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The Heart-Centered Way: Embody Divine Law for Authentic Living

In a fragmented world where decisions pull you in every direction—scheming strategies clashing with visceral drives and fleeting emotions—the heart-centered way invites you into the transformative rhythm of Divine Presence.

As Jeremiah 31:33 declares, God promises to inscribe His Divine Law not on stone tablets, but deep within your heart, unlocking authentic living as a flow of embodying faith that reshapes your core. Crucially, this isn’t rigid rule-keeping; it’s an inner transformation fueled by the Holy Spirit within, granting spiritual freedom to navigate life’s complexities with coherence and joy.

Drawing from the wisdom of Psalm 119’s honey-sweet meditation and 2 Timothy’s equipped endurance, we’ll explore how this New Covenant blueprint harmonizes your God-given centers—mind, spirit, and drive—for decisions that sow abundance and ripple love outward.

The Promise of Divine Presence: Awakening to the New Covenant

The prophet Jeremiah stood at the breaking point of a nation. Israel and Judah were in exile, a consequence of continually breaking the covenant God had established through Moses. That covenant—etched onto stone tablets—was a good and perfect law, yet it remained external. As a result, it was a law you could fail to keep, leading to cycles of obedience, failure, and punishment. The law was out there; the problem was always in here.

However, Jeremiah offers a vision of divine reset, a New Covenant that is unlike the old. God says: “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant… I will put my law within you, and I will write it on your heart; and I will be your God, and you shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:31-33).

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This promise is the ultimate invitation into Divine Presence. It’s not about geography or temple rituals; it’s about intimacy. God moves the legal center of the universe—His governing Divine Law—from a scroll locked away in an ark to the deepest core of your being. Consequently, this is the difference between obeying a rulebook out of fear and aligning your very desires with God’s will out of love.

The shift means that knowing God is no longer a privilege of the few—a priest or prophet—but an intuitive reality for you: “for you shall all know me, from the least of you to the greatest” (v. 34).

Moreover, the New Covenant is God’s revolutionary act of grace, promising not only an inscribed heart but also full forgiveness: “I will forgive your iniquity, and remember your sin no more.” This foundational grace is what makes true inner transformation possible.

You are freed from the paralysis of generational blame (“The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge,” v. 29) to take ownership of a life now written and defined by God’s love and presence.

From Exile to Inner Transformation: Your Blueprint for Spiritual Freedom

This shift from the external law to the heart-inscription is God’s blueprint for spiritual freedom. While the old law was a schoolmaster, pointing out our failure, the Divine Law written on your heart through the New Covenant is an embodying faith, empowering you to succeed.

Imagine a sophisticated navigation app: the old law gave you a paper map that was always getting lost or ignored. By contrast, the Divine Law is the GPS installed directly in your consciousness. It updates in real-time. Therefore, it doesn’t just tell you when you made a wrong turn; it guides your step before you even take it.

The result is spiritual freedom—not the freedom from all rules, but the freedom to live fully into the loving intent of the Law. Ultimately, it transforms rigid obedience into flowing, authentic living. This inward law, powered by Divine Presence, becomes the core operating system of your life, harmonizing the chaotic signals from your mind, heart, and gut into a single, coherent response. It turns following God from a stressful performance into a peaceful, heart-centered living that is guaranteed by grace.

The Holy Spirit within: The Power to Live an Embodied Faith

The profound promise of the Divine Law being inscribed on the heart immediately raises a critical question: How is this massive inner transformation achieved? The simple, divine answer is the presence of the Holy Spirit within.

The New Testament makes it clear that the Holy Spirit is the active agent who writes the Law of God onto the new heart (Romans 8:4-6; 2 Corinthians 3:3, 6). If the new covenant is the blueprint, the Holy Spirit is the master architect and builder, shifting your core from a self-serving mechanism to one capable of embodying faith—a practical, daily living-out of God’s presence.

Furthermore, this embodiment isn’t just a mental assent; it is fully integrated. Paul reminds us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit within (1 Corinthians 6:19), implying that your very physical design is meant to facilitate a life of Divine Presence.

This truth—that God empowers transformation through your embodied experience—is powerfully illuminated by the modern framework of coherence, drawn from multiple Brain Integration Techniques (mBraining). This model posits that you possess three distinct intelligence centers, often called the “three brains”:

  • Head (Cerebral Cortex): The center for Cognitive intelligence (analysis, foresight, strategy).
  • Heart (Intrinsic Cardiac Nervous System): The center for Emotional/Relational intelligence (values, compassion, connection).
  • Gut (Enteric Nervous System): The center for Instinctual/Mobilizational intelligence (core identity, self-preservation, drive).

