Is there really such a thing as woman's intuition?

Question

The Greeks often referred to Wisdom by the name Sophia. Were they referring to intuition? Is this wisdom restricted to women only? Why is wisdom personified as being feminine in nature. Are woman the personifications of intuitive wisdom?
In the song 'Stairway To Heaven' there's mention of a 'Lady who knows'... were they speaking of Intuition?
Is there really a 'Lady who knows' within us? Carl Jung spoke of the hidden female within the male. Was he speaking of this? Can men utilize woman's intuition? Are women supposed to teach men how to make use of this? How? Is there a counterpart to intuition? Is there a type of wisdom that is masculine in nature? If there is, can the two "become one flesh"? What happens then?
Would a man, trying to get in touch with this 'feminine side', have to identify with or see himself as a woman first, or could he use an actual woman as a mirror of sorts and find his intuitive side via her?
Women: do you find yourself being a mirror to men in this way?

Jon: no worries...I see no contradictions.
All are welcome.

Thank you all for noticing that I posted this question in philosophy; Philo-Sophia; Love-Wisdom.

Excellent!

Answer 1

When speaking of spiritual intuition, yes, men can have this internal guide just as much as women, if they are in tune with it. My husband is more tuned into this than I am.

On the other hand, "woman's intuition" is a biological phenomenon, which men can only do well if they have a more womanish brain... (Have you ever read a book called "Brainsex"? It shows the scientific differences between "female" and "male" brains.)

My husband has looked after our kids while I was in hospital and also when I was studying full time. In my experience with this, I would say that he will NEVER be capable of "intuiting" the kinds of things that I (as a woman) notice about my children.

For instance, if the baby is crying, I can tell if he is grumpy, tired, hungry, poopey, lonely or terrified... by the quality of his cry. I KNOW when I need to go to him immediately, and when it's okay to let him cry a little. My husband really can't tell any difference between one cry and another.

Women have more sensory receptors in their brains than men... heightened sense of touch, smell, hearing, and peripheral vision. Their brains are designed for multi-tasking. So a woman who is cooking, washing dishes, caring for little ones, and listening to an audio book, can someone "know" when a little one is being "too silent" or may see out of the corner of her eye that little hand reaching up towards the stove.

It seems like intuition, or a sixth sense, but much of the time it is just the fact that women have more acute physical senses than men. (Proven scientific fact!)

Men's brains are generally more keyed to linear thinking, more spacially and mathematically oriented. This allows them to focus on one task and complete it... It allows them to be goal oriented, without getting bogged down in irrelevant details (or stressed out by them, as a woman might be).

Don't get me wrong... The "Brainsex" book makes it clear that this is a generalisation... Some men have more "female" brains, and some women have more "male" brains. But generally the functional characteristics of men's and women's neurological systems are quite different.

That's why we are so complementary. The biological differences of men and women are designed so that together we can meet all the needs of our children and community.

My point is that there IS "women's intuition" and it really does belong primarily to women.

Answer 2

Corblime Sunman! Call that a question? Let's see how well I can condense a doctoral thesis.

The masculine condenses and excludes, concentrating ever more tightly until 'the answer' is found. The feminine opens and accepts, allowing more and more until ALL is embraced.
We all carry a bit of each, but it is much easier for women to access the feminine.
A good example is to be found in Zen.
Rinzai, (Warrior Zen), focuses the mind on the Koan - with some rigour. Soto, (Farmer Zen), allows everything and fastens on nothing.
Can men learn to access the feminine? Sure, but it's kinda scary at first.
Is there such a thing as female intiuition? Yes there is. Is it exclusively feminine? No, but it's pretty difficult for the male even to acknowledge that it exists. Once that stumbling block is dealt with, actually accessing it is just a matter of practise
You can see feminine intuition in the necessity for female members of the herd, the pride, to sense and communicate danger very rapidly. It ain't done by conversation!
In moving from being an engineer to being a therapist who uses intuition a very great deal I have had to make that transition.
Yes, I did learn from women - but by observation rather than instruction. Practising Soto Zazen helped. But it's been a rocky old ride. No I didn't have to see myself as a woman first; still don't. I'm a bloke!
Now, I can do it. I can use masculine concentration when needed and feminine intuition as appropriate, but there is a blurring at the edges - I'm not consciously using either. Just reacting to circumstances.
I think I get it right most of the time.
_()_ ~*~ _()_

EDIT,
It worries me when I find myself in disagreement with Mumof4.
Perhaps if you dilute what I have said with some of her wisdom you might get somewhere near the truth.
((((Mumof4))))
And ((((Sunman)))) too.

