Mumbai Terror Attacks & A Guide To Hone Your Intuition
A creepy definition of intuition, Coelho's amazing work and BuzzFeed's story that will give you goosebumps.
Hey Zedites,
This one’s about the power that needs to be honed ASAP.
A Story For You
Intuition doesn’t require conscience reasoning. It’s a feeling, that’s unanimously found, in the gut. You can find an eerie definition on Merriam-Webster - the power or faculty of attaining to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference. If it’s a power, it can be honed, and if it leads to direct knowledge without painstakingly thinking things through, then why aren’t more people trying to master it? Umm, probably because it’s not that easy.
Children are blessed with intuition but they’re too young to realise it and it’s because they are undoubtedly pure (yes, even the ones that cry on planes). They haven’t figured out the right from the wrong yet, maybe that’s why the universe comes to their aid. Once they grow older, their reliance on what they’ve learnt increases and they stop seeking knowledge from nature, eventually losing the ability to invoke their intuition whenever they want.
I would’ve never imagined writing about intuition this early, but my thoughts and this story stem from the book I’ve been reading - The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho and I urge you to grab Coelho’s first major publication. If you’ve stopped reading his work after The Alchemist, you’ve missed out on potential enlightenment, provided you implement what’s being written (don’t call me a hypocrite but I’ve been trying to incorporate the exercises from The Pilgrimage… haven’t had the patience but I promise, I’ll try).
I’ve had a fair share of intuitions but its frequency has been decreasing with age. A reminder of the purity in me, involuntarily and uncontrollably, seeping out. Some of the intuitions I’ve had, have been joyful, pretty similar to a eureka moment. ‘Wow, I can’t believe I guessed that right!’ But the others, I do my best to avoid recalling. What’s hilarious is that the ones I do my best to erase from my memory, make for interesting stories.
It was 2008 and I was 9 years old. There was an abnormality that day, everything seemed offbeat. I was up on time for school and the bus was late, both of which were rare occurrences. Ordinarily, the school was filled with excitement on Wednesdays in anticipation of the weekend in 48 hours, but that day, it felt like someone had sucked the energy out of everyone. I felt drained and lethargic, ready to do a free fall on my bed any second. I couldn’t wait to get back home. Eventually, the sun set on a day that felt like it was never going to end. I returned home, had some food and immediately announced my bedtime.
“Not too early for you?” My mom asked.
“I feel tired.”
As I rolled over from one side of the bed to another, I felt a presence in the middle of the night. You know this uncanny, spooky feeling when someone looks at you as you’re sleeping? It was just like that in the beginning but after a point, it felt comforting. My eyes were shut, I was still asleep, but my subconscious hadn’t clocked out for the day. It was actually the reason I was able to communicate with this presence.
“Something’s wrong. You should go check on your mother and don’t forget to ask her where your father is,” It didn’t say anything but the message was delivered nonetheless.
Springing out of a very heavily perspired-on bed, I ran to look for my mom. Before I could burst in the living room, I heard a lady screaming ‘Breaking News’, over what only sounded like explosions and gunshots. I re-evaluated my decision of bursting in, and peeked into the room instead.
It was the 26th of November and Mumbai was under attack. Five locations, ten terrorists, 166 people killed and more than 300 injured. It was one of the worst nights Mumbai had ever seen. One of the locations that was attacked, was the The Taj Mahal Place Hotel.
That was big news for a 9-year-old. I entered the room and did what the presence had told me to.
“Are you okay? Where’s dad?”
She didn’t say a word but her eyes were moist. I had never asked her where he was because I knew he was always working. She took a deep breath and told me he’s gone for a business dinner and told me to go back to sleep.
All of us were reunited over breakfast the next day. Everyone was happier than usual, the abnormality had gone and it felt like things had fallen back into place. I shrugged off the night, convincing myself that it was just another dream.
A few days later, I asked my dad where he was on the night of 26/11. He told me that he was supposed to have dinner at The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. He had arrived early at the hotel, realized that he forgot his wallet and walked back to the car. And at that point, tragedy struck (everything happens for a reason). Saved by wallet!
Ever since, I’ve been trying to invoke this presence. I didn’t have a name for it and I didn’t know how to call it at will either. All I knew that the more I tried to, the chances of reconnecting with it became bleak. After a point, I stopped trying. And then, I stumbled upon The Pilgrimage where Coelho suggests this exercise to build your intuition and to call for it at will.
The Water Exercise (Building Intuition)
Make a small puddle of water on a smooth surface. Study it for a while, then begin to play with it, without any particular commitment or objective. Make designs that mean nothing. Do this exercise for a week, for at least 10 minutes each time.
Do not look for immediate results, this is building your intuition and allowing your subconscious to tackle problems that have been lurking just under conscious perception. When your intuition surfaces in the future, trust in it.
I’m not an expert at it yet, but I’m working on my patience. I’ve reached 6.5 minutes without splashing the water all around and grunting at the stupid exercise.
I know for a fact that my intuition laughs at me when I perform the exercise.
“You want me to come to you? With all that splashing around?”
But it will, one day!
A Story From Someone Else
A Story From You
Don’t leave us hanging! We know you’ve got stories of your own and we’re aware of how interesting they are (don’t ask us how). Intuition is a subject that’s been talked about a lot with individual experiences that defy the normal.
It’s borderline selfish to not share your amazing stories. It’s a treasure that needs to be shared.
What are the eerie experiences that you’ve had with intuition?
Until next time,
Aamer