intuition begins where knowledge stops.

According to C. G. Jung, intuition is a superior force: “What some people call intuition is nothing other than that voice inside us which tells us what to do and what not to do. In other words, … we become aware that it is a superior force” [HUL 95]. Intuition belongs within humankind: “Consciousness uses some functions to orient itself in the external space: sensation, thinking, intuition, and feeling” [JUN 87]. These are defined as humankind’s four psychological functions:

• – Intuition: this is what conveys perceptions to us through the unconscious. It enables an immediate and spontaneous understanding without the need for logical reasoning.

• – Thinking: this is defined as the ability to understand reality, analyze it logically and intellectually, and the ability to create concepts.
• – Feeling: this is what attributes an emotional value to events and allows us to distinguish between what is pleasurable and unpleasurable.
• – Sensation: this is what conveys the information coming from our five senses (sight, smell, sound, taste and touch).

These four functions (intuition, thinking, feeling and sensation) generate typical profiles of introverts or extroverts. These profiles allow us to describe the conscious and unconscious types of personality that constitute the foundations for the MBTI³ model, which defines 16 types of personalities [CAI 03].

Starting in the 1960s, the Remote viewing program in the United States aimed at finding out information remotely, only through mental concentration, producing in some ways a type of remote viewing. The works that Puthoff and Targ, affiliated with Stanford University, carried out with Swann, as well as those of McMoneagle, an intelligence officer, have made it possible to obtain concrete results for experimental military programs and the CIA in the “Cold War” context of the period [BIS 79, MAR 86, MAN 97, TAR 80, TAR 94]. The result of these works, which are of significant interest, depends among other things on the individuals’ brain abilities and cannot be reproduced a priori for every individual. From our point of view, Remote viewing is not primarily related to intuition, so we will not carry out this type of research.

On the other hand, our exploration involves intuition meant as a “small voice coming from within” and, according to Gounelle [GOU 16], “it is necessary to pay attention to what comes from deep within ourselves. Understanding the messages that our soul whispers. However, our soul is like an angel that whispers so sweetly and low that we need to listen carefully. How can we expect to perceive it in this constant hubbub?”.

Therefore, how can intuition be described and then be scientifically described? Which approaches, tools and methods could shed light on intuition? This is exactly what this work intends to find out.

1.2. The scientific foundations of intuition

What science discovers about intuition evolves over time. In the 19th Century, Henri Poincaré, a scientist and academic educated at the École Polytechnique, claimed that:

“Logic teaches us that on such and such a road we are sure of not meeting an obstacle; it does not tell us which is the road that leads to the desired end. For this, it is necessary to see the end from afar, and the faculty which teaches us to see is intuition. Without it, the geometrician would be like a writer well up on grammar but destitute of ideas. […] It is by logic that we prove, but by intuition that we discover” [POI 08].

According to Poincaré, “such an external world, even if it existed, would always remain inaccessible”. Therefore, intuition teaches us how to see. Gladwell demonstrates that intuition is like blinking and works as a type of unconscious automatic pilot [GLA 05]. According to Damasio, intuition is a rapid cognition where emotions play a part, as the knowledge required is partially swept under the rug [DAM 05]. Some neuroscientists regard intuition as an “adaptive subconscious”, since intuition is linked to our sensory, adaptive and dynamic “database”. They also show that part of the “sensory information grasped by our brain […] does not reach our consciousness” [ZEK 10]. The research carried out by Cleeremans and co-workers measured, among other things, the reaction time in stimuli/responses tests. For Cleeremans and co-workers, intuition is a type of rapid short circuit that goes beyond subconscious learning [CLE 91, CLE 98].

According to a study carried out by the University of Leeds, intuition results from the way our brain stores, processes and uses the information of our subconscious. In the study conducted by Hodgkinson’s team, “individuals feel an actual intuition in situations where analysis is difficult or even impossible, namely when they face significant time constraints, information overload, or danger” [HOD 08]. Here, intuition is the most effective solution, as reasoning and rationality provide no rapid answer.

For Pierre Buser, “the individual’s intentional behavior may be affected by the identification of a signal whose subject remains unaware”. For the brain, intuition does not constitute a mathematical heresy [BUS 09]. Connections between consciousness and the brain have by now been established. Dehaene and Sergent defined a “neurological model of consciousness” [DEH 06]. According to Claude Bernard, intuition has nothing supernatural about it, it does not represent an innate talent and it is not mystical, constituting instead “a type of revelation” [DEB 92].

Some research avenues tend to show that, on the one hand, there are subliminal signs that individuals perceive when they communicate verbally and, on the other hand, that the brain unconsciously receives information from other individuals. Two brains can synchronize because of the electrical oscillations of neurons [DUM 10, MU 16, WIL 05], and communication from brain to brain (interbrain) exists even if the individuals are not necessarily aware of this [PER 17, TAN 18]. The research and debates about the links between consciousness and intuition are significant. For example, Bloch thinks that the state of consciousness grasps intuition through perception and leads this “intuitive knowledge” to consciousness [BLO 11].

