8 FEBRUARY 2023 INTELLIGENCE

I have never doubted that animals, birds, and fish are as intelligent as human beings – if not more so. Scientists and biologists have proven this in many species. Like us, they have problem solving skills and the ability to use tools. Chimpanzees, dolphins, elephants, crows, weasels, octopus, rats, squirrels, bees, and pigs are but a few of those species that we have attributed with marked intelligence. We humans have rated ourselves as the most intelligent; however, I seriously doubt this.

In reality, there is complex intelligence in all living things. There is also compassion and emotion. Some of the spiritual teachers and leaders of New Thought have ascertained that there is unlimited intelligence in the universe. It is the same intelligence that created our solar system, our planet, and all of the living organisms that call it home. That intelligence is available to ALL to use; however, our collective and very inflated egos have erroneously believed that this intelligence has been given only to us. Intelligence permeates every species on earth. This is how they are able to adapt to changes in climatic conditions and to evolve.

We foolishly try to measure intelligence as though it were some force existing outside of us. Many of us have had to take “IQ” tests when we were in school. Intelligence is within all of us; and it is within all of the flora and fauna of the earth. We can use that intelligence wisely, for the good of all; or we can use it selfishly, to destroy life. It is not; therefore, our intelligence that sets us apart from other species. It is our moral codes. Societies dictate the moral code for their people, but often those morals are biased. Examples: It is okay to annihilate large groups of insects or to kill fellow humans in war. It is okay to “put an animal down” that is suffering; but it is wrong not to do everything possible to “save” a human life. Human beings have agreed to not question our own behavior, but I say that it is time to question everything.