established an institute for the study of humanity and the environment. He told the following story:
The Astronaut’s Story
The training at NASA for the flight to and around the moon was very, very, thorough. The astronauts had simulated every stage of the flight in terms of duration and daily activities – they had literally ‘gone to the moon and back’ while on Earth!
Indeed the training had been so thorough that Mitchell reported virtually no emotions of fear or exaltation when they took off, because it felt so familiar and ‘normal’.
This familiarity continued all the way to the moon, everything running smoothly, on schedule and, as far as the crew were concerned, almost robot-like. They arrived and began to prepare for their journey to the ‘dark side of the moon’.
This, like everything else, had been rehearsed. The trip was to take only an hour or so. The significant thing about being on the dark side of the moon was that for the first time on the journey, the sight of the earth would be totally blocked from view, and no radio or television waves could either penetrate or go round the moon. The astronauts would be totally excommunicated from Earth!
Mitchell said that the first five minutes on the dark side were fine, but after that the simulation training began to peel away, and concern, a touch of fear, and his imagination began to kick in. He began to think more and more about Earth – about his wife and children, his home, his neighbourhood, his friends and the places they met, and the changing colours of the seasons.
As his imagination expanded, time began to stretch, as it does when you are waiting for someone you love who is late. But this was not just one person Mitchell was waiting for. This was everyone and every thing that he loved. He began to wonder whether there were some strange time-warp effects on the dark side of the moon, and whether he and the others were trapped in an eternal night. Mitchell reported that the minutes began to feel like days; the time behind the moon was becoming eternity.
After what seemed like aeons, they came out the other side.
And there, at last, was the Earth!
But the Earth was not as Mitchell had imagined. In his mind it had been the giant planet on which the universe of his home and family existed. What he saw now was a tiny blue planet floating in the vast inky blackness of space. Surrounding it was a fragile, wafer-thin covering of white – our entire atmosphere. Mitchell felt that he could literally reach out with his hand and flick the Earth, like a tiny pearl, into oblivion.
That moment, and that sudden realization of the fragility of our local home in the vastness of our big home, caused a paradigm shift in Edgar Mitchell. When he returned to Earth he felt far more compassion and concern for his fellow living beings, and decided to devote the rest of his life to helping protect this delicate, unique and beautiful planet.
A love of and respect for Nature is very characteristic of the Spiritually Intelligent. The tribal peoples we so often admire for their Spiritual Intelligence, such as the Native Americans and the Aborigines of Australia, are renowned for their deep concern for the conservation of the environment, for their respect and love for animals and other living things, and for their reverence for and awe of the Universe. This springs from an affiliation to and with the earth, and a feeling of responsibility to act as its guardians.
Nurture Yourself in Nature
Spiritual inspirations often make themselves known through music and poetry, and musicians and poets often see nature as their muse.
Byron, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage wrote:
‘There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore.
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep Sea, and music in its roar …’
Similarly the visionary poet, artist and mystic William Blake wrote:
‘When thou seeest an eagle, thou seeest a portion of Genius. Lift up thy head!’
And when writing of an ideal approach toward the Universe, Blake penned the immortal lines:
‘To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.’
Beethoven, Mozart and many other great musicians used Nature as their inspiration, incorporating into their music the songs of birds, the sounds of wind and water, the calls of animals and the sounds created by peasants and farmers going about their business. The entire four movements of Beethoven’s Symphony no. 6 (Pastorale) were based on a walk in the countryside!
Nature has a way of rewarding those who investigate her, by enhancing their insights into all things, and thus raising their Spiritual Intelligence. One such example of someone who has been increasingly awed by the beauty and complexity of Nature is the British broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, whose prize-winning series on animals, plants and the natural world have amazed and inspired millions of viewers across the planet. Perhaps none have been more captivated by the wonders of nature than Sir David himself.
If you think about the following, you will understand why he and others, such as Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey in their work with endangered apes and gorillas, have become so fascinated by the natural world.
This reverence for life and living things is an important part of Spiritual Intelligence; if you habitually swat flies, bugs and spiders, go to the bottom of the class!
Brought to Life by Near-Death Experiences!
Many Spiritually Intelligent people report that it was often a near-death trauma that ‘woke them up’ from their spiritual sleep. One such experience certainly had me appreciating life more after it than before!
Teri and his Second Life
A good friend of mine, Teri, was a very fit and athletic man, a cyclist, rock-climber and caver. The end of his ‘first life’ came when climbing down the sheer face of a smuggler’s cave. He grabbed a small outcrop of rock and it came away in his hand. His last conscious moments were spent realizing that he was falling
