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Center for Spiritual Intelligence® Inc |
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THE SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE ®SM
ADVISOR A monthly newsletter
bringing you great ideas for spiritual development and practical success! Published by Yaacov
J. Kravitz, Ed.D., © November 8, 2002, www.spiritutalintelligence.com *************************************************************************** IN THIS ISSUE: Article: Taking Action and Living a Spiritual
Life Free-Teleconference:
PILLARS of SPIRITUALITY: Mindfulness, Love, Discipline and Forgiveness. Begin your change process NOW: New Emotional Intelligence
Assessments available **************************************************************************** Change:
Stage 4 - Action Over the last three months we have discussed moving
through the stages of precontemplation, contemplation and preparation in the
process of personal change and transformation.
The entire six-stage change process
described by psychologist James Prochaska includes the stages of precontemplation,
contemplation, preparation,
action, maintenance and termination. This
month we will examine the action
stage and related spiritual concepts and techniques.
When an individual desires to make a change in her
thoughts, feelings, or behavior one of the most effective approaches is to
substitute a positive thought, feeling or behavior for the negative one.
Too often people focus on simply wanting to stop.
They want to stop smoking, getting angry, drinking, drugging, binging or
procrastinating. Sometimes a
determined exertion of will power is enough to stop these activities for a short
time. Unfortunately the force of
habit, responding in ways that have been learned over years, often dooms these
efforts to failure.
Learning new, positive ways of responding to situations or triggers that
activate the negative or addictive behavior, has been shown to be a much more
effective approach. Prochaska recommends a number of healthy substitutions for
behaviors that plague us. Among
them are positive diversions, exercise, relaxation techniques, positive thinking
and affirmations, and assertiveness.
Spiritual practice can be a great asset during the action stage of
change. A positive program of
spiritual development can include many types of activities that are alternatives
to negative behaviors. Reading,
singing, meditation, prayer, and community service are all activities that can
be used to counter or replace negative behaviors. These activities can be done
individually or within the context of a spiritual community such as a church,
synagogue, mosque, ashram or a self-help group.
Certain spiritual disciplines, such as meditation, provide a means to
help individuals gain greater self-awareness and ability to manage their
thoughts, feelings and behaviors. The
practice of mindfulness involves the skills of
observing one's thoughts and feelings, and attending to them or dismissing them.
Gaining a sense of self-control in this way helps mindfulness practitioners
avoid the reactivity and automaticity that sets the stage for much negative
behavior. Another important approach to change is to manage one's
environment or situation in ways that reduce the likelihood of encountering
anything that will trigger a negative behavior. Individuals in 12-step addiction
recovery programs describe this approach as avoiding the people, places and
things that were associated with their addiction. Involvement in a spiritual
community can be one way that this approach is implemented. Once you have begun to take action you are on your way to
making significant changes in your life. Maintaining these changes and
overcoming stumbling blocks and obstacles that might cause relapse to previous
behavior will discussed in next month’s SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE® ADVISOR. =================================== From time to time I will be offering Tele-seminars and free
Teleconferences on the application of Spiritual Intelligence®SM
to life, work and recovery from addictions and chronic illness. Our next TELECONFERENCE will be on November 25 at 8:00 PM
EASTERN USA TIME. PILLARS of SPIRITUALITY: Mindfulness, Love, Discipline and
Forgiveness. Free - Teleconference Contact: yaacov@spiritualintelligence.com =================================== WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION: Do you want to learn how to apply spirituality in your daily
living? Many people are feeling stressed and searching for more meaning, greater
connection and integrity at work and in their personal life.