EDIT,
Farah, just oversight.

Answer 3

Even at physiological levels, human beings are part masculine and part feminine. The form of Man or Woman that we see is because the difference in ratio of their constitution. The variance is almost around 10 %. A man may be 55 % masculine and 45 % feminine. A woman vice versa.
Now human mind too has two aspects , the logical & intuitive.
A child, yet to develop the logical aspects, appears to be totally intuitive just because the little intutiveness is all that it has to manifest !
Nature has gifted more of intuitive aspect almost in proportion to the feminine aspect at physiological levels. Intution has a certain grace about it (music, poetry, paintings.. etc are examples , where we do not find logic to be predominently manifest than intuitive ). Sacrifice is a manifest form of intuitive feeling of love, and again does not obey logic.
The Greek reference to Sophia (in a female form) is just the symbolising of this feminine aspect of intuition.
Man is usually logic oriented, and often needs a woman (as a mother, sister, spouse, daughter , friend etc) to invoke that intuitive aspect (example- the saying "behind every successful man there is a woman").... But, when a man consciously chooses to evolve into intuition, he far excels a woman (note that all spiritually evolved men, look as graceful as a woman !).

Answer 4

Women have intuition.
Sophia is not a reference to this.
Woman’s intuition is based on an acute sensitivity to the emotional states of others. Men CAN focus their minds deeply on how others feel, it’s just not really their nature.
Wisdom is personified as feminine because we are driven by what we FEEL more than by what we reason.
Women are not all personifications of intuitive wisdom. Plenty of bimbos out there.
The ‘Lady in Stairway’ is a denigration of the feminine tendency to believe in a fantasy because it is pleasant.

The adaptability of our species has the side effect of extended juvenile dependency. Women have evolved to give birth and nurture. Men have evolved to acquire the territory and resources needed to sustain life. Can men nurture, sure; but they would rather be building or killing something. Can women build and kill, sure, but most would rather nurse something back to health than kill it.

Masculine and feminine nature both serve a purpose. The balance is everything.
Combining the two loses the power of specialization. No guy wants a touchy-feely wing man. No crying child wants his mom to say “Suck it up, solider.”

This said though, understanding those spots in the ying yang is tremendously helpful.

A woman who abides by the logical decision to leave an abusive man, is better off that one that always gives in to an emotional override.

A man who notes and acts on the gestures that make his woman feel loved, will find himself richly rewarded.

But here's the catch. A femininized man is a p***y. A masculinized women is a b***h.

Understanding is good, conversion is bad.

Answer 5

Me turn.

And here's what I see, from my view point. Intuition is actually the name given to the fact that every person is a spirit, Not a body. That spirit has a quality. I mean each "person" is unique.

When I "intuit" it actually occurs as physical sensations in my body. I have had to learn, and am still learning, how to interpret what they are telling me. They actually don't tell me anything about the environment, they tell me an emotion is happening. (I won't go in to the details)

Most everything else about me is quite masculine including the bit about focused attention, goal oriented, forceful rather than nurturing.

The quality God created me with carries that particular ability to "see".

So it seems to me that emotions are not "feminine". I do see that feminine is more concerned with the observation and therefore the maintenance of earth level concerns. Nurturing of all kinds, including spiritual.

"Masculine" intuition is focused on the creation of things, situations, or the new. That seems to be about all men are good for. Well me anyway.

as always, All the best to you all

Answer 6

I'm finding that on this topic, that I'm being 'shown' the blending process more than looking through what I have learned.

Recently Michellev and I were coming to some pretty interesting insights into the feminine role in our present world. The bottom line, is losing alot of boundaries in how we deal and view our male counterparts.

Yes, men can tap into their feminine origin. Yes, women can tap into their inner male. It makes a whole being. The key is possibility, and allowing yourself to absorb what life shows you.

So, I look at this cosmic clan and see how that blends and meshes together, the fact that if we all became an united avatar, and our names didn't give it away. Could you tell who was male and who was female? Do you go back and forth in this confusion and wonder at it?

