Your Intuition Has Been Hijacked (And You Probably Didn’t Notice)
What Santa, Soda, and the President Have in Common
The first time I realized the world wasn’t what it seemed, I was seven.
I found out Santa Claus wasn’t real—and my stomach twisted. It wasn’t just disappointment. It was betrayal. Everyone had played along. My parents. My teachers. The books. The movies. I wasn’t just sad; I was ashamed. Ashamed for believing something so obviously false.
That early shame became something else: a question that never left me. What else are they lying about?
As it turns out—plenty. And we’re still falling for it.
From soda ads to political campaigns to curated influencers, our instincts are constantly being shaped, sold, and hijacked. Even the inner voice we think we can trust—our “gut feeling”—has been trained to respond to illusions.
"Don’t trust anyone. Not even yourself."
I say it often—and I mean it.
But then I’ll turn around and say something that seems to contradict it:
"You can always trust your heart."
It’s not a contradiction. It’s a warning.
Because even your intuition can be hijacked. Even your gut instincts can be rewired by a culture that trains you what to feel, what to crave, what to defend.
How Our Instincts Get Hijacked
Consider Coca-Cola. You probably have warm memories attached to that iconic red can:
Christmas commercials with families and Santa.
The nostalgic scenes from movies like Home Alone or The Santa Claus.
Politicians and billionaires casually sipping (Diet) Coke, symbolizing relatability.
Coke’s branding genius is convincing us it’s comfort in a can. Yet, peel away the nostalgia, and what’s actually inside? High-fructose corn syrup, phosphoric acid, artificial coloring—ingredients that harm far more than they heal.
But because we've been so thoroughly conditioned, our instincts mistake manufactured feelings for genuine goodness.
Manufactured Outrage and Corporate Money
This conditioning isn’t accidental. It's crafted—and paid for.
A vivid example surfaced earlier this year when Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as Secretary of Health and Human Services, proposed banning soda from SNAP (food stamp) benefits. His logic was clear: public health funds shouldn’t subsidize products causing chronic illnesses.
Suddenly, conservative influencers flooded Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) with strikingly similar posts, claiming the proposal was "elitist," "classist," and "government overreach." They even appealed to cultural symbolism, invoking former President Trump's fondness for Diet Coke.
At first glance, it looked like genuine grassroots anger. But investigative journalist Lee Fang exposed the truth: these influencers were paid by a PR firm called Influenceable—up to $1,000 per post—to oppose the soda ban. They simply copied and pasted pre-written talking points, making corporate lobbying appear like authentic public sentiment.
Politically Manufactured Truths
We’re told to trust the experts, trust the process, trust the party—but rarely are we told to pause and ask: who benefits from what we’re being told?
This corporate tactic mirrors how political parties manage perceptions. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Democrats confronted a significant issue: President Joe Biden’s noticeable cognitive and physical decline.
Instead of transparency, party leaders and influencers closed ranks. In the book Original Sin, Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson revealed through over 200 insider interviews that Biden’s team tightly managed his public appearances, scripted events down to the minute, and sidelined staffers who questioned his capacity. Discussions reportedly occurred about whether he might need a wheelchair if re-elected.
But here's the irony: even Jake Tapper, who later documented these concerns in detail, had himself dismissed and mocked those who raised them in real time. On-air, he treated guests who questioned Biden’s mental acuity as unserious or partisan, reinforcing the false narrative his book would later challenge.
This wasn’t an isolated case. A now-viral video compilation shows how legacy media outlets and prominent Democratic politicians repeatedly downplayed or outright denied Biden’s decline—only to shift their tone after public opinion could no longer be shaped.
The First Great Lie (Revisited)
Santa Claus wasn’t just a fun myth. He was an early lesson in obedience, surveillance, and shame. Be good, and you get rewarded. Step out of line, and you’re punished—or worse, left out.
And when the truth comes out, the betrayal cuts deep. Not just because Santa wasn’t real—but because the people you trusted most made you believe something hollow.
That disorientation—that shame—is powerful. It teaches many of us to stop trusting ourselves.
Relearning to Listen
Don Miguel Ruiz, in The Fifth Agreement, beautifully captures our dilemma:
"Be skeptical because most of what you hear isn't true. Humans speak with symbols, and symbols aren't the truth. Symbols are only true because we agree, not because they reflect reality. The second half of the agreement is to learn to listen. When you listen, you understand the story behind the symbols, and clarity replaces confusion. Skepticism becomes masterful because it leverages doubt to discern truth."
This advice should be required reading in today’s world of slogans, logos, curated identities, and relentless advertising.
I remember as a kid feeling a quiet unease about the world—its greed, competition, and lack of genuine care. I couldn’t articulate it then, but that gut instinct was pure. Yet, as I grew older, societal pressures and the constant noise of media slowly quieted that inner voice.
During a conversation with Unangan elder Ilarion Merculieff on The Critical Social Worker: A Revolutionary Storytelling Podcast, I felt that clarity again:
"Traditionally, the heart guided the mind, maintaining balance and connection with our true selves. Now, we’ve reversed it, putting the mind in control, creating imbalance and disconnection. The heart is our direct link to the Divine, offering impeccable guidance—if we listen deeply. But modern distractions drown it out. To reconnect, we must slow down, let go, and trust deeply in our existential selves."
His words resonate powerfully. The imbalance he described—mind over heart—is at the root of much modern confusion and disconnection.
Revolutionary Listening
This is precisely why talking circles are integral to my work. They intentionally slow down the conversation, forcing us to listen—not just to respond, but to truly hear. Revolutionary Social Work embraces this: it’s about reclaiming heart wisdom, kinship, and the relational practice of deeply understanding each other.
"Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; none but ourselves can free our minds."
Marley wasn’t just singing about politics; he was guiding us toward becoming human again, liberating ourselves from manipulated conditioning.
Can We Trust?
So, can we trust anything?
Not easily. Not institutions, not influencers, not even our own intuition if it remains unexamined.
But the heart—once we’ve done the deep work of unlearning manipulation and reconnecting authentically—can be trusted.
Its voice is quiet, slower than social media’s endless scroll. But it's real, and it's never been bought.
Where Do You Go From Here?
Take a moment. Breathe. Reflect.
What beliefs are you still carrying that might have been conditioned rather than chosen?
What quiet truths are trying to rise within you—if only you’d slow down enough to hear them?
If something stirred in you, honor it. Don’t rush to explain it. Don’t scroll it away. Just pause. That’s the beginning of revolutionary listening—the kind that doesn’t seek applause, just truth.