Power of Understanding -- Both Intuitive and Intellectual

On Unity.org's main website, a short article on Spiritual Understanding was recently published by Gail Dobert who is director of Silent Unity's Telephone Ministries. This article is very appropriate and timely since Unity Worldwide Ministries (formerly the Association of Unity Churches Int'l) has declared the month of July as having the theme of understanding -- one of Charles Fillmore's twelve spiritual powers found in each human individual.

In this brief overview of spiritual understanding, Dobert makes the claim that there are essentially two different kinds of understanding -- spiritual/intuitive understanding and intellectual understanding -- and the spiritual/intuitive kind is actually that which reveals true insight into the Divine and is the true source of inspiration and spiritual growth. She sees intellectual understanding as limited and quite inferior to the intuitive type of understanding. She states, "Spiritual Understanding wells up from within through intuition and inspiration. Spiritual Understanding is different from intellectual understanding. While intellectual understanding is important in life, there are things we simply cannot intellectually understand. We must seek to find greater understanding and meaning by seeking Spiritual Understanding."

Though I agree with her when she says that there "is a bittersweet mystery about life" and that we as humans aren't meant to understand everything, this principle must apply to both our intuitive and intellectual natures. Indeed, even our intuition or "gut-feeling" faculty of our being is limited in ways and has certain boundaries. Neither our intuitive nor our intellectual sides are limitless, unbounded, and completely free from mistake or misunderstanding.

With this in mind, through my own personal experience, I believe our intellectual nature is just as insightful and conducive toward spiritual growth and experience of truth as our intuition. In fact, dichotomizing intuition and intellect is failing to take into account the interrelatedness, interdependency of all faculties of human existence. I view our human nature as holistic -- faith and reason, heart and mind, intuition and intellect are cooperatively and harmoniously integrated such that they play off of one another in mutual support. Neither is superior or inferior to the other. They are reciprocally up-building in efficacy and activity.

I've found that some of the most insightful and inspired moments in my spiritual experience about God, Truth, Christ, my Self, etc. have been through intellectual reflection and study. Now, this has most definitely been corroborated and resonated by times of contemplation in the Silence. My point is simply that neither intution nor intellect is necessarily greater than the other and both fall short of fully and totally grasping the eternal, infinite, and ultimate Reality we name God or Truth. We may experience flashes or moments of spiritual insight into the Absolute Nature of Reality or God, but in the end we are individual creations within the Mind of God, part and parcel of God's Mind. In the end, words, concepts, language, categories and understand of any kind falls short of fully experiencing the eternal and infinite Mystery of the Divine in which we live, move, and have our being.