Your intuition is more than just a great way to make decisions about key things in life – sometimes trusting it can literally mean the difference between life and death.

Have you ever had the overwhelming urge to take a different route to work for no discernible reason? Ever gotten a bad ‘vibe’ off a person who later turned out to be thoroughly unpleasant or downright dangerous? Have you been overcome with a sudden, strong urge to leave somewhere to later find out that a terrible event occurred after you’d left?

Most of us have a few instances like this scattered throughout our lives, ranging from the seemingly innocuous to the downright miraculous. Lifesaving instances of people trusting their intuition are also incredibly well-documented. So it stands to reason that enhancing the power of your intuition and learning to trust that power is not only crucial to health and happiness but to our very survival.

The following is a true story of intuition saving someone’s life.

The boy, the Christmas tree, and the water pump

“When I was four years old, I took part in a key family tradition. My grandfather was a forestry manager and the scion of a large family – he had sired seven boys and three girls. Every year, on the first weekend in December, the sons would gather at his home before venturing into the forest to select and chop down that year’s Christmas tree.  

For some reason on this one occasion, I was allowed to tag along with my father, his brothers and my grandfather. This was basically unheard of, as the other grandchildren (at this point there was about 20 of them) were left at the town-house with the women. Even years later, no one recalls why I went with on that day, other than the fact that I was my grandfather’s unofficial favorite grandchild.

We made our way down the valley to where a young planting of pines promised to deliver the perfect tree. This was around 1980 in South Africa, so by early December, it was already brutally hot. As the men dispersed in a variety of directions, I eyed the water storage dam a few hundred meters away, only to be told in no uncertain terms that I was not to go anywhere near the dam, as it was very dangerous. I was a highly adventurous child and a keen swimmer by the age of five, so, like so many other adult admonishments, I let this one sail in one ear and straight out the other. 

I dawdled, I dragged my feet, and pretty soon I was all alone. I swiftly made my way back to the dam and started walking along the dam wall. I recall being fascinated by a whirlpool that had formed in the dead center of this wall. I now know that this was caused by an immensely powerful water pump that carried water up the hill, out of the valley and towards the small settlement of which my grandfather’s house formed a part. 

By this point, my youngest uncle was already running.

I think I fell into the water. At least that is what it seems like years later. After all, I was fully clothed and even at that tender age, I knew enough to take my shoes and shirt off before swimming. I was immediately sucked into the pipe, which was just wide enough for my body to fit. 

Years later I asked my uncle what had happened. He said he was walking along, looking for a suitable tree when a deep terror gripped him. He somehow simply ‘knew’ that I was in danger and without thinking any further he started sprinting back to the dam, intuitively knowing that this was where he would find me. He saw me fall into the water as he approached, saw me grab onto the outside of the pipe with both hands and managed to dive into the water and pull me out of the pipe in the same instant that my grip loosened. The suction had enough force to strip me of my shoes, shorts, and underwear. 

He also claims that this all happened in silence, that there was not even time for me to scream, but by the time he pulled me onto the shore all the other uncles were emerging from a variety of points in the forest, all somehow aware that something was happening. 

I am alive today thanks to my uncle’s trust in his intuition.” Jake Zeelie *

Has intuition saved your life?

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