Intuition: Is there a dark side?

“All you need is love”. If that comment is true, then where does intuition fit into the grand scheme of things that will make this world a better place? Many ‘New Agers’ regard intuition as a ‘knight in shining armour’ who – along with love – will rescue our world from evil and tyranny. But just how necessary is intuition, and is there a dark side to it?

A lot of people are uncertain about exactly what intuition is; how do you know that you’re receiving it; how do you know that it’s benefiting you; etc. The large number of words written/spoken about intuition are testament to that uncertainty. David Icke – who promotes intuition – has confused the issue for me in one of his more recent books, “The Perception Deception”, by writing that the ruling elite want to bypass our conscious minds so that the ruling elite can take control of our subconscious minds, thus they can take control of our thinking, perceptions and behaviour (see P161). The ruling elite want – he wrote – “…to suppress conscious imagination and exploit subconscious imagination.” (p431). Where does intuition fit into this view? How do we know that it’s not being tampered with?

A BBC television documentary on intuition (“Horizon: How You Really Make Decisions”, BBC2, 24/Feb/2014) concluded that the average person is utilizing intuition incorrectly, so human society needs to be redesigned to allow intuition to flourish. “We are stuck with our intuitive inner stranger…”, the BBC narrator concluded, so we need to embrace it – despite its’ flaws. The BBC documentary wasn’t overtly ‘New Age’, instead framing intuition with a more conventional science-based perspective based on the DNA that we share with our animal ancestors, and which makes us biased towards making certain decisions.

It’s not just New Agers who promote intuition: it’s slowly going mainstream. This bothers me, because most mainstream events/trends are usually overshadowed by the ruling elite, I conclude. For example, the modern Rosicrucian organisation AMORC (headquarters in the USA) publicly promoted its’ mystical beliefs, especially its’ goal of encouraging everyone to use “divine intelligence”, accessed via “the still, small voice within”. AMORC held two annual conferences in England in 1996 and 1997 at the University Of Surrey, whose Chancellor back then was the Queen’s cousin: the Duke of Kent, also the Grand Master of Britain’s most popular branch of Freemasonry. Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry are a continuation of the Christian Protestant split from the Catholic Church in the 16th Century, beginning the trend towards encouraging each individual person to access ‘God’ directly, rather than relying on an indirect human intermediary. That said, the Catholic rejection of Freemasonry was not immediate. Initially, there were plenty of Catholic Masons/Freemasons.

The Pope in 2017/2018 (Pope Francis) appeared to be in favour of an internal guidance (“The Holy Spirit”), as befits his Jesuit training.  He praised female intuition and sensitivity. See my article on the Catholic Church in the Religion section.

This desire for a world directed by Divine Intelligence/God/Universal Laws is gradually pervading powerful transnational institutions such as the United Nations. One of the ‘fathers’ of the campaign for a united Europe, Count RICHARD COUDENHOVE-KALERGI (1894-1972), wrote: “…we are mere puppets in the hands of God…” Kalergi has been linked to the esoteric-political philosophy known as SYNARCHY (the opposite of anarchy), which wants European union and ultimately a World government led by elite rulers in psychic contact with hidden beings/powers (See “The Sion Revelation”, LYNN PICKNETT & CLIVE PRINCE). In a synarchic society, everyone has a preordained, natural place in the larger body of society. A similar view is outlined in a remarkable series of psychically-channeled books by KEN CAREY (e.g. “The Starseed Transmissions”), which say that we humans- following our intuition- are destined to evolve into the ‘brain cells’ of a super-organism controlled by a Divine Creator.

The notorious British occultist Aleister Crowley advocated the principle: “Do what thou wilt”, by which he meant follow God’s Will. However, a fellow contemporary occultist, Christine Stoddard, warned of becoming ‘an empty vessel’ in the hands of psychic forces.

Intuition is seen by some occultists and New Agers as part of the evolutionary process: crude animal instincts evolve into human intuition which then evolves into ‘god consciousness’. But is it the real ‘God’/universal mind or the fake ‘blind’ god of Gnostic belief? Or is ‘god consciousness’ the ‘blind watchmaker’ espoused by Richard Dawkins, which is just some ‘blind’ cancerous survival instinct controlling our physical flesh?

