How Do You Decide? Logic, Emotion or Intuition

Akarma
Jan 26
3 min read

Every decision carries a hidden question beneath it.

Not what should I do?

But from where am I deciding?

Most of us believe we make decisions consciously. In reality, decisions arise from different inner centers, often without us noticing which one is active. Over time, these patterns shape our relationships, careers, health, and inner peace.

Broadly speaking, there are three ways human beings make decisions:

logical decision making
emotional decision making
intuitive decision making

Each has its place. Each has its limitation.

Logical Decision Making: The Mind That Calculates

Logical decision making is rooted in analysis. It compares, evaluates, predicts, and concludes.

This mode asks questions like:

What are the pros and cons?
What is the safest option?
What does past data suggest?

Logic brings clarity, structure, and order. It is essential for planning, problem-solving, and execution. Without it, life becomes chaotic.

But logic has a boundary.

Logic can only work with what is already known.

It cannot sense timing.

It cannot feel inner alignment.

It cannot touch life where it is still unfolding.

Many people live by logic and still feel dissatisfied, confused, or disconnected. Decisions may be correct, rational, and defensible, yet feel strangely empty.

Emotional Decision Making: The Mind Colored by Feelings

Emotional decision making arises from feelings, impulses, attachments, fears, and past experiences.

This mode sounds like:

I feel strongly, so this must be right
I don’t want to feel discomfort, so I’ll choose what avoids it
This reminds me of something familiar, so I’ll go with it

Emotions are not wrong. They carry important signals. But emotions are also conditioned. They are shaped by childhood, memory, trauma, pleasure, and pain.

When decisions are driven primarily by emotion, we often confuse intensity with truth. The decision may feel right in the moment and feel questionable later.

Intuitive Decision Making: Listening Without Noise

Intuitive decision making does not arise from thinking or reacting.

It arises from stillness.

Intuition is not impulse.

It is not emotional preference.

It is not logical deduction.

It is a quiet clarity that appears when the mind is not crowded and emotions are not pulling in different directions.

Intuition does not argue or justify.

It simply knows.

Why Logic and Emotion Alone Are Not Enough?

Most human struggle around decisions comes from oscillating between logic and emotion.

Logic says one thing.

Emotion pulls another way.

And we keep swinging between the two.

The limitation of logic

Logic gives structure but lacks wisdom.

It explains how, but not why now.

It calculates outcomes but misses inner alignment.

When life becomes uncertain, relational, or existential, logic reaches its edge.

The limitation of emotion

Emotion gives energy but lacks clarity.

It reacts rather than responds.

It repeats familiar patterns under the illusion of choice.

Emotional decisions often come from unexamined conditioning rather than present awareness.

Why intuition matters?

Intuition arises when:

logic has done its job and stepped aside
emotions have been felt but are not driving
awareness is present

Intuition integrates mind and emotion without being ruled by either.

It allows decisions to be timely, aligned, and whole.

This is not about rejecting logic or suppressing emotion. It is about allowing a deeper intelligence to lead.

Why Intuition is rarely Trusted?

Many people say they want intuitive clarity, but few create the inner conditions for it.

Intuition requires:

presence
sensitivity
patience with not-knowing
the ability to be silent inside

In a mind trained only to think or react, intuition gets drowned out. Not because it is weak, but because it is subtle.

This is where ancient inner sciences become relevant again.

Intuition and Vigyan Bhairav Tantra

Vigyan Bhairav Tantra is not a philosophy of belief. It is a science of awareness.

The 112 methods described in it are not techniques to improve thinking or regulate emotion. They are doorways to:

quiet the mind
soften emotional turbulence
anchor attention in the present moment

From this presence, intuition naturally reveals itself.

When awareness deepens:

decisions stop being forced
clarity arises without struggle
action aligns with inner truth rather than outer pressure

Intuition is not something to be developed.

It is something to be uncovered.

An Invitation

If you find yourself:

overthinking decisions
swinging between logic and emotion
sensing that a deeper intelligence is available but inaccessible

Then improving decision making may not be about learning better strategies. It may be about changing the inner space from which decisions arise.

Our Vigyan Bhairav Tantra Study Group is an invitation to explore this space experientially.

Through a slow, contemplative engagement with the sutras spoken by Osho, participants learn how to create the inner silence where intuition becomes reliable.

Not as an idea.

But as a lived reality.