Therefore, the constant chaos in your life often stems from these three centers “voting” against each other: a head-led plan ignores the heart’s empathy, or a gut-led reaction overrides the head’s wisdom. Ultimately, the Spirit-led life, the life of authentic living, is one where the inscribed Divine Law leads these three centers into coherence.

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The Holy Spirit within works within this triune system to align your thought, feeling, and drive. He ensures that your head meditates on truth (Psalm 119:97), your heart is anchored in love, and your gut is propelled by boldness Over fear (2 Timothy 1:7). The rest of our journey will explore this harmony, proving that the Law on the heart is not an abstract spiritual concept but God’s practical toolkit, enabling a robust, heart-centered living for every corner of your world.

Heart-Centered Living in Action: Coherent Decisions Across Your World

Heart-centered living is not a passive, mystical state; it is a coherent state of being that produces effective action. It is the practical outworking of the Divine Law written on your heart, resulting in Generative Wisdom—the kind of wisdom that integrates foresight (Head), compassion (Heart), and conviction (Gut) to actively create positive outcomes.

When your three intelligence centers—the logical head, the relational heart, and the instinctual gut—are aligned by the Holy Spirit within, your decisions cease to be fragmented. This immediate benefit means you move from the paralysis of confusion to the flow of authentic living. This coherence yields Generative Wisdom—a dynamic process where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, allowing you to sow abundance where scarcity once reigned.

The promise of Jeremiah is that this alignment, this inner transformation, is available to you wherever you are. Therefore, your calling is to allow that inscribed law to inform your daily rounds.

Let’s look at how this coherence manifests across various aspects of your life, transforming mundane activities into acts of embodying faith.

Divine Wisdom at Home: The Heart-Led Anchor with Proverbs 31 Depth

The home is often the most chaotic and exhausting arena of life, where exhaustion battles the pull to connect, and gut reactions frequently outpace reasoned responses. Whether you are the one holding the home front—mapping school runs amid work calls, or stirring pots while prayers simmer for a wayward child—the heart-law speaks straight to you: “I will be your God, and you shall be my people” (Jer. 33:33). Ultimately, this covenant love fuels your ache to nurture without the accompanying resentment.

Here’s how to apply Divine Wisdom as a Heart-Led Anchor in your family life:

  • Heart (Compassion & Values): Your heart is your default setting, prioritizing relationships and connection over efficiency. The heart-led decision is to pause, breathe, and remember the deepest value: Love Your Neighbor (starting with those under your roof).
  • Head (Foresight & Planning): Divine Wisdom incorporates the head, sharpened by meditating on the law (Psalm 119:97). Consequently, this allows you to anticipate the meltdowns or budget squeezes ahead. Your head charts the strategy for a resilient family—setting boundaries and scheduling the essential family huddle that prevents resentment from building.
  • Gut (Mobilization & Conviction): The gut provides the steady, mobilized drive needed for consistent, patient action. This means your gut’s boldness over fear ensures that love lands effectively, backed by persistent action, enforcing necessary boundaries or gently addressing old family fractures.

The Coherent Outcome: Without your head, your love is scattered. Without your gut, fear-frozen inaction stalls progress. Therefore, with the Divine Law cohering the three, your embodying faith turns home management into a quiet, effective ministry where generations are rooted and the covenant is made real.

Generative Wisdom in the Marketplace: Embodying Faith with Integrity

From the cubicle to the construction site, the marketplace demands that your embodying faith translate into practical justice, equity, and ethical conduct. Whether you’re coordinating teams or bidding on jobs, the heart-law redirects your focus from the grind to grace, requiring Generative Wisdom tempered by boldness over fear to maintain Integrity.

  • Heart (Compassion & Values): The heart-led professional views your colleagues and crew as kin, not resources. Fuelled by Jeremiah’s promise of full forgiveness, your heart means feedback becomes fuel for growth, and compassionate curiosity replaces managerial distance. In business, this insists on honoring your crew with fair wages, echoing Love Your Neighbor, not just the bottom line.
  • Head (Foresight & Planning): A wise head is required to be sustainably compassionate. Dipping into Psalm 119’s meditation, your mind plans with equity in view. You audit workloads for fairness, anticipate supply chain snags, or forecast material hikes—refusing to let short-term pressure compromise quality or ethical standards. In short, you design systems that embody justice and long-term viability.
  • Gut (Mobilization & Conviction): This is where boldness over fear is crucial. The gut ensures follow-through: it stalls the snappy, frustrated email and instead propels a quick, honest huddle to resolve a conflict. Similarly, in leadership, it drives you to take a stand—renegotiating subcontracts for sustainable timelines, or refusing a client whose unethical demands compromise your values, carrying out your ministry fully (Timothy 4:5).

