AWAKEN YOUR INTUITIVE GENIUS

Sharina Gumbs

The world is transformed through intuitive genius. Albert Einstein was a Nobel Prize winner and intuitive genius who revolutionized the scientific community. His curiosity, imagination, thirst for knowledge, and independent thinking led him to question conventional wisdom and explore the mysteries of the universe. He stated that “the only real valuable thing is intuition.”

Even at the highest levels of success, people can feel blocked. As people gain experience in their field, those blocks are more challenging. The risks are greater. The consequences are more drastic. The day's stresses can lead to hesitancy in decision-making. And that hesitancy cannot be afforded in many fast-paced industries. Researchers (Dane & Pratt, 2007) found that intuition plays a vital role in decision-making among high-performing professionals. Experienced professionals who used their intuition could make faster and more accurate decisions than when they only relied on analytical thinking. Because of this, successful people at all levels of their profession need new and different ways to ignite their intuitive skills.

I am intrigued by human development. I especially enjoy looking for patterns in human behavior and how unhealthy patterns are broken.

How do people break from beliefs that hold them back? How do they find new paths that lead to innovation in their personal and professional life? About 25 years ago, I became a social worker, and I spent every day in my career learning exactly those patterns and how they are broken.

When I was 10, I got an assignment in class to draw something. Having difficulty with not having a father in my life, I immersed myself in the project. The simple act of recreating a vision in my mind was not only healing, but it was also self-nurturing. I worked on this art project into the night and felt such a sense of completeness within me. My full focus was on my pencil touching paper. My mind stopped thinking, and it went into a state of being that resembled more of a river flowing. It has been a passion ever since.

Some say your superpower is found in your lowest moment and your greatest gift. For me, my lowest moment was developing a fear of rejection because I was raised without a present father. I had a difficult time connecting with people. Art and social work both gently pulled me out of that fear and became my two greatest gifts. In fact, my earliest art was portraits: just the face. To see, feel, and know that person by looking into their eyes and having that flow through your eyes to your hands is such a powerful connection.

In my 30s, I was a single mom following my mother’s footsteps in not finding a father to be present for my children. Additionally, I was concerned that fear in me would continue on to my children, and that is when I started abstract art. I used to draw portraits with pencil and precision. But with abstract art, I moved from the strict reflection of what I saw to something that transcended the visual plane. I let whatever was inside come out, and to me, it was like telling my story. My early art connected me to people. My abstract art connected the world to me.

Art helped me see myself, and it expanded my mind to see new paths. Studying abstract art gave me a sense of freedom that was so much stronger than realistic painting. It was storytelling with colors and canvas, but the stories were so much more than any stories I thought

I knew. It was like channeling stories from other worlds and, at the same time, within the depths of my own mind.

I lived with both my passion for art and my fascination for human improvement in separate realms. Albert Einstein said, “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant.” That is exactly what was happening. Social work was my cognitive learning, and art was my spiritual learning. The real magic happened when the lessons and connections of both worlds blended together. The combination of the two proved powerful beyond my imagination.

Through teaching after-school programs and coaching, I developed a system of learning that taps into your intuition and brings out innovation in your day-to-day life, all through art. I call it Mindful Art.

The most frustrating question I hear from people feeling stuck in their life is, “How can I change my life if this is the only life I know?” It is a relatable question to me as well. Visualization is key in achieving a goal, so how do you visualize what you cannot see? If I want to have a healthy relationship with someone but was never raised seeing what that healthy relationship looks like, how can I see my goal to move toward it? How can I visualize a partner when I have never met someone to emulate?

Thinking outside of the box is such a common phrase, but escaping the influence of past experiences or the misinformation of mentors makes this one of the most difficult skills because most of us only know the box. Still, it is a mandatory skill to success. You can only lead if you break the spell the box has on you, and that means visualizing what currently doesn’t exist to you.

I’m going to share with you the first step of my Mindful Art class. There is an interactive journey after it, but even that first project can lead to some eye-opening epiphanies about communicating effectively and seamlessly with our intuition. I’m sure it’s no surprise that I tell you the first step is to draw.

Draw a picture. You can use anything with color: acrylic on canvas, markers on paper, or crayons on construction paper. Crayons are wonderful because they bring us back to the naturally intuitive years of our childhood. Actually, if all you have is a few shades of lipstick and a window, that works, too. Draw in a space where you know you will let yourself be free and do not try to draw anything specific. Simply feel as you draw. Take in how you feel when you create. Do not analyze it. Do not wonder if you’re doing it right. The simple act of doing it makes it the right way to do it.

