‘To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.’
Beethoven, Mozart and many other great musicians used Nature as their inspiration, incorporating into their music the songs of birds, the sounds of wind and water, the calls of animals and the sounds created by peasants and farmers going about their business. The entire four movements of Beethoven’s Symphony no. 6 (Pastorale) were based on a walk in the countryside!
Nature has a way of rewarding those who investigate her, by enhancing their insights into all things, and thus raising their Spiritual Intelligence. One such example of someone who has been increasingly awed by the beauty and complexity of Nature is the British broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, whose prize-winning series on animals, plants and the natural world have amazed and inspired millions of viewers across the planet. Perhaps none have been more captivated by the wonders of nature than Sir David himself.
If you think about the following, you will understand why he and others, such as Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey in their work with endangered apes and gorillas, have become so fascinated by the natural world.
This reverence for life and living things is an important part of Spiritual Intelligence; if you habitually swat flies, bugs and spiders, go to the bottom of the class!
Brought to Life by Near-Death Experiences!
Many Spiritually Intelligent people report that it was often a near-death trauma that ‘woke them up’ from their spiritual sleep. One such experience certainly had me appreciating life more after it than before!
Teri and his Second Life
A good friend of mine, Teri, was a very fit and athletic man, a cyclist, rock-climber and caver. The end of his ‘first life’ came when climbing down the sheer face of a smuggler’s cave. He grabbed a small outcrop of rock and it came away in his hand. His last conscious moments were spent realizing that he was falling backwards 180 feet, cracking his head on a rocky jut on the way down, and ending up in a bloody heap at the bottom with a smashed knee, broken leg, foot, arm, ribs, a punctured lung and a cracked skull.
Teri’s ‘second life’ began in hospital when he regained consciousness and realized that he had been ‘born again’. Everything appeared to him much brighter, more memorable and meaningful. Thirty years on Teri still reports that being given a ‘second life’ comprehensively changed his attitude to every day in that new life. Each day is a gift, and he spends each day enjoying every moment of it. He is known as a wonderfully caring and compassionate man, with a gift for putting others at ease with his generosity and humour.
As he so succinctly puts it: ‘Well, when you get a second chance at life, it does make you see things differently and appreciate what you’ve got a lot more, doesn’t it?’
Tony and the ‘Floating Balloon’
On holiday in the Caribbean, I was taking an early-morning swim in an exquisitely beautiful bay with crystal-clear blue water, mirror flat from the calm of the night before. Not particularly paying attention to where I was going, I ended up doing a long and leisurely series of back-strokes. When I stopped to turn around, I saw what looked like a blown-up balloon on the surface of the water, and without thinking (always dangerous!) I swam towards it. I noticed that the colour of the water underneath it appeared to be not so much blue as a beautiful lavender. Suddenly my brain recognized the danger signs, and screamed at me:
‘Portuguese Man-of-War!’
Terrified, I swung about in the water – too late. The beautiful purple tendrils wrapped themselves around my waist and legs and sent me rocketing out of the water in pain. It felt as if I had been wrapped in barbed wire through which giant electric shocks were being pulsed.
I suddenly remembered (and understood!) the many reports I’d heard of people who had died of such an experience. For the next 10 or 15 minutes I was like some Walt Disney cartoon character with my legs thrashing like an outboard motor in the effort to get back to shore! With every stroke I wondered whether the poison was going to kill me rapidly, or lock all my muscles into an immovable rigidity that would lead me to drown.
The fact that you are reading this book means that you know I made it! I spent a little time in hospital, and came out still shocked, having been taught a number of lessons by Mother Nature – among them that I need to be more observant and more alert to danger.
Most importantly, however, I had learnt, while facing the prospect of having no days left, to pay much more attention to appreciating and enjoying the ‘gift’ of every day that I had and would be given.
Do You Make a Difference?
‘God sleeps in the rock,
dreams in the plant,
stirs in the animal,
and awakens in mankind.’
(Sufi teaching)
Believing that they can make a difference is another hallmark of the Spiritually Intelligent.
Do you make a difference?
Of course you do! Everything you say, do or create affects the environment and the people around you, and it and they affect others, and so on for infinity and eternity. This cause and effect can be confirmed by Chaos Theory – according to which a butterfly beating its wings in the Amazon rainforest can cause sufficient air turbulence to eventually cause a typhoon in Java.
You and your soul are ‘immortal’ whether you wish them to be or not! The real choice you have is whether that ‘immortality’ affects the human race and the planet in a positive way; whether you wish to leave it to chance; or whether you wish to work to its disadvantage. The Spiritually Intelligent person obviously chooses the first of these options!
Now that you are aware of your own magnificence, the vastness and the beauty of the universe in which you live, of the wonderful nature of Nature, and the fact that your spirit is immortal, you are ready for a good Spiritual Workout.
Spiritual Workout
1 Remind Yourself How Miraculous You Are
Remind yourself just what a magical work of design you really are. Make it a point to track down more information about the extraordinary capabilities of your human body and brain. Go to your local library or bookstore and dig out some of the popular science books around at the moment – on everything from brains to genes! Alternatively, watch some of the popular science programmes on TV. Constantly apply this knowledge to your own self-awareness and to the development of your self-confidence.
2 Remember that Everyone is Miraculous
Apply your new-found knowledge of your own magnificence to everyone around you – your friends, family, children, colleagues, people you meet on the street, and yes (this is a book on Spiritual Intelligence!), even your enemies. Once you begin to realize that everyone is as unique a person as you are, you will find yourself