The Coherent Outcome: When your mind, heart, and gut align, your business or administration achieves efficacy with dignity. Integrity transforms transactions into relationships. Jobs finish strong, teams become tighter, and your professional conduct becomes a witness to the abundance sown by the Divine Presence.

Generative Wisdom in Learning: Motivated Steps Toward Authentic Living

If you are navigating lectures, late buses, and the tension between group projects and personal setbacks, Generative Wisdom provides a profound advantage. The internal inscription of God’s law turns learning from a solo scramble into a community endeavor, propelling you toward authentic living.

  • Heart (Compassion & Values): Gut motivation may surge for the cram session, but Jeremiah’s promise of belonging tempers it. The heart-law draws you to notice and include the quiet one at the table (“they shall all know me,” v. 34). Therefore, your heart drives you to seek connections that build up, prioritizing mentorship and genuine relationship over transactional networking.
  • Head (Foresight & Planning): The head is essential for blocking pitfalls. Drawing on the Psalm’s wisdom, your mind plots out study bursts around necessary rest, blocking the overreach of burnout (119:101’s evil-avoidance). Crucially, it defines your why—connecting a challenging project to your larger purpose, ensuring your path is directed by truth, not just trends.
  • Gut (Mobilization & Conviction): The gut propels the bold asks and the persistent effort. It provides the energy to face an intimidating course or to try a new field. In turn, it fuels the natural overflow of tutoring a peer or speaking up for a marginalized view (Timothy 4:2’s persistent encouragement).

The Coherent Outcome: Effective learning is whole-person learning. Your authentic living ensures that your grades climb, your bonds build, and your faith slips in sideways, making your educational experience a testament to the integrated life.

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The Fruit of Heart-Centered Living: Outcomes of Divine Law Embodied

The ultimate test of the heart-centered living you’ve explored isn’t how well you can define your three centers, but the fruit that your decisions bear. The Divine Law written on your heart is not an end in itself; it is the seed that produces a life that is both joyful and effective. This is the key difference between a life of rigid, external rule-keeping and a life of overflowing authentic living.

The psalmist’s exuberant declaration, “Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day long. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me” (Psalm 119:97–98), illustrates this outcome. The law ceases to be bitter medicine and becomes sweeter than honey to the mouth (v. 103), stirring a deep aversion to falsehood (“I hate every false way,” v. 104). This inward delight is what generates the courage and endurance that Paul urges upon Timothy.

When your Head, Heart, and Gut are synchronized by the Holy Spirit within, the inner transformation yields the kind of abundant life Jesus promised. This life is marked by the concrete, observable characteristics known as the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Humility as the Posture: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit in Decisions

To cultivate this fruit, you must begin with a posture of humility. Humility is the essential condition for coherence because it acknowledges that none of your three intelligence centers is infallible on its own.

The Pitfall of the Head: When your head operates in isolation, it becomes impetuous—prideful in its logic, refusing to acknowledge emotional data or spiritual direction. Consequently, your decisions are rigid, lacking the gentle texture of patience and kindness. Humility forces your head to consult the Divine Presence in your heart before analyzing the spreadsheet.

The Pitfall of the Heart: Your heart operating alone becomes overly idealistic or impetuous, sacrificing long-term peace for immediate emotional gratification. Without a doubt, without the stabilizing force of your head’s foresight and your gut’s anchor in core self-control, it produces fleeting joy, not enduring Spiritual Freedom.

The Pitfall of the Gut: The raw, unaligned gut is often ruthless—focused only on survival or selfish gain. It mobilizes action without love or justice. However, Humility allows your gut’s power to be guided by the love and gentleness of the Spirit, ensuring that your boldness over fear is always tempered by self-control.

Humility thus acts as the connective tissue that aligns your centers, allowing the full Fruit of the Spirit to ripen. It turns the powerful energy of your gut into faithfulness, the analysis of your head into Generative Wisdom, and the emotion of your heart into love, ensuring that every decision is a harmonious reflection of the law inscribed within.

