True Human Intelligence

You could say that there are two main kinds of intelligence a human being is capable of .  

The first we could call “Content Intelligence.” This is the intelligence that is concerned with the content of human experience. It knows facts, labels objects in space and time, organizes data in meaningful ways, remembers statistics, and references past data points in order to make predictions about the future. It is the intelligence of the thinking mind. Its use is in the domain of the surface level of reality.

The second kind of intelligence I will deem “Context Intelligence.” This is the intelligence that is concerned not with the content of each moment, but the background context that each moment is appearing in. This intelligence is the birthplace of emotional intelligence, skillful interaction with other organisms, empathy, compassion, and the recognition of a deep connection between all that is. It could be called the intelligence of the heart, or the soul, or essence. Its utility is in the domain of the unseen depths of reality, not its surface.

Both kinds of intelligence are of supreme import to the mature functioning of the human being and the collective species. We need Content Intelligence to operate in this physical world, to get things done and to analyze and reflect upon our experiences. We need Context Intelligence to get along with each other; without it, we would have no reason to be kind, courteous, and respectful of our fellow human beings because we would have absolutely no knowledge of our shared and interconnected co-existence. People would simply be points of data in our minds, not actual living beings, aspects of what we are.

The problem of human misery isn’t found in either intelligence; rather, it is to be found in any imbalance, any perceived superiority of one of these intelligences over the other, that sets in motion the mechanics of suffering. For the past umpteen years, Content Intelligence has been completely dominant over Context Intelligence. And in its seeming superiority, humanity has found itself in a cold, bleak, isolated world that consists of nothing more that dead data points, bits of information to be collected and exploited for maximum survival value. In the absence of an appropriate counterbalance of Context Intelligence, Content Intelligence has ravished this planet, throwing the species completely out of balance with itself, nature, and the universe itself.

So is the solution to this imbalance a tipping of the scales in the other direction, towards the superiority of Context Intelligence over Content Intelligence? Of course not. That would create the same imbalance in the opposite direction: humanity would be so united in the notion of oneness and non-separation that absolutely nothing would get done in this world. There would simply be no impulse to make anything happen, because the world would be viewed by each being as nothing more than a vast contextual nothingness, with nothing to do and nowhere to go. 

True human intelligence is a mature balance between both Content and Context Intelligence. It does not discard one in favor of the other; it recognizes the necessity of both for a truly functional, sane society, where everyone is simultaneously aware of the underlying context of their experience and also actively working with the precise content of their experience. When Content and Context Intelligence are recognized by the majority of the human race to be two sides of the same coin of True Human Intelligence, the world will know peace. 

But... we cannot wait for the majority of the world to have this recognition before we start embodying it within ourselves. In fact, to wait for the world to recognize what we know to be true is in itself a manifestation of the problem: a belief if the surface content of this world were transformed, then the background context of this world would be more palpable and apparent to us and we could all just chill out and be nice to each other. It’s nothing more than a symptom of the unnatural superiority of Content Intelligence over Context Intelligence. 

I can’t tell you exactly how to bring both of your intelligences fully online, but in writing these words I am intending to give you a sort of blueprint, a starting point from which to address both your own sense of disconnection from yourself and others and also your sense that there are important things to be done in this world. Both are equally true. It could be summarized by the saying, “You’re perfect just the way you are... and there is always room for improvement.” Context Intelligence is that which is capable of recognizing the underlying perfection of this manifest universe. Content Intelligence is that which is capable of noticing what could be improved about the surface details of this universe. 

If you feel a deep call to be of true service to this suffering planet, to take radical action to fix what is broken from a place of complete acceptance, then contemplate your relationship to the two modes of human intelligence I have described here. Are you lost in the content of this moment, in the endless stream of thinking, beliefs, and ideas that buffet your consciousness moment after moment after moment? Or are you on the other end of the spectrum, lost in the context of this moment, feeling deeply ineffective and apathetic at the prospect of doing anything of any true value in this world? 

In my direct experience, I am writing these words with Content Intelligence that recognizes that they need to be coherent and somewhat logical and reasonable in order to make sense to my fellow human beings, and also recognizes that if anything of true value is to happen in this world, we must work with the information available to our senses to make things better. And in the background, my Context Intelligence is fully operational, completely in touch with the ocean of harmony underneath the waves of turmoil on the surface. I write in order to change this world with complete peace in my heart, knowing that everything is always already essentially perfect, and at the same time on the surface level always necessitating an expansion and evolution into a formation of sensory information that is more conducive to widespread human flourishing and the reduction of suffering. 

I say this not to draw attention to my intelligence, but to remind us all that this deeper understanding of what it is to be an intelligent human being is a powerful balm to sooth the ills of this world, and that our true intelligence is capable of being embodied by all of us, not just a select few. It is our highest potential to be firing on all cylinders, our entire brains lit up in harmonious activity. And only when each of us make the choice to bring forth our full intelligence will this planet see any meaningful change.

May you dwell in the harmony of perfection as we surf this cacophony of imperfection, my friends. May you awaken to your True Intelligence for the benefit of all beings. Now, now, always only Now.