The Messiah Herald Issue 04 May 2017 | Page 6

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE EQ & IQ How Thoughts Affect Your Emotions THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN Are you falling prey to a toxic mindset? The first thing we need to know when trying to understand emotions is how we come to feel what we feel. E T MOTIONS ARE, OFTENTIMES, A set of reactions to what we experience - or more specifically, how we perceive our experiences. A majority of people in your life will exhibit both positive and negative reactions to the situations they encounter. You’ve probably also seen some people who are more inclined towards showing positive emotions. On the other hand, some people are predisposed to reacting negatively. If you look at the spiritual aspect of the matter, negative emotions come from the negative source in you. Positive emotions will come from an enlightened heart and a conscious soul. 1 So generally speaking, someone who has managed to enlighten his heart and awaken his soul is more likely to exhibit positive emotions. Those with a stronger Carnal Self (Ego) are more likely to exhibit negative reactions since the Carnal Self is the negative source in every human being. Beyond this, your mindset will greatly influence what you feel and how you react. Isaac Newton said, ‘For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.’ This applies to emotions as well. Think of emotions as the rebound that takes place when you throw a tennis ball at a wall. Suppose you are browsing the internet on your iPhone and someone asks you, ‘What are 1 Learn how to enlighten your heart and revive your soul through the method introduced by HDE Gohar Shahi on page 10. 6 What is going on in your brain? you doing?’ You’re having a bad day, so you misjudge their tone and choose to believe that they are talking to you accusingly. On their end, it was but an innocent question that resulted in an unexpected reaction. This is how your mindset leads you to misinterpret the words and actions of others. In this case, both the ‘action’ (the perception that they were talking to you accusingly) and the reaction (you feeling defensive) took place in your mind. You may have noticed that some people could be sitting in solitude and unruffled peace surrounds them, yet they display seemingly unsolicited emotions. They’ll be quiet and suddenly they will cry or laugh. This is because they are not reacting to their environment, but their own thoughts. How you’re thinking and what you are thinking about directly impacts the emotions you feel. If you think about something pleasant, that pleasant thought will have a reaction: you’ll feel happy. If you think about something nasty, you’ll start to feel horrible emotionally. From there, it is a slippery slope; if you continue to think negatively, you will eventually dig yourself into depression. MESSIAH HERALD / ISSUE 04 / MAY 2017 HE IQ (INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT) level is all about putting every piece of information in your conscious mind. For example, you walked through a street. When you walked through the street, what did you see and did you think about it? That is what your IQ level will be judged upon. However, how you react to what you see is determined by your level of emotional intelligence (EQ). His Holiness Younus AlGohar notes, ‘The relation between emotions and intelligence: the ability to identify something is intelligence and to react is emotions. The IQ level, when not accompanied by the EQ (emotional quotient) level, is zero.’ Meaning that even if you are a genius according to every IQ test out there, if you do not know how to react to the situations that you encounter in an emotionally intelligent way, your IQ will prove useless for you in the most important aspects of life. For example, if someone is able to sit and sleep peacefully in an untidy, dirty and stinky bedroom, then perhaps their emotional sensory system is lacking. Had they been responsive, they would have reacted to the state of the room. Another scenario in which a lack of emotional intelligence is evident: something has fallen on the floor in a restaurant kitchen. All the workers, rather than picking it up, prefer to step over it and be on their way. If something is lying on the floor and their minds are not telling them to pick it up and put it safely to the side, there is something wrong with their EQ level. If you see someone or something beautiful and you do not show appreciation by commenting MESSIAH HERALD / ISSUE 04 / MAY 2017 or allowing yourself to consciously register the spectacle, you may need to work on your emotional intelligence. If you see something and there is no reaction, you’re suppressing your soul! Along the same lines, part of being emotionally intelligent is making sure to convey your emotions to others in the right context. If someone has done a favour for you, it is your moral obligation to show your thankfulness. Some people might think that by coldly saying, ‘Thank you,’ they have done enough to show their appreciation. However, appreciation is an exhibition of emotions. In this case, it is important to let the other person know, through your emotions, that you are grateful to them. ‘If a human being doesn’t have emotions, in my eyes, there is no difference between them and a cabbage. When there is something that should awaken your senses, and still your senses are not awakened, then you are emotionally dead. When your emotions are dead and your brain is not responding, you cannot obtain divine love. It is impossible.’ - HH Younus AlGohar 7