While emotions are typically cast as interferences with cognitive activity, appraisal theories view emotions as conceptually linked with cognitive judgments. This paper argues further, that we depend on emotional judgments to bring to consciousness significant facets of our everyday surroundings and to mark their personal salience. It is emotion, not cognition, that brings to consciousness the moral and spiritual aspects of life. Spiritual activity, as defined by Hay and Nye's (1998, p. 113) 'relational consciousness', is an emotionally intense experience. The attenuated emotional style of American life, which seeks to diminish emotional intensity, creates an obstacle to spiritual education. Indeed even the 'emotional intelligence' movement has generally worked toward controlling emotions, not experiencing them. Educators need to promote rich emotional engagement as a preparatory step toward developing relational consciousness. Classroom activities targeting the language of emotion, and the development of an integrated taxonomy of the cognitive and affective domains, could be part of a solution.
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