A Word to the Wise

“The beginning of wisdom is to desire it.”
- Ibn Gabirol (c.1020 – 1070), Jewish poet & philosopher

What a simple, yet incredibly powerful tool in our toolbox for living. Passed down to us in myriad forms throughout history, this gem is truly one of life’s most priceless instructional artifacts – one that we’re clearly intended to uncover no matter from where we hail or from what religious or spiritual tradition we’re taught. The inherent promise that comes with this is that to truly desire wisdom is to have it, and having it is to know depths of peace and joy beyond description. Sounds pretty good doesn’t it?

Here’s a small sampling of versions from other places and other times:

• “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.”
• “No one can fail who seeks to reach the truth.”
• “Everyone who asks, receives. He who seeks, finds. To him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

So what exactly is “wisdom”? The answer to that seems to depend on who is asked. There often appears to be conflicting viewpoints about what wisdom is because historically we insist on defining it from two distinct, contrasting thought systems – one intellectual, centered in the mind, and the other intuitive, centered in the human spirit. This conflict of perspectives is at the very root of why genuine wisdom seems so often to elude us and why we are repeatedly reminded of these instructions again and again and again throughout time.

Our intellect tells us that wisdom is an accumulation of knowledge acquired through sacrifice, extensive education and disciplined study. By this definition, wisdom becomes exclusive, available primarily to those with an aptitude for education, high enough IQs and who are willing to strive to achieve it. Our intuition on the other hand tells us that wisdom is a natural state of being, characterized by the demonstration of discernment and balanced judgment, guided by ever-deepening spiritual insight. By this definition wisdom is all-inclusive, available to everyone with a genuine desire to become aware of, and then practice, this natural state of being.

Furthering the perceptual divide, our intellect would have us be convinced that we come into this world as empty vessels, to become something by filling our minds with worldly or divine knowledge before we depart it in order to ensure we are among the winners and not the losers, the saints and not the sinners. By sharp contrast, our intuition gently reminds us that we both enter and depart this world entirely whole, that the experience of wisdom is the letting go of all beliefs we choose to make up and accumulate about ourselves while we appear to be here. It teaches us that wisdom is experienced in the practice of letting go of our “stories”… the letting go of everything that we are not.

What we cannot help but miss under the guidance of our intellectual thought system is that wisdom is always accompanied by humility, and humility is something our intellect is utterly incapable of grasping. Underneath all the vast layers of accumulated knowledge, human intellect would have us believe it makes us what we are, it differentiates us from all other life forms, even from our fellows, and it ultimately provides and decides our value as human beings. Humility, on the other hand, takes no issue whatsoever with simply saying, “I am as I was created, not as I have made myself to be.”

Intellect can certainly be a useful tool for navigating this world. It enables us to conjure up any destination we wish to travel to within our lives, be they physical, intellectual, emotional, philosophical or spiritual destinations. But, that’s just it… our intellect is a tool, and tools are intended to be of service, not to reign. It is our intuition that inspires to make the journey of our lives purposeful, joyful and peaceful – these are the attributes of wisdom. It’s in the conscious choice and regular practice of placing our intellectual mind under the guidance and service of our intuitive, spiritual self that the door to wisdom opens wide.

Even with all his intellectual knowledge, Albert Einstein in his wisdom and humility put it this way: “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” This gift is knowing that we lack absolutely nothing in our lives but the awareness of our own intuitive spiritual guidance. Here lies true wisdom.

Love and Light friends,

Patrick

Who Am I?

“Nothing is wrong with you, but the ideas you have of yourself are altogether wrong. It is not you who desires, fears, and suffers, it is the person built on the foundation of your body by circumstances and influences. You are not that person.”
- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897-1981), Indian spiritual teacher, philosopher and guru 

We sometimes neglect to realize that when we choose to identify ourselves by our stories, our past, we also inherently judge ourselves by them as well, which unconsciously can be a very heavy burden. Many of us, especially adults, have a host of past experiences that we would like to have handled differently where either we, or others, were hurt by our choices. Unresolved guilt and suffering from the past surfaces as prolonged depression, anger, restlessness, discontentedness in the present. This need not be. Why? Because the ideas we have about ourselves are altogether wrong… we are not our stories. We are not today merely the experiences we participated in yesterday, nor are we merely ‘what we do.’ Full realization and acceptance of this is the key to breaking the cycle of unconscious judgment and guilt that we pile upon ourselves. 

