Thursday, August 11, 2011

spidey sense


First of all, Hellloooo *beauty queen waving all around*. I'll explain my absence in much the way that CA Cop Wife explained hers so eloquently here give or take a few experiences, adding a couple of near-death flu bugs, a couple of mosquito swarms, minus the sand castles, or anything else done at the beach since we don't have one, and there you have it. Our summer vacay!

So. Back to the title of this post: Spidey Sense.

There have been plenty of times that when HF is telling me a work story, he will say something like, "...and I had this strong feeling that I should approach the vehicle on the opposite side".  I've been thinking about that. What is it that makes him have this feeling? For us, religiously, we believe in the existence of The Holy Ghost. We believe that people can have promptings from God through the Holy Ghost to do things.  I think this concept goes by many different names for many different people.  We explain it as a spiritual experience, while others in law enforcement specifically, may define it other ways such as:
  • A gut feeling
  • An instinct
  • Spidey Sense
  • A 6th Sense
  • A hunch
  • A guardian angel
  • An electrical current
  • A patron saint guiding you
  • An idea
  • Fear
  • Experience that comes with time on the job
  • Luck
When HF went through the academy, he had an instructor who told the class up front that he was not a religious person.  He then went on to state that all cops work for God. This surprised many in his class based on his previous statement.  He went on to explain that "whenever you're on patrol and you get that feeling like the hairs on the back of your neck are standing up, warning you of danger; listen to it!  I don't care what you call it, whether you believe in God or not, listen to that feeling.  It's saved my life many times and it will save yours."

So what do you call that feeling?  What experiences have you had with it?  Is it a religious thing for you or not so much?  Is it animal instinct or physiological; something ingrained inside all of us that is part of the human experience? 

Thoughts? Remember this is not about debating religion or philosophy.  I'm just curious how other officers experience and explain this sensation that all cops seem to get.  There are no right or wrong answers here. Aaaand I'm also aware that it's not just cops that get these feelings. I think I covered all my bases.

14 comments:

Unknown said...

In most cases, I think the subconscious mind has picked up cues from the physical senses, and is telling the conscious mind that something's off. Since cops need to be hyper-vigilant, they learn to listen to the subconscious, instead of trying to override it with logic based on the more "obvious" cues that the conscious mind has noticed. There may be a spiritual aspect as well, but I think the bulk of it boils down to this: There's a lot more going on in our brains than we notice.

Unknown said...

I really like the comment above.

Slamdunk said...

Welcome back.

Yes, I have heard the little voice explained as anything and everything. Oddly, it is consistently mentioned no matter the person's background.

These days my little voice is limited to things like "you really should not eat that second donut."

mrs. fuzz said...

Suz-very true. And thanks for your comment.

Slamdunk-I hear that same little voice!! :)

Gobniu said...

It's truly amazing what we can hear and feel if we take the time to listen.

I'm with Slamdunk too ;)

bail bonds las vegas said...

Yes I'm a firm believer in that "gut instinct" or as you put it "Spidey sense." It's definitely real.

squadcartheology said...

I'll second what Suz said.

I was once drove up to a group of guys walking down the street, jumped out of the unmarked Crown Vic, and grabbed the guy with the loaded .22 in the small of the back. Could I articulate what I saw that let me know? Not really. But I saw something, and I knew.

Laureena said...

I'm so glad I found your blog! Given your references in your post, I'll wager we share the same religious background. My hubby has been a LEO for just over a year now, but I grew up in a LE family, and DH was in the military prior to this new career. Despite my "experience" I still find the lifestyle challenging at times, and I love to find others who that share the role of the woman behind the badge.

Josh Kruschke said...

This is an interesting book on this subject you might find interesting:


"Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" by Malcolm Gladwell, Steven D. Levitt

Josh

Anonymous said...

I'm new to your blog. My husband has been an officer for three years now. We too believe in the leading of the Holy Spirit and this post reminded me to pray more along those lines for my husband as he's on the streets. Thank you. Look forward to reading more.

Leslie S.

Jenney said...

I believe in a believer it is the Holy Spirit. I believe though, that God gives everyone revelation in some aspect, so He has created us to have some "spidey sense". I'm just glad I only use mine for "someone just opened a bottle of nail polish in their bed" and not "someone around the corner has a gun". I'll leave that for my husband!

Ms. Leigh said...

Just came across your blog, I am a police wife too. I never bothered to find police wives before now and am kinda surprised about how many are out there blogging. I am pretty excited.

This is kinda how I see it.
A regular day to day non LEO person may feel something and it quickly sends them in a different direction so they might not really notice that the gut/energy around them is telling them not to move forward. But our officers have to follow there gut while actually walking up to the threat. They probably feel it ten times more because the have to push thru that feeling of fear/nerves/energy that is telling them to back the heck off.
The best part of that feeling is that they are able to take it and turn it into a tool to prepare them selves for the worst possible outcome which can only help save there lives in the long run.
But I just think they feel the negative energy that is being presented as a danger in those situations a lot and can really identify what it is.
I guess we discuss it as an energy source everything puts off an positive negative vibe and if your tuned in you can feel it.

John Rambo's Wife said...

WOW! Great post and great discussion. :) I can't answer specifically for JR and his job but I do know that for us it has been the leading of the Lord in our life and listening to His voice. I crave the moments when He speaks and moves us in unexplainable ways.

When you know something and you don't know how you know it then its a great time to start thinking that maybe there is so much more to life then this. Then just the here and now. It creates a longing in my heart to stretch out and seek more if that makes sense at all.

Lawman29209 said...

Great post! I've read Blink, it's an awesome read. I highly recommend it also.