Difference between intuition and premonition

People often use the words intuition and premonition interchangeably. But the meanings of these two words are quite different. So is the feeling. Intuition is the ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning. Whereas premonition is simply a strong feeling that something is about to happen.

An intuitive person relies on his life and work experiences to guide him. Intuition is rooted in human experience. In contrast, premonition is an un-scientifically explained feeling that something (bad or good) is about to occur. It is characterised by fear or expectation. Being endowed with clairvoyant capabilities is the realm of psychics, not physicists. People who claim they can predict the future need to be transparent about how they go about doing it. They seldom are. This field is rife with charlatans. Intuitive people are common. Fortune tellers don a garb of mystery which awes their followers. 

All recent research on intuition proves that it is clearly present and a working faculty of the human mind. Intuition is very much a part of everyday life; precognition is a ‘gift’ that people ‘claim to have’ without providing any proof of doing so. It is esoteric knowledge. The difference between an intuitive person and a precognitive one is the same as being a highly perceptive person and a soothsayer. Intuition is extremely useful In life and work and guides decision-making. It is instinctive knowing supported by the five senses. Premonition is an unexplained ‘sixth sense’—extrasensory perception. 

Precognition is predicting future often inaccurately or vaguely, that modern day Nostradamuses do. Sometimes their predictions can be pretty silly and are mostly false. And in many cases their predictions about themselves fail the test of reality. 

Given a choice what would you do? Rely on intuition which has developed due to life experiences, is very much a part of you, and has evidence of having gone through a similar situation before? Or rely on some astrologer, tarot card reader, palmist, numerologist’s predictions? Question is, how well does this ‘psychic’ know you? It would be better to ask your spouse, family elder, friend, mentor for advice. They do it for free! 

The only way to test whether a strong feeling is right, it helps to throwback and analyse past situations similar to the one you are in now. When you relate present circumstances with similar past ones, what helped more often- intuition or premonition? Did you succeed or merely wishfully thought then? Premonition is always a flighty feeling. It passes when circumstances change. Intuition is the well of resources that is always with you, all the time.