Fusing Rationality with Intuition

When we think of rationality and intuition we tend to think of these as 2 separate concepts. Rationality is viewed as the opposite of intuition. On the contrary, I would argue that we can build our intuition through heightened forms of rationality.

Rationality requires that we think in a linear fashion. Rationality requires intense focus of whatever subject you're looking to master as well as delving into the subject deeply and playing with the deductive powers of reasoning.  Rationality requires a high degree of analytic skill and thinking. 

Rationality also allows for a type of reflection to evolve. The more we go into our work the greater our insights, and these insights stem in a large part from our rational thinking brain. 

This form of intense thinking and grasping of our work paves the way for heighten powers of intuition. Traditionally, we view intuition as something that arises out of the blue (a gut feel). But intuition is in fact something that manifests itself through intense focus. 

Only by understanding the parts are we able to connect to the whole. It's difficult to intuitively arrive at complete understanding of a challenge without first breaking it apart. If we separate rationality from intuition we can very easily fall into the trap of dualistic thinking. 

Dualistic thinking locks us into one perspective thereby making it very difficult for us to integrate the parts into a greater whole. Looking around at the products of the industrial age and the ascent of humanity, many of the structures and systems that we have in place have been built on this form of dualistic thinking. 

I think we need to go deeper into not only our thinking, but also into our states of consciousness. By this I mean what do we feel when we've enhanced our rationality. This paves the way for intuition to emerge and guide who we are and what we do.  

The Chinese call it the Tao, or the way. For this we can't get locked into duality. We have to instead find the path where rationality, through analysis, reflection and hard work, leads us to advanced powers of intuition. I like to see it as the merging of heart and mind.