Accessing Your Inner Wisdom – How to Recognise the Truth
The phrase "inner wisdom" may seem at first sight to belong to the esoteric school of thought. But it is not confined there. It may be translated into the world of Christian thought simply by rephrasing it as "recognising the voice of God". "Wisdom," we are told by King Solomon in Proverbs begins with "the fear of God". And also the followers of Plato, who influenced Solomon's thinking, said the greatest wisdom is "to recognise one's own ignorance of the divine".
Much more recently wisdom has been defined as a combination of knowledge, experience, discretion and intuitive understanding along with a capacity to apply these qualities well towards finding solutions to problems. It seems mind and spirit working together in harmony produce insights often expressed through intuition. Carl Jung investigates this in his book "Psychology and Religion."
Alexander Dumas summed up wisdom as "wait and hope". And certainly anything which causes us to pause and reflect must be good, since the greatest mistakes are often made in haste. Although of course we must balance this with the need to listen to that first prompting of our intuition and be ready to act on it.
Sometimes we find our opportunity to pause and reflect by being in "sacred space." Certain physical places have a sacred meaning and a corresponding psychological reality for us. I find this intriguing, and have explored many such spaces. It can be helpful to go on retreat to one of the many retreat houses in England – or to enter a cathedral or monastery – or of course to go for a long walk in a wild and beautiful location, preferably with water in it. It has been said that the best exercise for mental and psychological wellbeing is "green and blue exercise" involving both green open space and a river, pool, lake or the sea.
For instance let us look at some renowned locations in England where people have felt they are are in touch with something bigger than themselves – a sense of the numinous. One of these is the Chalice Well Gardens in Glastonbury where all faiths are welcome.
In these gardens there are several examples of sacred spaces: pool, stream, tree, fountain, well, sculpture, flowers, spring, stone. All of these work symbolically or metaphorically to express a place where we may be or a situation we may encounter in our lives, that we could probably all recognise from our own experience.
Somewhere I used to go regularly when I lived in London several years ago was Kensington Gardens. I would walk through the Italian Garden and along by the Serpentine, always pausing for a long time by the Peter Pan statue to watch the ducks. This was a frequent aid to reflection and contemplation. Even now when I revisit Kensington Gardens I feel a sense of joy and tranquility – as long as it's not the tourist high season, of course!
Another good place for reflection and contemplation is Cheddar Gorge. There you may encounter several "sacred spaces" – cliff,caves, underground river,spring,threshold,steps – yes, even sculpture, but in this case created by the action of water on stone over millions of years.
You may have your own "green and blue" place you go to for reflection, which helps you see life in perspective. If so, you're already on the right path to seeing your way through whatever problems life holds – and towards possibly glimpsing the truth.
S.C. Skillman is the author of exciting new psychological thriller novel "Mystical Circles". The word "mystical" in the title is used ironically to mean "mysterious behaviour, events that keep you guessing, and people playing at cross purposes". If you are interested in people and their foibles you will enjoy this book. You can buy the novel on Amazon and through the Kindle Bookstore or visit the author's website to find out more. Click the secure payment gateway to buy a signed copy at http://www.scskillman.co.uk.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6519612
