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Wisdom

As most of you know, I was an engineer. My personality, friends and family, training, experiences, and jobs lead me to be an engineer. Now I am a Mystic and looking back, I see that my search for Wisdom lead me from engineering to mysticism. So although talking about Wisdom is a difficult task, I feel that it is very important to try. Here is a joke that helps illutrate Wisdom. (Engineers usually have to tell people that they are going to tell a joke because we are often so serious that peope don't know we are joking.)

There was a man who had a talking dog. Not only could this dog talk, but also it was also very intelligent. Since the man lived alone, he and the dog often watched TV together and had long discussions. One day the man walked to the bank to get some cash and he took the dog with him. On the way back, he stopped at a bar. After a few drinks he happened to mention that his dog had said something about a current political situation. This stopped the conversation and the man had to admit the he had a talking dog. One of his friends found this so preposterous that it ended up in a $200 bet. So the man asked his dog to talk about what he liked on TV. The dog said nothing. Then he asked the dog to just talk about football. Still the dog said nothing. Finally the man asked the dog to say anything, but the dog remained quiet. So he had to pay the $200. He and his dog left the bar. Once they were outside the man angrily turned to the dog and said, “Why didn’t you say something?” And the dog replied, “Think of the odds we’ll get next time.”

I believe that his joke illustrates that the dog was not only intelligent, he was also wise.

 

What is Wisdom?

Wikipedia states “Wisdom is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight.” That sounds like a lot. However, years ago I learned a simpler definition that has really be useful for me. Wisdom is Knowledge plus Timing. This is very important for me because, like many of you, I have spent decades gaining knowledge through learning and experience, but my challenge can be realizing how important timing is. That is why I think that the dog in the joke was wise. He understood the importance of timing.

I found a Meditation class in 1977 that changed my life. It was taught by Carole Glenn’s mother, and it is a class that Carole continues to teach. In the class I met my Spiritual Guides. I didn’t believe in guides, but I soon found examples in my life that indicated that they really do exist. I was told that guides could change from time to time. That is, a guide that I had for awhile would leave and a new one would appear. One evening I decided that this was happening to me. Now I don’t really see much, but I can feel things. And I was not sure that this new guide felt right. So I flooded the area with Brilliant White Light and the guide disappeared. Now my “best guess” was that the guide was St. Germaine. So I concluded that St. Germaine was not the good guy that people thought and for decades avoided anything or anyone associated with him. Recently I was reminded in a reading (actually a channeling by someone I have come to trust) to use the Violet Flame of St. Germaine to dispel fear. When I questioned my relationship with St. Germaine, I was told that we were “like old drinking buddies.” That shocked me enough that I gave it a try and now consider using the Violet Flame to dissolve Fear as a very useful tool. This was at the time that I was dealing with The Cancer. For decades I had concluded that St. Germaine was an example of someone that was not for me. Now I realize that it involved timing. I had to be ready. Now I am ready.

Fear can affect so many things and using the Violet Flame allows me to dissolve Fear (at least temporality) and better use my intuition and other mystical tools. This is Wisdom for me, and perhaps it will be for you too.

Last Sunday, when I was getting desperate for material for this talk, I asked for help. Two people told me that a definition of Wisdom they liked was that it was Intelligence plus Love or Intelligence plus Heart. Now those may sound the same because we tend to equate the Heart with Love. However, I have learned that the Heart can be a key connection to Spirit. So to me, the Heart may also mean Intuition. Engineers use logic. Mystics use Intuition.

Keeping in mind that Wisdom is Knowledge plus timing, Intuition can tell me of the timing is right. Sometime I have the knowledge and before I say anything, I ask my Intuition if this is the right time. Sometimes the answer is no. So the wise thing to do is to say nothing.

My favorite words of Wisdom are quotes. These are usually short and concise. This makes them easy to remember. I have a list of sayings that have helped me and I add new ones as they come along.

Wisdom can also come in the form of stories and in many cultures, is a way that it is passed down from one generation to another. Sometimes the stores are made up and sometimes they come from real experiences.

