All posts by Lao Xia

Books! Spiritual Intelligence in Seven Steps

Books

Developing a wisdom mindset involves IQ, emotional intelligence and spiritual intelligence. An illustration posted here in 2015 shows how spiritual intelligence is integrated in the Gamma Tao. The illustration shows human intelligence as an interactive continuum in which we can distinguish specialised faculties.

IQ and emotional intelligence are established concepts to describe and even measure specific mental abilities, but what is spiritual intelligence? I have always left it open to imagination, but now Mark Vernon has written a new book about it: Spiritual Intelligence in Seven Steps. 

I discovered Mark Vernon on YouTube through his regular dialogues with Rupert Sheldrake and in 2021 I bought his book Dante’s Divina Commedia. A Guide for the Spiritual Journey, an excellent companion to this medieval masterpiece. 

Human intelligence vs AI

His new book on spiritual intelligence was initiated during an interdisciplinary project on artificial and human intelligence organized by the International Society for Science and Religion. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has invaded our daily lives in many ways and our dependence on AI algorithms will only grow, if we want to make sense of all the data available to us. These days we marvel at the the capacity of ChatGPT to answer all the questions we have. What role can human intelligence still play in the face of so much computing power? 

Mark Vernon, while embracing these new technologies, suggests that spiritual intelligence might provide an answer. He supposes that emotional intelligence could eventually be programmed into IA systems, spiritual intelligence however will remain a unique ability of Homo Spiritualis.

What is spiritual intelligence?

One of the reasons for this may be that spiritual intelligence is so hard to define, if it can or needs to be defined at all. Mark Vernon dedicates the first chapter of his book to give us an idea what spiritual intelligence might entail: a non-sensory perception or knowing “that our experience is connected to a wider vitality” that has been “given multiple names: fire, energy, soul, spirit, ground emptiness, meaning, power, Brahman, Tao, God, origen, source”. 

Spiritual intelligence also gives us a direction in life. It “invites us to turn back to the ground of our being and rebuild from there”. This ground, according to Vernon, is spiritual. We are all, as Sting would sing it, “spirits in a material world”. 

Perspectiva and the meta-crisis

The actual scope of the book is broader than distinguishing human intelligence from artificial intelligence. It addresses the general intellectual climate of our times, the shortcomings of scientific materialism and what has been called the “meaning crisis”.

I was pleasantly surprised to read that this book is supported by Perspectiva, a research institute that seeks to understand the relationship between systems, souls and society with a deeper understanding of the influence of our inner worlds to confront this meta-crisis. 

In November 2019 Perspectiva published Iain McGilchrist’s magnum opus The Matter with Things, probably one of the most important books on philosophy of our times. More recently Perspectiva became involved in the legacy of Rebel Wisdom, a YouTube channel and community that I have followed since the start. I was present at their “Last Campfire” when this news was announced. 

Spiritual commons

Perspectiva aims to inspire political, academic and business leaders, but Vernon, a great intellectual himself, already states at the beginning of his book that spiritual intelligence is not an elitist faculty. Spiritual intelligence also predates (organised) religion. We can turn to all wisdom traditions to find it, because all these traditions serve and seek to develop a sense of the nature of being. They are part of what Vernon calls the “spiritual commons”, an abundant cultural treasure from which we are all free to draw inspiration to live our lives.

The idea of the “spiritual commons” resonates very well with the practice of the Gamma Tao to provide a common ground for the exploration of all wisdom traditions.    

Seven steps

Mark Vernon has organized his book in seven steps that turn our mind to spiritual intelligence. These steps are accompanied by a few spiritual exercises. Even though I consider Mark Vernon a kindred spirit, at times I had difficulties to follow his footsteps and to see where he was going. I will not discuss all the steps presented here, and, as Mark Vernon himself suggests, they also needn’t be read in order.

New perspective on human history 

Mark Vernon’s first step is a reevaluation of the history of our human species. Vernon proposes to shift the attention from the Homo Faber, the human maker, and the utilitarian drive for survival, to the Homo Spiritualis and the quest for meaning and flourishing. 