The ancient idea of a ‘Master Race’ (chosen by God to rule) is manifesting in the 21st century as a ‘spiritual elite’ who are more able to tune into ‘natural, divine’ laws. The renowned psychologist ABRAHAM MASLOW (famed for his ‘hierarchy of needs’) suggested that there could be a “biological elite” who are more able to “self-actualise” (to be your true self via heightened awareness and positivity).

I believe that the use of the subconscious mind was subtly popularized by those top filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas:

1)”Jaws”: the shark symbolizes the demons of the hidden depths of the mind;
2)”Close Encounters Of The Third Kind” and “ET” symbolize the contact with a new intelligence;
3)”Star Wars”: Jedi Warriors prefer the ‘Force’ as a decision-maker.

Crowley wrote that the Will in question was not the selfish will associated with the ego, but was to linked with divine will and divine purpose. It was about finding your natural place in the grand scheme of things. See his Law of Thelema.

The United Nations promotes meditation and intuition. In this respect it was supported by the top academic and systems theory proponent ERVIN LASZLO, who worked for UN offshoots such as UNESCO and UNITAR. He belonged to numerous global-oriented institutions such as The CLUB OF ROME and founded THE CLUB OF BUDAPEST. Laszlo believes in an underlying holographic energy field that is self-aware.

The United Nations’ promotion of meditation and intuition can be traced back to the UNESCO predecessor: the League of Nation’s ICIC, whose members included fans of intuition such as the famous scientist Albert Einstein and the renowned French philosopher Henri Bergson, of which the latter’s sister MINA BERGSON was an occultist who married SAMUEL MATHERS, a co-founder of the influential occult Order of the Golden Dawn. Another Golden Dawn member, Aleister Crowley, promoted the following of God’s Will under love. What ‘love’ is this? Is this love a form of intuition or distinct from it? Who is really behind the New Age movement? Why has David Icke – till now (2018 at least)  – seemingly ignored the United Nations’ growing embodiment of the new age values that he promotes, despite Icke also viewing the UN as central to the global conspiracy?

Henri Bergson suggested that a higher form of instinct is evolving in man. Although instincts are controllable, they suggest to me a reduction in our free will, if not the loss of it.

Numerous top scientists have championed the subconscious mind as a source of inspiration, especially quantum physicists such as STEPHEN HAWKING.

Einstein’s promotion of intuition was cited by the bestselling author on the nature of power and manipulation: ROBERT GREENE, a student of Zen Buddhism and author of “The 48 Laws of Power”, which was referenced in songs by the Rappers JAY Z, KANYE WEST and DRAKE. Another Rapper – 50 CENT – collaborated with Greene on the book “The 50th Law”. In his book “Mastery”, Greene made the common mistake of attributing a quote on intuition to Einstein that Einstein didn’t make (“…the Intuitive Mind is a sacred gift…”, etc). However, Einstein did write: “Intuition is the father of new knowledge”.

In the aforementioned BBC documentary on decision making (“How You Really Make Decisions”), they focused on the research of the Nobel Prize winning Professor DANIEL KAHNEMAN, who received from American President Barack Obama the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He pointed out the weaknesses of human decision making in his book “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, which contrasted the 2 different ways of thinking: Fast (emotional, instinctive, intuitive) and Slow (logical, deliberate). Daniel Kahneman’s career spanned psychology and economics. He was listed as the 7th most influential economist in the world in 2015 by “The Economist” magazine, while “Foreign Policy” magazine included him in 2011 as one of their Top 100 Global Thinkers. Kahneman served in the Israeli Defense Force’s psychology department, where he developed one of the main instruments used for the assignment of combat soldiers.

