The Way of Wisdom

This month, we are going to look at how to invite your Wise One Within to begin The Way of Wisdom.
 
I am fascinated by this journey. No matter where each of us begins, we are always at the same, meaningful place: HERE. NOW. THIS.
 
Read the attached and begin thinking now about YOUR BONES!

VIEW BETH'S READING

Welcome to the content of the Wisdom Path this month.

WATCH BETH'S VIDEO

VIEW BETH'S READING

So…. The introduction to the model is a bit dense, don’t you think?

Sometimes when we start new adventures, it feels like drinking out of a hydrant. And although I think that would be fun water to play in, I don’t think that I would have fun trying to drink from it!

This is the time to slow it down and play with it!

Pick one of these options and see what you discover.

VIEW BETH'S READING

The Wisdom Model is an abstract way of demonstrating how our inner knowledge and personal experience, when aligned, create an integration of the NOW each of us is experiencing moment to moment as we live our lives.

As you have explored the model….

1. What have you discovered that you know in your bones? Anything new or surprising?
   
   
2. What do you want to do with your bones given this inner knowing.
   
   
3. Do you feel called to something different to do?
   
   
4. What questions do you have?

So we have dived into the Wisdom Model.

The model is an abstract way of exploring the integration of WHAT WE KNOW deep in our bones and WHAT WE DO with our bones when aligned and integrated, allows for the WISE ONE WITHIN to experience life in the present moment.

Next month, our content is going to slow way down and focus on the KNOWING or KNOWLEDGE side of the ribbon.

We will be looking at the following:

• Inner Knowing.
• Your WHY.
• What you seek.
• The questions that you ponder or avoid.
• And the struggle to begin right where you are.

Hi dear friends!

I am writing this just before I embark on my journey to Spain, Portugal, Ireland, England and Iceland. I am very excited to explore these areas. A special treat for me will be the excursion to Ronda, Spain.

Back in the last century, the last millennia actually, I read a book by Nick Bantock. It changed my life and called me to my own version of making art. The book is entitled The Forgetting Room. It is a fictional story about a person who returns to a time in his life where his grandfather (an artist) was his mentor and guide. After many years and his grandfather’s death, he goes to Ronda, Spain to settle his grandfather’s estate, but instead discovers his own lost self. He comes to an inner knowing.

I will be excited to share what I discover as I walk those ancient streets to observe what my Inner Knowing is calling me toward. 

This will be our focus this month. In the chaotic and frenetic intensity of this time in the outer world, I am inviting each of us to slow down, listen, and explore what our inner knowing is telling each of us about how to live with quietude and dignity in this time of each of our lives.

Do you listen to what you know?

Do you value what you know?

How do you know?

“Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break. And all things can be mended. NOT with time as they say, but with intention. So go—Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is YOU.”     

 - LR Knost

We are continuing our exploration of the KNOWLEDGE  of our Wisdom journey this month.

My definition of Inner Knowing is a form of knowing that comes from within, a felt sense of certainty without conscious reasoning or thought. It is a quiet, but solid sense of guidance or understanding. It is a gut feeling. It is a knowing that is felt in the body. This knowing is based on experiential reality rather than external logical information. 

Ways to connect with that felt sense of Inner Knowing include:

1. Quieting the mind.  This is the singular most difficult thing I have ever attempted to learn and practice. My mind does NOT want to be quiet. If I were to be honest, I would say that my mind craves (and may be addicted to) the crazy, mindless noise of the world. No wonder connecting to Inner Knowing is so hard — you have to let go of needing “the answer” and problem-solving and the urge to look outside yourself to hear/see/feel the reality of what you already KNOW.

2. Paying attention. And this is a challenge as well. The older I get, the more I see myself dissolve into forms of ADHD that I never knew I had. Distraction. Distraction. Distraction. It is becoming more challenging “to keep my mind on things.” 

3. Trusting your Intuition. Why is it, I wonder, that we trust a random Internet site over our own felt experience and Inner Knowing? And yet, isn’t that how it works? Instead of settling down to quiet our minds and pay attention to what we already know, we are going searching for what OTHER has to say—and even though the information we have access to has nothing to do with us, we honor it more than our reality.

4. Practice. I know you know how it is when committing to quieting my mind. First, you must buy the Zafu meditation cushion, and then find the right meditation app, and finally plan for the perfect time with no interruption…. And then I don’t do it. Or better yet, I begin, and then get bored, or distracted, or overwhelmed. Suddenly, doing the laundry feels like a really good plan.