He gives special attention to the inward turn to self-awareness that took place during the Axial Age, about 2,500 years ago, both in Eastern and Western civilizations. The emerging individuality created a non-intermediated space for spiritual development in human minds, as can be exemplified by the famous Delphic maxim: Know Thyself.

Foundation of ethics

In the Gamma Tao the Golden Rule is the main foundation for ethics. The Golden Rule teaches us not to do to others what we do not want others to do to us. This is a rule that is clearly rooted in emotional intelligence. 

Mark Vernon tries to steer away from ethical rules that seem to provoke so much polarization nowadays and considers spiritual intelligence a source for another type of ethics: virtue ethics. 

Virtue ethics had been the main way of thinking about how to live well since at least the Axial Age until Immanual Kant “argued for a morality based on musts and oughts at the end of the eighteenth century, and Jeremy Bentham invented utilitarianism in the nineteenth”. 

In making his case Vernon may sometimes attribute too much credit to spiritual intelligence. In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristoteles used observations and rational intelligence to determine what constitutes a virtuous life. The Golden Rule is probably one of the best examples of an ethical concept based on individuality that appeared across cultures during the Axial Age. Still, it also seems plausible that human beings possess a direct (or spiritual) intuition for what is virtuous and what is not.   

Kairos attention

In the last chapter Vernon calls for a transformation of attention, away from the trance of everyday life into a parallel world not dictated by chronos, the clock of secular time, but by kairos, the ever-present cosmic moment. Kairos attention spots the timeliness of a particular insight or instant. 

This may very well be the most practical and profound piece of advice in the book. In an age of information overload and algorithms that are constantly trying to hijack our attention, we need to get back in control. 

Kairos attention can guide our awareness to the present moment and its possible significance or meaning. A mindset based on kairos attention interprets what is happening differently. “One person’s chance incident is another’s telling synchronicity”.

The role of spiritual intelligence

Mark Vernon’s book makes it is easy to see how spiritual intelligence can change our way of being in the world and how it can bring meaning to our existence. In this book he has done a great job exploring its potential and special relevance for our times.

In the Gamma Tao spiritual intelligence is an integrated part of human intelligence, indispensable for developing a wisdom mindset. It is also mysterious and hard to grasp. Taken apart or above other human capacities to know and to be in the world, it can also direct us towards a spirituality without wisdom. 

An intelligence should give us the capacity to distinguish between what is important or meaningful and what is not. This is something that easily gets overlooked, when it comes to spiritual intelligence.

If we start to define ourselves as Homo Spiritualis, we risk to become less sapiens in the process. If we do not want to become slaves of artificial intelligence, we will need all our capacities to feel, think and imagine working together. That said, spiritual intelligence may very well be the type of intelligence or X-factor that distinguishes us the most from AI. 

To conclude and to get a fair hearing on this, we can now turn to AI itself and ask ChatGPT:

Does artificial intelligence include spiritual intelligence?

Artificial intelligence (AI) as a field of research and technology primarily focuses on the development of algorithms and systems that can perform tasks that would normally require human intelligence, such as understanding natural language, recognizing patterns, and making decisions.

As for spiritual intelligence, it is a subjective term. While it is being studied by some researchers, there is no established scientific model for it. It does not pertain to the traditional AI research and thus, is not a feature that is typically considered or developed in AI systems.

However, some researchers are looking into the possibility of creating AI systems that are capable of experiencing a sense of connectedness or understanding of something greater than themselves, although this is still very much a topic of debate and is not widely accepted by the scientific community.

It’s worth noting that the field of AI research is always evolving and there might be future developments that would include different areas of study and even spiritual intelligence, but currently it’s not something that is included in the mainstream of AI research.

We can conclude that Mark Vernon may be on to something.

Sun Seeding Day 2022

Various

Today it is exactly 10 years ago that I woke up early in the morning with the idea to write a book. In the following months the Gamma symbol came into being. Since that time I celebrate this day with sunflower seeds while I try to set some good resolutions for the New Year.

A new cycle begins…

Today is Sunflower Day! 

Celebrations,

Sunflower Day is a day to celebrate human flourishing. It is on Summer Solstice, the longest day on the Northern hemisphere and the first day of Summer. A day to shine!

