Intelligence

Intelligence is the creative power of the mind, the spirit of under­standing that runs through our being and enlivens our existence. It is the mind’s ability to use the energy of thoughts in an organized and purposeful way, and the secret link between the mind and I am. Intelligence is not thinking, it is the creative space between presence and arising thoughts; it is the uncrystallized movement of cogni­zance that precedes the gross manifestation of thought.

As the heart of consciousness and the dynamic force behind our journey to awakening, intelligence is the very essence and justi­fication of our evolution. It is the only tool we have to uncover the meaning and aim of our existence. The mind without intelligence is like a car without a driver — it will idle, but it will never reach its destination. The expansion of intelligence leads to an increasingly higher perception and understanding of reality, liberating us from the false and revealing the truth of creation.

lower and higher intelligence

Intelligence is not always intelligent. There is higher intelligence, lower intelligence, and many shades in-between. Lower intelligence is bound by the unconscious energies and negative tendencies of the mind, whereas higher intelligence supports the wisdom of the soul and her evolution towards light. The capacity of our intelligence is not predetermined and static, but expands in proportion to our awakening to the realm of understanding; it is a direct reflection of the level of our evolution and the depth of our consciousness.

Intelligence is not efficiency of thought, but efficiency of con­sciousness. Humans who limit their intelligence by aspiring to nothing higher than intellectual sophistication serve only lower intel­ligence. No matter how erudite they become, they remain locked in the dimension of forgetfulness, for they misuse their intelligence by applying it solely within spheres that are removed from the heart of creation. Intelligence that is not rooted in the knowledge of the self is not conscious; it is in fact subconscious. It has a sense of me, but no sense of I am — it has no soul.

Until the mechanical mind is transcended, our intelligence can­not realize its full potential. Only a mind that is truly present — clear and awake — can be intelligent. Prior to the awakening of aware­ness, the intelligence of the mind operates in a space of confusion, without any center. Once I am is recognized as the true essence of the mind, our intelligence links itself to pure subjectivity and begins to act as an awakened agent of our conscious evolution.

the intuitive mind

Linear thinking represents only one aspect of the soul’s intelligence, its analytical dimension. The discursive mind, which operates in the frontal lobe of the brain, is merely a self-conscious expression of our holistic intelligence. True intelligence, our higher intuition, is faster and much more direct than discursive thought. By the time the con­scious mind draws its conclusions, understanding has already been reached in the intuitive mind.

Intuition is the soul’s ability to gain direct insight into the nature of truth without the filtering of the linear mind. It is the most efficient faculty of holistic intelligence because it operates in a space of silence and emptiness that is directly linked to our higher wisdom. Intuition is therefore the aspect of intelligence most closely connected to the soul. It allows her to transmit her pure knowing to the mind, and through the mind, to formulate her understanding.

the power of recognition

The essence of intelligence is its cognizing faculty, the power of rec­ognition. Recognition is immanent to consciousness; without it, the information of existence could neither be received nor registered. It is recognition that makes the growth of discernment and understand­ing possible. As recognition is not always spontaneously present, we often have to make an effort to activate it. We do so by deepening our discrimination, sharpening our spiritual perception and striving uncompromisingly for complete understanding. The refinement of our recognition directly corresponds to the evolution of our intel­ligence, sensitivity and inner experience.

Recognition has two main functions: it enables us to register and understand our experience, and it imbues our experience with mean­ing. As we have explained, one may have an experience but not recog­nize it, or one may recognize an experience but not see its existential value. We mature as both types of recognition develop; we grow in our ability to recognize various states of awakening, and also in our appre­ciation of their significance. On a certain level we could even say that recognition is the experience. If one has an experience but is unable to register it, the experience is valid, but empty. True awakening is the fusion of our inner realization with the depth of our recognition.

personal and impersonal intelligence

Intelligence belongs to no one. If we contemplate the laws of nature, the ecological systems of the earth, the tremendous wisdom of cre­ation — we can clearly see that intelligence permeates the whole of existence. Impersonal intelligence is the foundation and fabric of the ever-expanding universe. Behind it there is no doer, no thinker, no agent. In the process of individuation, however, intelligence becomes personal. Within the infinite space of impersonal intelligence, count­less beings, entities, creatures and individualized angles of percep­tion have been formed. Personal intelligence is an individualized expression of universal consciousness that operates according to its blueprint within the boundless space of impersonal intelligence.

Although the ego can be seen as a form of personal intelligence, personal intelligence of a higher degree is the intelligence of the soul. As long as she is separate in her existence and lost in the ego, the soul’s intelligence is able to evolve only in the mental dimension, within the bounds of personal memories, associations and percep­tions. Only when the soul returns to the state of unity, and when her personal intelligence merges with universal consciousness, are its frontiers no longer constrained by her individual existence. Her personal intelligence does not dissolve entirely, but it is free to func­tion in the impersonal space of pure subjectivity, constantly inspired by the beyond.

the luminosity of consciousness

What makes consciousness conscious, and how does consciousness know that it is conscious? In objectified consciousness, cognition is based on sensory perception, thought and emotion. The ego knows that it is conscious through checking, observing and processing incoming data. But on higher planes of consciousness, cognition does not require an object in order to know itself. Knowing is inherent to pure subjectivity. Intelligence is the heart of I am lit from within with the clarity of knowing; it knows beyond knowing that it knows — it is conscious without thought.

Intelligence is not thought. Intelligence uses thought to construct understanding, but is itself the primal cognizance that exists prior to the mind. The pure knowing of consciousness cannot be separated from intelligence. Intelligence is in fact what enables consciousness to be conscious; they are two aspects of the same reality. Pure intel­ligence is the self-illuminating radiance of consciousness, and pure consciousness is intelligence illuminated.

the essence of the soul

It is the soul who evolves. She owns intelligence and is the axis of its everlasting expansion. Her identity is being, and her essence is the pure intelligence through which she knows and can be herself. She is the light that emanates the knowledge of I am. Rooted in the space of pure subjectivity, the soul’s intelligence constitutes the conscious­ness of her identity.