We often seem to get hung up in the “stories” of our lives. It’s as if by default we identify ourselves with these stories rather than actually taking the time to pause and contemplate who we are, right now… presently. The mere fact that we attach ourselves to a life “story” implies that we lean toward identifying ‘self’ as a collection of past experiences (past desires, fears, sufferings, mistakes, successes, etc.) rather than even considering the illuminating question, “Who am I?” In fact one could say we often literally have no idea how to answer this question honestly because instead we allow the mind to race off and list a bunch of things we “do” (things we began doing at some time in the past) rather than anything remotely related to really answering the question. All the things we do, all of them – including the role of being a parent, a child, an employee, a teacher, a member of the local church, the President of the United States – all are roles related to the stories we make up about ourselves… they don’t in any way answer the question, “Who am I?”  

So… “Who am I?” Am I the ‘me,’ the hero of my story that I’ve made up over this lifetime in a grand adventure called “my life”? No, I am not that person. I am the one who has quietly observed the story and watched the hero play his part all the way up to this moment now. I am as I was created, not as I have made myself up to be. I am the very same radiant light of life today that I was when I entered this world and I will remain just as bright when I leave it. I am that person, and so are you. Remember your light. 

~~~ 

Read more about Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj.

Can We Have a Word?

“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.” — Rudyard Kipling

The world would tell us that words are imbued with tremendous power – mightier than the sword – and capable of affecting great change in our lives and in the world. In actuality, words are merely symbols we use to attempt to communicate the thoughts and ideas that swirl around in the mind. It’s those thoughts and ideas swirling around in the mind that have all the power in this world – by them our perceptions of reality are projected, formed and reflected back to us. Still, words can certainly be used to stimulate this magnificent power of thought, so we ought to attempt to use them wisely, with great care and most definitely for the benefit of all.

For this post then, I thought it would be interesting, fun and hopefully helpful to contemplate different words we often hear related to our human belief system(s) and offer up some interesting, thought-provoking diversions from how Webster might define them. I’ll add to this list as inspired (archived here), and these will also appear on my Facebook page.

I hope you enjoy them, and invite you to comment as you’re moved to do so.

1. ac·cep·tance [ak-ˈsep-tən(t)s] n.: being at peace with what is as it is in the present moment without nurturing the thoughts that demand for something different
2. ar·ro·gance [ˈer-ə-gən(t)s] n.: when the mind is deceived into believing it actually has the ability to diminish the light of the spirit (see delusion)
3. de⋅lu⋅sion [di-ˈlü-zhən] n.: when the mind is deceived into believing it actually has the ability to diminish the light of the spirit (see arrogance)
4. e·go [ˈē-gō] n.: a deeply rooted, rogue thought system that hijacks the mind and keeps it distracted from remembering its source in order to deceive us into believing it is us; a relentless wish or dream to be or have something ‘else’ outside of all that presently is
5. e·piph·a·ny [i-ˈpi-fə-nē] n.: the enlightening discovery that you are what you seek (or in modern terms: “You are your search results” ~ Julia Angwin)
6. free·dom [ˈfrē-dəm] n.: when the mind no longer perceives itself as limited, sheltered or imprisoned within a body nor bound by space and time; when the mind is no longer deceived by the ego
7. hu·mil·i·ty [hyü-ˈmi-lə-tē] n.: a clear recognition of what and who we really are, followed by a sincere willingness to follow the guidance of the still, small voice within; the absence of ego
8. light (spirit, pure innocence) [ˈlīt] n.: the luminous core of our being which the ego vainly attempts to keep hidden from our awareness under dark, cloudy layers of guilt, fear and endless distraction – layers which dissolve away by following the intimate guidance of a gentle inner teacher
