Giving Up Wisdom Insights October 2003

The first time I heard the concept ‘giving up wisdom’ I was taken aback.  I couldn't even consider parting with all my knowledge and experience because that would make me vulnerable.  And stupid.  It's a powerful and important concept that takes some explaining, and a new definition of wisdom.

Imagine that sometimes you go for a walk along a path, and somewhere on that path a tree root has protruded.  One day you stub your toe on that tree root, and it hurts.  Do you need pain in your toe to remember to step over the tree root? 

No, because you've learned your lesson.  If you walk on a different path and there are other obstacles such as rocks and fallen branches, do you need to stub your toe again to realize you should step over them? 

No, because you've learned your lesson.  If you walk on the familiar path, do you need to remember hitting your toe to remember to step over the tree root?  No, you don't even need the memory.  The fact is, you're a person who has learned to step over obstacles. You don't need the pain, or the memory.  You were changed by your experience, and now you are wiser.  As long as you're paying attention to where you are going, you don't ever need to stub your toe again. 

Here's where we run into trouble.  Most people define wisdom as the accumulation of experience.  The fact is, it isn't the experience that makes us wise, it is how we are changed by it.  Lots of times it takes more than one lesson for a person to learn.  That's okay.  Wisdom does not come from experience; it comes from being changed by what you have learned. 

Here's another key element:  every experience you've had is in the past.  Whether or not you learned a lesson, you were changed by the experience.  If something happens again, it is not the same experience because you are a different person.  You can never put your foot in the same river twice, as the saying goes, because the water has passed.  The river has changed.  You have changed.

If you are a different person, then the experience of past events is no longer valid.  Here's an example.  What if you decide which way to drive home based on traffic congestion, either the highway or the side roads.  Yesterday you decided the side roads would be faster, but construction made it awfully slow.  Does that mean the highway is a better choice today?  Nope. In fact, what happened yesterday has no bearing on what happens today.  The construction might be done.  You might find another route.  There might be an accident on the highway. 

Yesterday the side roads were slow.  That's all you know - you don't know anything about today.  Your information is obsolete because it belongs to yesterday.  How can you make a decision about which way to go?  That's where your intuition comes in. Make your best guess and go with it.  Trust your gut.

Giving up wisdom really means giving up the past.  It means learning to listen to your intuition, instead of trying to repeat the past.  No matter how smart we are, we can't know everything.  Intellect will not tell you if there is an accident about to happen on the highway. 

If you're not used to tuning in to your intuition, a simple exercise may help.  With practice, you can do it without the exercise so you can make intuition-guided decisions instantly. Start by picturing a bowl that sits in the cradle of your pelvis.  It can be any kind of bowl, plain or elaborate, of any material.  Notice that it is filled with fluid that has an inherent glow.  That's your lower dun tien or belly chakra, and what you're seeing is a pool of your energy.  The fluid may seem still or tumultuous, based on your emotional state.  It's a good idea to calm the fluid to help you tune in to your intuition.  One way to do this is to pour soothing light into the bowl.  In this place you are away from outside influences.  This is deep within your being where your truth can be heard. Use statements that are simply either true or false, because in the beginning those answers are the easiest to sense. 

A simple test would be 'It would be best for me if I drove home on the highway today.'  The response would be a feeling of rightness and comfort, or of discomfort or wrongness.  If it feels right, take the highway.  If not, take the side roads.  You can ask as many questions as you like using this method.  Be still, don't think, and let yourself feel a response.  In this place there is no intellect, it is what you feel.  Don't confuse emotional reaction with feeling an outcome.  Soothe away the emotions with a beam of light, still the fluid, and wait for the right or wrong feeling. 

Notice the way I phrased the statement.  I didn't say it would be quicker, I really asked what was best for me. 

It can be difficult to turn off the thought process and listen to my gut, but I've learned it is wiser than my brain.  Try it, you may surprise yourself.  You may decide to give up old wisdom and stick with being wise. 

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