The tradition describes three steps by which the inner mind comes to know.

The first is imagination. It is not daydreaming, which is the selves spinning stories. It is clear inner seeing: an image held still in the mind’s eye, as on page 73.

The second is inspiration. You are moved by what you see. It speaks to you, and you feel its meaning before you can say it.

The third is intuition. You see the image and simply know what it means, at once, without reasoning. The books call this the knowing of the heart.

You already use a little intuition every day, usually without trusting it. You meet someone and know something about them. You feel a decision is wrong before you can say why. Often the mind argues it away, and later you wish it had not.

Intuition is not the same as a self’s opinion dressed as a feeling. Fear can feel certain. Desire can feel certain. Real intuition is quiet and calm, and it does not insist. It grows as the selves grow quieter, and as you begin to trust it in small things.