Integrity in Motion: Boldness Over Fear for Enduring Witness

The coherent, heart-led life doesn’t stop at inner harmony; it translates into integrity in motion, creating an enduring witness in a world plagued by cynicism. This integrity requires boldness over fear—the spiritual courage to act fully and truthfully, as urged by Paul to Timothy: “Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable… do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully” (2 Timothy 4:2, 5).

In 2025, this witness is desperately needed in public life. When you embody the Divine Law, you are honest about your supply chain, you advocate for fair policies, and you ask hard questions about Ethical AI and data justice. In essence, this is the courage of the integrated soul, where your Gut’s conviction is softened by your Heart’s compassion and informed by your Head’s Generative Wisdom.

This Integrity rebuilds community. It enables you to resist the temptation to succumb to “itching ears”—the distractions and myths Paul warned about—and instead, stand firm on the truth inscribed within. The result is an effective faith that makes the New Covenant visible: not through sermons alone, but through relationships and transactions marked by trustworthiness and boldness over fear.

Love Your Neighbor: The Outward Ripple of Spiritual Freedom

The ultimate outward ripple of heart-centered living is the realization of the greatest commandment: Love Your Neighbor. When the law is written on your heart, you experience spiritual freedom from the bondage of selfishness, enabling you to pour into the lives of others.
The grace received through the New Covenant is contagious. Jeremiah promised not just personal restoration, but the sowing of new life in the community (Jeremiah 31:27). Consequently, your coherent decisions become the seeds of this abundance, challenging the scarcity mindset of the world.

  • When you plan with equity, you sow kindness.
  • When you choose compassion over profit, you sow peace.
  • When you invite the lonely one in, you sow joy.

This Spiritual Freedom is your call to action: The path to authentic living is paved with small, coherent decisions made under the Divine Presence.

Your Invitation: Choose just one area this week—a crew conversation, a family crisis, a tough deadline—and apply the principles of the heart-centered way. Let the inscribed law be your guide, turning an old struggle into a new demonstration of Divine Presence.

Stepping into Authentic Living: Your Invitation to the Heart-Centered Way

The Heart-Centered Way is more than a spiritual concept; it is an active invitation to live the life God has already inscribed within you. The power of Jeremiah’s prophecy, the joy of the Psalmist’s meditation, and the urgency of Timothy’s charge all converge on one point: your authentic living is God’s desired outcome.

You are no longer bound by external rules or fragmented decisions. Instead, you are empowered by the Divine Law written on your heart, equipped with spiritual freedom, and ready to step fully into your calling. The journey begins with the simple, humble choice to let the Holy Spirit within align your mind, heart, and gut.

This week, answer the invitation. Choose one area of chaos or conflict in your life—at home, at work, or in your studies—and commit to making a coherent decision. Let the inscribed law be your guide, turning an old struggle into a new demonstration of Divine Presence.

A Prayer for Inner Transformation: Aligning with Divine Presence

The heart-centered life is one of constant renewal. Use this simple prayer to anchor your intention and invite the inner transformation promised by the New Covenant:

Covenant God, my mind is noisy, my heart is restless, and my drive is often selfish. I receive the Divine Law You have written on my heart. I ask the Holy Spirit within to align my head, heart, and gut, establishing Your Divine Presence as my anchor.

Let my thoughts be sharpened by Your truth, my feelings be fueled by Your love, and my actions be propelled by Your Boldness Over Fear.

I claim the Psalmist’s resolve: “I hate every false way.” Equip me to live with Integrity and Humility, so that my every decision may bear the Fruit of the Spirit and be an act of Love Your Neighbor.

Align me now, O Lord, to live the Heart-Centered Way for Authentic Living. Amen.

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How to Create a Lasting Legacy: The True Pursuit of Wisdom

Is the pursuit of wisdom and creating a lasting legacy worth it?

If we read Ecclesiastes 1, we might think it’s all an exercise in futility. 

Ecclesiastes, Psalms, Colossians

Was the writer of Ecclesiastes depressed? It seems so. After all he had done to pursue wisdom, he realises that everyone dies.

What was the purpose of studying so much and creating so much wealth? Will it be appreciated by those left behind? Even wealth gets squandered by unwise heirs. 

So, what’s the purpose of all that hard work and effort?

When we look at the wise, they die; fool and dolt perish together and leave their wealth to others.

Psalms 49:10

On the other hand, Colossians suggests that we stop pursuing worldly pleasures and goals, and focus our time and energy on “things above”.

Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth

Colossians 3:2

So, what is the meaning of life? Is it futile to pursue wisdom and wealth? Is this all vanity (futility) as the author of Ecclesiastes suggests? 

