Certainty and uncertainty

Nod your head, if you know what I’m talking about: We’ll have some experience that opens us up to a new level of seeing the world: Synchronicity, intuition, being saved in the last minute, a random act of kindness, whatever it is. We promise ourselves we’ll be more open to miracles in the future.

But then we forget. The forces of life around us tend to steer us in the direction of the ordinary, three-dimensional world. At least that’s been my experience, and I have some ideas about why I’d create that experience. But leave that be for now.

Intuitive knowing is by definition uncertain. At one level, we know. We just know. We don’t know how or why we know, but we do. At the same time, we know that we don’t actually know for sure. It’s just a strong feeling of knowing. It’s a very different form of knowing than the certain type of knowing that this wall is right here.

Everything exists in a continuum from 100% certainty to 0% certainty. Intuition lives on the less-than-100% end of that spectrum. If you insist on 100% certainty, you have, perhaps unwittingly, ruled out intuitive knowing. The two cannot coexist.

So if you want intuition, and everything that it has to offer, you have to be willing to sacrifice certainty. You have to accept an element of uncertainty.

I think this is where we so often go wrong. We crave certainty. We’ve been trained for certainty. Our society wants certainty. Insurance. Litigation if you mess something up. Guarantees that we can be absolutely safe. But this addiction to certainty comes at a steep price. It means losing out on the miracles of life.

So let’s help each other open up to more uncertainty so we can enjoy more intuition, more synchronicity, more miracles, more surprises, in our lives. That’s where the juice comes from. That’s where the Life in life really is. When we insist on certainty, we squeeze out Life itself.

If you’re in New York, let’s meet up. If you’re not, share this, so it can reach other people who are. Thank you. And I’d love to hear from you. Have you experienced this in your life?