SQ Spiritual Intelligence the Ultimate Intelligence – I'm starting to read the book of this title, by Danah Zohar and Ian Marshall, published in 2000. Moving on from IQ and Emotional Intelligence, businesses – and those who coach in business – have been becoming more interested in SQ over the last few years.
Have any of my readers engaged with this subject?
It is with some sadness that I record that our Team Rector's wife Janet died yesterday morning after being ill for some while. She was gently competent and always keenly interested in people and will be greatly missed.
I find myself leading more worship services in church, to provide cover, and it is a privilege to do so.
Today is the 22nd Anniversary of my adult conversion to Christianity at Mission Newbury – 25th May 1986, and it was a Sunday then too.
Somehow I was attracted to an advert for this event on Newbury Racecourse on that Sunday evening – even though I had no idea what a “Mission Newbury” was, and was not consciously aware that I wanted to do something about my dormant Christian faith.
On arrival I remember the parking attendants telling me that I was going to have a great evening (in my experience they don't usually behave like that, but are more likely to growl or order you around!) and walking into the vast marqee and being caught up by the enthusiastic singing of modern Christian songs such as I had not heard before.
Somewhere in the middle of the talk by Revd. Colin Urquhart I felt as if I had been “hit between the eyes” by God with the thought that God accepted me, but I was not good at accepting other people.
Leaving that meeting, after talking to people who wanted to pray with me, I felt a new energy and enthusiasm which I can only describe as being like a spring lamb.
With hindsight this event changed my life, and has been the start of a whole series of new adventures, supported by a loving God.
I recommit myself to this ongoing journey.
I'm very much enjoying the Change Leadership and Coaching Course that I am doing with the Wilsher Group in Corsham.
It is an eight day course and I have just completed the second set of three days, and there are two more to go.
There is a great balance of theory and practice, to further develop coaching skills. I am also enjoying the content on the ways people learn, which has been a gap in my previous studying.
Naomi Klein, famous for her book No Logo, has written another challenging piece called Shock Doctrine.
Go to her web site to find out more, and watch the short (six minute) film which summarises her important points, graphically.
Update 1st September 2010. This video “The Shock Doctrine” by Alfonso Cuarón and Naomi Klein is no longer available on her web site. I'm not sure why (I'd like to know!) Go to the Naomi Klein playlist on my YouTube site http://www.youtube.com/user/richardmhovey for this and more, or here for a just a copy of the video.
She notes that following national and international catastrophes immediate changes are often, and that the general public is both amenable to this and expects change. What happens if leaders are unscrupulous, and the changes made have little to do with the event that has just happened, but instead they seek to use the opportunity to advance their own agendas?
This is what she explores, and it is fascinating. I have long felt that “gut-reactions” after major events can seem to “lose the plot” in ignoring the deeper priorities or values of society. For example action taken in fear of terrorism often restricts the freedom of the general population: values such as liberty and free speech should not be given away easily. The hope is that in a healthy society there will be a time of review of “emergency measures” when society reviews the deeper issues and appropriate adjustments can be made.
So Naomi develops this further, even wondering whether theory and practice of free market economics is not so much something that is for the public good as oppressive practice brought in by these methods. While I agree with her principles, or “doctrine,” I'm not yet sure whether I fully agree with the way she applies it to the world of economics – but I haven't read the book yet. (It's logical, but are people really that unscrupulous?)
Go to her web site to find out more, and watch the short (six minute) film which summarises her important points, graphically.
Steph is off to Ghana soon, so we took a day out to go scuba diving at Vobster Quay again. This was my first dive since I qualified, and I felt a bit nervous and “rusty.” However the water was clear an I enjoyed myself and felt a lot more confident after our three dives. Again I was wearing three layers of wet suit, but the sunny weather meant that I stayed warm in between dives. Good fun!
This is an unusual sight even in Wiltshire!
The Dawn Treader - Richard's Cabin 