Or is there something meaningful that we can do and create here and now that will leave a legacy behind?

The true pursuit of wisdom

First, what is wisdom? Is there a difference between worldly wisdom and divine wisdom? Earthly wisdom or godly wisdom?

Who do you consider to be wise?

Is someone with a Master’s degree considered to be wise? Or are they merely educated?

In business, there’s a DIKW pyramid – data, information, knowledge and wisdom. Data is meaningless, unless you can actually draw some conclusions from it that you can use to guide your future actions.

Data is the foundation, information is processed data, knowledge is information with context, and wisdom is the application of knowledge to make informed decisions. 

So, in the context of business, wisdom is not knowledge, but the application of knowledge into decision-making. 

In a similar fashion, education is merely a means to an end: hopefully, getting an education will teach you how to transform knowledge into wisdom – wise decision-making. 

Worldly Wisdom or Divine Wisdom?

So, what about this divide between earthly wisdom and godly wisdom? 

Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish plotting. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.

James 3:13-16, The Message

If you ask me for my favourite books of the Bible, they would be these:

  • James
  • Proverbs
  • Job
  • Ecclesiastes

Do you see any similarities in them? Yes, they all talk about Wisdom.

And still, Ecclesiastes suggests that even the pursuit of Wisdom is meaningless and futile. 

As we know it, the author of Ecclesiastes (thought to be Solomon, but perhaps not) was also one (if not the principal) of the authors of Proverbs. 

And in the end, he says it’s all vanity. What’s the point of pursuing wisdom?

Or as Psalms suggests: what’s the point of building up an estate and wealth to leave to your children? 

What do we truly live behind when we go? Is there any point to “living with purpose” or “finding your purpose” in life and creating a legacy to leave behind? 

Is pursuing holiness enough?

Colossians suggests that we should pursue individual holiness. But how does Colossians define this individual holiness?

What does it mean to be renewed in wisdom and become a new self?

I find it fascinating that the defintion we are given focuses most on what we leave behind and stop doing. When we stop all of these bad habits, though patterns and emotions, we open up space for the new.

Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).
But now you must get rid of all such things: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth.
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.

Colossians 3:5, 8-10

As it says here, stripped off the old self with its practices and habits. And then you can put on your clean clothes.

“seek the things that are above”

Colossians 3:1

What are we seeking? Divine Presence in our lives.

And how can we be filled with the Divine Spirit? Only by making room! To make room in our life for the Divine, we have to let go of whatever is holding us back.

What are the personal obstacles in your thoughts, feelings and actions that inhibit the Spirit from flowing freely in your mind?

To be full of the Spirit

In order to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit fully – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control – we have to let go those emotions and thoughts that are their archnemesis.

  • To be full of love, I have to first let go of hate.
  • If I want my joy to overflow, I first have to finish grieving for whatever I think I deserved and didn’t receive, as well as find a place of acceptance of what is.
  • To be full of peace, I release my anxiety and that pressing need to have everything now. I recognise any greed that I have – whether it be for things, results or even knowledge and wisdom.
  • If I want to have patience, I must learn to persist in the face of trouble, delay or even suffering. It’s an internal strength that I gather that allows me to face whatever may come, and still love othes in spite of my circumstances. I let go of the longing for immediate results, and recognise that everything is for my good. 
  • To be full of kindness, I have to let go of my ego, pride, anger and wrath. I release all malice and slander from my thoughts, emotions, words and actions. And I certainly refrain from abusive language coming out of my mouth!
  • If I am committed to being filled with goodness, I must first release sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and idolatry.
  • And when I claim that I have faithfulness, I let go of lying to myself and others, and instead demonstrate loyalty, steadfastness, and trustworthiness.
  • Likewise, when I am filled with gentleness, I get rid of all those rough edges of my emotions and tongue. I learn to speak gently, rather than harshly, and I curb my anger, wrath and hatred completely. 
  • Finally, the crux of it all becomes impeccable self-control. I have control over my mind and thoughts, my emotions and especially my tongue and the words of my mouth. 

This is why Colossians focuses on what we have to get rid of in our lives. Take out the old, in order to be full of the new. If you want to think on things above, you have to stop thinking about all the things below. 

What is Wisdom and a Meaningful Legacy?

Let’s go back to Ecclesiastes and the lamentations of “This is all futile and useless”. 

sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it.

Ecclesiastes 2:21

So, all that hard work, even applying your knowledge and skill for wise decision-making, sometimes is reaped by those who don’t deserve it.

