Wise up!

We often speak of wisdom, however, as though it is solely a byproduct of aging and life experience. Look at these definitions:

 

 

 

What if, contrary to popular belief, you could learn wisdom? What if you could undertake a course of study and practice designed to make you wise, or at least noticeably wiser than you are today?

 

Here's one approach, suggested in a recent post at the Center for World Spirituality. I'll summarize the five main points that such a course of study might include:

 

Show up. This is a simple one: give of yourself, in all your glory, as a member of a community of creatures, human and non-human, that are participants (witting and unwitting) in a remarkable unfolding of consciousness that, even if not unique in the universe, is pretty rare and precious. No more hiding your Unique Lantern beneath a bush!

 

Wake up. This is the process of discovering, on the one hand, one's true nature as an interconnected part of a greater whole and, on the other hand, one possessing a unique perspective. The discovery involves the uncovering of one's unique gifts, unique obligations, unique place in the Kosmos.

 

Grow up. We actually can facilitate the aging process, at least in terms of moving through the stages of adult development. The development of consciousness awareness over the life span is something that proceeds at a pace determined by a number of elements, some of which are in the control of the individual. 

 

Lighten up. By definition, we are not aware of what Jung called our shadow. Each of us has relegated a part of Unique Self to the dungeons of the unconscious. Shadow work is designed to open the doors of these dungeons, therefore, offers the promise of discovery of important aspects of ourselves that we have long hidden from view.

 

Open up. This is nothing more or less than learning how to love. The core acts of loving -- to hold a loving perspective, to remain open in the face of pain or discomfort, and to be giving -- are not easy to maintain day to day. 

 

Each of these activites has a set of tried and true practices that foster their respective goals. That being the case, we find ourselves with a choice: will we let wisdom come to us by accident, trusting that other people and forces will lovingly provide us with all the lessons we need to gain wisdom? Or, on the other hand, will we decide to bring our current level of consciousness to the task of developing wisdom?

 

Life, with or without our collaboration, will continue to hand us the lessons that will foster the development of wisdom. Our decision is whether we will participate in the design and implementation of the curriculum.