Is there a conflict between the intellect and spirituality ?

I felt to write in to the Openhand on the arising question of whether there is a ''conflict between intellectualism and spirituality'' ?

To me, spirituality entails an elevated state of intellectual awakening and ultimately are along the same path, but others may not think so.Yes, it bypasses the intellect but is clearly open to criticism in it's use of language and experience. I am interested to know how the Openhand views this subject. As separate? At being perpetually at odds with each other.? Must we choose to embrace our spirituality or rationality?.
When being faced with academia, I feel challenged and cut into two.This is not necessarily a negative occurrence, as it helps me understand more fully and deeply the nature of my experiences and beliefs and how I articulate them, yet very often it is difficult to talk about experiences that often go beyond words. Yet at the same time I feel they are one of the same path (for me anyway), in the sense that people arrive at a kind of intellectual spirituality.I know it may sound contradictory but it is my experience nevertheless.
I have a friend who has years of experience lecturing and teaching in clinical psychology and working within Mental Health, now writing books actually in critical psychology,expressing all labelling of mental illness are a myth, rubbish and all about money. Quite clearly is drawn to me for some reason. I feel what this person is experiencing is the onset of a spiritual awakening,and I am the one actually doing all the listening and feeling all their pain as I listen to this persons life story and what life is like to live in a body after a serious accident and nursing a beloved of cancer. Yet it is so difficult to speak spiritual language when this person is clearly somewhere else
I also was wondering if you have any tools I could use as a place to start to help this person ?

What is your view, as I was often told I went into intellectual reasoning when challenged to go into my feelings. Not everyone who goes into intellectualism are avoiding what they may feel...

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Hi Tess,

You said...

    "I am experiencing all of life as spiritual

Yes indeed! Because everything is of consciousness - of 'spirit'.

Open *OK*

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Always spot on with helping others to see where their blind spots and blockages are. I was aware of the blockage, amongst more it just had not yet clicked. Of course ! Thank-you , for showing me where I was contracting and identifying far too much with the small ‘’I’!
When one speaks of spiritual intelligence, I understand it is through the expression of the innate qualities in thoughts, attitudes, behaviours and experiences which connect to the inner and outer and conveying this very clearly . Somehow, I have been blocked, constricted, close down and become silent , a little like on workshops.
Moreover , it is also about being in a place of questioning and exploring my spiritual journey so far and how it had changed in the past years because of the Openhand, previous theological, psychological and philosophical discourses from earlier years. So simple questions such as what does it means to be spiritual and what is spirituality is arising ? Since, I am experiencing all of life as spiritual, no one way more superior than another, just different AND that it doesn’t have the nature of a specimen to be dissected and analysed as such, as experiences move beyond the realms of physical dimensions and therefore not always open to scientific investigation remaining deeply personal subjective experiences as opposed to objective rational sciences. This is certainly helping me to see where I am, where I was, but certainly not where I am going.

Thank-you Open, you always assist in bring my awareness back into the emerging ‘’flow’’. Now is the time to read your book- Divinicus !

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Hey Tess,

How can the spirit be separate from anything?
If one aspect of the self is being denied, then the spirit is being denied and identity created.
There is no problem with the intellect, except when the intellect is owned (or repressed) by the ego.
Who chooses not to express through the intellect? Only the 'small I"
When there is no small I, the flow is unhindered and unblocked in ALL vehicles of expression.

Open *OK*