Spiritual Insights: Sarah's Blog

What’s Your Spiritual IQ?

May 5, 2015

Spiritual aptitude is completely different than academic aptitude. Spirituality is learned by the heart, not the mind.  Someone who is quick and clever academically may not have the highest spiritual IQ. But someone with a sensitive heart may have greater spiritual intelligence.

Spiritual teachings are coming at us from all directions these days.  Our cars are associated with zen like peace and TV shows, face book and movies shower us with spiritual aphorisms so much so that we actually believe we are more spiritual each day. We focus on spiritual acquisition rather than spiritual learning. Hearing a spiritual teaching over and over doesn’t mean you’ve learned a spiritual teaching.  Those with higher spiritual intelligence know the difference and expect to take time deepening their understanding, put the teaching to test in their lives and continue contemplating until the teaching is written in their bones.  This may takes years and years and isn’t the result of buying a “zen” car!  Who in our speedy world has the patience to engage in this type of learning?

The phrase written in the bones comes from the shamanic world.  It is used to describe a learning so deep that it is ingrained in every cell of your being. The teaching has taken root in your being and transformed your personality to the point where you don’t even recognized yourself!  You don’t have to pretend or will yourself to be compassionate if compassion is written in your bones. It means that you have explored the depths of the heart until the mystical roots of compassion source your actions, thoughts and feelings. Compassion becomes second nature. You don’t have to brag about power and confidence if it is written in your bones.  

Anyone who has taken the time to master something, an instrument, an art form, a computer program or a sport knows when they are so immersed in the topic that it becomes second nature to them.  They are masters. Those who devote the same amount of time to spiritual training rather than spiritual acquisition become masters too. There is no way to fake it when playing an instrument with a world renowned orchestra. And there is no way to fake spiritual depth and knowledge.

 

3 comments

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  1. JoAnne

    Yes, experiencing “written in my bones” seems very different than resonance in my mind/body. Perhaps, grounding and centering myself over time, allows resonance to vibrate teachings deeply into my bones.

    Reply
  2. Maureen

    I have said in the past that some knowledge, after being absorbed in it for years, is engraved in my DNA. I like the “written in your bones” phrasing, too. Thank you, Sarah.

    Reply
  3. Shelby

    Thank you for this wisdom. I feel that I am just now, after a decade, maybe two, learning the difference between hearing and learning/acquiring.

    Will it ever be written in my bones? I don’t know, but at last I feel some sense of peace about the pace of my learning. In the end, we will all get there.

    Reply

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