“The most beautiful and profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their most primitive forms—this knowledge, this feeling, is at the center of true religiousness.” – Albert Einstein
A wise old monk once said that contemplation is the highest expression of our intellectual and spiritual life. It is life itself, fully awake, fully active, fully aware of its own existence. It is spiritual wonder, spontaneous awe at the sacredness of life and being. It is gratitude for life, for awareness, and for being. Lastly, he said, it is a vivid realization of the fact that life and being within us proceed from an invisible, transcendent, and infinitely abundant source.
To access that source, we use contemplative intelligence. Accessing the highest kind of intelligence through our intellect and emotional intelligence leads us to a place akin to accessing a quantum field, grounded in both scientific and spiritual principles. Contemplation itself transcends reason and intellect. How often have we found that intellect, though sharp, ultimately cuts us to pieces?
Our minds are often set on a trajectory towards becoming increasingly riddled with ego defense mechanisms. These mechanisms place us in fight-or-flight mode, a state that, while occasionally necessary, is becoming a prolonged reality. This prolonged state creates toxic chemical reactions in our bodies and minds.
“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” – Blaise Pascal
Contemplative intelligence is, in many ways, the mind’s highest intelligence. Like the binary system, composed of zeros and ones, life can be viewed as a series of problem-solution cycles. These zeros and ones can represent the questions and answers of life. Philosophers like Einstein suggest that the answers to life lie in questioning everything, a philosophy inherent in contemplative intelligence.
This Contemplative Intelligence (CQ) blends intellect, emotion, and spirit to foster deeper awareness and understanding of life. It emphasizes transcending traditional reasoning, cultivating mindfulness, and integrating stillness with action. By asking the right questions through introspection, CQ helps move from survival to thriving, ultimately unlocking our authentic selves and potential.
Contemplative Intelligence, then, is less a thing to grasp and more a way to breathe. It’s the quiet space between thoughts where the heart whispers, and the mind, for once, listens. Not the sharp edge of intellect, but the soft curve of knowing that comes from being still. It’s peeling back the layers of our stories, the ones we tell to protect ourselves, and finding the raw, sacred self beneath. It’s the dance of action and silence, like the inhale and exhale of the universe, where we learn to see without seeing, to know by unknowing. It’s not about having all the answers, but about living the questions, letting them unfold like a slow, deep river, carrying us home to the mystery we already are.
The Mystery of Contemplative Intelligence
Contemplative Intelligence (CQ) is a multifaceted concept that extends beyond traditional intellectual understanding. Here’s a breakdown of its key components:
- Transcending Intellect:
- CQ acknowledges the limitations of pure intellectual reasoning. It emphasizes going “beyond” the intellect to access deeper levels of awareness and understanding.
- This involves moving past purely analytical thought processes to embrace intuition, insight, and a broader perspective.
- Integration of Mind and Spirit:
- CQ recognizes the interconnectedness of our intellectual, emotional, and spiritual dimensions.
- It involves harmonizing these aspects of ourselves to achieve a more balanced and fulfilling life.
- Cultivating Awareness:
- A core element of CQ is the development of heightened self-awareness and awareness of the world around us.
- This involves practices like mindfulness, meditation, and reflective self-inquiry.
- Accessing Deeper Wisdom:
- CQ aims to unlock a form of wisdom that goes beyond acquired knowledge.
- This wisdom arises from a deeper connection to ourselves, others, and the underlying nature of reality.
- Practical Application:
- CQ is not merely a theoretical concept; it has practical applications in daily life.
- It can enhance our ability to navigate challenges, make sound decisions, and cultivate meaningful relationships.
- Moving from Survival to Thriving:
- CQ is a tool that allows the user to move from a survival based way of living, to a thriving way of living.
- This is done by moving the user from the “survival brain” to the prefrontal cortex of the brain.
“Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat any time and be yourself.” – Hermann Hesse
In essence, Contemplative Intelligence is about cultivating a deeper, more holistic understanding of ourselves and the world, enabling us to live more meaningful and fulfilling lives.
Consider the interplay of alpha and beta brainwaves, the right and left brain, the forebrain and hindbrain. These paradoxes work together in a zero-one system to create either heaven or hell, chaos or order. Through diligent effort, we can cultivate more order than chaos. Activating alpha waves promotes relaxation, while beta waves propel us into action.
It is through the interplay of alpha and beta waves, the zero and one, that we can generate more questions, which in turn provide answers to the original question. If life is about questioning, we must ensure we are asking the right questions. Contemplative intelligence is the key to unlocking those right questions. “Contemplation is the highest form of activity.” – Mortimer Adler
Life is an unfolding mystery. We will never possess all the answers, but we can continuously generate more questions. Let us ensure they are the right ones. Our exploration of the universe, exemplified by the Hubble telescope, reveals an ever-expanding realm of mystery.
When we consider zeros and ones in the context of alpha and beta waves, we recognize the need for both action and stillness. We engage in action through demanding work schedules, pushing ourselves to the limits in sports and other endeavors. However, without activating both alpha and beta waves, we face imbalance. We may achieve great success, only to find ourselves adrift and depressed in its aftermath. Von Goethe said that “To think is easy. To act is hard. But the hardest thing in the world is to act after you think.”
Contemplative Intelligence: A life Beyond Intellect
We must learn to ask the right questions, and this is achieved through silence followed by action. Contemplative intelligence is the harmonious integration of silence and action. Currently, we are often trapped in a cycle of relentless action, leading to sickness, depression, fear, and isolation.
