Since the last edition of this newsletter, I have been to Haifa, Israel on Bah­a'i Pilgrimage. I had been waiting for this date for eight years. My 15-year old son, Naseem, went too. He became a Baha'i of his own choosing just before we left. Tears of joy streamed down my face that my son had chosen to become a Baha'i. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Baha'i Faith, here is a short description: The Baha'i Faith is an organized religion born in 1863 from the founder, Baha'u'llah, who claims to be a messenger of God for this day and age. He is part of a long list of messengers of God such as Mohamad, Christ, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster. The theme of the faith is "unity for mankind." The principle is there is one God and one religion and we are one family. There are about six million Baha'is on the planet. For those of you who want to know more, email me or go to www.bahai.org. For those of you who don't, just skip the Baha'i parts of this newsletter and absorb the rest.

    The nine days of Pilgrimage to the Baha'i World Centre was the most spiritually and emotionally powerful time of my life. As a writer, I feel at a loss for words. However, I will attempt to describe the experience as it has emotions in it that are worth pondering and the first or foundational emotional intelligence competency is emotional self-awareness.

    On the first day, we went to the Shrine of the Bab. This is a beautiful dome structure that is situated half-way up Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel and contains the sacred remains of the Bab, the "Gate" or forerunner of the Baha'i Faith; and 'Abdu'l-Baha, the son of Baha'u'llah, the son also being known as the master and interpreter of the writings of Baha'u'llah. This is one of the most holy and sacred places for a Baha'i on the planet. When we went in (myself and other pilgrims with our host) I felt like crying, no, more like weeping and wailing. What was that all about? I didn't know. I couldn't identify it. What was it? To this day, I am not clear. Me, the Emotional Intelligence Guru. If anybody reading this knows or thinks they know, please send me an email describing what you think it is.

    Nevertheless, here are some of the thoughts I experienced although they didn't even feel like thoughts. It's as if they weren't fully formed. But, here they are: I felt immense sorrow and grief over the suffering of the Bab and 'Abdu'l-Baha for the trials and tribulations they endured in order to spread the principle of unity for mankind. It was as if, all of a sudden, it was like there were a close family member of mine and I had to watch them suffer just for spreading good news. It felt so personal.

    Then there were the tears of sadness that I had not done all I could do for mankind and that I was too concerned with my own welfare and not enough with the welfare of others. But it wasn't guilt.

    And then there was a sense of understanding why I was there, why I was on this planet, why others were on this planet, why all of us were here, what life was all about. It was like opening a window and having a complete knowing without words. But I have not been able to maintain this open window completely and access to this knowledge becomes available intermittently.

    And then there was a sense of overwhelm, the spiritual energy in the beautiful Shrine was dense, thick. I could feel it in the air. I could feel it on my skin. I could feel it inside my physical body. It did not feel like it was of this world. And I started to calm. And I started to feel comfortable in my own skin so to speak, in myself in a way never before experienced. I didn't want to leave.

    And that was part of Day One.

    Every talk I had, every meeting I went to, everything was so precious, so sacred, so synchronistic, so guided. I cried everyday. It was so deep, so real, so beautiful. I wanted to stay in that recognition of sacredness. I experience this often in my life, almost daily, but not the way I did on Pilgrimage.

    What were those tears? What emotions would they be? Is it sadness? Partly, but not completely. Joy? Yes, that too. A combination of emotions I don't know? Partly. Something else, emotions of a spiritual nature I have not experienced until then? Maybe. Something else? Probably.

    And then there was the Shrine of Baha'u'llah, about 45 minutes from Haifa near Akka. I can feel the tears of longing to be there as I write this. I went there about four times during my stay in Haifa. The fragrance in the Shrine of Baha'u'llah seems not of this world. Nor does the energy. It was my favourite place to be. I was home, truly home. As close to the source of all this is while on this planet. A feeling of contentment and insight at the same time.

    To this day, it defies description of an emotional nature. Does that mean that I am emotionally unintelligent? No. I think it means I am discovering something new to add to my emotional repertoire. I am expanding. It is all good. Reflection and integration is good.

    So, how about you? Since the first step in emotional intelligence is recognizing our emotions, where do you find your feelings defy description? And, what would happen if you observed them with open curiosity to see what you would discover? Try it. Try it today. Everyday contains subtle nuances that can be better understood and therefore, provide information that we can use to better know ourselves and use to guide our lives.

    So, what do emotions have to do with spirituality? Easy. They are the vehicle by which we experience spirituality. We may not always understand what we are experiencing, but we will, and, in so doing, will build our emotional repertoire. So, if you want to deepen your experience of spirituality, deepen your awareness and understanding of your emotions. They are the gateway to the spirit.

    What I am working on now...

    Using emotional intelligence to pull the plug on stress...