Kahneman concluded that intuition wasn’t perfect and needed to be managed carefully: a conclusion shared by the bestselling author ADAM GRANT in his book “Originals” (2016), of which the foreword was written by his friend, the FACEBOOK COO SHERYL SANDBERG, who teamed up with Grant to co-author “Option B” (2017). Grant gave a TED talk and was named a YOUNG GLOBAL LEADER by the World Economic Forum. Other of those WEF leaders have been Sandberg’s Facebook boss MARK ZUCKERBERG; the GOOGLE co-founders LARRY PAGE and SERGIN BRIN; WIKIPEDIA founder JIMMY PAGE. Jimmy Page also managed those Young Leaders as a board member of the FORUM OF YOUNG GLOBAL LEADERS, working alongside fellow board member DAVID RUBENSTEIN (CFR Vice Chairman; co-founder of the CARLYLE GROUP).

Grant’s book “Originals” was endorsed by:
1) Intuition fan and ally of Sheryl Sandberg: ARIANNA HUFFINGTON.
2) STAR TREK director JJ ABRAMS, who also directed “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”.
3) SUSAN CAIN, author of the bestselling “Quiet”; interviewed by Arianna Huffington and wrote blogs on Huffington’s co-founded HUFFPOST.
4) Intuition fan and bestselling author MALCOLM GLADWELL, author of “Blink” and “The Tipping Point”. Gladwell endorsed the book “Before You Know It”, by one of the world’s top experts (supposedly) on the unconscious mind: JOHN BARGH (Yale University Psychology Professor), who wrote that intuition is useful but needs to be managed carefully.

John Bargh studied under ROBERT ZAJONC, who at the University of Michigan headed it’s influential RESEARCH CENTRE FOR GROUP DYNAMICS, originally begun in 1945 at MIT by the legendary ‘founder of social psychology’ – KURT LEWIN, a major inspiration at Britain’s TAVISTOCK INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RELATIONS.

Malcolm Gladwell cited intuition fan GARY KLEIN as a major influence. Klein wrote “The Power of Intuition” (2004) and promoted “naturalistic decision-making”, of which the latter resulted in Klein being sponsored by the US Army and Navy. Klein’s military connections extended to the US Air Force (where he was a research psychologist) and to DARPA (who gave him a grant). Klein was a Fellow of the AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. His “The Power of Intuition” was endorsed by the ‘management guru’ KENNETH BLANCHARD (co-author “The One Minute Manager”).

Klein and Kahneman joined forces to give a ‘balanced’ view of the ‘intuition versus logic’ debate in their “Conditions for Intuitive Expertise” (2009).

Kahneman and Adam Grant endorsed the book “Superforecasting” (2015) that promotes a blend of the intuitive mind and the rational mind. The book’s co-author PHILIP TETLOCK co-created the GOOD JUDGMENT PROJECT (of which Kahneman was on it’s advisory board), which participated in a larger program created by the American Government’s Intelligence agency IARPA (INTELLIGENCE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS ACTIVITY).

Kahneman collaborated with a promoter of NUDGE THEORY: RICHARD THALER, a Nobel Prize winner who helped the British government set up it’s ‘Nudge unit’ (BEHAVIOURAL INSIGHTS TEAM). Nudge theory is a way of influencing behaviour in a subtle, ‘positive’, way, e.g. placing healthy food more prominently in shops, rather than banning unhealthy food.

Kahneman was Jewish, as was Kurt Lewin and the famed founder of PSYCHOANALYSIS: SIGMUND FREUD. It’s remarkable how influential that Jewish academics and Jewish tradition have been in the study of the mind. Not bad for a persecuted minority! Psychoanalysis gained numerous Jewish academic supporters. The GESTALT model of the mind was shaped by Jewish academics such as Kurt Lewin. Many Jewish scientists/academics emigrated to Britain and America in the 20th century where their careers flourished thanks to influential benefactors such as the ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION, who also funded the TIHR (Tavistock Institute of Human Relations). The Rockefeller-influenced CFR (Council on Foreign Relations) has a history of employing Jewish Zionists, e.g. the aforementioned DAVID RUBENSTEIN (CFR Vice Chairman) at the same time as the CFR’s President RICHARD HAASS and CFR Chairman ROBERT RUBIN.

