January 27, 2013
by proactiveawareness
HJ: What exactly is entailed by the term spirituality? At the most basic level, it obviously implies a connection to spirit, but what specifically does that mean? Can it be measured?
These are all questions that Dr. Robert Emmons seeks to answer with his theory of Spiritual Intelligence. A concept such as this may seem controversial to some — an attempt to scientifically dissect and categorize the spiritual phenomenon/experience by scientists and researchers. Some may even claim that spirituality cannot be measured or defined, but simply is. However, in my view, it would seem that the development of these scientific concepts of spiritual phenomenon may actually help many to become more spiritual themselves. In my experience, many people find spirituality to be mysterious and vague and so have a difficult time relating to it in a world where the unknown is perceived to be dangerous or threatening to some degree. Would a more scientific approach to the study of spirituality make it more accessible to the masses?
I believe it would, and in my estimation, this can only be a good thing. In many circles, all things spiritual are seen to be the antithesis to the current dominant scientific paradigm. This is not a constructive viewpoint. Our society direly needs a bridging of these two worlds in order to reach a deeper understanding, catharsis and self awareness. Anything that can help facilitate this, is, in my eyes, worthwhile.
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