In particular it is the day I celebrate that this website went live in 2015, now 7 years ago. I vividly remember the difficulties I had to upload all the content, how anxious I felt during several failed attempts and the ecstatic excitement that came over me when it finally was up and running. These were magical moments for me.

While the site still stands, the number of new posts in the blog section has decreased in recent times. At this stage I am posting mainly on days of celebration like today, but this may change in the future. There is certainly still a lot to say and explain about the Gamma Tao, but at this moment I do not feel a missionary drive to spread the word (or beter: spread the symbol). 

A missionary drive is also contrary to the spirit of the Gamma Tao. The Gamma Tao is more like a silent γ, not to be pronounced in an aspirated way. The Gamma Tao quietly supports all walks of life in the background.

Despite the relative silence on my blog, the Gamma Tao is always on my mind. It continues to inspire and guide me. The Gamma Tao has now proven its value also in more difficult times. 

But today is a day of celebration!

Sunflower Day is an occasion to celebrate diversity and at the same time a good point in time to go beyond, towards more elevated paths and new experiences, leading to a deeper understanding of one’s own tradition or the exploration of other wisdom traditions.

The Gamma Tao is, after all, interfaith in spirit.

Gamma Day 2022

Various

It is not a joke. April 1 is the main day to celebrate the Gamma Tao and always a perfect occasion for me to go on a pilgrimage to places that have some historical relevance to its philosophy.

In previous years on this day I have visited Delphi and Rome. Now Europe is open for travel again, I am on a trip through Andalusia in Spain. I am particularly interested in the period Andalusia was an important intellectual centre where Islamic, Jewish and Christian thinkers shared their knowledge of ancient philosophy next to the wisdom of their own traditions.

This year, however, the celebration of Gamma Day is overshadowed by the war in Ukraine. The brutal invasion of the Russian army has shocked people around the world.

The Gamma Tao is only a philosophical compass for a personal way of life. It is not organized and will never become an institution. Therefore this website is not a platform for political statements. Until now I did my best not to include my own worldly opinions in this personal blogging section.

The whole idea of the Gamma Tao is that with the help of its principles everyone of good will be able to determine his or her own course of life.

Still, if we apply the principles of the Gamma Tao to the war in the Ukraine it is clear to which side the sympathy should go. The present behavior of Russian regime is totally out of proportion and showing a complete lack of compassion for the lives of a brother people.

And finally there is also the sunflower, a beautiful symbol that both the Ukraine and the Gamma Tao share.

The Russian attempt to conquer Ukrainian territory seems to be inspired by an outdated imperialist interpretation of history. Ideas of past greatness are potentially dangerous and anachronistic myths.

During my pilgrimage through Andalusia I will explore the historical myth of the Convivencia, the idea that Islamic Andalusia marked a tolerant age of diversity and cultural flourishing.

Historical myths are always simplifications. They do not take into account that human history is complex and multifaceted. The reality of Andalusia was certainly not so harmonious as the idea of Convivencia suggests.

On the other hand, as a grand idea for our modern interconnected world Convivencia seems to me a much more useful myth than romantic nineteenth century-style imperialism.

Let’s hope that peaceful coexistence (or the Soviet term: Мирное сосуществование) will soon prevail.

Happy Gamma Day!

A new cycle begins…

Rituals

Today it is Sunflower Seeding Day or simply Seeding Day. It marks the beginning of a new cycle for the Gamma Tao. 

Through the year there are three celebrations and one week of reflection.

Seeding Day is a good moment to set good intentions for the coming year. After a few days these intentions may become New Year’s resolutions. 

The next celebration is Gamma Day on the first of April. Gamma Day is the most important celebration of the year. On this day the seeds planted in our mind have started to germinate and are beginning to take shape.

The third celebration is Sunflower Day and is celebrated on 21st of June around Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year on the Northern hemisphere and the beginning of Summer. It is a day to celebrate human flourishing, because the seeds have now become mature.

Hopefully this flourishing will continue for a long time. Apology Week is the next activity on the Gamma Tao agenda. It is a week of reflection and fasting just before Winter Solstice (14-20 December) and a great occasion to work the soil and prepare it for another new cycle.