Wisdom can become a part of our culture. For example, one wise saying is “priming the pump.” How many of you have ever primed a pump? I have and it was a very memorable experience. As I remember it, it was a hand pump at a campground. I needed some water and I found the pump, which was on the end of a pipe that went straight down into the ground, probably into a well. It was the classic hand pump with a long handle. I pumped and pumped but there was no water. Then I noticed a small container of water – maybe about a cup. Instructions by the cup said to pour it into the top while pumping to prime the pump. It also noted to fill the cup up again and put it back in place before leaving. So poured the small amount of water in and after a few pumps of the handle, the water came pouring out. It seemed like a huge amount, where before I was sure that the well was dry. There was far more water than I needed and it took very little to fill the cup. But now I was aware of how important that small amount of water was. It was a very vivid experience of what “priming the pump” means.

Kay and I were both raised in the city, but after we married we bought a farm and found out how powerful the old says were that came from farm experiences. “Eating like a pig,” or “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink,” took on a much more powerful meaning.

Finding Wisdom through our own experience is powerful. Especially Wisdom that is so powerful that it changes our perspective of Life.

 

When do we encounter it?

Anytime, any where, anyway. For example, it can be non-verbal.

It is important to Pay Attention; What happens in our lives is not random and we can miss Wisdom if we are not paying attention.

 

Why is Wisdom important?

One of my favorite quotes is, “Words point us to the truth, but they are not the truth.” In the same way, Wisdom can point us to the truth, but it may not be the truth. And of course what is Wisdom for us, may not be for someone else. This is why Intuition can be so powerful.

An important question that I learned is, “Can I learn this lesson without pain?” The Wisdom for me is that there are ways and when I ask the question, I open up to other possibilities. I really believe that I have avoided pain by seeking this answer at the right time.

Think of how much time we spend Learning. In our culture we spend many years in school. And what do we acquire? Knowledge.

But what we may really be seeking is Wisdom. Remembering the saying that Wisdom is Knowledge plus Timing, we probably really exhibit Wisdom after we graduate and have more time and experience. Don’t we equate generally Knowledge with school and Wisdom with aging?

 

How can we be Wise more often?

One way is to recognize Wisdom when it shows up. Those “Ah Ha” moments. And then it is important to remember it. Sometimes I find that I am better at remembering the times that I was un-Wise than the times I was Wise. So I work to remember the times Wisdom showed up.

Can you remember some Wisdom that you learned in the past? As a planner, engineer, Virgo, guy, I can really try to plan everything. One of my earliest memories is the title of a Church sermon when I was about 8 years old. The title was “Have you left room for God.” That is Wisdom that I am still learning. Sometimes I don’t recognize when God shows up.

Rev. Richard Levy once said, “It is not what I say that is important, it is what you hear.” And I would add, “What you remember.” When someone credits you with saying something wise, don’t correct them if they say something you don’t recognize. Remember what they remember is what is important to them. What you may or may not have actually said or what you actually did may not be as important.

Another way we can be wise is to spend time with others we find to be Wise. It is difficult to rise above your surroundings, so surround yourself with wise people. Personally this is one reason that I attend Church.

While I know that there is a lot on the Internet, much of it is not Wisdom and some is not even true. In a contest between Google vs. Spiritual Wisdom & Intuition, I will take the latter. I agree with what Annette Fourbears said years ago, “The spiritual traditions deal with the important questions and deep thoughts in Life.” Or at least that is what I remember her saying.

I want to share with you two quotes that have been really important to me. The first is from the book “Illusions” by Richard Bach. In the book, he calls God “The Is”. The quote is “The original sin is to limit the IS. Don’t.” I learned this in 1977 or ‘78 and noticed that we do this all the time. I try to remember this and not question where Wisdom comes from, and remember to always pay attention.

The second is from Buddhism; We are responsible for our Intention, but not the outcome.

My intention today is to remind myself and others of the importance of Wisdom.

 

Wisdom – Recognize it, Remember it, Seek it

 

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