The Jewish co-founder of Gestalt psychology, MAX WERTHEIMER, was a close friend of the famous Jewish physicist ALBERT EINSTEIN (intuition fan), who was one of the founders of the HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM where Kahneman would develop his theories with his Jewish colleague AMOS TVERSKY.

The TIHR’s major influences included psychoanalysis and Kurt Lewin. The TIHR and Kahneman had an indirect link through Kahneman’s wife, ANNE TREISMAN, a Psychology Professor who studied at Cambridge University under RICHARD GREGORY who himself studied under one of the forerunners of cognitive psychology – SIR FREDERIC BARTLETT. Another of Bartlett’s pupils at Cambridge was the TIHR inaugural deputy chairman (and later, chairman), ERIC TRIST, a leading figure in ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT who met Kurt Lewin. Trist was a Rockefeller research fellow.

Intuition is a type of intelligence, so it is significant that the WEF (WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM) founder KLAUS SCHWAB authored a book that acknowledged as such: “The Fourth Industrial Revolution” (2016), in which he writes that we need to embrace the different kinds of intelligence, including emotional (heart) and inspired (soul). The WEF website published pro-intuition articles by Dr. TRAVIS BRADBERRY, author of “Emotional Intelligence 2.0”, whose book was endorsed by the DALAI LAMA (Buddhist leader and CLUB OF BUDAPEST member).

The WEF’s board of trustees in 2018 included:
1) Intuition fan JACK MA – Chinese business magnate and one of China’s richest men. Ma promotes the need for more love and more women in the boardroom.
2)IMF Managing Director CHRISTINE LAGARDE.
3)AL GORE – the ‘Green’ ex-Vice President of USA.
4)DAVID RUBENSTEIN (CFR, see above).
5)WORLD BANK President JIM YONG KIM.
6)BANK OF ENGLAND Governor MARK CARNEY.
7)MARC BENIOFF – American internet entrepreneur; founder of SALESFORCE.

Benioff provided the foreword to Schwab’s “The Fourth Industrial Revolution”, which was endorsed by WEF member and FACEBOOK COO Sheryl Sandberg (see above). Schwab’s sequel – “Shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution” (2018) – included a foreword by the MICROSOFT CEO SATYA NADELLA.

Sheryl Sandberg (Jewish parents) and her public ally Arianna Huffington both champion the ‘inner voice’. Sandberg provided the foreword to a book about listening to your inner voice: “When to Jump” (2018), written by her 2nd cousin MIKE LEWIS, which she helped to publicize, as did Huffington. Other endorsers of the book were LINKEDIN co-founder REID HOFFMAN and self-help guru TONY ROBBINS. Hoffman (CFR, Bilderberger) helped fund FACEBOOK into existence. See my article on the Basic Income Guarantee in the Business section.

Arianna Huffington endorsed the book “Invisible Influence” (JONAH BERGER), about the need to avoid being a puppet in the hands of other people. But what about being a puppet in the hands of intuition?

For those people who prefer the conscious, logical, mind instead of the subconscious, the Ruling Elite have that base covered too in the form of THINKING TOOLS, which render logical thinking a guided process. If the thinking tools are followed slavishly, then it could be argued that your thinking is reduced – ironically. Probably the most famous promoter of thinking tools has been EDWARD DE BONO.

The renowned American scientist/philosopher DANIEL DENNETT wrote a book on thinking tools because “…thinking is hard…”. In his “Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking” (2013), Dennett coined the term INTUITION PUMP, which is a thought experiment that facilitates the use of intuition to solve problems. Dennett’s father worked at the CIA predecessor, the OSS, during World War Two. At Oxford University Daniel Dennett studied under the British philosopher GILBERT RYLE. Dennett was an atheist and skeptical of the ‘supernatural’, hence his Fellowship of the ‘skeptical’ CSI (previously CSICOP).