I have been celebrating these days and observing Apology Week for several years now and they have become increasingly meaningful. 

The three celebrations correspond to three important moments for the Gamma Tao: the intention to formulate my ideas on philosophy and religion (Seeding Day), the conception of the Gamma path (Gamma Day) and the launch of this website (Sunflower Day).

In this way the Gamma Tao has become a personal cult for me.

This is very similar to the way human cultures develop through time. Rituals and celebrations like these give us something to hold on to during the year.

At the same time we have to distinguish between particular cultural practices and the underlying universal values of our traditions. In most religions these two aspects have become so intertwined that they are almost indistinguishable.

There is no necessity to follow these Gamma Tao traditions. All the forms and rituals of the Gamma Tao are only handles for the universal values they represent. It is more important to embody these values in everyday life.

Let a new cycle begin…

Sunflower Day

Celebrations

Today, next to Summer Solstice, it is Sunflower Day. On this day 6 years ago this website was launched.

This is a day to celebrate diversity and flourishing.

It is the third part of a yearly cycle that starts on Seeding Day (December 27th), continues with Gamma Day (April 1st), the most important celebration, and culminates today.

The Gamma Tao is an interfaith path that stands for diversity. It offers a basic common ground of values and principles, but it is not reductive. On the contrary. All wisdom traditions are unique and deserve their place under the sun. The Gamma Tao is only a starting point to explore these higher paths.

Unity and diversity are different perspectives, not irreconcilable opposites.

We tend to reduce the universe to a set of general principles that we can understand with our limited minds. In reality, everything interacts with everything within the full and complex diversity of uniqueness.

Let’s celebrate this today!

Gamma Day 2021

Rituals, Traditions

Today is Gamma Day!

Eight years ago on this day all pieces of the puzzle came together to form the Gamma Tao symbol. As from that moment I knew I was on to something that was going to be a lasting part of my spiritual life.

In recent years on Gamma Day I planned short pilgrimages to places with a special spiritual significance like the Pantheon in Rome, a temple dedicated to all the gods. This is the second consecutive year that due to the pandemic I stay at home.

Last year I wrote how the Gamma Tao can help to increase resilience during the pandemic. Resilience is fundamental to the practice of the Gamma Tao. I really believe that the Gamma Tao has helped me to keep my spirits up last year.

Gamma Day is the most important celebration of the year for the Gamma Tao. It can even be extended to five days until the global celebration of Golden Rule Day on April 5th. The Golden Rule is one of the three treasures of the Gamma Tao. This year the sequence is even more special, because these days include Christian Easter celebrations as well.

It may seem a little pretentious to talk about Gamma Day like this. After all, the Gamma Tao is probably the youngest and tiniest spiritual “tradition” in the world. In fact, I am pretty sure that I am the only one celebrating Gamma Day right now.

It may feel like a joke on April’s Fools Day.

Actually, it is quite auspicious that Gamma Day and April’s Fools Day are on the same day. There is plenty of space for a smile on Gamma Day. Many great traditions are taken so seriously by extreme adherents that they regard it as the one and only absolute path to truth, to the exclusion of all other wisdom traditions.

The Gamma Tao is completely different. It is only a starting path. It truly recognises the value of all wisdom traditions. In fact, it leads to all of them. It is a path that encourages everyone to explore other wisdom traditions in order to come closer to transcendental love, truth and beauty.

During the past eight years my own daily practice has become to explore all great wisdom traditions of humanity, while constantly minding the basics of the Gamma Tao.

Happy Gamma Day!

Symbolic Synthesis

Symbol, Theory

There are two versions of the Gamma Tao symbol, a theoretical one and a practical one. The theoretical symbol was the original version, but nowadays I prefer to use the practical one. The practical version has this inward-outward dynamic and a sense of spontaneity. It is normally only in black and white, but I often add the colours from the theoretical version.

In this post I will go a step further and present a synthesis of both versions.

The Gamma Tao is a philosophy of life. Unlike the Taoist Tao, we can talk about it as much as we like, but its philosophy is only a basic middle way and not particularly outspoken. We should not talk too much to explain what the symbol stands for. Its principles and values have to be tested, practiced and internalised in real life.