Perhaps you died and a distant family member reaps rewards rather than the children you expected. Or your business is taken over by outsiders. The bank forecloses on your house and leaves your children without a roof over their heads.

So, what is meaningful? What do we leave behind that truly matters?

I would guess that it’s the impact we have on the lives of others. Especially when that impact carries far into the future, beyond the span of our lives and the generations that followed us. 

Think for a moment, for example of the authors of the Bible: thousands of years later, we are still reading those words. Even the authors of political, ethical and scientific books are read hundreds and thousands of years later.

But it’s not just books and writers that leave a legacy – there are many who impacted lives that were illiterate, and yet their deeds are know all over the world, living on as legends and stories that we continue to share. 

Jesus may have been born humbly, and we have no works written by him… yet every year we continue to celebrate his birth and coming to this earth, as well as his teachings and his sacrifice.

His divine wisdom and legacy are clear to each one us.

So the question for you today is: what meaningful legacy are you creating and leaving?

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Proverbs: How to get Wisdom, Instruction, and Good Judgement

For the past couple of years, I’ve chosen a Word of the Year – one value which I wish to embody in my life. It’s always been one of my values, but there’s always one that stands out more than others. For 2022, that word is Mastery:

  • the mastery of self (self-awareness and the resulting self-control) as well as
  • knowing more (knowledge and understanding) and
  • putting that new learning into practice.

Because to know anything is to do things differently from before.

Life management is about being well adjusted. … being able to stand against the wind of disappointment.
Time is not really the important element. It is what time represents that matters.
Time management is not about a list of things in order of priority that must be completed… Time management is about life management.

Given that life is mostly about intangible things, does it not make sense to learn to control them – things such as thoughts, desires, anger, curiosity, ambition, motivation, sadness, hurt and sorrow?
Althought we live in a tangible world, life itself occurs within our mind, spirit and soul.

Jonar C. Nader, How to Lose Friends & Infuriate People, a controversial book for thinkers.

For me, this is the essence of what I am reminded of when I read Proverbs – self-awareness and then the option for self-control.

The wisdom of Proverbs

One of the many things that I’ve had on my “I wish I had time to do” list is to deep dive back into Proverbs. Of all the books of the Bible, this is one of the two that most resonates with me. The other one is the book of James.

Proverbs has a special place in my heart because I remember my dad reading it to me every night before bed. Occasionally, we would talk about what a verse meant. But more often than not, it was just a reading of a chapter or a portion of a chapter.

I was left with many more questions than answers.

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from dictionary.com

Of course, many times, we try to read Proverbs literally, and not all of it can be understood with a literal meaning.

My experience with Proverbs is that different ones “jump out at me” at different moments in life. Moreover, I’ve interpreted them differently, depending on what I’ve been learning at the time.

As with any proverbs, many of them take time to digest and understand.

The usefulness of Proverbs

In the very first chapter of Proverbs, there is a small introduction, although there is debate as to how much of the book of Proverbs this introduction applies to.

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Proverbs 1: 1-6, Amplified Bible

I find it irrelevant who the author of Proverbs was: I don’t read the book of Proverbs because of who wrote it.

Throughout my life, I’ve turned to Proverbs when I’m in turmoil. And these last three years have had their fair share of inner (and outer) turmoil.

Consider how other translations present the introduction to Proverbs:

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Proverbs 1: 1-6, The Message
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Proverbs 1: 1-6, King James Version

These are the wise sayings of Solomon,
    David’s son, Israel’s king—
Written down so we’ll know how to live well and right,
    to understand what life means and where it’s going;
A manual for living,
    for learning what’s right and just and fair;
To teach the inexperienced the ropes
    and give our young people a grasp on reality.
There’s something here also for seasoned men and women,
    still a thing or two for the experienced to learn—
Fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate,
    the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women.

The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

The place of Proverbs

Proverbs is one of the five books of Wisdom of the Bible, together with Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon.

I find it interesting that two of these books are poetry and psalms, rather than writings of wisdom, per se. And yet, all five of the books offer unique perspectives on life and the experiences of life.

But, as you will have noticed from the introduction to Proverbs, it has lofty goals:

  • wisdom
    • wise behaviour
    • the discipline of wise thoughtfulness
    • good judgement
    • astute common sense
    • intelligent discernment
  • instruction
    • a manual for living
  • knowledge
  • understanding
    • to understand what life means
  • insight
  • righteousness
  • justice
  • integrity
  • lead others to the truth

The road to wisdom

So, over the coming weeks and months, I intend to take a new journey through Proverbs and re-examine how it impacts my life. What new wisdom can I glean from these pages?