Intuition has featured in advertising, such as a FORD car advert featuring the “The X-Files” actor DAVID DUCHOVNY, seemingly reprising his role as the intuitive FOX MULDER. In the advert, he uses some kind of intuitive 6th sense to avoid a disaster in a car. The narrator says “…some of us sense more than others…”

Here is that advert: Ford advert

“Intuition” was the name of a perfume sold by ESTEE LAUDER. Their promotion said: “Intuition was created by Evelyn Lauder to reflect the guiding inner voice that is inherent in every woman. “It’s the very essence of a woman. Intuition is the fragrance embodiment of the emotional elements of this new age and the woman who defines them. She is a woman who listens to her inner voice and pushes forward by following the path intuition takes her,” said Evelyn Lauder.”

EVELYN LAUDER (born into a Jewish family) studied psychology in New York where she met her Jewish husband, the future billionaire chairman of ESTEE LAUDER Companies: LEONARD LAUDER, a member of the CFR (Council on Foreign Relations); a trustee of the ‘New Age’ think tank, the ASPEN INSTITUTE; chairman of The Aspen Institute International Committee.

“Intuition” perfume got some product placement in the 2002 movie “The Bourne Identity”.

An advert by WILKINSON SWORD in 2017 sold their “Intuition” sensitive razor for women.

CISCO – an online advert in December 2017 lead to their quiz on intuition on their news site “The Network”. How intuitive are you?

Note the one eye symbolism. See the symbolism section and The Simpsons section for more eyes.

CISCO SYSTEMS Chairman and CEO in 2017 was CHUCK ROBBINS, a WEF member who chaired the WEF’s IT Governors Steering Committee. Robbins was recruited by the CFR Board member LAURENCE FINK (Jewish parents) to the Board of BLACKROCK, a major financial institution with several Jewish co-founders including Fink, who became its chairman and CEO.

A former MICROSOFT and GOOGLE employee, MO GAWDAT, advocated mindfulness and a connection with your ‘true self’ (not your brain or ego) in his book “Solve for Happy” (2017), which was endorsed by the Google co-founder SERGEY BRIN (Jewish parents). Gawdat referenced Daniel Kahneman in his book. Gawdat, although a Muslim, practised Zen meditation. He believed in a ‘Grand Design’ that underpins evolution. Gawdat headed a Google spinoff called “X” (or GOOGLE X), a semi-secret research and development facility.

ENDER’S GAME (2013) – sci-fi movie based on the novel of the same name. Teenagers are chosen to battle aliens because they are more intuitive than most adults. This reminds me of Arthur C. Clarke’s earlier novel “Childhood’s End”.

Intuition featured in the world’s 1st movie documentary about the coaching profession: “Leap: The Coaching Movie” (2017). One of the movie’s executive producers, MARC STEINBERG, taught meditation, yoga, spiritual fulfilment and other New Age ideas. Other “Leap” contributors included the New Age writer and business coach JACK CANFIELD, who recommended intuition in his books; and MARSHALL GOLDSMITH, regarded as one of the world’s top leadership coaches. Goldsmith described himself as a “philosophical Buddhist”.

Goldsmith wrote an online article, “Unleashing the Genius in Your Workforce”, in which he interviewed his work colleague/friend STEPHANIE CHICK who talked of the need to exploit employees’ intuition and passions. Goldsmith himself hasn’t made a big deal about intuition (at the time of writing, 2018) but his books did advocate the need to tame the unconscious mind. His 2015 book “Triggers” identifies the various influences (conscious and unconscious) that can affect us adversely, and how best to respond to them.

“Triggers” was endorsed by:

1)The WORLD BANK President JIM YONG KIM.

2) Leadership guru FRANCES HESSELBEIN, formerly the CEO of the GIRL SCOUTS OF THE USA and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Bill Clinton. Hesselbein and Goldsmith worked together, e.g. co-editing management books. Hesselbein continued the work of the late renowned management guru PETER DRUCKER, whose FOUNDATION FOR NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT (of which Hesselbein had been the founding President) was renamed the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute. Drucker said that intuition needed to be disciplined.

3) ex-GOLDMAN SACHS managing partner and Managing Director MARK TERCEK, President and CEO of THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, a global conservation agency. Fellow board members of The Nature Conservancy included the aforementioned Jack Ma, Laurence Fink and the Rockefeller Foundation’s President RAJIV SHAH. Shah spent eight years at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he led efforts in global health, agriculture, and financial services.