One of the paradoxes pointed out by Bachelard has to do with the fact that scientific education trains brains for a type of reasoning that discards intuition. “In real life, what we think we know clearly offends what we should know. Our mind is never young when it is introduced to scientific culture. It may even be old, as it is as old as its prejudices. Gaining access to science means becoming spiritually younger and accepting an abrupt change that must contradict a past. Let us all break with the pride of general certainties and the greed of specific certainties. Let us mutually brace ourselves for this intellectual asceticism that extinguishes all intuitions, slows down all preludes, and wards off intellectual premonitions” [BAC 71].

When intuition “springs up”, we can locate the area of the brain affected. According to Wan [WAN 11, WAN 15], who is a doctor, studies involving MRI and carried out on chess players in Japan reveal that intuition springs up in part in the posterior precuneus⁴ and in part in the caudate nucleus⁵ [GOU 77]. In other terms, intuition springs up imultaneously in a first inner area and in a second peripheral area of the brain.

1.3. The three neuronal centers

The brain has fascinated scientists and philosophers for centuries. Neuroscience allows us today to get a better grasp of the way it functions. Several works have marked the knowledge on the topic over time.

For example, more than 50 years ago Roger Sperry established the model of the two hemispheres “left side of the brain/right side of the brain”, where each side possessed specific abilities and skills [SPE 64]. The functions of the “left side of the brain” (rational and analytical) included logical thinking, reading, writing, counting and speaking. The right side of the brain was more based on creativity, the perception of space and intuition. This simple model later revealed its limitations, as the brain also includes three large parts: the reptilian (the center of survival instinct, fear and pleasure), the limbic (the center of emotions, memory, etc.) and the neocortex (the center of intelligence, creativity, solidarity and more broadly of what is “associative”) [MCL 90].

Scientific research now indicates that in reality the situation is much more complex, and it highlights the existence of different lobes (frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital), the cerebellum and the brain stem, as well as tens of functional areas. The main functions of the prefrontal area are reflection, relativity, curiosity and adaptation, whereas the limbic area is more based on repetition, certainty and empiricism.

Based on scientific works, we can discard the idea that the brain alone controls everything. In reality, in our body, the brain is not the only organ to have neuronal cells, as there are two other neuronal centers, namely the stomach and the heart.

The brain is so complex that each month scientific articles present new aspects contributing to our understanding of cerebral areas, their functions and their interactions. Currently, the number of neurons in the brain is estimated at 100 billion (10¹¹ neurons) [YOU 12]. There are around 46 × 10³ neurons/mm² and one 1 μm² cell can store 25 bytes of information, so that the brain is equal to a square meter surface area of cells. Therefore, the brain’s memory storage ability is estimated to be 25 × 10³ Go⁶ (25 To⁷).

The stomach, and especially the intestine, contains 100 million neurons, namely 10⁸ neurons. These neurons have been identified in our digestive tract (enteric nervous system) because of the research carried out by Michael Gershon [GER 99] in the United States and Michel Neunlist [NEU 07] at Nantes’ Inserm in France. The research conducted since 2007 by Neunlist’s team on neuronal cells has shown that, if biopsies are carried out in the digestive tract, the samples contain neuronal cells. Analyzing these cells will allow us to make a prediagnosis on the development of neurological diseases. The neuronal cell damage taken from the digestive tract reacts in the same way as that affecting neuronal cells in the brain. The intestinal surface is of around 200 m² (namely 2 × 10¹⁴ μm²) and, taking into consideration that there are 25 bytes/μm², the intestine has a memory storage ability of 5 × 10⁶ Go of information (5 Po³).

The heart, which can be regarded as a “small brain” [ARM 97], has long been considered in functional terms. Since then, some discoveries have revealed that there are around 40,000 neuronal cells in the heart. It is no longer possible to isolate it and thus reduce it to the function of a mere pump. The heart has around 3 × 10⁹ cells, namely a surface of 15 × 10¹² μm². Given that there are 25 bytes/μm², the heart has a memory storage ability of 40 × 10³ Go, namely 40 Po.

These three centers are linked and interdependent. They work together and communicate, whether we are aware of this or not. In order of significance in terms of information storage volume in Go, the intestine is in first position (5 × 10³ To¹) with 10⁸ neurons, the heart is in second position (40 To) with 4 × 10³ neurons and the brain (25 To) is in third position with 10¹¹ neurons.

