True, but not entirely true. Eugene Gendlin's "meta- method teaches individuals how to access the wisdom of the body and understand oneself better. There will probably always be factors of which we are unaware, but that doesn't mean that this method isn't a rich Treasure Trove of insight into wiser decision making. Research has demonstrated that this is so.

Like any skill, it often takes time to learn, but it's worth the effort and practice , just as mindfulness meditation has been worth the effort to practice. This is yet another kind of mindfulness, a way to access one's own creativity and wisdom.

I sometimes wonder if our bodies are not vast, extensive hierarchical systems. For convenience we think of ourselves as units. We think of ourselves as single things, but perhaps we are not all that unified. If we really are a hierarchical system, then it makes sense that our introspections would be unreliable. If we don’t even know what our selves are, how can we be expected to know anything accurately.

The commander of an army unit has only general control. He does not know all the details of what is happening at lower levels. It is not a perfect analogy, but if we are the commanders of our bodies, and we self-identify as our bodies, all our pronouncements will be suspect. Ask Gen. Clark the opinion of the 25th Inf. Div. on some social issue, and he’ll be mystified. It’s not his job to think about such things. All he can do is order his aides to have a survey done. (Introspection). The survey result will be a jumble of uncertainty. Should the unit opinion be based on a simple majority or should higher ranking count for more? Gen. Clark might assign a staff member the job of interpreting the survey results, but it would probably be enlisted men doing the actual analysis. Finally, not caring much about the issue one way or the other, Gen. Clark might announce, “The opinion of the 25th is ...”

No analogy is perfect. I am responsible for this remark but my Staff Sergeant wrote it up. There’s a good chance we are wrong.