5. Patience. Yes. Patience. This is where the suffering begins. Don’t forget that the root word of patience is suffering—and no one really wants to sign onto that. I really believe I want to BUY a meditative mind. Isn’t that the big dark secret we have been sold? That we need something outside of ourselves to make us whole? Sadly, and believe me, I have tried. There is no book or website or class or Amazon product that gives you patience. You grow that yourself inside yourself.

When I ponder this part of the human condition, I always think of that verse in the Bible in Romans, “For I do not understand my actions. For I do not do what I want, but do the very thing I hate.”

What keeps you from quieting your mind and listening to what you know?

Here are two ways to connect with your Inner Knowing:

Walk.

For those of us who are not comfortable sitting and being quiet — one of the hardest practices on Earth — a walking meditation is useful. This can include parts or all of the following:

• Mindful movement. Pay attention to the sensations of your body as you walk. Feel the ground beneath you feet. Feel the rhythm of your breath. Feel the air on your skin.
• Present moment focus. When you feel yourself being pulled away from the awareness of your body and walking, redirect your attention back to the physical sensations of walking.
• Slowing down. Walk at a slower pace, and allow yourself to be present in the moment.

So, I looked up meditative walking and AI suggested the following:

• Begin with Awareness
• Start walking. 
• Incorporate breathing.
• Observe and redirect your attention.
• Find your rhythm.
• Enjoy the process.

Sit down for 3 minutes — anywhere, anytime — and breathe, with focus on your breath.

This is the quick way to begin. You don’t need to be in a quiet space. You do not need to have a pillow or certain clothes. You don’t need music or a timer or privacy. All you need to do is sit down and breathe.

Here are some questions to answer quietly within yourself and - if you wish - to share with our Wisdom Group:

1. What did you do to connect with your Inner Knowing? Did you feel resistance? How did you work through the resistance to connect with what you already know? 

2. What did you discover that YOU know? (Without needing the confirmation of OTHER.)

3. What did you discover to DO with what you know?

I am looking forward to meeting with you and exploring together where the Inner Knowing of our group takes us.

We are ready to talk about what knowing what our PURPOSE means in our lives.

I have found in the last few months….even years, I have been questioning my Purpose. I can speak about what I have always believed my purpose was, or what I believed it should have been. But the world has changed. I have changed. I am wondering how those changes have impacted my purpose. Or, even, has it?

We will be exploring PURPOSE.

Purpose:  The reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. The etymology goes back to an Anglo-French word meaning to intend or to propose. 

I think this will be an interesting discussion.

Welcome!

I am writing this from the Vesta, the Viking ship that is taking me on this wonderful voyage of discovery of not only the ancient lands of Iberia, but also the unexplored parts of myself. AND I discovered something new and exciting.

As we all aware, we are heading into the creation of PURPOSE in our lives. And I think for all of these years, I have understood PURPOSE in ways that no longer serve me. And it is a relief to discover this.

I think that I have confused having a purpose to having a goal. 

And now, I am seeing it a bit differently. Yesterday I was on a special tour to Ronda, Spain. It is an ancient city about an hour and a half away from the Mediterranean coast. I became familiar with it through a book written by Nick Bantock entitled The Forgetting Room. 

I first read this book in the late 90s. I found it in a sale bin and was drawn to the artwork in the book. The story is a tale about a man coming home to himself after the death of a beloved grandfather. The man had lost his way, and the inheritance of his grandfather called him back to Spain to settle his estate, but while doing so, he found a forgotten purpose.

At that time, reading this called me to art, to collage. It changed my life. 

When I saw there was a day trip to Ronda, Spain, where the story is set, I knew that I had to go. I had to see the bridge that was built in the 1700s that connected the old city to the new city. I had to stand on that bridge and see for myself what I would discover.

And so my tale begins.

The port at Malaga is huge. There were several cruise ships and tons of buses. I got on the wrong bus—I am not even sure how that happened. I never do stuff like that, but it did. So about two hours in, recognizing that I was in the wrong place, I decided to go by Uber to Ronda and to find my tour and join them. I just knew I had to get to Ronda. So after a 1.5-hour Uber ride, I was let off at the Old City.

It was nothing like what I thought it would be. It was big and crowded. I had thought it would be small and quaint. I thought there would be a tired center of the city, near the bridge, with maybe a church, a few shops, and a restaurant or two. WRONG. Many streets. Tons of people. No Viking tour in sight. (And I knew that I had to be back at the ship by 5p because it was sailing at 5:30. (Remember I am an hour and a half away).

