Our spiritual intelligence quotient(精神智商), or SQ, helps us understand ourselves, and live fuller, happier lives.

    Though we're all born with SQ, most of us don't even realize that we have it. Fortunately, you don't have to sign up for classes to learn how to improve your SQ. Here are some simple steps that can lead you to this new level of understanding.

    Sit Quietly. The process of developing spiritual intelligence begins with solitude(独处) and silence. To tune in to your spirit, you have to turn down the volume(强度) in your busy, noisy, complicated life and force yourself to do nothing at all. Start small by creating islands for silence in your day. In the car, instead of listening to the music, use the time to think. At work, shut the door to your office between meetings, take a few breaths and let them out very, very slowly. Enjoy the stillness in your home after the kids are finally in bed.

    Step Outside. For many people, nature sets their spirit free. Go outside to watch a beautiful sunset. If you are walking with the dog, take the time to admire flowers in bloom; follow the flight of a bird and watch clouds float overhead.

    Ask Questions of Yourself. Ask open-ended questions, such as ‘What am I Feeling? What are my choices? Where am I heading?'

    But don't expect an answer to arrive through some supernatural forms of e-mail. ‘Rarely do I get an immediate answer to my question,' says Reverend Joan Carter, a Presbyterian minister in Sausalito, California. ‘But later that day I suddenly find myself thinking about a problem in a perspective(角度) I never considered before.'

    Trust Your Spirit. While most of us rely on gut(本能的) feeling to realize danger, spiritual intelligence pushes us, not away from, but towards some action that will lead to a greater good.

    After I visited my elder sister's house, I was reminded just how different the apartment living with a child was. She has a nice big house with a few floors, a big backyard and lots of toys. Her house is my son Tom's little piece of heaven. At her house there are little toys, big toys, a doll house, a play house and more! There are bedroom stocked with train tables, ride-on toys and big trucks.

    The main difference about being an apartment mom is that you cannot become a collector of “things”. I continually get rid of anything too large. When Tom was born, we made a rule that there would never be any stuffed animals in our apartment that were larger than him at that time. We also made a rule that we would only ever have at most five stuffed “anything” at one time. So far this had worked out well for us. These rules left Tom with a few special soft creatures to play with, but that can be easily put away.

    Since we want to keep the appearance of being clean city dwellers, we have limited Tom's play things to one toy basket in the main living space and one big storage bin in his bedroom. I am constantly thinking about living space when I buy anything for our little Tom. We love the storage bin in Tom's room. It is filled with fun play things. It is a place to keep his toys and everything gets pulled in and out daily. Anything that doesn't fit is often weeded out to create space.

    Tom absolutely likes going to his aunt's house and pulling out every single toy available to him. Of course, Tom does not notice that when he returns home he only gets one basket of toys instead of many rooms of toys. Right now Tom lives fully in his 1,100-square-foot apartment and seems very satisfied with his basket of toys.

    “When your mother scolds you, you can look elsewhere and think about other things. Just ignore her words. But remember: such a tough attitude cannot be used often.” These words are from a series of cartoons which outline skills for children to fight against their mothers. The images have created heated debate among Chinese netizens（网民）.

    Regarded as “a book for children aged 6 to 12 who are always scolded by their parents”， the cartoons, drawn by two 10-year-old Beijing girls, list over 20 skills which children can use to deal with their mothers' anger such as crying, pretending to be ashamed, fleeing into the toilet and pleasing her afterwards. Each skill is described with vivid pictures and humorous notes. The creativity of the young girls has amazed netizens, the Yangtse Evening Post reported on Thursday.

According to one of the girls' mothers, her daughter once received a poor mark in an exam, and the mother blamed her and compared her performance with another classmate. The daughter's feelings led to her creating the cartoons. The girl's father, who first posted the pictures on his Sohu Microblog on Monday, said he hopes parents pay close attention to the pictures, allow children to feel free to develop their own characteristics and try not to criticize them so often.

