Wisdom Where are You?

By Janice Chysler

What if today was the day you went on a search for a long lost treasure known as wisdom? Where would you begin your journey? At first you might want to find someone who has taken this trip before and learn from them; someone perhaps who has known this secret for centuries. In ancient India a person who was of great wisdom was known as a Rishi, which in Sanskrit is the word for “seer”. What made a Rishi so very wise was their ability to discern between what was the truth and what was an illusion. They would be heard saying “Neti, Neti”- which means “not this, not that”- as they pointed out the difference between what would be a momentary pleasure and true joy, real success and aimless goals, inner peace and living from ego.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have such wisdom? Perhaps we all do but we have not taken the time to discover it. Within each and every one of us is the great wisdom of all the past centuries and time yet to come if only we take the time to listen to our own inner voice. We were born with all the secrets of the universe in our very cells but it was as though when we took on human form this wisdom became buried. So your search begins with digging deep in order to uncover the mysteries of life and find your path. Too often we cannot hear this inner voice through the noise of daily life and feel overpowered by the efforts of others to distract us. Ultimately it is up to you to set time aside on a daily basis to be still and without judgment or ego hear our own wisdom. Through your meditations and prayers, you allow Spirit to come to you and awaken this connection to Source and unconditional love. When all things come from love, and you learn to recognize this, then you will know them to be true.

An illusion will only bring us that fleeting moment of pleasure you think is true happiness but truth, which comes from love, will bring you joy; a deep heart felt emotion that becomes part of your very being. In this fast paced society it is often too easy to get swept up in the movement and then defining between truth and illusion is all too difficult. Today you may be finding that many of the structures, programs and institutions that you thought were designed to help you are actually stopping you from your own inner peace as they are creating stress, frustration and anxieties in your every day life. Once you realize this you can step back and begin to sort out the differences- see the difference between spending time and time well spent, being busy and working with a purpose, momentary happiness and pure joy. In the words of Robert Holden (author of Authentic Success), “True wisdom is letting go of what is not valuable-“not this, not that”- in order to be with what is priceless. This wisdom is the basis of authentic success- it goes much deeper than cultural conditioning, advertising campaigns, social comparison, media pressure, and social fads.”

When you can be in a place where you put your judgments and ego on a shelf so you can objectively look at the bigger picture you will uncover what is true to you; it is here you will find your treasure. Most of the time if not all of the time this will demand a leap of faith and courage to step out of your comfort zone and into the sea of the unknown. Following that inner guide that keeps telling you to change, to move to listen and act all takes trust that the Universe will provide and look after you…not always an easy decision! Often others around you will wonder what you are doing and you may even begin to doubt your sanity at times but again, take the time to be still and really listen with your heart, not your head and the veils that divide the truth from the illusion will be lifted. Once you accept that you have inner wisdom, your world will look differently to you, your heart will feel the change and you will see that life is truly made up of limitless potentiality.