This is the fourth in a series of six articles being published

during 2007 which may also be viewed online at

www.joyousness.org/articles.html

WISDOM
Wisdom is, in a sense, synonymous with light because it means the
opposite of ignorance, which we generally associate with darkness or
the absence of light.

How many of us are truly wise? Yet so many portray themselves to be

so, telling us that they have the answer. Today the internet is full of
so much rubbish by these “purveyors of wisdom” or by people who say
they are in touch with those who are extremely wise. It seems to be a
necessary qualification for such wise ones to be from another planet
or galaxy or to be an “ascended” this or that. Perhaps some of these
contacts are genuine but any such contact is limited by the
apparatus, perceptions and beliefs of those who interpret. Much of
what is purported to be channelled is, regretfully (or perhaps
thankfully), the product of over-stimulated imaginations or perhaps
part inspiration coloured by the conditioning of the “channeller”.

So where does that leave wisdom? How can we access it? Can we
actually know it and can someone else give it to us?

If wisdom is the absence of ignorance, then it means it can arise in us

when the darkness of ignorance is dispelled. But ignorance in this
sense is not dispelled by intellectual understanding, although that can
prepare the ground for us. Wisdom is the result of very hard work
over a very long period of time. Wisdom means overcoming ignorance
in all its guises and the initial ignorance arises as a result of
identifying ourselves as separate entities. As soon as the sense of an
“I” appears, the resultant ego ensures that clouds of unknowing
descend upon us, layer by layer, until we end up in the densest
delusion. And that is where we all are. The danger comes from
regarding any state of our delusion as real. Each time a cloud lifts a
little, our surroundings become a little lighter and then we may think,
“Ah, now I know.” In fact we don’t know anything and it is only when
we have a real glimpse of wisdom that we realise there is nothing to be
known.

Wisdom does not come as a result of learning – it comes as a result of

unlearning. In other words, it is only as a result of dispelling all the
clouds (which are our mental formations gathered over eons of time)
that wisdom arises.

Now, this means that wisdom is not something given to us by some

extraordinary “light being” on the Planet Zog or anywhere else. When
someone gives us teaching, or rather when we are receptive to
teaching, it means that a little cloud has gone or been dispelled,
allowing a little light from within to shine forth. The teacher does not
give us light; the teacher enables us to see the light that is within us,
that is already there. It is so important to realise this and if as a
result of reading these words you think, “Ah, yes,” that is all that has
happened. A little cloud has shifted allowing a little light to shine
from within.

Wisdom is available to all of us because it is within all of us. Like the

man who has diamonds buried under his land, all we have to do is dig
and clear away the dross. It is no use looking at the baubles our
neighbour has, no matter how bright and shiny they appear. They’re
of no use to us whatsoever.

So how do we acquire this wisdom? How do we clear away the dross?

By following our spiritual path if we have one. By loving deeply with
all our heart. By being true to ourselves and not being misled. By
being unconcerned about others’ mistakes and rather trying to
improve our own conduct, our own speech and especially our own
thoughts. The mind governs everything we do and only by purifying
our thinking processes, by living ethically and with a full, open heart
can we ever hope to uncover the wisdom that lies within. Each time
we remove a negative tendency within us, a little spark of wisdom
shines. May you have a life full of such sparks because wisdom is full
of life. Indeed, Wisdom is Life.

Andrew Marshall – July 2007