We need a stabilization point between alpha and beta, between the left and right brain, where we integrate both hemispheres, both calm relaxation and active effort. This integration fosters healing, performance, and the higher life we all seek through spiritual awakenings and consciousness.
We are searching for higher purpose and meaning, which can be found not in action alone, but in silence. Just as the binary system has opposites, so does everything else: day and night, light and dark, morning and evening, pain and pleasure, beginning and ending.
Our thinking, like everything else, must encompass both aspects. We are not just our physical bodies; we also possess a spiritual dimension, which, in our technologically advanced age, remains largely untapped. This neglect contributes to widespread unhappiness. If we were to measure happiness today, it would likely be at an all-time low, along with calm and peace.
These qualities are missing in our politics, television, schools, and workplaces. If we understand the duality of existence, we must question why we prioritize action over rest. How can we expect to thrive by neglecting our resting states?
People are beginning to realize the folly of extreme work schedules and the pursuit of wealth at the expense of well-being. Is it truly intelligent to sacrifice sleep and health for money that will never be used? This is the kind of aspiration being promoted today, with performance being equated with happiness.
Performance is often driven by external expectations from the world, parents, and significant others. However, the cyclical nature of life, or samsara, is not about endings but about continuous unfolding. As Revelation suggests, it is a mystery unfolding.
Our consciousness is constantly evolving, expanding from a retracted state to a broader awareness. This expansion can sometimes lead to a dark night of the soul, a necessary phase in the journey. The cycle continues, even beyond the end of life as we know it. Contemplative Intelligence: A life Beyond Intellect is about discovering this truth and many like it that utterly abolish the lies we once believed to be true.
True spirituality involves taking time for stillness, observing the inner dialogue, and recognizing that we are not our thoughts. This brings us back to the interplay of stillness and action, alpha and beta, zeros and ones. We must realize that one without the other leads to chaos, while their integration produces order.
If we remain solely in a state of action, pushing ourselves beyond our limits, we will trigger our survival brain, which lacks new solutions. The answer is to slow down, to stop. Our fight-or-flight response is ill-equipped to handle this, often leading to anxiety attacks.
“Contemplation is nothing else but a secret, peaceful, and loving infusion of God, which, if admitted, will set the soul on fire with the spirit of love.” – Saint John of the Cross
What distinguishes us from animals is our Imago Dei, our ability to choose an attitude, our empathy. Everything else in nature gives; if we do not give, we experience pain. A life in survival mode is devoid of progressive joy and peace.
Contemplative intelligence allows us to perform at our peak with laser focus, followed by a return to stillness and peace. This stillness allows our brainwaves to create new pathways, activating the prefrontal cortex, the seat of creativity and new questions.
In states of anxiety and depression, we are trapped in the back of our minds, repeating the same questions without answers. We cannot reproduce energy without activating our alpha and beta waves, our zeros and ones, our own cosmic system.
When we lose energy, pain signals us to stop. The solution is not more obsessive thinking but transcending intellect, as the wise monk suggested. This is transformation, a scientific and mathematical process. We must learn to manage ourselves as witnesses, as observers.
Contemplative intelligence is the space, the silence, the mystery. It is both within us and in the vastness of the universe. Athletes in the zone are utilizing contemplative intelligence, accessing a state of flow in the prefrontal cortex.
This is the place where we see without seeing, where we access what is already there. It is knowing by unknowing, the essence of silence. It is everything and nothing, zero and one, together.
If we are to be truly intelligent, we must move beyond IQ. In this technologically advanced age, IQ alone is not sufficient. Empathic intelligence and emotional intelligence are essential, leading to a contemplative outlook.
This allows us to participate in an unfolding consciousness, an unfolding mystery, through doing nothing. It is accessible to all, free of charge, everywhere. It is like a zero, indivisible.
Holding space for oneself, developing contemplative intelligence, is the future of medicine, focusing on self-regulation. This is achieved through mind yoga, meditation, and stillness.
Who are you without your story? This is the essence of our authentic self. We are born into a state of wonder, but at a young age, we make a crucial decision: is the world malevolent or loving? This decision shapes our trajectory.
Life becomes complex, filled with pain, pleasure, and trauma, leading to adult disease, addictions, and stress responses. We must rediscover who we were before our story, a person without ego defenses.
Life’s challenges lead to the development of ego defense mechanisms, masking our true selves with personas. We live two lives, an external facade and an internal reality.
These ego defenses, while initially protective, can become habitual, leading to judgmental, codependent, and victimized behaviors. We must learn to transcend these defenses, to see ourselves and situations as they truly are.
The work of contemplative intelligence is to return to the state before our story, before we created defenses to protect ourselves. Over-defending leads to war with ourselves, with others, and with opportunity.
We must learn to switch on our prefrontal cortex, where creativity and spontaneity reside. The survival brain has no time for these qualities.
The cost of neglecting the front of our minds is a life devoid of adventure, curiosity, and fascination. We become bored, dull, and jaded.
The hero’s journey is a return to the authentic self, transcending the ego’s drive for grandiosity and judgment. We must move from survival to thriving.
Our ego insurgents, fear, distrust, and drama, distract us from our true selves. These insurgents remind us of past traumas, driving us to codependent behaviors and eccentricities.
Contemplative intelligence activates the sacred self, using the head and heart, action and silence, to access a higher form of thinking.
Our role is to guide you back to your sacred self, your authentic state. Who are you without your story? You are a sacred, capable being without limits.
The answers are always yes, as demonstrated by those who have broken records and shattered boundaries. We must do the same for ourselves, achieving peak performance and progress.
Your journey to sacred self is a return to thriving, a new earth, a new way of being, where we can recover, heal, and transform.