Come and join us in an inspiring discussion of four Pillars of spiritual
life that can work in your life! This one-hour tele-forum will introduce you to
spiritual concepts and how they relate to your life and work. A simple
organizing framework will provide the means for you to begin your journey of
sustaining joy and balance in life. You will learn: ·
How
to apply and practice four spiritual principles in your life ·
What
it means to bring a spiritual focus to your life challenges ·
How
to bring loving kindness into your work and personal life ·
How
discipline and restraint achieves spiritual success ·
How
to create connection and healing at work and in life. ABOUT YOUR WORKSHOP LEADER: Yaacov Kravitz has spent 30 years working on the integration of
spirituality and psychology. His favorite personal spiritual practices include
meditation, mindfulness, yoga, prayer, chanting and study. He has developed a
comprehensive program for learning the skills of Spiritual Intelligence (R)
based on the ancient mystical teachings of the Kabbalah and the insights of
modern psychology. Yaacov enjoys
helping individuals and businesses achieve success in life and work through tele-coaching
and consultation. You can learn more at www.spiritualintelligence.com. TUITION: This class is FREE. Long distance charges for the call will
apply. ACCESS TO THE WORKSHOP: Registered participants will receive a
teleconference number to call. At
8:00 PM EST USA on Monday, November
25 dial the phone number and you will be instantly connected with Yaacov and
fellow spiritual seekers from around the globe. Space is limited to 20
participants. TO REGISTER: E-mail Yaacov at yaacov@spiritualintelligence.com.
Please put the words: Register for Workshop" in the subject line. In
the body of your e-mail include: 1. Your full name; 2.
your location city, country;
3. Your e-mail address;
4. Your day and evening telephone number. In response
to your e-mail you will receive a confirmation of the workshop's date and
time, and the teleconference number. We look forward to meeting you!
Yaacov ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** BEGIN YOUR CHANGE PROCESS NOW: NEW EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ASSESSMENTS AVAILABLE If you want to
make a change in your personal or professional life taking a self assessment is
the logical place to start. I am now able to to help individuals assess their
Spiritual Intelligence ®SM, Emotional
Intelligence and basic personality traits using Internet technology. These
assessments can be used for personal or professional growth and for career
guidance. With a solid assessment
of your competencies and basic personality traits we can create a personalized
action plan and provide coaching that will empower you to make the changes you
desire to reach success. Check our website
or contact us at yaacov@spiritualintelligence.com
for more information. ******************************************************************************** If you would like to bring spirituality into your personal work or
your organization we can help.
Send an e-mail to yaacov@spiritualintelligence.com briefly describing
your goals and request a complimentary half hour consultation. You can continue to LEARN MORE about Spiritual Intelligence®SM
by Reading about Spirituality
on our web site Becoming part of our Spiritual Mentoring Program or our Executive Coaching Program ******************************************************************************** Please send us your comments. Let us know if there is a specific
topic you would like addressed in this forum. ******************************************************************************** ABOUT YAACOV J. KRAVITZ, Ed.D. Yaacov Kravitz, a psychologist, certified pastoral counselor and
coach, has spent 30 years working on the integration of spirituality and
psychology. His favorite personal spiritual practices include meditation,
mindfulness, yoga, prayer, chanting and study. He has developed a comprehensive
program for learning the skills of Spiritual Intelligence®SM
based on the ancient mystical teachings of the Kabbalah and the insights of
modern psychology. You can contact Dr. Kravitz at yaacov@spiritualintelligence.com. ******************************************************************************** SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATON To subscribe send an e-mail to
yaacov@spiritualintelligence.com with your name, city and the word
“subscribe” on the subject line. To be removed from this list, send an e-mail to
yaacov@spiritualintelligence.com with your name, city and the word
“unsubscribe” on the subject line. This Newsletter is sent to those who subscribed as well as
selected friends and colleagues of the author. Your name and other information
will never be shared with others. ******************************************************************************** DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS The above material is copyrighted, but you may retransmit or
distribute it to whomever you wish as long as not a single word is changed,
added or deleted, including the ‘About’ and subscription information.
However, you may NOT copy it to a web site. Reprint permission may be granted,
upon request, to student newspapers, universities, and other non-profit
educational organizations. In addition, advance written permission must be
obtained for any reprinting of this material in modified or altered form. The Service Mark, or “SM” and registered symbol ® in
superscript format, are applied following “Spiritual Intelligence” and
denotes it as a legally registered service and process the name of which is
owned by Dr. Yaacov Jeffrey Kravitz. This term defines the services developed by
Dr. Kravitz and must be applied when referring to Spiritual Intelligence ®SM.
No individual or organization can legally use this term without the
express written permission of Dr. Kravitz. Individuals must be trained in the
Spiritual Intelligence ®SM process to say they are using it, and they must
include the Service Mark whenever they use it in print. Yaacov J. Kravitz, Ed.D. yaacov@spiritualintelligence.com www.spiritualintelligence.com Coaching for personal, professional and spiritual success |