We should also notice that the operating frequency of the heart ranges from 1 to 2 Hz with an electromagnetic field of 100 pT (10^–12 T). The brain’s operating frequency ranges from 0 to 32 Hz with an electromagnetic field of 100 fT (10^–15 T); finally, the operating frequency of the intestine ranges from 0.05 and 0.3 Hz [LIN 79].

Table 1.1 summarizes the number of neurons, the memory capacity, the operating frequency and the electromagnetic field of the brain, heart and intestine. Let us recall that the brain has the largest number of neurons (10¹¹ neurons) and that the intestine stores the largest amount of information (5 Po). Our digestive tract is also autonomous: it communicates with our brain based on a bidirectional relationship because of the sympathetic system and the parasympathetic system [BON 10]. There are unconscious inner relationships between the three neuronal systems and our physical body. As evidence, we can easily remark that intense stress can cause intestinal disorders or diarrhea, revealing a causal effect of the psyche on our physical body.

Let us recall that the three neuronal centers function and communicate with the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord) and with the peripheral nervous system (the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems and the peripheral nerves including the vagus nerve). The vagus nerve is the main means of communication between the brain and the neuronal center of the intestine.

Therefore, these scientific discoveries confirm the traditions that described the existence of “three brains”, namely the rational, the intuitive and the instinctive one. The rational one corresponds to the head, the intuitive one to the heart and the instinctive one to the stomach.

Besides, we will recall that the rhythms of the brain in relation to its activity are classed based on five types of waves:

• – delta (from 0 to 4 Hz): deep sleep or very deep meditation state;
• – theta (from 4 to 8 Hz): sleep or deep meditation state;
• – alpha (from 8 to 13 Hz): state of consciousness, calm;
• – beta (from 13 to 30 Hz): state of concentration, intense activity, or anxiety;
• – gamma (from 30 to 60 Hz): information processing state.

In relation to the electromagnetic field of the earth (3–30 Hz), Schumman had predicted the existence of lowfrequency resonances due to the electric discharges of lightning in the atmosphere. These frequencies have been measured. They start with the first harmonic at 7.83 Hz and then globally spread out with a difference of 6 Hz. Therefore, Schumman’s seven frequencies correspond to 7.83, 14.1, 20.3, 26.4, 32.4, 39 and 45 Hz.

Hainsworth’s research has demonstrated the effects of the electromagnetic field on human health [CHE 02, HAI 83].

1.4. The triad of intuition: vibratory phenomena

Intuition is situated at the center of the triad including vibrations, emotions and music (Figure 1.1). In 1948, Reik attributed the third eye to intuition that, according to him, represents an “unconscious vibration” corresponding exactly to the instinctive rhythm of the other… Intuition is perceived as a moment of emptiness and absence for a second [REI 48].

We will elaborate on this triad so as to become aware of the phenomena that play a part in intuition in order to accept them, test them and then incorporate them into our own daily practice. We will explain the triad of intuition based on the study of vibratory phenomena and their effects on the human body.

To explain Figure 1.1, we will first show the relationship between music and emotions. Later on, cymatics will allow us to visualize the wave phenomena generated by music. Once this has been demonstrated, our heightened awareness will enable us to understand the actual effects of music on the body. Finally, we will discover the vibratory phenomenon generated by emotions and we will elaborate more specifically on the radial pulse phenomenon with the perception of the “vascular autonomic reflex”.

1.4.2. Music and vibrations

The hypothesis we are developing is based on the fact that intuition is a vibratory phenomenon. How can it become visible and more understandable, so that we can accept and sense this vibration?

To explain the phenomenon involving the body, vibration, the perception of this vibration and its influence on the body, we will employ the sound wave phenomenon, especially cymatics. Cymatics visualizes the effects of vibrations on liquids and makes them visible in order to explain the effect of a vibratory phenomenon on the body. Our body is situated in an environment of constant inner vibrations. It has its own vibrations and inner frequencies (heartbeats, blood circulation and breathing movements).

The main types of waves are electromagnetic waves and sound waves. Electromagnetic waves include electric waves, measured in volt per meter (V·m^{– 1}), and magnetic waves, whose density is measured in Tesla (T). These waves coexist with a phase difference of 90° and cannot exist without each other.

Sound waves have two main parameters, namely frequency, measured in hertz (Hz), and amplitude, which indicates the sound force. Sound waves compress or dilate particles, and then propagate spherically more or less rapidly in relation to the environment, namely through air, water, or in a vacuum. As a vacuum has electrical impedance, it is characterized by its permeability and permittivity. Electromagnetic fluctuations constantly propagating themselves run through the “vacuum” of space. On the basis of this, a vacuum is not empty according to quantum physics.

