A/A Psych ShortStudy/Course: The Other Sense

Call it intuition, a hunch, sixth sense, gut, notion, an angel, feeling or inner voice, but learn to listen and learn to respond/react to your “other sense" in women's self defense. If something doesn’t feel/seem right then go with your feelings. It is a question of whether you want to be safe/safe now or sorry. There are events/situations that the brain records around/happening around us that have nothing to do with what we are consciously attending to at any given time/moment. The following story/true story about Maria provides a typical example of just such a moment. This is the ultimate/women's self defense psyche 101 short course version.

What should have been a normal shopping day at the local supermarket/grocery market for Maria and her children ended in her brutal assault and stolen property. Maria parked her custom/large family van in the back part of the parking lot, and took her two teenage children into the store to help with the grocery shopping. While shopping and talking with the children Maria felt uneasy, however, she dismissed/ignored the feeling. Her uneasiness, as it turned out, was an/the internal warning that, later, Maria wished she had acted upon.

Maria was assaulted/attacked in the parking lot of the local grocery store in the early afternoon.

Later, after the assault/attack, Maria recalled that she felt as if someone was watching/observing her in the store; the offender/attacker was in the background in her field of view several times while she was in the store. This was the probable cause of Maria's uneasy feeling. Leaving the check out counter at the supermarket the kids were trailing far behind Maria.

As Maria was walking/pushing the grocery cart back to her van she now noticed that there was another van parked closely next to her vehicle, in an otherwise empty section/part of the parking lot. As Maria approached her van she felt somewhat uneasy when a very average looking man/male) appeared near her vehicle.

The incident/attack began between the vehicles as Maria was busy putting/putting away the groceries into her van. The stranger moved towards Maria while she was busy/occupied, and what began as some innocent statement from the stranger suddenly turned into wanting money and the keys to her family van. Maria was shocked/angry and shocked by the sudden punch to her face, while being pushed back into her van; meanwhile her children were approaching/walking towards their family van totally unaware that a crime was being committed.

Maria and the attacker were hidden from the storefront with the second van parked so close. Maria shook off the first blow to the face and yelled out to the children to go back and get help from the store. The attacker then grabbed the keys to Maria’s van and fled/raced away from the crime scene.

It was only a matter of a couple of minutes before help arrived, but it seemed much longer. Maria suffered a broken nose and bruises from several punches to her face. Recounting later, Maria said that the person who attacked her was watching her shop in the store, but kept himself in the background.

Before the assault, Maria felt several uncomfortable moments/uneasy feelings that were actually warning signals of/of the impending danger. She felt that she could have prevented this attack if she had just listened to even one of those warnings. Maria first thought of asking a store worker to help her with taking the groceries to the van. The second notion or uncomfortable feeling was when Maria was approaching her van, she sensed “a bad feeling" that something wasn’t right. The final inner warning for her was the immediate overwhelming feeling of fear for her safety and the children at the sight of the approaching stranger.

Closing With Ideas That Make You Stronger with Ultimate Self Defense Psyche 101:

Hopefully, we can all/all of us can learn from this experience. Ultimate/Basic Self Defense Psyche 101 wants you to understand that a part of your brain is always looking out for you. Learn to go with your feelings/notions and trust your instincts. The pathway between the conscious part of your attention and the unconscious part of your brain, that records everything in your field of vision, wants to work together for your survival. Don’t rationalize this powerful pathway out of existence.

You have the choice to exercise/take advantage of this “other sense", so use it!