9. light·work·er [ˈlīt-wər-kər] n.: one whose function and purpose is to help light the way for others to seek and find their inner guide so they too can remember and perceive the light within themselves and in each other
10. mind (neutral) [ˈmīnd] n.: the energy and activating agent of spirit through which all creation occurs; the “law of gravity” that holds everything in this universe, from micro to macro, together
11. mind (deceived) [ˈmīnd] n.: the same energy and activating agent hijacked by ego through which all make believe occurs; the part of mind that has been deceived into forgetting its rightful function in creation
12. mind (healed) [ˈmīnd] n.: the mind that has been returned and restored to its true source; the mind that no longer plans on its own without seeking inner guidance and no longer attaches to specific predesigned outcomes
13. mir·a·cle [ˈmir-i-kəl] n.: the correction and translation of an ego-distorted misperception into another illuminating light along our path (requires translator/inner teacher)
14. open–mind·ed [ˌō-pən-ˈmīn-dəd] adj.: one who looks upon the world as a blank canvas without having to be the one with all the paint brushes; one who is willing to loose the world from all he/she thinks it is (see humility)
15. peace (of mind) [ˈpēs ] n.: complete freedom from the past coupled with the total absence of anxiety over the future (see acceptance); the absence of ego
16. per·spec·tive (right-minded) [pər-ˈspek-tiv] n: seeing that “the world is not done to us, the world is done by us” ~ Gary Renard
17. self–aware·ness [ˈself-ə-ˈwer-nes] : the experience of the fundamental truth that “I remain as God created me, not as I have made myself believe me to be”
18. self–help [ˈself-ˈhelp] n: the process of opening the mind, becoming wholly teachable and then accepting the realization that “I am already healed” regardess of what the body or world would say to the contrary
19. spir·it [ˈspir-ət] n: a thought and reflection of God in the Mind of God; the Love of God; the source and inspiration by which all creation occurs (see light)
20. suf·fer·ing [ˈsə-fər-riŋ] n.: “the fire in which the ego is eventually burned up” ~ Eckhart Tolle
21. sur·ren·der [sə-ˈren-dər] v.: to willingly give up the compulsion to choose or identify with the ego thought system in order to become free of the suffering that inherently results in following its choices and decisions
22. teach·er (within) [ˈtē-chər] n: the soft, inner voice that gently and continuously reminds the mind of its true source and function regardless of how deceived or hidden from itself it appears to be; the ever-illuminated bridge between spiritual truth and ego make believe; the translator of error into correction, darkness and discontent into light and peace
23. uni·ty [ˈyü-nə-tē] n.: one truth, one destination, countless highly individualized paths to it
24. will·ing·ness[ˈwi-liŋ-nes] n.: the desire, without reservation, to be open to and follow guidance beyond the limitation of one’s own thinking and limited perspective

That’s it for now. If there is a tinge of conflict with any of these definitions, perhaps mere variation in symantics is at the root – a seemingly common cause of conflict in our world. Words are just words, to be looked beyond for the underlying message… that’s the whole point. We could break down a whole lot of our ‘separation’ walls if we could learn to let go of our attachment to the meaning of words - like everything else in this world, they have only the meaning we give them based on our individual experiences along the path. Always allow room for inner translation.

In the end there is only one Word that is truly powerful, one that unites us in spite of all our beliefs of separation and judgments of our preceived differences. It continually reminds us from where we came like a beacon of light shining the way home. This Word is beyond definition, beyond the religions of men,  beyond human voice or ear and beyond all symbols. This is a Word that can only be spoken by the still, small voice within… a Word that can only be experienced. Be willing then to learn to find that safe, tranquil place inside where it’s quiet enough to experience it. Make this a priority in life above the distractions and shiney trinkets of the world and all else will fall gently into place. 

Love and Light Friends,

Patrick