Many people have become interested in understanding gut feelings in relation to predicting success in marriage with the results printed in the journal "Science" now circling the internet about the recent research at Florida State University on what they are calling "gut feelings" of newlyweds and marriage success. While the study was small, sample was only 135 heterosexual couples, it was significant in that it found that newlyweds know on a subconscious level (implicit memory) whether their marriage will be happy. Head researcher, Dr. James K McNulty, comments on why people think initially that their marriage will be a happy one:
"And in the beginning, many people are able to
convince themselves of that at a conscious level. But these automatic,
gut-level responses are less influenced by what people want to think. You can't
make yourself have a positive response through a lot of wishful thinking."
And he goes on to say, "I think the findings suggest that people may
want to attend a little bit to their gut," he added. "If they can
sense that their gut is telling them that there is a problem, then they might
benefit from exploring that, maybe even with a professional marriage
counselor."
McNulty's study demonstrates something we have found in
counseling people who are in the throws of making life decisions in both
personal relationships and career, which is that our gut feeling does not
change just because we want it to or our head says it should. We are however, talking about true gut somatic feelings, not just implicit associations. But there is certainly a correlation between the two. The
findings in McNulty's study make sense particularly if you understand that
your gut feelings of emptiness and fullness register how well your two
instinctive needs of feeling accepted and also in control of your
own responses (freedom) are being met from moment to moment. As guidance
counselors over a 40 year period, we reflected on gut feelings
with hundreds of people and found them to express that if these two
needs, acceptance and control, are in balance in relation to the impact on us of time spent
with someone, people feel full in their gut feelings, cared for and loved
for who they truly are.
We all know the emptiness and aloneness
we feel in our guts when we do not feel free to be ourselves with someone
and/or when there is a lack of attention (acceptance) in relation to the
other person. We can rationalize in our heads that our needs are met by a
relationship, but our gut feelings are a true indication of how well our
inner needs are being met and how close we truly feel to the other person.
Our gut is its own intelligence and is connected to the needs of our inner
world or organism rather than to pleasing social demands or making money or any
other goal that relates to our outer world and simply our thinking process
without the input of our feeling memory. That is why we often say that "If
our eyes can not cry then our gut will". So, if your gut says that a
relationship is not quite right for you, it is important to listen to your
feelings and take the time to understand what it is indicating about you. This
certainly does not necessarily mean that if you have an empty feeling about
a relationship that the relationship does not have the potential to work
out, but it does indicate a need for self-reflection on gut feelings and communication
with the other person—if it is to be a successful relationship.
We have found that the healthiest decisions
people make when it comes to love relationships, are made from a place of
self-awareness and the ability to communicate one's own needs. Our gut feelings
are connected to a wealth of information about our feeling memories and inner
needs. If we have had difficult relationships earlier in our lives (either difficult romantic or family-personal relationships), then there
is all the more reason to reflect upon our gut feelings to clear unresolved past issues and to avoid carrying them into a new relationship. You may be surprised how much your gut is holding, waiting for you to attend to your needs and use this inner knowledge to make healthy decisions.
To learn more about listening to your
gut feelings we invite you to read through the many posts on this blog on
exploring gut feelings and
instincts and also be sure and read our
book "What's Behind Your Belly Button?" in which we give the full technique (with examples) for somatic reflection on gut feelings to increase your self-awareness and well-being. A little time reflecting on your gut feelings and inner self now can save you much suffering in the future. So be sure and read this before you walk
down that aisle! If you are already in a relationship and have an uneasy gut
feeling about your relationship, then accessing your gut feeling intelligence
may help you resolve issues from your past that are being triggered in and
blocking your perception from being strictly related to the person
with whom you are presently in a relationship. Exploring gut intelligence may
well strengthen your present relationship through better communication and will
undoubtedly lead you to more healthy personal decision-making that allows you
to take your inner needs into account with a united body-mind, gut-head
intelligence.
Since we have been posting this blog site now since 2009, there may be some important posts that you have missed that relate to relationship and accessing your gut feelings. Many of these posts have sample writing from our book What's Behind Your Belly Button?. There are many more posts on this blog than the ones listed below, so if you are interested in reading every one of them, please feel free to use the left side bar archive or just keep clicking “older post” at the bottom of each page on the right side.
Blog Posts on Exploring Gut Feelings and Instincts and Relationships:
1. Exploring Gut Instincts and the Need To Be "Social" as Applied to the Education of Our Children OCTOBER 23, 2013
http://instinctualgutfeelings.blogspot.com/2013/10/exploring-gut-instincts-and-need-to-be.html
1. Exploring Gut Instincts and the Need To Be "Social" as Applied to the Education of Our Children OCTOBER 23, 2013
http://instinctualgutfeelings.blogspot.com/2013/10/exploring-gut-instincts-and-need-to-be.html
2. Reflecting on Gut Feeling to Deal with Sadness and Loss in Love Relationship
FEBRUARY 14, 2013
3. Exploring Gut Feeling and Unresolved Issues with People
JANUARY 14, 2013
http://instinctualgutfeelings.blogspot.com/2013/01/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-ja-x.html
4. How Do We Know When Our Gut Feelings Are Reliable? Can you Trust a Gut Feeling?
DECEMBER 13, 2012
http://instinctualgutfeelings.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-do-we-know-when-our-gut-feelings.html
5. Are Gut Feelings Really in the Gut? Understanding Your Gut Feelings and What They Are Telling You
AUGUST 16, 2012
More of our posts you might enjoy reading:
6. Gut Feeling and Retrieving Memories of Bonding for Those Recovering from Childhood Abused
SEPTEMBER 20, 2013
http://instinctualgutfeelings.blogspot.com/2013/09/gut-feeling-and-retrieving-memories-of.html
6. Gut Feeling and Retrieving Memories of Bonding for Those Recovering from Childhood Abused
SEPTEMBER 20, 2013
http://instinctualgutfeelings.blogspot.com/2013/09/gut-feeling-and-retrieving-memories-of.html
7. Following Gut Instincts to the Awareness of Our True Human Nature
APRIL 16, 2013
8. What are the Instinctual Needs That are Often Confused for the Need of Food in Gut Feelings of Emptiness and Fullness?
MARCH 27, 2013
9. Was Religion Invented By the Thinking Mind to Try to Make Sense of Gut Feeling and Gut Instinct? An Exploration of the Theory of "God Is In the Gut"!
FEBRUARY 9, 2013
10. Reflecting on and Sharing Gut feelings of Emptiness and Aloneness to Deal with Fear During a Hurricane (or other Life Threatening Event)
OCTOBER 29, 2012
11. Explore Why Doctors Can Save Lives by Listening to their Gut Feelings During a Diagnosis: On Gut Feelings in General Practice
OCTOBER 5, 2012
12. Why Is Reflecting Upon Our Gut Feelings So Important to Our Immune System and Well Being— Distinguishing the "You" and "Not Truly You" for Excellent Mental and Physical Health!
SEPTEMBER 1, 2012
13. Increase your Intuition By Learning the Difference Between Emotional Feelings and Gut Feelings
JULY 16, 2012
14. What Are Gut Feelings and Instincts; How To Become Aware of Them To Overcome Stress
JUNE 27, 2012
15. A Specific Guide to Use to Listen to Your Gut Instincts—The Somatic Reflection Process
FEBRUARY 15, 2012
16. Acknowledging the Enteric Nervous System in the Gut To Provide a New Image and New Myth of Humanity
OCTOBER 15, 2009 (our first post)
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