Tercek served on The Rockefeller Foundation’s Economic Council on Planetary Health at Oxford University’s Oxford Martin School, of which other members included Gro Harlem Brundtland (former Prime Minister of Norway and Director-General of the WHO) and Christiana Figueres, the former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

4) Management guru and intuition fan, KENNETH BLANCHARD. See above.

5) ROTHSCHILD NORTH AMERICA CEO, JIM LAWRENCE.

6) BLACKSTONE GROUP Operating Partner SANDY OGG. Blackstone was an American equity company founded by CFR chairman PETER PETERSON and CFR member STEPHEN SCHWARZMAN, of whom the latter chaired President DONALD TRUMP’s STRATEGIC AND POLICY FORUM. Schwarzman attended the Rothschild-created conference on ‘Inclusive Capitalism’ (2014).

The prestigious American magazine on business – FORBES – published internet articles by a New Age business writer, BRUCE KASANOFF, including his articles on intuition: “Intuition is the Highest Form of Intelligence” (21st Feb 2017) and “Intuition is the Antidote To Big Data” (June 30th 2017). Kasanoff jointly set up a kind of New Age retreat for business professionals: IKIGAI PARK CITY.

Intuition has had numerous high-profile fans, e.g. US President DONALD TRUMP; APPLE co-founder STEVE JOBS; MICROSOFT co-founder BILL GATES; billionaire investor WARREN BUFFET who gave huge sums of money to Bill Gates’ charitable foundation; chat show host OPRAH WINFREY; VIRGIN founder RICHARD BRANSON. Branson met another intuition fan VISHEN LAKHIANI and suggested to Lakhiani that he write a self-improvement book, thus he wrote “The Code of The Extraordinary Mind” (2016). Lakhiani wrote that ‘God’/’the universal mind’ utilises intuitive humans (GODICLES) to execute its’ wishes. Lakhiani interviewed Arianna Huffington whom he adored (so he wrote). Lakhiani wanted to revolutionise the global education system. He belonged to the TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP COUNCIL, started by the popular self-help guru JACK CANFIELD who promoted intuition.

MAHATMA GANDHI, the famous Indian opponent to British rule in India, recommended intuition, writing: “The only tyrant I accept in this world is the ‘still small voice’ within me.” Note the word ‘tyrant’. Gandhi studied Theosophy after meeting high ranking Theosophists (Annie Besant and Helena Blavatsky) in London where his legal career developed. Gandhi acknowledged Theosophy’s significant contribution to the Indian Independence Movement, e.g. the Theosophist Allan Octavian Hume (who knew Blavatsky) co-founded the INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS, becoming its’ General Secretary.

India’s first Prime Minister (after independence), Jawaharlal Nehru, had been a young Theosophist inducted by Besant and became president of the Indian National Congress. Nehru studied in England at Harrow, the public school, and at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Gandhi in South Africa befriended the Theosophist LEWIS RITCH who would help Gandhi later in London for his meeting with Lord ELGIN.

The famous American TV chat show host, OPRAH WINFREY, publicly endorsed numerous New Age books and their authors, e.g. ECKHART TOLLE, author of the New Age best seller, “The Power of Now” (1997), which promoted intuition, the subconscious and meditation.

The oil company ROYAL DUTCH SHELL and the Silicon Valley research institute, SRI (Stanford Research Institute), both were significant contributors to the discipline of SCENARIO PLANNING, resulting in a methodology called INTUITIVE LOGICS, which includes ‘disciplined intuition’ and brainstorming. In Shell’s 2008 guide to using scenarios (“Scenarios: An Explorer’s Guide”), they say that exploration involves a mix of analytical thinking and “informed intuition”.