After you draw this piece, move a step back and take it in. Attach emotions to each color and line. If there is a shape you see, attach an emotion to that. Do not judge it, and do not analyze it. Stay in your intuitive, childlike mind and attach only feelings.

Now, listen to your art with your mind. Do not take it in with your eyes. Experience it. In my experience, what you see will have to do with how you look at life or some major issues you are dealing with, so discover what memories come up as you connect to your art. Is there a person, moment, or task you need to do that keeps coming to the surface of your brain? If so, the art might be telling you something about that. It may be telling you how it’s a pattern in your life you need to break. Our inner wisdom is always trying to communicate with us, and your art acts like a phone from that inner wisdom to your conscious brain.

Often, your art is not just telling you about a struggle. It may remind you of gifts. I noticed something both in Mindful Art and in social work: people do not recognize their talents and powers. They are often held back by a form of imposter syndrome. They will either say their talent is not a big deal or say their talent is not strong enough. We take our talents for granted so often. Our art will connect us to our talents even if our talents are far from the creative world. So, as you look at what you draw, you may sense gratitude for what you do well. That’s a truly wonderful feeling.

All the discoveries you make with that first piece of art you create can be experienced again with another piece. While Mindful Art will help you directly with what your inner wisdom is trying to tell your conscious mind, it also develops your intuitive skills. Your imagination is connected to problem-solving skills and enhanced emotional intelligence, like empathy. Right now, as you assign emotion to your drawing, you will find a deeper sense of empathy for yourself. You may also be feeling emotions that connect to another person, like a family member or friend, and that, too, may connect your power of empathy to them. Your growing self-knowledge and expanding empathy will allow you to communicate more effectively and connect you to decision-making that comes to you with the same sense of flow as you feel when you draw.

Another effective Mindful Art exercise helps you connect to another person: Take a pencil or a pen and paper, and sit close to and opposite the other person. Take turns in drawing a portrait of each other. Take a few seconds to look at the other person's eyes, features, and facial expression before you start. Each person draws for 1-2 minutes. Once you start drawing, there is only one rule; you are not allowed to look down at your paper until your drawing is done. When your partner has had their turn, reflect together on this exercise. How was it to take a moment to really focus on the other person and to see them? How was it to be in the moment and express freely without judgment of your artwork?

On my first day trying to draw, I had no idea that focusing on my first piece of art was a form of meditation. Now, we have learned that there is a flow state when we create art. This flow state can be found in numerous passions: writing, sports, cooking, etc. So many passions can lead us to a state of mind that triggers us to interact with the universe naturally and intuitively. Continue to draw and find a rhythm in your creativity, and you will organically feel that rhythm in your work and relationships.

Through Mindful Art you will connect to emotions you were likely not expecting. Be prepared, but also celebrate that breakthrough. My mother is very independent and raised me to hide my vulnerability. What I learned from my mother is to not show weakness. I didn’t reveal if I didn’t know an answer to a question. I didn’t show fear if I felt in danger. At first, I didn’t see this as an issue to work on at all. It felt like a strength. I have a piece I drew and had no idea what it was until it was done. As I stood back and reflected on it, I realized what it was. It hit me like a sudden wind on my face. I called it Rebirth of a

Woman. It was a painting about my relationship with my mother and, in turn, my relationship with my children and how our connections affect each other. I found such strength with my vulnerability in that piece, and I have grown because of that realization.

Innovators in business, science, and medicine create art every moment at work. They find new paths, connect to the human experience, and find solutions in moments no one else sees a fix. We are all born with this ability but lose connection along the way as society or upbringing plants seeds of doubt in what we do, causing us to hesitate or even freeze. Art is your intuition having a conversation with you. The deepest wisdom inside of us can be conjured through that connection of paint with canvas. Solutions are found by seeing them in your mind first, and that is achieved by connecting to your intuitive self. The beauty of innovation in any field is that innovation can only come from someone who can imagine what they have yet to see. Many of us develop our rational mind in college and at work but neglect to develop our intuitive mind. That is why Mindful Art can help us reach a new level of success by expanding our intuitive mind. Creativity is one pathway to unlocking our intuitive genius and allowing us to reach our greatest potential and transform the world.