“To attain knowledge
add things every day.
To attain wisdom,
remove things every day.
~Tao Te Ching
It is interesting to note that the deep, enduring wisdom traditions in human civilization have emanated from the lips of those who lived very simply, not from those who amassed fame, fortune or power. Is it not also true that as individuals, our most powerful insights, deepest understandings and profound shifts in consciousness come in quiet moments of uncluttered simplicity – while meditating, walking alone in nature, watching a sunset or a baby sleep?
Wisdom is a natural attribute of humans – we all have the potential to be wise. It is the noise and clutter in our lives that blocks our awareness of that inner wisdom. Being busy, overscheduled, and in a rush creates tension and anxiety, but also keeps us functioning at the very surface, rather than the intricate depths of life.
Perhaps that is why the elderly can sometimes seem so wise: they have slowed down and have plenty of time for reflection. In hindsight, they can discern what is truly meaningful and what is simply experiential ‘fool’s gold.” They cannot, however, change the past.
If we tune into our inner wisdom as we go along, we can ‘get it right’ the first time. Of course, there is no objective right way and wrong way, there are just varying degrees of fulfillment. At one end of the continuum are struggle, effort, stress, worry, and exhaustion; while at the other end is bliss.
Bliss is not a goal to attain, it is not the reward that comes at the end of a struggle, when we win, or when everything is the way we want it to be. Bliss is what is left when we let go of the machinations of the mind, and truly enter the moment, finding that precious still point.
When we have a sense of our ‘being-ness’ – become aware of the part of us that observes all of our actions and reactions – it is almost as though the ‘hum’ we hear inside of our heads – the sound of silence, resonates with the ‘hum’ the earth makes as it spins on its axis. At some level, we align with that the same way a baby in utero is ever conscious of the mother’s heartbeat. It is part of the matrix out of which its being has emerged, and tuning into that heartbeat after birth is infinitely joyful and comforting for the infant – blissful.
As adults, when we momentarily tune out all of the interference, finding that still point, it is like we tune in to the ‘heartbeat’ of the cosmos. We are just as much a part of that, connected to that, as is the fetus to the body of the mother. We are the cosmos, just as each molecule of water is the ocean. Each drop of water is informed by the totality that is the ocean.
Similarly, each of our souls is informed by the matrix from which it emerged – that same matrix that gave rise to the galaxies. We just have to become still enough to decode that information, quiet enough to eliminate interference and open enough to feel it resonate within our hearts and pulse through our being. When we can do that, we experience bliss, and in that moment, we are love. We are love because ego and all its trappings have momentarily fallen away, and without ego, there is only spirit… infinite wisdom….love: an elegant manifestation of the less being infinitely more.
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