MERCEDES-BENZ, the car maker, promoted intuition from 2016 to 2019 (at least) in its’ advertising for some of its’ cars and its’ MBUX multimedia system. The Mercedes E-Class was advertised with the “Intuition” advert that asked: “What is intuition?”, then answered, “To know the unknowable”. Their car was ‘intuitive’ because it could think ahead and avoid danger. The advert climaxed with the words: “Welcome to the era of intuitive driving”. A 2018 TV advert for the Mercedes C-Class said: “Strengthen your intuition”. Their electric car and its’ MBUX multimedia system were advertised with: “The future belongs to electric drive. And human intuition”.

JONATHAN HAIDT – regarded as a top thinker in Social Psychology and in happiness research. Haidt promoted meditation and intuition, though he acknowledged that intuition (and the subconscious mind in general) needed to be tamed by logic and reason. Haidt was educated at Yale University. He spent a year at Princeton University as the LAURANCE S. ROCKEFELLER Visiting Professor for distinguished teaching. Haidt gave TED talks and appeared alongside the former British political leader Sir NICK CLEGG (the latter joined FACEBOOK in a senior role) for a discussion on the rise of populism, which they didn’t approve of, naturally. Haidt was publicly a political centrist and anti-Trump, and wanted to reduce political polarisation. Haidt agreed with the philosopher DAVID HUME that reason should be the servant of the passions. Haidt developed the theory of SOCIAL INTUITIONISM, which says that intuition and the unconscious mind is more powerful/influential than the rational mind. He created the metaphor of an elephant (the unconscious mind) being steered by a weak human rider (conscious mind).

A former BBC feature writer and science journalist, DAVID ROBSON, wrote in his 2019 book “The Intelligence Trap” that intuition needs to be managed carefully using techniques such as mindfulness and meditation.

A down-to-earth view of intuition, meditation, yoga, and the ‘law of attraction’, was given by a neuroscientist and leadership coach, Dr TARA SWART, in her 2019 book “The Source”, endorsed by DEEPAK CHOPRA, and which attempted to give a scientific basis for New Age ideas such as the ‘law of attraction’. The true ‘source’, wrote Swart, is the human brain, not spirits nor spiritual energies. Swart was educated at Oxford University and King’s College (London). She lectured at MIT (Sloan Management) and King’s College (London).

Female intuition makes women suitable for work in security and intelligence gathering, according to a cyber security recruitment expert, JANE FRANKLAND, who was interviewed in a BBC Radio 4 documentary in 2019. (“The Long View”, 14th May 2019). She said that women had qualities suitable for work at the British government’s GCHQ (intelligence and security organisation), e.g. highly intuitive; good social and emotional skills. Franklin said that there was hard evidence for women viewing risk differently than men. The BBC documentary compared GCHQ’s then recent recruitment drive for women to a similar one in the 1930s and 1940s at Britain’s codebreaking centre at BLETCHLEY PARK. Frankland sold herself as “the world’s authority on attracting and retaining women in cybersecurity”.

Intuition and meditation were promoted by the New Age psychic channeler/sensitive JULIE SOSKIN, the daughter-in-law of the famed co-author of “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail”, HENRY LINCOLN (born Henry Soskin). Lincoln’s book inspired Dan Brown’s equally famous novel “The Da Vinci Code”. Soskin channelled a series of books on mankind’s metamorphosis into a new species in touch with higher minds. Her 1991 book, “The Cosmic Dance”, contained a foreword by the British ‘father’ of the New Age movement: Sir GEORGE TREVELYAN, who also endorsed David Icke’s New Age books.

In 1996, Soskin founded the SCHOOL OF INSIGHT AND INTUITION in London to facilitate psychic, healing and spiritual development, using intuitive senses. The school’s (Insight and Intuition) mission statement was to implement the work into mainstream education. To this end, at the end of 1997 Julie started a research project at the aforementioned Surrey University and at the same time she worked with lecturers and professors at various higher educational establishments. Alongside the research, a full psycho-spiritual learning programme was developed. Parts of this programme were validated at university levels. In 2002 Julie obtained a Master of Philosophy from Surrey University, looking at the changes in the lived world of individuals who partake in psycho-spiritual development.

