Spiritual Intelligence Gives You the Edge

We’ve all heard of emotional intelligence, but what is spiritual intelligence?  Actually, spiritual intelligence is implicit in the art and science of coaching, so if you are a life coach or had some life coaching, you are probably already using it.  Visualising goals, using positive language and releasing limiting beliefs, for example, all have their roots in ancient spiritual wisdom as well as being part of our latest coaching know-how.

Spiritual intelligence is the knowledge and utilisation of the universal spiritual laws and principles at work in our cosmos.  Just as physics charts the behaviour of material things, metaphysics (i.e. the science of spirit) charts the behaviour of ‘unseen’ energy.  We may not be able to test metaphysical principles in a test tube, but we can observe them at work in our psyches.  And, of course, what happens in our psyches expresses itself in every other aspect of our lives.

In recent years, spiritual intelligence has hit the mainstream via the publication of books such as ‘The Power of Now’ and the release of films like ‘The Secret’ and ‘What the Bleep’.  The Law of Attraction, once an esoteric spiritual principle understood only by the initiated, now features in self development forums, popular magazines and chat shows worldwide.  Like most spiritual principles, the law itself is very simple (what you pay attention to attracts more of the same), yet properly understood and applied, has profound implications.

As coaches, we can employ spiritual intelligence to enhance sessions with our clients, boost the running of our business and resource ourselves.  Using our intuition, practising meditation and accessing our inner guidance all serve to give our coaching practice an energetic ‘X-factor’ that is hard to beat.

Seven ways to use spiritual intelligence in your coaching practice

1.    Prepare yourself for your client

Meditate for 10 minutes before every coaching session.  Sit quietly, follow your breath and relax.  Mentally ask for whatever emotional resource or state of mind you require.  Then think of your client and ask that you connect well with your client and are able to give them exactly what they need.  You can then make a few notes on any ideas that came up that when you were meditating on your client.

2.      Prepare your client for their session

Meditate for a further 10 minutes with your client at the beginning of your session.  Encourage them and yourself to follow the breath and relax.  You can also feed in a relevant question to contemplate whilst meditating. (If you are not confident leading meditation, play a short guided meditation CD.)  This will help your client get centred and feel more authentic.  It will also help you tune in to your client more deeply.

3.      Develop Your Intuition

The word intuition means inner tutor or inner guide.  Practise being aware of your intuition by calming your thinking mind (with exercise, meditation or music) and letting yourself drop into a embodied wisdom that speaks from a deeper place inside you.  Test out your intuition with small questions first.  Ask yourself ‘should I do this?’ and see if you get a ‘yes’ (nice, expansive feeling) or ‘no’ (unpleasant, tense feeling) in your body. It’s often felt in the tummy – the reason why we talk about gut instinct.  Follow the answer, then, check later to see if your intuition proved right.

4.      Trust your intuition

Rather than cram your coaching session full of pre-planned ideas, allow some space for spontaneous ideas to bubble up.  Don’t be afraid to sit in silence for a few moments just to listen to your inner guidance.  Check if your intuition is telling you that something would be good for your client, or to change tack if a new direction is emerging.  Likewise, encourage your client to do the same.  A few moments quiet at any point can be very fruitful. Meditation prepares you to be able to do this.

5.      Practice telepathic marketing

We are all much more telepathic than we realise.  Once we are 100% clear and intentional within ourselves, a large chunk of our marketing is done!   Write down what kind of coach you are, what kind of ideal clients you like to work with, and what benefits you are bringing to them (in precise, positive present tense language, of course!).  You will be amazed at what interest starts to come your way even before you’ve placed your adverts.

6.      Learn and practice the Ah meditation

 This powerful manifestation meditation (popularised by Wayne Dyer in the 80’s) can be done in 10 minutes.  It is one of the most effective ways to create and attract what’s best for you into your life, relationships and business.  Teach it to your clients too.  You can download guidance notes to the Ah meditation from the www.thrivecraft.co.uk website resource page.

7.      Connect with your own inner guidance

The most effective way of employing spiritual intelligence is to connect with your own!  Every single one of us has a source of wisdom and guidance within us.  Learn how to quieten your thinking mind and listen to the amazing answers, promptings and directions we have dormant within us.  A special guided meditation to help you do this – Answers: Finding Wisdom from Within – can be found at the on the shop page.