雙語散文:What's your spiritual IQ?什麼是你的精神智商?

It's the secret weapon that will help you cope with the hassles of life. Here's how to put spiritual intelligence to work for you.

　Her ex had done it again. After missing their 10-year-old daughter's dance recital, he showed up the following day with a bouquet of roses. "My first impulse was to tear into him," admits my friend Jennie. Then some phrases popped into her mind: "He loves her. She needs him. Let it be." Taking a deep breath, she listened to this inner voice and said, "Natalie's going to love the flowers." And for at least one brief, shining moment, there was a little more peace on earth.

對付生活煩擾的一個祕密武器。以下幾點教你如何將精神智商運用到工作中去。

她前夫又一次失約了。他沒能參加他們10歲女兒的舞蹈演出會，第二天，他帶着一束玫瑰來看她們。我的朋友詹妮承認說："我第一個衝動就是批評他。"但是接着閃入腦海的卻是："他是愛女兒的。女兒需要他。算了吧。"深吸一口氣，她以此寬慰自己說："納塔利會喜歡這些花的。"至少在那一短暫、輕鬆的時刻，世上多了一份和睦。

What happened? Without consciously realizing why or how, Jennie had reached beyond reason to a deeper level of understanding, a newly recognized way of knowing that psychologists have dubbed "spiritual intelligence." Our spiritual intelligence quotient, or SQ, helps us understand ourselves, and live fuller, happier lives.

Spiritual intelligence is the capacity to sense, understand and tap in to the highest part of ourselves, of others and of the world around us. This source of inner serenity may be our best defense against the hassles that barrage us every day.

發生了什麼情況呢？原來不知不覺間，詹妮已經超越理智進入到理解的深層次了，即心理學家稱之爲"精神智商"的一個剛被公認的認知方法。我們的精神智商，或SQ，幫助我們瞭解自我，生活得更充實，更幸福。

精神智商是一種能力，可以感受、理解並觸及最深的自我、他人及我們周遭的世界。這種內心深處的寧靜可能是我們抵禦日常困擾的最佳能力。

While we' re all born with SQ, most of us aren't even aware that we have it. Fortunately, you don't have to sign up for classes to learn how to enhance your SQ. Here are some simple steps that can lead you to this new level of understanding:

Sit Quietly. The process of cultivating spiritual intelligence begins in solitude and silence. Most spiritual traditions involve an inner wisdom. To tune in to its whisper, you have to turn down the volume in your busy, noisy, complicated life and force yourself to do nothing at all. Start small by creating islands of silence in your day. In the car, instead of reaching for the radio dial, use the time to reflect. At work, shut the door to your office between meetings, take a few deep breaths and let them out very, very slowly. Savor the stillness in your home after the kids are finally in bed.

雖然我們生來就有精神智商，但大多數人並沒有意識到它的存在。有幸的是，你不必報名去學習如何加強你的精神智商。以下幾個簡單的方法就可幫你達到理解的新境界：

靜坐培養 精神智商可從獨處和靜默開始。精神上的信仰大多需要心靈的智慧。要聽到心靈的細語就要放慢節奏，使紛繁嘈雜的生活平靜下來，迫使自己放下一切事務。逐漸爲每一天創造一段安靜的時間。在開車時，用一些時間思考，而不是打開收音機。在工作時，不妨利用會議間歇關上辦公室的門，深吸幾口氣，然後緩緩地呼出。在家裏，孩子上牀後，獨自細細地品位一下家裏的寧靜。

Step Outside. For many people, nature sets their spirit free. It puts the hassles of daily living into perspective.

Go outside to watch a beautiful sunset. If you're walk-ing the dog, take the time to admire an azalea bush in bloom. Follow the flight of a bird; watch clouds float overhead. Gaze into the night sky and think of the stars as holes in the darkness letting heaven shine through. Find An Activity You Enjoy. It's important to find a hobby that helps you tune in to your spirit. Garden, walk or jog, arrange flowers, listen to music that touches your soul.

戶外活動 對於許多人來說，大自然能給予他們精神上的自由，使他們對日常生活中煩心的事能用"風物長宜放眼量"的角度去看。

出去觀看美麗的日出。如果出門遛狗，可以留意一下路邊盛開的杜鵑花叢；可以仰望飛翔的小鳥；觀賞空中的浮雲。凝視夜空，可以設想羣星不過是黑幕上的點點小洞，讓天堂之光透射進來。找到一種自己喜愛的活動培養一種愛好對修身養性十分重要。例如：園藝、散步或慢跑、插花、傾聽觸動心靈的音樂。

Ask Questions Of Yourself. Some people use their contemplative time to focus on a line of Scripture. Others ask open-ended questions, such as"What am I feeling? What are my choices? Where am I heading?"

But don't expect an answer to arrive via some super-natural form of e-mail. "Rarely do I get an immediate answer to my questions," says Reverend Joan Carter, a Presbyterian minister in Sausalito, California. "But later that day I suddenly find myself thinking about a problem from a perspective I never considered before."

向自己提問 一些人在沉思中思考聖經中的語句。另一些人問自己一些隨意的問題，如"我現在感覺怎樣？我的選擇是什麼？我現在去往何處？"

但是不要期望以超自然的電子郵件方式得到答案。加利福尼亞州，索薩利托的長老會牧師雷弗倫德·瓊·卡特說："對自問問題，很少立刻得到答案，但晚些時侯，我會突然從不曾考慮到的另一個角度去思考這個問題。"

Trust Your Spirit. While most of us rely on gut feelings to alert us to danger, spiritual intelligence usually nudges us, not away from, but toward some action that will lead to a greater good.

This is a lesson that Charlene Baumbich, an author and speaker in Illinois, has learned well. Several years ago she was convinced that she couldn' t write a book she' d contracted to do. The day before she planned to scuttle the deal, she went to a crafts fair. There Baumbich found a photograph of a chubby toddler opening a treasure chest -- out of which flew butterflies. "There was a voice that said,'Just open the lid. Write the first word.'" So she did. And that book, How to Eat Humble Pie and Not Get Indigestion, was a success. Her advice to other women curious about tuning in to their inner wisdom: Take the first step. Peer inside yourself. And don' t be surprised if you find butterflies.

相信自己的心靈 大多數人覺察危險是憑直覺。精神智商卻常常引導我們去採取，而不是背離某種可以使結局更好的行動。

這是伊利諾伊州的一位作家兼演說家查倫·鮑姆比切曾經有過的一個親身體會，甚得教益。幾年前，她簽約寫一本書卻認爲自己無法如約完成，就在她準備取消合同的前一天，她去了一個工藝品交易市場。在那兒，她看到了一張照片，照片上一個胖乎乎的小孩正打開一個珠寶盒，從盒子中飛出了蝴蝶。"有個聲音說道'掀開蓋子，寫下第一個字'。"於是她照着去做了，接着，《如何"忍氣吞聲"而不會"消化不良"》一書問世並獲得成功。對心靈智慧有好奇心的其他女子，她建議道：第一步，窺探心靈，如果看到了那蝴蝶，不要吃驚。