What is Emotional Intelligence?

    RIDGEFIELD PARK, NJ, December 23, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The difference between my concept of emotional intelligence and that of the two leading godfathers of emotional intelligence is as follows:

1) Salovey-Mayer: EQ is the ability to perceive, control, and evaluate emotions.

From the above definition of emotional intelligence it is clear that Salovery-Mayer are assuming that the individual's own emotions have to be objectively perceived, controlled and evaluated. This means that a higher emotionally intelligent self needs to be developed to manage the less emotionally intelligent self which needs to be perceived, controlled and evaluated. This assumes that man has this fixed basic animal human nature that cannot be changed and needs to be managed and controlled.

We have figured out that the so called fixed animal human nature is a product of the emotional baggage in the brain. This emotional baggage generated animal in us does not need to be managed. What we need to do is to get rid of this animal by clearing the brain of all emotional baggage.

2) Goleman: EQ comprises four steps: Self-Awareness, Self-Management ,which he has now grouped into Self Mastery, Social Awareness or Empathy, Social Skills or Relationship management.

In spiritual and religious circles it is common knowledge that emotional intelligence at the highest developed stage is none other than wisdom; which is supposed to come through self mastery. It is heartening to know that Daniel Goleman is now including self mastery as one of the steps of emotional intelligence.

Daniel Goleman is still way off from a clear cut definition of emotional intelligence. His latest book emphasizes 'focus' which is just one of the components/attributes of 'living in the now'. Each one of the steps that Goleman describes are nothing except the attributes/components of emotional intelligence. We wonder how many people after following his instructions have become emotionally intelligent. We are sure not many; simply because of the following factors:

a) He treats emotional intelligence as an independent, stand alone entity. Emotional intelligence is a by-product of the pure self; a self that is generated by an emotional baggage free brain. He is trying to explain and help create the smoke (emotional-intelligence) without explaining and helping to create the fire (an emotionally intelligent/healthy brain) that creates the smoke. It is the emotionally healthy brain that innately, effortlessly generates emotional-intelligence/wisdom.

b) The nature of emotional intelligence is exactly like a cake. A cake is made of sugar, eggs, flour, butter etc. So to make a cake what Goleman is saying is that we need to take the steps of making sugar, eggs, butter, flour separately and lo and behold we will have the cake/emotional-intelligence! This is exactly what man has been trying to do since the ancient times with little success. In the case of emotional intelligence each of the components are integral parts of emotional intelligence just as sugar becomes a property of the cake.

c) Emotional intelligence education is not about education because current emotional intelligence education educates the mind when it is the physical brain that needs to be rid of its emotional baggage. My guess is that Goleman does not even mention the emotional baggage; the fundamental factor that blocks emotional intelligence!

We Americans are the biggest consumers of illegal drugs. We consume 80% of the world's pain killers. We are falling behind in education, even in math and science. 20% of New Yorkers are living below the poverty line. 46% of Americans are dependent on some form of welfare. Inspite of Bloomberg doubling the education budget students have shown little improvement. The disaster list goes on and on and the bottom line cause is just the same for all this mess. We focus on educating the mind while mostly miseducating the brain and ignoring the emotionally ill brain.

The blame lies on our education leaders from President Obama and Secretary Duncan, to our Daniel Golemans who are still stuck on the same old same old mind education. Even though some experts have started mentioning brain education, they still try to teach the brain in the mind education way. The brain is a physical organ that works in biochemical processes. Current emotional intelligence education is like trying to educate a nitrogen producing machine to produce oxygen. The physical brain has to be nursed from sickness to health.

Emotional intelligence is an innate property of the emotional baggage free brain! Emotional intelligence is generated by an emotionally super healthy brain. Emotional intelligence education is brain therapy that rids the brain of the emotional baggage.

What we need is for our leaders to wake up to the seriousness of the current ignorance regarding emotional intelligence. Among other urgent steps we need an international conference on brain education and emotional intelligence.

The 4th R Foundation is a non-profit education research foundation that researches informal/emotional intelligence education, human nature, brain, mind, conscientiousness, self, wisdom, life coaching, adult reeducation, shyness, self image, emotional baggage, education for life, art of living and brain education etc.

# # #