Sunday, July 15, 2012

Intellect Is Not Enough!



Hello again, and thanks for your interest. In this post we're going to begin to understand what it takes to improve our life physically, spiritually and intellectually. It does not matter if we are in a jail cell or a boardroom. It doesn't matter if we're going through bankruptcy or experiencing great financial success. It doesn't matter if our physical body is deteriorating or we are at the pinnacle of physical fitness. What does matter is that we recognize we have the power to improve our condition and begin experiencing a prosperous and peaceful life right here and right now.

To begin, let us take a look at our intellectual nature. It consists of our conscious and subconscious mind, our will, desires and emotions. Some folks may call this the soul, life force or heart of man. It's not important what it’s called as long as we recognize its existence and that it is distinct from our other natures. Many say that it separates from our physical body during death and continues to exist. Others say that when we die, it dies. I am not here to try to convince you one way or the other. I just want you to understand that it does exist and is separate from our physical and spiritual nature.

I like to call our intellectual nature “The Battleground”. This is the place where all of our mental and emotional distress takes place. And, although it's not physical in nature, that is, it can’t be touched, smelled or seen, it can have a devastating effect on our physical body. As a result, it is not to be completely trusted in and of itself because as easily as it can lead us to unlock the mysteries of the universe it can lead us to wrongly convict someone of a crime they didn't commit.

At the center of our intellectual nature is this thing called “free will”. Our free will gives us the ability to choose whatever course of action we desire. It allows us to do so whether or not the course we choose is helpful or harmful to others. However, we must recognize that there are always consequences associated with whatever actions we take.  In case you are asking “How is this information going to help me improve my life?” let me get to the meat of this post.

You may have heard the saying “The mind is a terrible thing to waste”. And that's just my point. Our mind, an integral component of our intellectual nature, is one of the greatest tools that we as human beings have available to us. As a tool it can be used to create works of good or evil. However, as a result of free will, we can allow our minds to be influenced by whatever we choose. This is where our spiritual nature comes in to work hand-in-hand with our intellectual nature.

As stated in earlier posts our intellectual, spiritual and physical natures must interact together in order for us to experience the prosperous and peaceful life that we seek. In my next post I will discuss how our spiritual influences our intellectual nature. Until then here's wishing that you live today and every day passionately and with purpose. Thank you and God bless!

1 comment:

Alyssa said...

Love the message!