05/11/2025
A “gut feeling” is that deep-down, spontaneous sense you can’t quite explain but you know. It’s your brain quietly drawing on past learning, unconscious cues and body signals to guide you in a split second. It happens via brain-gut communication and rapid prediction based on past experience.
In short, it’s not mystical, it’s your body-brain system doing the heavy lifting.
Why it happens:
- Neuroscientist Joel Pearson defines intuition as “the learned, positive use of unconscious information for better decisions or actions.” 
- We absorb countless cues (lighting, sound, pace, context) below conscious awareness and our brain predicts outcomes using these. 
- Also, science shows there is a bidirectional link between our gut and our brain “gut signals” can influence emotion, cognition and even belief-formation. 
Use this:
Trust the clue, not the panic. Notice the sensation, check it against logic, then decide.
References:
Holzer, P. (2022). Gut signals and gut feelings: Science at the interface of data and beliefs. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.9296981 
Nogrady, B. (2024, February 18). Go with your gut: The science and psychology behind our sense of intuition. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/feb/18/go-with-your-gut-the-science-and-psychology-behind-our-sense-of-intuition
