Something that has been on my mind.
Richdawson
Explorer
I just wanted to start off by saying, I tried to find / read what I could on this subject prior to posting. So if I missed something I am more than happy to be pointed in the right direction! I did find some things that skirted the subject, but nothing I felt was a direct answer. That being said.
There are actually a few things that have been on my mind. 
I thought I would start with this question however, since it seems to be at the root of my other questions.
My thought.
Chance and luck are not “real” and all things that happen in someone’s life have a specific cause or some relationship between cause and effect. I understand this. To help illustrate my question...
A gut feeling tells you to not do something such as going to your regular bus stop at your regular time. You cannot explain why you got this feeling, only that it is there, and very strong. You decide to listen to your "gut". Later you find out that the day you did not go, a car crashed into the bus stop at the exact time you normally would have been there.
How does this play into cause and effect i.e. Karma? It is obvious you did not go because of the feeling, but the origin of the feeling is the question. Is it simply a matter of attributing this to Citta Niyama? This of course puts it into the cause and effect framework.
But if that is the case, the part where I am struggling to find answers is the origin of (for lack of a better word) the “premonition”.
I am aware of to some degree the "Five Extrasensory Eyes and the Six types of Advanced Awareness" (I haven't read extensively on these yet). Would this to a lesser degree fall under that category? Maybe through a moment of clarity?
Am I on the right track?
Comments
Possibly.
I don't honestly think it matters, though. It's not what went through your mind, or 'gut' that matters. It's what you did in the end.
Frankly, I just think it pays not to think of why what might have been did not happen. It pays to think about what you did, instead.
Overthinking something can lead to our standing on one leg, instead of putting the foot down and continuing the walk....
Hello
No and yes.
Intuition is not stressed too much in initial involvement with the dharma. Then we develop common sense, confidence in dharma and the practical path. As our wisdom grows, our compassion and spooky powers [a technical term] grow. We ideally understand their inherent power for good and potential dangers of attachment, entrapment and delusionary sense of achievement. They are just arisings.
Gut feeling is not uncommon even in non-Buddhists, heretics and El-Presedente Gringo Trump (PBUH)
Hope that is helpful.
Probably a deeper understanding of the niyamas generally, more mindfulness and awareness, making connections, seeing causes and likely consequences more clearly.
I have nothing of any real insight or value to add at this stage, just wanted to say I am finding this discussion very interesting
What is the practical benefit of this type of contemplation? Micro mangement at best, which is likely not really desireable? Torturing yourself with what-if scenarios when nobody knows the future? Danger of losing track of the now, which is what really matters?
I think chance and luck are quite real. And for far too many people, they are the only forces at work. Are you floating passively along, letting the currents take you where they will? If you pick a goal and start to swim, you will start to get better at swimming. Soon enough, a goal may come into view. Better if you're already good at swimming when that day comes. In the (approximate) words of Zig Ziglar, "We may be in just a little rowboat, but we're going after Moby Dick, and we're taking the tartar sauce with us!"
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Just to clarify, the question was never about the what-if scenarios. It was about the origin of the intuitive feeling or intuition. I understand that dwelling on what-ifs is at best silly and a waste of time. I do not disagree there.
I can understand there are some that may think this line of thinking is pointless or without value. Perhaps to you, it does not have a context or a reason. It is not something you may have personally experienced or had cause to ponder.
I personally have never accepted the “just because” or “don’t worry about it” type of answers. I am investing my life into a philosophy and teaching, and the “just because” is not acceptable to me for that reason. When I was younger and part of other religions, the question was often dismissed or had no explanation. This is why in a large part I asked the question.
Beyond that, I have on numerous occasions had these intuitive feelings. It has reached a point that I have become familiar enough with the sensation that I have learned to put trust into them, and listen. It is because of this reason that I have wondered at the origin of intuition much of my life.
Since my original post I feel that I have gained a little bit more clarity into my question. It seems I may have been correct in my original thinking, although I missed a key point.
I was trying to think of intuition as something separate and outside of myself. Whereas in reality, it is a part of my own past or present actions.
I came across this article in my reading which gave me some insight into my question. http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/karma.htm
Too much thinking about some things and wanting an answer to all questions, that satisfies, is both (at times) unnecessary and pointless. The Buddha advises against over-thinking that which has no answer.
At some point, it's nothing of any lesser value to admit you don't know.
in fact, at times, it's commendable...
I think the answer is simple, @Richdawson . You have a gut feeling for scientific reasons. The local smells are not right, or the pheromones of a person go subconsciously into your "danger zone" and you feel compelled to act upon this. It's an evolutionary benefit. We have trained ourselves as Buddhists to be even more aware of our surroundings when possible. It's as close to ESP as you're going to get, but it's better, because it's in us all!
Here's the way I approach the subject, for what it's worth. That the universe works by cause and effect is obvious. It's also obvious that broadly speaking, our actions have consequences. If you engage in risky or destructive behavior, you increase the chances those consequences are going to be painful ones. Again, this is simple observation.
The debate begins as soon as we start arguing that good actions always brings good consequences and bad actions always bring bad results. Also we debate about how much anyone can anticipate and choose only good actions. Here observation is of limited use, because we can't know everything and life is a long chain of events, interconnected with everyone else.
We do know that some people who are selfish and hurtful enjoy the fruits of their bad behavior instead of being punished. Rich people tend to live and die happy lives on the whole no matter what we want to believe or how mean they were in life. And the most unselfish, compassionate man in the world can die a painful death trying to save the life of a stranger. So karma is not fate, where the good are rewarded and evil punished.
We are faced with countless choices in life that usually don't make much difference. Which airline should I buy a ticket for, to go on that vacation? You have a choice of two. Either way you get there. You might change your mind at the last minute and no big deal. Both planes arrive safely. But let that other plane have a problem or crash, and your mind assigns meaning to that choice beyond the mere chance that it actually was. Now you "had a feeling" and you've entered spooky territory.
But think of all the times you didn't "have a feeling" and made the wrong choice. You decide to take a certain route and leave a certain time for a trip and your car gets totaled. You pick the chicken off the restaurant menu and almost die of food poisoning. Our minds ignore those bad choices. That's just chance. It's the other kind we remember.
I think that's very true @Cinorjer, our minds often assign meaning well beyond what's actually warranted to events that happen by random chance. It's something that's rife in the behaviour of gamblers.
Personally I cant remember the last time I had a strong "gut feeling" about something. I have a semi-meditative technique for querying my inner guide, my instincts, which I sometimes use, but generally I just feel a light bliss most of the time.