We move through our gender distinctions to become a whole individual. Not separated but guides to each other.

Intuition is of the feminine, and we all have that feminine quality in us. If it's easier for the actual female to access it, than it's ours to show the world. And as Jon says, by being an observer of it, is how it's done.

As is the task oriented male gene. I love that one. And without men walking the earth showing up with their strengths, it just wouldn't be something accessible to women. I personally, use the aid of men all the time in getting to that piece of myself that knows how to drive.

We do make it available to one another, if we allow it and honor it. Every piece brought to the table here, is a piece of this truths. This was a very good question and very good in-sights.

TAGGED by the Cosmic Task force for the spreading of
((((((((((((Cosmic Unity))))))))))))))))))))))))

And edits beyond: I'm going to have to agree that intuition is not going to make a woman out of everyone, nor does adopting driving force bring on she-men. You are always you, in the mix. Choosing what best suits who you are. I think we're going to learn more experiencially about this as time goes on.

Edits somemore: BE DOWN TO EARTH. Tri-fold process, not a bi-fold one.

Answer 7

Intuition comes from yin energy, it's indeed feminine. The problem is what WE call feminine and masculine. It's not exactly the same energetically speaking. A man can be as intuitive as a woman, it's just that women have a natural facility to be in touch with this faculty. The counterpart to intuition is instinct and that is masculine but again, we are restrained by our humanity. A mother who defends her progeny acting by instinct, for instance, is a good example of how this can exist on both sides.
A man working with a woman always will achieve this goal much more easily than one doing it alone because of the fact that uniting both energies helps much more than working with just one.
Yes, they all seem to be referring to intuition.
Hope to have answered your question. Should you have any doubt, please don't hesitate to contact me via my mail. ;)

Answer 8

Absolutely. Men are keen minded also . . . Yet, women have a bit more of an emotional mind set than men do . . .thus...we are more in tune with emotions . . .hence . . . intuition.

My intuition has always been correct. Those times when I didn't heed my intuition that was clearly ' speaking ' to me I found myself having to get myself out of uncomfortable experiences. I've since learned to really respect and pay attention when my intuition " speaks " to me.

Women . . . Intuition. Men . . . Gut feeling. Same thing ? Not sure.

You asked many other questions here . . .too many to cover in this limited venue. I will share this though . . .Men can get in touch with that clear intuition " voice " within them. Women can and many do counsel / guide men to hearing that voice of intuition more. A wise woman will do this with the awareness of the masculine ways of men and keeping that respectfully intact. In guiding a man with this I'd not refer to it as his " feminine " side as some men have issue with that phrase. The " clear still voice " . . . how's that ?

In reply the last question you asked . . . Yes.
.

Answer 9

I think it probably stems from the very separate lives women lived from men through history. Women's tasks and responsibilities took them to places and situations that men simply didn't share resulting in women having unique perspectives and insights. Vanity kept men (also keepers of history) from simply stating this, and by using phrases such as "wisdom" and "intuition" made their point while retaining their ego's. I think in centuries to come a common current phrase "it's that time of the month" will be included in the list above and some future theorists may presume we in this time still hold on to notions of the magic of the moon or some other similar thing. When we in this time (most of us anyway) are aware of the real and very common mundane meaning of this phrase. The chances of this sort of distortion through time becomes less and less the more we advance our record keeping. Computer discs aren't a very time worthy method of keeping our history, I mean have you tried to access information stored on a cassette tape recently? That information is only about 24 years old and if there was a young future history making writer storing his first poems and stories on a commodore64 those are almost lost to history now.

Answer 10

Women are highly intuitive. I think 'nature' meant this to be because of having to care for children. Women must discern that which is not clearly discernible.

It is not a highly respected 'art' because of our facts oriented, male dominated, society. This is changing some...in very recent years.

To respect a woman's intuition is the beginning of learning. It is a very subtle skill and must be given patience and light for it to grow. When it is made fun or scorned in any way, it will retreat.

It has not fully manifested because of, once again, the fact finding, scientific approach to answers has been huge! The "Tao of Physics" is one of the first books that has attempted to marry the two. Since then, many more books have surfaced to address this subject. Google time! =D

Women seem to take to spirituality/religion/retreats more easily, too. Oddly enough, it is the men who find their intuition, who are more androgynous, they become our teachers. This is changing, too.