Intuitive practices work their magic by shaping different routes to inner knowing, and just as the outer sense allows us to see, hear, and orient to the physical environment, intuition also has its organs of perception. The three primary organs, or centers of subtle knowing, are experienced as being in the head where dreams appear at night, in the abdomen where breath and attention join, and in the area of the heart. There is also a fourth form of intuition, called ‘direct knowing,’ that does not rely on any intermediary cues.  Direct knowing is the fruit of intuitive practice, and is approached by way of developing the other three. Distinctions should be drawn between the hopes and fears of ordinary emotionality and the heart as an organ of subtle perception. In being emotionally drawn to a person, a place, a thought, or a thing, we clearly see ourselves as separate from the object that captures our attention. But when nonduality is evoked, the heart responds to qualities of higher being. Compassion and love are frequently referred to as attributes of a sentient heart, so are gratitude, empathy, hope and joy, humility and generosity. Heart-based practice requires discriminating between ordinary emotional identification, and more subtle perceptions that emerge when emotions are still. The heart can also be seen as a crossroad of consciousness, where energy rising from the belly center unites with the concentrated focus of he mind. Here the activity of the subtle centers join forces to develop a complete inner body, filled with new potentials of being and knowing…….Helen Palmer

listening deeply feels like an art form…..designing, washing in color, crafting composition, getting lost in the flow…..this is where the seeking shifts to being…..from asking to knowing…..intuitive surroundings feel like the finest web of silk…..

The soul, then, as being immortal, and having been born again many times, and having seen all things that exist, whether in this world or in the world below, has knowledge of them all; and it is no wonder that she would be able to call to remembrance all that she ever knew- for all inquiry and all learning is but recollection….Socrates

aesthetics of insight

A story is told of the Buddha when he was wandering in India shortly after his enlightenment. He was encountered by several men who recognized something quite extraordinary about this handsome prince now robed as a monk. Stopping to inquire, they asked, ‘Are you a god?’ ‘No,’ he answered. ‘Well, are you a deva or an angel?’ ‘No,’ he replied. ‘Well, are you some kind of wizard or magician?’ ‘No.’ ‘Are you a man?’ ‘No.’ They were perplexed. Finally they asked, ‘Then what are you?’ He replied simply, ‘I am awake.’ The word Buddha means to awaken. How to awaken is all he taught…..Jack Kornfield