Spiritual Intelligence in Seven Steps

Drawing on new science and ancient wisdom, a vivid account of the awareness needed for flourishing today.

We live in an age of emergency, exacerbated by a collapse of meaning. Writer and psychotherapist Mark Vernon examines the type of intelligence that, whilst often dismissed and overlooked, is crucial to understand and cultivate if we are to survive and thrive in our times.

Spiritual intelligence is the foundation of who we are and our particular type of consciousness. It is the perception identified across wisdom and religious traditions, and known by many names, which can be summarised as the awareness of awareness, and so of being itself. It is the foundation of peace, even in the face of death, as well as purpose and solidarity. The challenge today is to recover and live according to that knowledge.

Examining themes from the nature of consciousness to the experience of time, the emergence of our species and the teaching of spiritual adepts, the book is an antidote to rampant AI and a complement to emotional intelligence. It is written without presuming religious commitments in readers and draws on a mix of sources and experience gained from the author's own practices. It advocates pilgrimage and improvisation, virtues over morality, and big histories that do not turn the story of our species into a bleak struggle for survival.

The seven steps will help readers identify spiritual intelligence within themselves, unpack why it matters, and suggest how a wider trust in it may be revived.

Mark Vernon is a writer, commentator and psychotherapist, contributing to and presenting programmes on BBC radio, as well as writing for the national and religious press, and online publications like Aeon. He also podcasts, gives talks and leads workshops. He has a PhD in ancient Greek philosophy, and other degrees in physics and in theology, having studied at Durham, Oxford and Warwick universities. He is the author of several previous books, including The Meaning of Friendship (Palgrave Macmillan), God: The Big Questions (Quercus), and The Idler Guide to Ancient Philosophy (Idler Books). He used to be an Anglican priest and lives in London, UK. For more information see www.markvernon.com.