Why Spiritual Intelligence so Important

The world is entering an era of the most thought provoking and profoundly challenging in modern times.

The ability to find meaning in life is a necessary foundation for discovering true and lasting happiness, which gives us a life of deep satisfaction. This happiness is not momentary and limited like the happiness from sensory pleasures such as a massage or eating cake or chocolate. Moreover, it is internal and depends only on the individual. The more we contribute to our environment, the more we discover a more meaningful life.

SQ is much broader than political awareness or psychological knowledge or progressive activism, and while it is generally agreed intelligence is used to solve problems, consider this - what aspects of intelligence do we use to make moral and ethical value judgements with compassion?

It could be argued that our levels of Emotional Intelligence determine such values. However, EQ covers only part of that, the empathy part of the decision as it relates to others. There are many other factors that are involved in the development, determination of the moral judgement that is being made.

SQ is the intelligence with which we tackle and solve problems of magnitude and value; the intelligence that endorses our actions and our lives in a far reaching, meaningful perspective; the intelligence with which we can determine that one course of action or one life-path is more meaningful than another. It is our soul intelligence. It is an awareness we use to create and change our patterns of response. SQ is the intelligence of our soul, that doesn't depend on a particular culture or religion. We can use it to cure ourselves of the malady of modern life that results from a lack of sense and the erosion of values.

It is this level of awareness that allows us to be fully conscious of our emotions ensuring our focus is completely aware of the problem or issue at hand. It is only through this level of calmness brought about by one's SQ awareness that ensures we subjugate the ego chatter generally associated with poor decisions. In this regard our lives become more meaningful and enlightened.

In her song “It's Your Life”, Francesca Battistelli sings;
It’s your life
What you gonna do?
The world is watching you
Every day the choices you make
Say what you are and who.

It is clearly evident that even in the fringe pop world, much of what SQ represents is filtering through.

So, what is SQ and why does it matter?

Spiritual Intelligence has been defined as “the ability to behave with compassion and wisdom while maintaining composure and control regardless of the circumstances”. “To Behave” is important in this definition as it highlights how well we maintain our focus, stay calm, and treat others with consideration and understanding. The statement “regardless of the circumstances” demonstrates that we can maintain a peaceful composure and compassionate behaviours even under great stress. This is often admired in our spiritual leaders.

To understand Spiritual Intelligence (Spiritual Quotient SQ), we need to step back a little. We all have heard of IQ (Intelligence Quotient left brain), generally regarded as our analytical and/or mathematical intelligence and many would have heard of Emotional Intelligence (Emotional Quotient EQ right brain). EQ involves self- awareness, emotional balance, motivation, empathy and social conscience — all critical indicators in forming success in life.

So, in this regard, SQ and EQ are somewhat related in that both have the basic fundamentals of emotional self-awareness and empathy. It is paramount that we have some understanding and practise of EQ to begin our SQ spiritual development. As we begin our spiritual journey, our EQ skills will be enhanced, underpinning the expansion of our use of SQ. Those with low levels of EQ are dominated by their behaviours as their emotions are in complete control and direct their reactions, thus making them a victim of the current situation. These circumstances, based on the event at that time determine mood swings.

The use of SQ, as part of a human energy management system, in that it clarifies the structure of ones own awareness. We all have a basic structure of awareness, but we need to be familiar with that structure to enable us to use it to our best advantage. Most of us are controlled by our thoughts and emotions, our ego, when in fact we should be controlling these thoughts and emotions by being aware not only of their existence, but also their actions.

When I exercise my own basic SQ, I become more aware of my own consciousness as opposed to being overwhelmed by what is happening around me. In doing so, in recognising I am aware, I am able to enter a more peaceful and tranquil place that allows me to truly listen, be empowered to remain calm and maintain the control necessary to be considerate and understanding. This awareness happens at the present moment, the moment I become aware that I am aware and is profoundly liberating, as I am no longer at the mercy of my emotions and reactions.

Next fortnight we will look more at why it DOES matter.