The forewarning effect (3 tips to stimulate your intuition)

In this article, we speak about forewarnings. What it means when we have a strong feeling that something is going to happen and whether you should trust your intuition. We also give you 3 great tips on how to stimulate your intuition. 

What does forewarning effect mean?

One of the most mysterious concepts of the human being refers to the mental field, the field of thoughts and the subconscious. The reality is that, no matter much we want, we cannot easily access our own unconscious or even the consciousness of another individual. Each one is free from his inner truth and from what he wants to share or not with others and to what extent he wants to do it. 

It is important to also talk about those thoughts that we do not feel contain the same level of certainty and that, however, is based on an intuition that goes beyond reason and logic: forewarnings, those sensations that we have that something will happen.

Definition of forewarning

To make the correct definition of a forewarning, first of all, we must clarify that it is a little-studied mental process given its unscientific nature. We define forewarning as those sensations or intuitions that something is going to happen, they usually appear in the form of furtive thoughts that appear in our head quickly and leave us with a strange sensation. 

A forewarning is a synonym with the word presentiment, and it can be born from intuition and become a fully conscious thought, too it can be defined as a premonition or future forecast.

We could all say that we have had some kind of feeling in our lives, some feeling that something good or bad was going to happen on a specific day. It is probable that we have even guessed right with this forewarning however, there is no evidence that we are in fact capable of “seeing the future”.

How to know if a feeling is good or bad

In order to distinguish whether a feeling is positive or negative in nature, we have to pay attention to our internal sensations, if that thought has been so furtive that it has passed without being able to analyze it, we will have to examine the feelings that this thought has left us. 

If the feeling is positive, we will be talking about a feeling that something good is going to happen. If otherwise, the emotion is negative, we will be talking about a bad omen.

It is normal to have a certain fear before a bad omen, nobody wants anything bad to happen to him in life. However, living in constant fear is not a good solution as this fear can lead to stress and anxiety. It is important to clarify again that these sensations are not very truthful mental processes. It is true that we can feel that, for example, visiting a specific place is a bad idea. 

However, it can be absurd to label it as a forewarning when, in fact, it has been a conscious process to think that we do not want to visit such a place. Strengthening our conscious decisions increases our personal strengths and our capacity for responsibility.

Are hunches real?

Despite the fact that there is no scientific evidence that conclusively demonstrates the existence of thoughts that predict our future, there are studies that affirm that the human brain is designed to perceive the future. 

These studies speak of neural structures that could be destined to the perception of all time planes (present, past and future). This phenomenon is under constant investigation and denying its impact on a social level is useless. However, all his studies need a critical and scientific look to prevent implausible situations or evidence from being affirmed.

What is undeniable is there are times when you think that something you are experiencing you have already dreamed of (this effect is known as a Déjà Vu), or suddenly, you have a very strong hunch that is inexplicable to you. It is difficult to define what happens but it is so. 

On many occasions, it is advisable to be careful not to confuse the forewarning with the negativity and that is that there are people who live stuck and permanently connected with the negative thought. They always put themselves in the worst, so when the worst happens they think they already knew it through an act of self-affirmation. 

Far from thinking like this, the best thing is that you always keep in your mind those positive hunches that were fulfilled and that left a sweet taste in your soul.

The functioning of the mental field produces constant astonishment even to the scientists themselves who do not stop investigating this question just as the philosophers, for example, Descartes, have done for many centuries. 

It is likely that over time we can clarify how our unconscious works and where the limits of our mind are, but for now, we will have to settle for living these forewarnings and learning to detect them.

What is intuition?

Intuition is a flash of knowledge that gives us a very strong and convincing feeling of truth. This feeling urges us to go in a certain direction, in a certain area of our life or, on the contrary, not to go in that direction.

Intuition is what saves a lot of time and economic resources, practically positioning us on the shortest path to a correct decision. Many entrepreneurs say that “Sometimes it is good to put reason aside and cultivate our intuition!”

Many people who had no idea about entrepreneurship but felt that their idea would work, were enthusiastic, had the courage to give up a monotonous job that did not bring them happiness and do something for which they felt, that something intertwined with emotions. Many people have turned their intuition into successful businesses.

Intuition cannot be forced or provoked, but there are some tricks we can stimulate it:

Keep calm. For a few moments, we have to calm down, to free our minds from thoughts and fears in order to make the best decision and not a hasty decision, determined by fear or under the influence of momentary impulses, so our mind will function at a normal capacity.

Be open. We must be open to new points of view, to new solutions. There are situations in which those around us present things to us in a certain way but intuition tells us something completely different, we must be flexible, not become trapped in a single perspective, to hear the voice of intuition we must accept other points of view than the ones I’ve heard so far.

Ask questions. It is one of the most powerful methods of stimulating intuition. By asking the right questions, we can get the right answers. We need to ask ourselves and our subconscious will look for possible answers in past experiences.

We are all unique and unrepeatable people, not all of us are equally intuitive, not all of us have the same knowledge but all of us have this latent capacity called intuition. Even if it is conditioned by life experience and genetic factors, we can stimulate it to get the most out of it.

There is a stereotype that this ability is only the prerogative of women. There is talk of “female intuition”, considering that “strong” sex would be disadvantaged from this point of view. 

However, some studies have shown that female intuition is just a myth. According to studies, women are more intuitive because they have more motivation in this regard, not because they would be more skilled. In studies in which men were also given a motivation (and the material one was preferred) to show intuition, their results were as good as those of female subjects.

FAQ about forewarning

Conclusions

In this article, we spoke about forewarnings. What it means when we have a strong feeling that something is going to happen and whether you should trust your intuition. We also gave you 3 great tips on how to stimulate your intuition. 

We could all say that we have had some kind of feeling in our lives, some feeling that something good or bad was going to happen on a specific day. It is probable that we have even guessed right with this forewarning however, there is no evidence that we are in fact capable of “seeing the future”.

Despite the fact that there is no scientific evidence that conclusively demonstrates the existence of thoughts that predict our future, there are studies that affirm that the human brain is designed to perceive the future. 

Have you ever had any premonitions, omens or forewarnings? We’d love to know more about your experience? Please let us know if you have any comments or questions!

Further reading

The Magic Path of Intuition, by Florence Scovel Shinn

Intuition on Demand: A Step-by-Step Guide to Powerful Intuition You Can Trust, by Lisa K. 

Intuition, Insight, & Prediction: How And Why We Use Them, by Leanne Halyburton  

Intuition (Insight), by Osho  

Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking, by Daniel C. Dennett 

References

Bem, D. J. (2011). Feeling the future: experimental evidence for anomalous retroactive influences on cognition and affect. Journal of personality and social psychology, 100 (3), 407.

William J. McGuire and Demetrios Papageorgiou; The Public Opinion Quarterly

Vol. 26, No. 1 (Spring, 1962), pp. 24-34

Wood, W., & Quinn, J. M. (2003). Forewarned and forearmed? Two meta-analysis syntheses of forewarnings of influence appeals. Psychological Bulletin, 129(1), 119–138. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.1.119

psychology.iresearchnet.com – Forewarning Definition