I have discovered that there are many bright minds in the world but few that consider themselves to be truly enlightened.
Wisdom, it would seem, comes slowly and in bite-sized morsels such that it is almost specialized. Like a discipline, say physics or chemistry or literature, there are many who have a piece of the puzzle (perhaps).
Integrating these pieces into one whole could arguably be said to be more difficult than finding that one universal general theory, theory of everything, that our scientists have sought since at least Einstein.
What is a person to do then, without a guide in all matters?
I urge you to listen to your own teacher—the teacher within. Listen to your own inner wisdom. Examine your experiences and you will find messages. Think of your life as a journey that is self-revealing.
What synchronistic events have you noticed and how many times have they visited your experience? When do you meet resistance? What are the reoccurring themes in your dreams? Etc., etc., etc.
We have all heard the statement, “The Kingdom is within.” We have all read about the idea of inner wisdom.
Still, it can be so simple that we make it difficult. Instead of checking in with our own guidance, that inner voice, we often give our power to someone else who tells us what to do and how to do it.
Confucius is credited with this statement, “By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.”
Learning by reflection is looking within. Wisdom by imitation can be tricky unless we are very careful about what we choose to imitate. Experience need not be so bitter if we look upon it appropriately.
For me, experience is a great teacher and what’s more, when I examine my life, it is experience that reveals those moments and miracles that confirm a higher reality.
Indeed, you can question who you are, whether or not you are in someone else’s dream, participating in a world of illusion and so forth. You can ask over and over again, “Who am I?” The one thing that’s certain is that you are an experience!
Life’s many teachers and resources are all pieces in the puzzle. They all have some specialty to contribute. What the puzzle means to each of us is within, and to that end, I wish you all a simply marvelous experience.
Eldon, I find your words both inspiring and thought provoking. I do find myself still questioning the ability to (as Confucius said) ‘find wisdom by imitation’. One wonders – how ever perfectly we imitate another without true understanding that which we imitate, becomes as the child who learns by rote but never learning how to apply it to ‘ solve the puzzle’. Maybe this brings us round again to question the nature of wisdom – do you think?
Susan
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Great thought about our inner wisdom.
I loved this! Thank you. My recurring dreams are of being a heroine and flying. I’m embarking on two years of work/travel sharing my gifts and flying around the world. Your inspiration gave me encouragement that I’m on the right track!