And yet, I knew I had to get to the bridge. Something was both calling and pushing me there. And so, I walked. After several blocks of crowds and noise and confusion, I got to the street that held the bridge.

And guess what I found?

My Viking tour guide. Standing there with her sign up in the air as if waiting on me. It is a miracle that we ran into each other. But in that moment I knew I was not living a miracle. I was living my purpose. I trusted myself and I arrived exactly where I intended to be. It was a revelation. I felt it in my body.

There is so much more to the story of this experience, but suffice it to say, Ronda called me to trusting myself even when the path was confused or uncertain. What a learning for me—to trust myself and the universe. I find that I am not that trusting of either, and, just like being called to art, by the book about Ronda, I was called to be present to myself and steady with my intention—even when all was uncertain.

Even then, I was certain. And trusting that, I found a new possible world within myself.

I am discovering out more and more on purpose…
 
First, a tiny word study…. Purpose.
 
Definition: the reason for which something is done or created or which something exists; a person’s sense of resolve or determination.
 
Etymology:
 
      Old French (OF)
            Proposer—to put forth an idea or a plan for consideration or discussion; to put or set forth; to place. (See propose).
 
I have found that at this time of my life, in this chaotic, transitional time of life, I am searching for a purpose “for getting up in the morning” that has a depth greater than setting goals or making money. To be sure, setting and achieving goals is important. And we know, of course, that money is necessary. BUT, these are not necessarily meaningful engagements in life that call us to “a reason for being” or “the reason why you get up in the morning.”
 
So, for many years, I have been studying the Japanese concept of ikigai. This is the Japanese practice designed to create a healthy, happy life. It reflects one’s “reason for being.” In studying this more deeply, I have learned that the Ikigai Venn diagram was created by Marc Winn. He created this after watching a TEDTalk by Dan Buettner’s entitled How to Live 100+ and blogged about it on his webpage. It went viral. The Venn diagram went viral.
 
This Venn diagram of “ikigai,” it turns out, is a Westernized explanation of this very Eastern concept. From the perspective of the Japanese understanding of ikigai:

• It isn’t something you need to make money from.
• It doesn’t have to be something that the world needs.
• It isn’t something you have to necessarily love.
• It isn’t something that you have to be highly skilled or proficient at.

 “Japanese do not need a grandiose motivational framework to keep going, but rely more on the little rituals in their daily routines.”
                                                                  Ken Mogi
 
It is not that we have to deny the usefulness of the Ikigai Venn diagram, but instead of approaching it as a “fill in the blank”activity that will reveal the whole of life truth, it is possible to explore many perspectives of what this true meaning of life means to each of us.
 
In this time when it seems as if all is in flux, I know in my bones that people are yearning for purpose. It seems that the definitions of purpose, however, are changing. Or, maybe the more apt understanding is that what used to be satisfying and “purposeful” in our lives is no longer sufficient. WE yearn for a deeper and more meaningful way to be engaged within ourselves and with others.
 
In the next few months, we are going to explore the depths of our purpose or purposes. Not as a goal or an outcome, but as an experiential reality that brings and meaning to each day or our lives.

Well, this is like jumping into the deep end without “floaties,” isn’t it?

For so long, we have been told what the “correct” or “safe” purposes of our life. And I have, and I believe, each of us has worked hard to fulfill those purposes. You know them:

• Work hard.
• Get a good job, a college education, a good partner, a home with a white picket fence…….
• Make money.
• Make sure the kids are “successful.”

I know we have worked hard. And many good things have come of this work. It is nothing to be ashamed of. But as we sit together, we find that it is no longer “enough.” So now we allow ourselves to explore more deeply, more intentionally, more personally…..

1. As you think about your purpose, your reason for being in the past, what was it? How did you come to it? How has this purpose impacted your life?
2. As you think about this purpose of the past and its impact on your life, what do you discover about its meaning to you now?
3. As you ponder purpose now, what comes to you?
4. What is a possible purpose for you now, in this season of your life?

We are beginning our work around purpose.

It is a time when our old sense of purpose no longer feels satisfying. It seems that often in the past, there has been a conflation of “purpose” and goals or outcomes. And I can attest that before now, I was comfortable with setting goals or outcomes as my purpose. It felt quite 1990s normal to do so. It was even satisfying.

Now, I am challenged to move deeper into my purpose or “reason for being.”

1. How do you define purpose if it is not an outcome or a goal? Have you ever attempted this?
2. What are the things that you are called to in this time of your life? Are they purposeful?
3. Are you able to trust your purpose? Has there ever been a time when you have been able to trust your purpose?
4. Have you connected your purpose with your inner knowing?