In this synthesised symbol I have added many words to show the basic meaning of the Gamma Tao.

These are:

  • The Treasures: The Golden Gift, The Golden Rule, The Golden Mean/Ratio
  • The Values: Gratitude, Compassion, Balance (and Creativity)
  • The Transcendentals: Beauty, Love and Truth (all beyond the Gamma Tao itself)

and, in red, the practical path from receiving to giving.

Let the words speak for themselves. There is a lot to say about them, as many philosophers, sages, mystics and social scientists have done already. These ideas are part of most wisdom traditions around the globe. The Gamma Tao is only a new arrangement on these perennial themes.

Let’s turn now to the visual elements.

The Greek letter γ (gamma) is written in a single and fluent stroke, inspired by Eastern calligraphy, indicating direction and spontaneity.

The open circle hints at the Zen circle (ensō, 円相) that expresses a moment when the mind is free to let the body create. Most versions of the ensō are closed. The circle of the Gamma Tao is always open, emphasising that an open mind is essential to let new things come in.

The colour gamut represents the underlying unity of diversity and opposites.

The colours also indicate the spiritual (blue), sensual (red) and rational (green) spheres of the human mind with all its intuitions, feelings and thoughts.

And finally, there is the sunflower seed.

As I wrote several times before, the black and white shell of the sunflower seed stands for the present circumstances: both the good (white) and the not so good (black).

The seed inside the shell is the potential to make the best of each situation.

This is not easy. Sometimes we need several laps or leaps between our feelings and thoughts to finally accept a situation and deal with it in a creative way.

But….

The whole symbol indicates the way to go: the only way is up.

What a great direction to start the new year!

Seeding Day

Rituals

On religious holidays people tell each other the same stories every year. The Gamma Tao is my basic personal religion, so every year on Sunflower Seeding Day I tell myself how on 12 December 2012 I woke up in the middle of the night with the clear intention to write a book.

Over Christmas I had visited my father in the hospital. We were still unaware that he was terminally ill. Leaving the hospital I started asking myself questions about the use of all the philosophical and spiritual books I had been reading over the years. If they were not useful in such a moment of crisis, did they have any value at all?

My father and mother divorced when I was about 5 years old. Growing up in two different households contributed to my desire for harmony and aversion towards unsurmountable divisions. As a student in Rome I experienced a kind of spiritual awakening when I read Heraclitus’ ideas about the harmony of opposites.

That night of 12 December 2012 I had a vision to bring new life and harmony into all religions and philosophies.

I recognise now that it was quite a grandiose idea. In the middle of the night you can easily become detached from ordinary reality. When similar high spirited ideas arise in my mind, my own critical thinking usually brings them back to the ground soon enough. This time, however, the illness of my father had created a sense of urgency. It felt like now or never. I am still amazed how in the following weeks all the pieces of the puzzle magically fell together into what has now become the Gamma Tao.

All this time the Gamma Tao continues to be a great source of inspiration and support for me. It captures the essence of what I believe is important in all the wisdom traditions that I have studied and it has opened my mind to many others.

If there was some spark of missionary fervour in the original vision to harmonise all wisdom traditions, this has now receded well into the background. I feel a strong connection with the interfaith movement, but I am not actively promoting the Gamma Tao in any way.

The Gamma Tao is composed of perennial and universal insights, but it remains very personal and intimate. It will never be institutionalised. That would create only more division. Instead of becoming something new, the Gamma Tao is intended to inspire people to become active within their own traditions.

I like to think of the Gamma Tao as a silent γ, a consonant that does not need to be pronounced. A silent breath of fresh air.

As stated on the introduction page everyone can consider oneself a γHumanist, γTaoist, γChristian, γBuddhist, γMuslim, γJewish, γHindu, γPagan, γAtheist or any combination of these and other wisdom traditions by simply minding the minimal principles of the Gamma Tao.

Anyway, Sunflower Seeding Day is a great day to plant some fresh ideas and intentions in your mind, so in the coming days they can germinate into New Year’s resolutions.

While I will continue to celebrate this special day for me today, I wish everybody already a Happy New Year!