“The cartoons, although an individual case, reflect a modern phenomenon and some of the problems within Chinese family education,” said Yu Qinfang, an expert on family education. According to a survey of 104 children and their parents, Yu discovered that as many as 51.9 percent of primary school students hate being urged to do things by their mothers. “Not giving children enough time and hurrying them to do things seems to be a very tiny detail within family life, but it is potentially a huge problem which can easily be ignored by parents. A mother's blame may lead to negative feelings within her child's heart,” Yu said. “Parents should learn to blame less and be more patient.”

    Growing roses is quite a difficult task without knowing the right way. If you are attracted by the beauty of roses and need some tips for growing them, read on for some tips about taking care of rose plants.

    You have to buy a good plant, preferably around two years old.

    While most rose plants can tolerate around six hours of sunlight every day, some varieties need eight hours of sunlight exposure. The shade-loving roses need only four hours of sunlight every day.

    You will have to soak (浸泡) the roots overnight before planting. If you plant them in a container, then the watering should be done daily, whereas garden roses need water once or twice a week.

    The next point is the application of fertilizer (肥料),which is mainly needed by rose plants in containers. Most of the varieties do not need fertilizer, as they can feed on the nutrients that exist in the soil. There is no need of fertilization during November and December, and the frequency of fertilization can be reduced in summer, especially after April. It can be restarted in September and has to be increased during the growing periods.

    Cutting the stems promotes the growth of the plants and also aids flowering. It should be done regularly to remove dead or diseased leaves and stems.

    Rose plants can be successfully grown by beginners too! With some care and consideration, all your efforts would definitely be worth it once you smell the fragrance of beautiful roses.

    These days, people who do manual (体力的) work often receive far more money than people who work in offices. People who work in offices are frequently referred to as "white-collar workers" for the simple reason that they usually wear a collar and tie to go to work. Such is human nature, that a great many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the honor of becoming white-collar workers. This can lead to curious situations, as it did in the case of Alfred Bloggs who worked as a dustman for the Ellesmere Corporation.

    When he got married, Alf was too embarrassed to say anything to his wife about his job. He simply told her that he worked for the Corporation. Every morning, he left home dressed in a smart black suit. He then changed into overalls (工作服) and spent the next eight hours as a dustman. Before returning home at night, he took a shower and changed back into his suit. Alf did this for over two years and his fellow dustmen kept his secret. Alf's wife has never discovered that she married a dustman and she never will, for Alf has just found another job. He will soon be working in an office. He will be earning only half as much as he used to, but he feels that his rise in status (身份；地位) is well worth the loss of money. From now on, he will wear a suit all day and others will call him 'Mr. Bloggs', not 'Alf'.

China's taijiquan, also known as tai chi — a major part of the amazing {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (open) ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and represented by numerous practitioners worldwide —{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (add) to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on Thursday. On its website, UNESCO described the cultural icon as "a traditional physical practice characterized by relaxed, circular movements that can be used {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (adjust) breath besides cultivating an honest and neutral (中性的) mind".

"Their inscription onto the list showed the unique value of intangible cultural heritage on people's health and {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (sustain) development," said Wang Chenyang,{#blank#}5{#/blank#}inspector from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism who is in charge of the work related to intangible cultural heritage.

Taijiquan, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} originated during the mid-17th century in Wenxian county in Jiaozuo, Henan province, is practiced almost {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (day) throughout the country by people of all ages and ethnic groups, according to UNESCO's website. {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (influence) by Taoist and Confucian thought and theories of traditional Chinese medicine, the practice has developed {#blank#}9{#/blank#} several schools or styles named after a family or a master's personal surname, such as Chen style or Yang style.

They are passed down through clan-based transmission or the master-apprentice model, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} built upon the yin and yang cycle and the cultural understanding of the unity of heaven and humanity, UNESCO said.