Where do you go for wisdom?

wisdom, creative compassion, courage to act, fear of the Lord, wise action, taking action, generative wisdom, being wise, transformed, renewing of your mind, heart of stone, heart of flesh, vulnerable, open to change, Divine Purpose, finding your divine purpose, courage to act, wisdom must be embodied, pragmatic action, faith, works and deeds, love your neighbour, awe, Divine Love, divine presence, prayer, meditation, quiet reflection, changing our responses, forgiveness, learning to love and accept myself, a peace that passes understanding, source of abundance, health, wellbeing, diet, exercise, lifestyle choices, responsible

Ten years searching for Wisdom: creative compassion and courage to act

In one of the very first posts I ever wrote for this blog, I mentioned the 10-year challenge of “gaining wisdom”. And this year, as I finished re-reading for the third time “mBraining: using your multiple brains to do cool stuff“, I was reminded that wisdom is both material (on the earthly plane) as well as having a spiritual element to it.

Wisdom comes when we apply creative compassion to creative action. In fact:

Generative wisdom is far more than just having wise insights from your life experiences.

Soosalu & Oka, “mBraining”

It is not an end state of being wise, but rather an ongoing process, one that continually transforms who you are.

I cannot stress this enough: wisdom must be embodied in pragmatic action. The same way that we show our faith by our works and deeds, we embody our wisdom in action and the decisions that we make each and every day.

All knowing is doing, inspired action, take action, compassionate courage, smart courage, deep thought, thought leads to action
All knowing is doing. Dr. Humberto Maturana

Most of us that were brought up in churches can easily recite that to love God is to love our neighbour and to love our brother, no matter who they might be. We are likewise challenged to bless those who curse us.

It is not enough to be able to recite the Bible verse that says this, but rather to actually do it – in the midst of the emotional chaos and turmoil of conflict and upheaval.

It’s easy to be at peace and in harmony with God and others when you are sitting quietly, meditating and in prayer. But true wisdom is being able to hold that same inner peace in the midst of the unrest of every day triggers and people who would typically anger us or make us feel fearful.

I’ll show you my faith by my works is not simply about doing good deeds: but rather it is living that life of faith and Divine Wisdom in all moments of challenge.

The process of acquiring true wisdom is not one of studying and memorisation (although that is no doubt where it begins): it is in changing our responses and choosing a new way of acting and reacting in the world.

The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.
The measure of intelligence is the ability to change. Albert Einstein

The beginning of wisdom

This journey for me, into transformation and change, began with the search to understand “the fear of the Lord”. As a child, I had it hammered into me that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Unfortunately, my understanding of “fear of the Lord” was heavily tainted by my understanding of the word “fear”. And my understanding of “the Lord” was much influenced by the descriptions of a terrible God sitting on a throne “in heaven” surrounded by “a host of angels” that were ready to send anyone and everyone to hell.

It was much more of a Machiavellian description of “tis better to be feared than loved”, than an understanding of awe, presence and communion. I certainly viewed God as being dangerous and painful. While I was perfectly capable of saying “God loves you”, it had quite the “domestic violence kind of love” written all over it. Unfortunately, I experienced a traumatic view of authority, which clouded and overwrote my views on God.

It has been hard for me to change and learn a new definition of Divine Love. One of the many reasons that you will find me referring more to “Divine” and “Source” rather than “God” and “the Lord” in this blog is that I am aware that I am not the only one that still has wounds to heal. I am perfectly clear in my mind that these are man-made wounds, by men (and women) who purported to be godly and “loving”. And horridly, wretchedly human.

I came close to throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

It is so much easier to say “God did this” than to take the time to separate the humanity of (mostly) well-intentioned, badly misguided men and women, and simply turn your back on the Divine.

Finding my way back to accepting Divine Love and living in that Presence has been a challenge: one in which I have had to be open and vulnerable to healing and change over these past ten years.

Forgiveness and learning to love and accept myself have been difficult lessons to live by.

A peace that passes understanding

And yet, in 2020, I had a year in which to come to grips with “how far I’ve come”. You might notice that there has been a hiatus in posting (for months on end).

Part of this was overwhelm with all that was happening in the world. Another part was being drawn into the shadows of “This is where you need to shine more light in your life and allow healing to take place. This is what you are holding onto and it’s time to let go of.”

The beauty of 2020, for me, was that I discovered that somehow, over the last decade, I had discovered “a peace that passes all understanding”. Accidentally tripped over it during the chaos.