Cymatics reveals the effects of sound waves on sand, water and more recently on non-Newtonian fluids. In the 18th Century, Dr. Ernst Chladni¹³ (1756–1827) was one of the first to study forms created by vibrations. On a horizontal steel plate covered in sand, a violin bow makes the sand vibrate by moving along the edge of the plate. The grains of sand move according to the law of the vibratory field and gather and form a stable geometric shape depending on the frequency.

A dynamic, unique and repeatable geometric shape corresponds to each fixed frequency. For some harmonic frequencies¹⁴, the geometric shapes obtained are symmetrical, whereas for other frequencies they are asymmetrical. Ernst Chladni created a catalog of figures (Chladni’s acoustic figures). Some shapes resemble tortoise shells, the spotted fur of leopards or Hindu Mandalas.¹⁵

In Figure 1.2, the vibrations carry the sandy areas called “bellies” toward linear areas named “nodal lines” and create an acoustic figure in stable dynamic equilibrium.

The equation for Chladni’s figures can be defined in the following terms: let us consider a rectangular plate with fixed edges whose length is Lx and Ly, a point of coordinates (x, y, t) subject to a vibration of frequency F, and let U be the vertical displacement of the plate:

and (m/Lx)² + (n/Ly)² = (2f/c)²

where:

• – m and n: two integers;
• – c: the acoustic velocity of the plate.

Chladni’s acoustic figures can then be modeled by mathematical equations and understood in simpler terms.

On the basis of Chladni’s research, Hans Jenny and Alexander Lauterwasser worked with iron filings, aqueous solutions, colloidal solutions, and Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids. Several representations and pictures of the phenomenon can be found on the Internet.

Cymatics¹⁶ has been defined as the study of visible sound [JEN 67, JEN 69, JEN 74]. It demonstrates that everything is in a state of vibration, oscillation and pulsation. Sound waves, electromagnetic waves and supersonic vibrations exist in the universe on both an infinitely large and an infinitely small scale down to atoms.

Lastly, NASA has managed to record the Earth’s waves¹⁷, and it has shown the recordings of solar activities¹⁸, supersonic winds, Neptune’s waves¹⁹ as well as the electromagnetic waves sent by the planets of the solar system. These have been converted into sound waves so that humans could hear them²⁰. Science has demonstrated that in the upper atmosphere of the Earth, there are geomagnetic storms caused by solar winds, among other things. They can be heard and seen in a video made by Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt²¹ called “Sound of the Sun”²². The frequency variation makes it possible to see and hear simultaneously the sounds and interferences naturally limited to the audible spectrum of human hearing, namely from 20 to 20,000 Hz.

Cymatics visually reveals the three elements that constitute the phenomenon, namely vibration (represented by the shape obtained), dynamics and kinetics. Cymatics demonstrates that a wave is a vibration, a rotation and a structure determined by laws of symmetries and harmonics proceeding in arithmetic series of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc. A cymascope is an instrument that makes it possible to see the effect of vibratory waves on water²³. For example, each musical note corresponds to a geometrical shape²⁴, as demonstrated in Figure 1.3. Nigel Stanford, an artist, uses cymatics in his videos, where wave phenomena are synchronized to his music²⁵. The vibratory phenomenon related to a song²⁶ can naturally be observed with sand on a flat surface, like on Chladni’s plates, or, in case of Deva Premal’s song²⁷, with a cup of water put on a loudspeaker. Each vowel can be seen through its acoustic shape. Consequently, human speech determines the shape through vibrations²⁸.

In Figure 1.3, the geometrical shapes correspond to water affected by musical notes seen in a cymascope. Each musical note produces a piece of vibratory information that will set the water in motion.

Visualization on plates with sand or with a loudspeaker and water is two dimensional, but the phenomenon can be visualized in three dimensions (3D) with cornstarch mixed with water or non-Newtonian fluids, as the video²⁹ from which Figure 1.4 is drawn illustrates.

Figure 1.4 (drawn from a video) reveals that the phenomenon is more complex than the symmetrical figures obtained by making water vibrate. We can observe volumes that move and interact with one another in quite a surprising manner.

Finally, to conclude the analysis of the cymatic phenomenon, 3D hologram visualizations are possible because of 3D projectors, as illustrated in Figure 1.5, which is drawn from a video on holographic cymatics.

In Figure 1.5, holographic cymatics shows the effects of the vibrations on the direct environment in three dimensions. The influences of the vibration on sand (Figure 1.2), water (Figure 1.3) and non-Newtonian fluids (Figure 1.4) lead us to question the actual effects of the vibrations produced in the human body.

This new insight into invisible vibratory phenomena, which can be observed because of cymatics, shows that vibrations modify, affect and restructure liquids and in particular water. Water constitutes 50–70%³⁰ of our body, if we consider mass, or 99%, if we consider the number of water molecules, as our body includes (3.7 × 10¹³) water cells. Vibrations create unexpected pulsating, dynamic and kinetic phenomena in the body.