WE ARE
EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HEAVENLINESS
+ This is the first of four posts on the style of The Way
of Wisdom as we complete exploring the practice of Heavenliness through the
lens of the 12 styles of the Mandala process created by Edward Bastian. Why only 4?
Because Wisdom is one
of the 9 Attributes
of Heaven which we will begin exploring when we get to SE297. Wisdom will come up as the third
attribute after we explore Abundance
and Joy.
+ The Sage embodies
the wisdom of a life fully-lived and the truths transmitted by profound
wisdom-holders throughout the ages.
·
Do you
long for the wisdom to guide your own life and help others?
·
Do you
yearn for transcendent insight into the true nature of reality?
·
Do you
aspire to the wisdom of the Buddha, Christ, Lao Tzu, Black Elk, Ramakrishna,
Muhammad
or Moses?
WISDOM IMPLIES a knowingness
of truths harvested from the totality of one’s life-experience. It surpasses
the knowledge gained through mere intellectual conceptualization and empirical
observation. It emerges from the synthesis of all our knowledge, gained
throughout our lives, through the combination of physical, emotional and
intellectual sources, infused and informed by perceptions that reach beyond ordinary
appearances and mental projections of reality.
There is a deep
reverence for Wisdom in many spiritual traditions, along with an implicit
assumption that all humans are capable of achieving it. Prajna is the Mahayana Buddhist word for Wisdom.
It connotes a direct perception of the Ultimate Truth—emptiness—which is an
unmediated knowingness that is not filtered by concepts and the senses.
In Buddhism, as in
some other traditions, Wisdom is associated with the Feminine, whereas the compassionate
method for applying Wisdom is associated with the Masculine. Sophia, the Greek word for Wisdom, was adopted by
Christianity to connote the knowledge of God that comes from a direct relationship
with the divine. Gnosis, also a Greek
word, has been used to connote a direct mystical insight and spiritual
knowledge of the divine. Hokhmah, the
Hebrew word for Wisdom, is also associated with the infinite knowledge of God
and connotes direct intuitive insight into the essence or truth of existence.
In Taoism, Wisdom is the quality of mind that is in harmony with the unnamable
essence of the universe.
-- Edward Bastian at the beginning of his chapter on the
Spiritual style of Wisdom in Mandala: Creating An Authentic Spiritual
Path: An InterSpiritual Process
+ I score high on Wisdom when I do the tool indicating
which of the twelve styles I prefer. The
tool is found in Mandala: Creating An Authentic Spiritual
Path: An InterSpiritual Process by Edward
Bastian. And, as I said, we
will soon explore Wisdom as
an attribute of Heaven. Hopefully, at
this stage of my life I can be a source offering many of those “truths
harvested from the totality of one’s life-experience.” I think it’s fair to say that this style is
expressed in a variety of ways in all of the 12 Spiritual practices, the 12
Spiritual Styles and the 9 Attributes of Heaven
we are exploring. I know you are wise
and that you want to keep growing and become even wiser.
+ The 12 styles of Mandala: Creating An Authentic Spiritual
Path: An InterSpiritual Process by Edward
Bastian are listed in SE206.
+ To get inspired and illuminated by Ed Bastian, I invite you to set aside some time for these videos: Seven Steps of InterSpiritual Meditation (11 minutes) | 15 minute introduction to InterSpiritual Meditation and the Mandala Process | 2 hour lecture & conversation
+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice. And, I have work to do on my Heavenliness page. Maybe you can help. Send an email with the subject “Heavenliness” or “Love” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.
+ You can always find a link to any of the
Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html
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