Julie Soskin and her husband moved to France to be with Henry Lincoln who was living near to the famed French village of Rennes-le-Château. Lincoln had originally been a TV supporting actor and TV/movie writer. He co-wrote 3 DOCTOR WHO TV stories in the 1960s and retained the rights to the recurring Doctor Who character Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. He wrote/presented BBC TV documentaries about the mystery of Rennes-le-Château.

Another Surrey University link is a fairly well-known skeptic of paranormal phenomena: SUSAN BLACKMORE, although she practises and endorses meditation and mindfulness. At Surrey University, which has encouraged research into paranormal subjects, she received an MSc in environmental psychology and also earned a PhD in parapsychology. Her doctoral thesis was entitled “Extrasensory Perception as a Cognitive Process.” In the 1980s, Blackmore conducted psychokinesis experiments to see if her baby daughter, Emily, could influence a random number generator. The experiments were mentioned in the book to accompany the TV series “Arthur C. Clarke’s World of Strange Powers”. After spending time in research on parapsychology and the paranormal, her attitude towards the field moved from belief to scepticism. In 1987, Blackmore wrote that she had an OBE (out-of-body experience) shortly after she began running Oxford University’s branch of the paranormal research body, the SPR (Society for Psychical Research). In her 2017 book on OBEs, “Seeing Myself”, she wrote that there is no ‘inner self’ with ‘free will’; no “I”. The Ruling Elite don’t want us to be too individualistic.

Julie Soskin acknowledged the work of another Surrey University alumnus: JOHN HERON, a psychic who promoted intuition and who in the 1970s at Surrey was the founder and director of its’ Human Potential Research Project, the first university-based centre for humanistic and transpersonal psychology and education in Europe. Heron was a pioneer in the creation of a participatory research method in the social sciences, called CO-OPERATIVE INQUIRY. Heron collaborated with his spirit guides in writing his 2006 book “Cosmic Psychology”, in which he wrote in the introduction: “The purpose of this work is to set out a system of psychology that I have co-created with a group of persons who live in the next world, the world after physical death. Nevertheless, I am entirely responsible for everything that is written in it. Let me explain this seeming contradiction. When I am working, they will gather round on my right side, and affect the way my mind operates. It is rather like being at the receiving end of a chain of influence, which does not interrupt or suspend my own creativity, but kindles it.” He wrote about “occult technology” on P98 and P99: “There are three fundamental kind of technologies the human race can master. The first is occult technology: the ability to use unseen and subtle forces to control physical phenomena and suspend the operation of ordinary physical laws in order to achieve special physical effects… The ancients used occult technology, and took it into the pit. We carry the corrupted legacy in our skandhas.”

The GAIA THEORY creator JAMES LOVELOCK was a fan of intuition, which he preferred to ‘logical thinking’. In his 2019 book “Novacene” he was enthusiastic about the super intelligent manmade technologies (robots, Cyborgs, etc.) that are on the verge of overtaking us humans as the dominant ‘species’ on Earth, and who will probably create a more peaceful era, and who will probably spread to other planets, he wrote. Lovelock wrote about those ‘cyborgs’ as if they will be conscious like us humans. I do wonder if he was cryptically talking about us – or rather, a trans human species enhanced by technology. The cyborgs, he wrote, will be intuitive and telepathic, but not in a ‘New Age’ way, rather in a machine way. They will benefit from quantum computing. Lovelock predicted a collaborative relationship between us and them, though eventually the cyborgs will allow Gaia to die. Was Lovelock hinting of a hybrid species?

I say more about Lovelock in my article “NASA, GAIA and the Great Work”, in the New Age section.

An apparently uplifting quote from intuition fan and philosopher HENRI BERGSON formed an article on the David Icke website: “Awakening from the illusion – how it’s done …” (article posted by Gareth Icke, Aug 17th 2020). The quote emphasised the importance of “inner knowledge” and “following the heart”. But Gareth, like many others, seemed oblivious to the fact that Bergson’s sister, Mina Bergson (also known as Moina Mathers), married the English occult author Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, a co-founder of the occult Order of the Golden Dawn, which David Icke criticised. Henri Bergson chaired the predecessor to UNESCO. 

More to come…