Wisdom
Wisdom is more than mindlessly accepting this world and everything in it, or adapting your self to the level of the lowest common denominator in society. Wisdom is a form of divine inspiration. A person practices listening to Truth — within themselves — and comes to recognize the wisdom of the heart, the voice of God, the still, small voice (or, at times, a louder voice). Wisdom is the opposite of living in ignorance, which is the common condition of people in this world. So, true wisdom is quite rare.
You just know, this is Wisdom. This comes from beyond the world, beyond things I may have learned in my education, things that the majority of people in my society might agree upon. Wisdom is the voice of Spirit, assuming power over the world and its lies. Wisdom is a recognition of the Light of God, showing us a way, making a Way for us, revealing to us what we need to know, now.
Wisdom is not wordly knowledge. You can't get a degree in wisdom.
And, the more mature you are spiritually, the more wisdom you have, the less you may be able to share with people you know. Sure, lots of people know and memorize and can spout chapter and verse from the book. But, they have no capacity to discern the truth from the lie. They have absolutely no idea that much of the Bible is written by Satan. So, they believe everything. Is that wisdom? Being unable to tell truth from lies, or good from evil, or light from darkness, or the True God from Satan? And if you dare to say that every word of the Bible is not the word of God, they will hate you as the devil. Satan could not be happier about this. This is what he has done with organized religion, which is ruled by ignorance, unawareness, dogma, indoctrination, corrupt authority, materialism, profit, and evil. Is this "wisdom"? No it's the work of Satan.
So many religious leaders imagine they have wisdom, but they are just religionists, modern day Pharisees. They may have every word of the Bible or other scripture memorized or on their lips, but Truth is unknown to them.
"Wisdom is only found in truth." — Goethe
If you do not think that inner truth — Wisdom — is perceived as the most extreme danger by society, just look at the lives of Jesus Christ, Moses, Manichaeus, and others. Wisdom — seeing and expressing the truth from within — is despised by the evil ones, the powers-that-be. It is ironic that the church would burn at the stake and torture countless men, women, and children who did not accept the evil programming and lies of the church, or who happened to have a mind of their own. "Saint" Thomas Aquinas established the doctrine of the divine "goodness" and holiness of burning people to death. "Saint" Augustine established the doctrine of the divine "goodness" and sanctity of war and slaughter of the innocents. They, and many others, reversed the teachings of Jesus.
The Apostle Paul brought back the biblical "god" of vengeance and judgment to replace the true teachings of Jesus with the very falsehoods Jesus had set aside. Making his own opinions, intellectualizations, and false claims of authority absolute, Paul set the precedent for all wrong-minded, delusory, corrupt doctrine handed down through the church — including the absolute contempt for women. Over time, all the deeper wisdom and love and Light of Christ was replaced by dogma, doctrine, and corrupt authority by the church. The same church would crucify Christ Himself, today.
To be sure, Jesus asked people to find the Truth, the Light, and the way to God, within them, in their spirit. One thing He surely said, was that His Kingdom was not of this world. How many religionists are endlessly raising money from their congregation, and busy working at establishing their own church kingdoms today?
The Truth has the power to shatter illusions and destroy evil
Wisdom is found within, not in the outer world. Wisdom is a spiritual quality, not a product of book learning; it is an appreciation, acceptance, and alignment with the truth. What passes for wisdom in the world is often just the false intellectual superiority of the egotistical, the worldly (and monetary) success of the materialistic or the self-righteous delusions of religious fanatics who have memorized everything but know nothing. Evil people — especially the ones who lead us — do not have the inner essence of Wisdom, regardless of their level of intellectual sophistication, cunning, self-absorption, skepticism, logic, or "success" in the world. Wisdom is none of these things.
Wisdom is, very simply, turning within to know the Truth of things.
Wisdom is a rare thing in this world. In the past, various cultures referred decisions to their older wise men (or women); they understood how the young tend to be ruled by ego, emotion, ambition, and delusions of knowing everything. They realized that it took time for a person to overcome the influence of the world, to learn to be wise. Nowadays, everybody's opinion passes for truth or wisdom; our institutions promote their own self-centered agendas in the name of truth. Finding any evidence of wisdom in the world is uncommon, even in our technologically "advanced" society.
Unfortunately, the more our society "advances," the more materialistic illusions of fulfillment we are being sold. And, in the process, we become less aware of how to find what we truly need — or even who we are — within us. We mistakenly take our identity from the world, from what we have, from what we do, rather than who we really are. This is the difference between living a material or spiritual existence.
Ego reigns supreme. People are more unquestioning, unaware, and satisfied with themselves these days, in their illusions. They congest the popular culture, avenues of communication, the media, the educational system, and every means of gaining knowledge, and run slipshod over the truth. Wisdom is not mindlessly accepting this world and everything in it, or adapting your self to the level of the lowest common denominator in society. Wisdom is an uncommonly clear awareness of Truth inspired by the inner spiritual being, which discerns between good and evil, truth and lies, right and wrong. This means thinking for your self.
The majority create a herd mentality, an environment in which you are made to feel much more comfortable conforming than rejecting the popular thinking. It makes you doubt your self or your inner knowing. In time, they may succeed in making you just like the rest of the herd. But, something inside you says, "I'm not like the others. It matters to me to know the truth. I want to know." This is the beginning of wisdom. Wisdom comes from drawing upon one's inner conscience, one's inner light, one's inner awareness. Wisdom requires inner awareness, not a lot of book learning or external programming. Is this surprising? If so, why?
"As for me, all I know is that I know nothing." — Socrates
This remarkable statement, by a knower of Truth and the Greater Reality, reveals the basis of Wisdom. Those who have little ego and few illusions realize: what is known in this world, no matter in what detail, is often quite meaningless and worthless. The rather false world we live in is illusion built upon illusion, untruth built upon untruth, ignorance layered upon ignorance. Knowing that is wisdom. Believing everything you see is nothing more than living a lie.
Socrates realized, one might know a great deal about the world, the "objective" agreed-upon reality, and still not know Truth. Knowing that — in itself — is realizing the Greater Truth.
