Today’s Question by the reader : Rosey

by Paulo Coelho on October 6, 2008

How does one tell the difference between intuition and fear? How do you know if you’re intuiting something, or whether it’s coming from your human hopes or fears?

The difference between intuition and fear is that your intuition will guide you towards action, while fear only paralyses. As Jorge Luis Borges says in his writings "there is no other virtue than being brave". And one has to understand that braveness is not the absence of fear but rather the strengh to keep on going forward despite the fear.

Your intuition is your guide out of fear.

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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }

Marie-Christine May 1, 2009 at 10:16 am

“Personne ne peut fuir son coeur c’est pourquoi il vaut mieux ecouter ce qu’il dit.”

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marie-christine August 31, 2010 at 11:14 pm

le coeur est une alarme (per sonne)

Suzanne October 31, 2008 at 8:42 pm

I found the answer to my question

“And one has to understand that braveness is not the absence of fear but rather the strengh to keep on going forward despite the fear”

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Suzanne October 30, 2008 at 5:00 pm

I still don’t get it. What happens when your are not afraid, you act, everything that is in you is telling you this is the right things to do…..and the results are disatrous. What happens when you find you are completely, completely, completely wrong…you’ve hurt yourself and others in the process? What happens to your belief in yourself?

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Mamachill October 6, 2008 at 10:34 pm

Intuition is that gut instinct which I believe is inherent in all of us but is not always exercised that is meant to guide us. I believe it is that element which is almost like another dimension to our being and universe that allows us to “see” things. It is neither negative nor positive, but felt and heard if you heed its voice.

Fear is a response and negative emotion to something that is sometimes triggered by intuition, but more often by our mentality such as memory, imagination, etc. and fueled by adrenaline.

As to how you know if your intuition is trying to tell you something or if what you’re feeling is fear, that’s a good question :-) We are human and therefore it’s difficult to shut off the emotion, or only feel our intuitions — we will always be approaching things in life using all our senses to make up our reading of each situation, and have to know ourselves well enough to understand what we are feeling.

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Josephine in Brussels October 6, 2008 at 10:18 pm

Thankyou, good reply! :-)

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Lara 'Rosey' October 6, 2008 at 9:56 pm

Dear Paulo,
First of all, thanks so much for responding to my question! I’m so grateful and honored, and thanks so much for your wonderful reply. I printed it out and keep it with me. And funny that I check in to your blog today and there my question is… ;)
I love how the Universe works.
And I’m so grateful for and thankful to you, your insight, messages and books! ;)

I’ve wrestled with this question for some time. I consider myself intuitive, but then, when my heart is deeply involved–especially in a state of wanting–yikes, sometimes things seem cloudy, and doubt steps in, and I start to question if what I’m feeling is really intuition or fear or hope.
But then, fear is negative, hope positive, and, I’m learning, intuition is the thing in me that does not go away.
And your answer to this question helped make this crystal clear, as well as the intuition being the guidance toward action (and out of/away from fear). I never thought of it like that before, and it makes so much sense.
Thanks so much again and again.
Love,
Lara ‘Rosey’

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Alexandra October 6, 2008 at 7:42 pm

Wow.Amazing.I experienced both situations,so,I can only agree.

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Leaf October 6, 2008 at 4:32 pm

To helen
You take any road towards your dream, and as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone, it is the right road.
Love
xxxx

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helen October 6, 2008 at 3:45 pm

How do you know what road to take

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PeregrinaMom October 6, 2008 at 2:05 pm

“Courage is fear that has said its prayers”

Love, always and IN ALL ways.

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THELMA October 6, 2008 at 1:45 pm

Fear = the bad feeling that you have when you are in danger, when sth bad might happen, or when a particular thing frightens you. Φόβος in Greek.
Intuition= the ability to know something by using your feelings rather than considering the facts. An idea or a strong feeling that something is true although you cannot explain why.
Διαίσθηση in Greek. It is called the … sixth sense!!
Intuition is the … guide of ‘reading’ the signs and the message behind the .. veil.
LOVE,
THELMA

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