Intuition and logical mind
Intuition and logical mind
Intuition and logical mind – two information channels
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited, but imagination encompasses the whole world.”
– Albert Einstein, Cosmic Religion (1931)
Intuition and logical-rational thinking are often seen as opposites, but in reality they complement each other like two sides of the same coin. Intuition is immediate, experiential knowing – a feeling that something “just is” a certain way, even if you can’t immediately justify why. Logical thinking, on the other hand, is conscious, systematic reasoning, step by step.
Symbolic thinking is strongly linked to the world of intuition: it operates with images, hunches and connections that do not always follow the rules of logical reasoning. When a person thinks symbolically, he may see in his mind, for example, a picture of a path in a dark forest describing his life situation – such an insight arises holistically, not through analytical thinking. The logical mind could decode this image by asking “what does the path concretely represent, why is the forest dark?”, while the intuitive mind immediately understands the meaning of the symbol on an emotional and experiential level.
It is important to note that symbolic thinking is not a “less scientific” or “weaker” way of understanding the world than rational reasoning – it is simply different. An intuitive mind, relying on symbolic cues, is able to creatively piece together disparate pieces and quickly find new perspectives. The rational mind, on the other hand, is able to evaluate and parse these insights. At its best, a person uses both: the symbol ignites the spark of insight and reason helps bring it to a practical level.
Often, life's big decisions or creative solutions reflect this union of two ways of thinking – first, an intuition that is difficult to explain arises (perhaps a clear direction seen in a dream or, for example, an "inner voice"), and then it is followed by means of rational planning. Symbolic work can strengthen that voice of intuition. It gives the logical mind rich material to work with and reminds us that not everything needs to be solved by reasoning alone.
“We should not pretend to understand the world only through the intellect; we experience it just as much through emotion. Therefore, the intellect’s assessment is at best only half the truth – and it must, to be honest, also acknowledge its own limitations.”
– Carl Gustav Jung, Psychological Types (1921)
Working with symbols is a kind of restoring balance between intuition and reason – a dialogue between two different but equally important channels of information.
The power of symbols in inner growth
Symbols touch deeply because they speak directly to the unconscious – bypassing intellectual explanations and defenses. Psychologically, symbols allow us to process difficult experiences indirectly, but truly. For example, trauma can manifest itself in a dream as a metaphor, or it can be drawn, written or visualized in the form of a symbol. A symbol offers distance and perspective, while maintaining a connection to the feeling. That is why it is widely used in therapeutic work – art therapy, imagery journeys and visualization.
Carl Jung's central insight was this: a symbol does not arise by chance, but appears when a person is able to remain in the conflict between the conscious and the unconscious without rejecting it. When this inner pressure is not escaped, but tolerated, the symbol emerges as a third way – a mediator that can unite the opposing forces within us. It does not resolve the conflict for us, but offers a form with which we can live and work.
Symbolic work is a central part of the path of human development – or as Jung defined it, the process of individuation, in which a person becomes more whole, more true to themselves. Symbols are the language of the psyche that leads us towards the unconscious: that which in our lives needs attention, understanding or profound transformation. Recurring symbols, dreams or themes can act like enigmatic compasses – as directional signs on the map of inner reality.
But the power of a symbol lies not in its external form, but in whether we recognize it as real. If a symbol no longer arouses an inner movement in us – if it does not touch, startle, or call – it has become a dead symbol: an echo of the past that no longer has a living relationship with the psyche. In this case, it is not enough to repeat learned patterns – then we need a new experience, which is not a mere thought but a psychic event ; an experience that revives the archetype, makes it real again.
According to Jung, it is the mystical, inner experience that is often closer to reality than any narrative polished and canonized by tradition. The more ready-made and aesthetic a symbol is, the more likely it is to have distanced itself from its original source – the individual’s living, inner experience. Therefore, a truly significant symbol is not learned, but discovered – it appears in a dream, in meditation, as a flash, in a moment of crisis or in a silent insight, and then it is no longer just a sign, but a gateway to change and wisdom.