Spiritual Intelligence

30 What ls Spiritual Intelligence?

Vaughan, F. What is Spiritual Intelligence? Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Vol 42, No. 2. Spring 2002, 16-33  2003 Sage Publications.
WHAT IS SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE? FRANCES VAUGHAN, Ph.D., is a psychologist in private practice in Mill Valley, California, and author of several books integrating psychological and spiritual development. 1-Icr most recent book; Shadows of the Sacred: Seeing Through Spiritual Illusions, draws on many years of experience as a practitioner of humanistic and transpersonal psychology and explores issues that individuals encounter on the spiritual path. She is coeditor of Paths Beyond Ego: The Transpersonal Vision, and she is a contributor to the Encyclopedia of Psychology (APA Books, 2000). She was formerly on the clinical faculty at the University of California Medical School at Irvine and has served as president of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology and the Association of Humanistic Psychology. She is currently serving as a trustee of the Fetzer Institute. Summary This inquiry into spiritual intelligence suggests that it is one of several types of intelligence and that it can be developed relatively independently. Spiritual intelligence calls for multiple ways of knowing and for the integration of the inner life of mind and spirit with the outer life of work in the world. It can be cultivated through questing, inquiry, and practice. Spiritual experiences may also contribute to its development, depending on the context and means of integration. Spiritual maturity is expressed through wisdom and compassionate action in the world. Spiritual intelligence is necessary for discernment in making spiritual choices that contribute to psychological wellbeing and overall healthy human development.

Spirituality exists in the hearts and minds of men and women everywhere, within religious traditions and independently of tradition. If, following theologian Paul Tillich, we define spirituality as

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