While I contemplated questions like:

  • What is truly important?
  • How does the way I am living my life reflect my values?
  • What do I trust in and where is my faith place?

I discovered that I had come to a deeper understanding of the simplicity of Source versus channel.

The Source of abundance, health and well-being is the Divine. The channels through which I may receive abundance can be a job, independent contracting or even gifts.

When I found my channels placed in jeopardy by the chaos of 2020, I suddenly discovered that my faith and trust had moved. I was no longer trusting in myself and my ability to create income: I had an inner peace I had never experienced before of “my Source” would provide a new channel.

Likewise, I’ve had to face thoughts and challenges regarding my attitudes towards health and wellness. I live from a place of responsibility: I am 100% responsible for my health and wellness and taking care of myself.

Ideas without action are worthless, inspired action, take action, wisdom is doing, compassionate wisdom, courageous action, courageous compassion, compassionate creativity
Ideas without action are worthless! Harvey Mackay

Nonetheless, the question arose: but where am I putting my faith?

Is my faith limited to what I can control and what I can do for myself? Or is it in something bigger than me? Can I trust in my Creator that I am wonderfully made and that all my cells and organs respond and vibrate to a Divine vibration of health and wellness?

Letting go: moving with inspiration

For most of us, 2020 gave us the challenge and opportunity to let go of life as we knew it (and planned it), and to turn our trust into a Divine purpose and process.

Most of us can quote many a verse that reminds us that everything that is happening is for us. But what does wisdom really look and feel like in the face of uncertainty?

There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to avoid them. But they are there for a reason. Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there.
There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to avoid them. But they are there for a reason. Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there. Paolo Coelho

In part, we have to be willing to let go of what was to step into what could be. This requires changes at so many levels:

  • from the heart: starting with love and compassion for ourselves and for others around us;
  • in our heads: minding our thoughts, especially the doubts, awfulisations and catastrofising that we do;
  • and in our guts: being willing to gently release the tight grip we have on our identity “this is who I am” and grow into a new creation.

On a spiritual level, it requires that we be reminded that we are souls having a human experience. Our spirits are searching for Oneness with the Divine – living constantly in that Divine Presence, rather than separated from. And yet the human experience teaches us that we are individual and separate from each other and from God. We are constantly trying to get back to God.

Creative compassion

Divine Love, especially in moments like these, invites us to get in touch with God’s plan and purpose in our lives. Each one of us has been given unique talents and gifts that are not shared by others.

Likewise, most of us have passed through levels of preparation. What life lessons have you learned that have moulded you into the person you are today?

Creative compassion invites us to have a look at everything we have to offer, as well as our heart’s desires, and ask:

What is truly on my heart?

This might include questions or thoughts of the following nature:

  • What might it be like to live in alignment with Divine Will?
  • How can I use all the gifts, talents and experiences I have been given to serve others?
  • Who am I drawn to serving?

Many of us, don’t have immediate clarity. Some, of course, get called similar to what we’ve read in the Bible:

  • Jonah – told exactly who to go to and what to say to them;
  • Jeremiah – given visions and messages
  • Peter – called by Jesus to leave his nets

Some of us might end up with an experience like Esther, put in a position where we only discover it’s purpose when there is a crisis “I was put here for such a time as this”. Others might experience hardship like Joseph, only to be called “when it’s time”.

Most of us, on the other hand, have nothing quite so concise. Life is much more mundane and subtle.

Are we listening for those callings?

Perhaps, like the Good Samaritan, we are simply called to go about our business and just help others anonymously when they are put in our path.

The only questions we have to ask ourselves is: am I living this life from a place of compassion for myself & others? Do I allow Divine Love to flow through me as a conduit and channel for others?

Sometimes the calling is simply to follow a new line of study or preparation, without knowing the end purpose. Can you trust the Divine to take that step without being able to see the full path ahead?

A man is the sum of his actions, of what he has done, of what he can do. Nothing else. Gandhi
A man is the sum of his actions, of what he has done, of what he can do. Nothing else. Gandhi

It takes courage to act when called:

Without action there is no true wisdom.

As James said, it is not simply about hearing “the Word” or memorising it. It’s no good to spout it out to others or recite it.

The true change happens when we allow it to change our heart: to give up our heart of stone and allow it to be replace with a heart of flesh. A hear that is vulnerable, open, soft and gentle.

When this happens, we learn to think in new ways. And as we begin to think in new ways, we learn to talk differently. We see through new eyes, with compassion and empathy.

It takes courage to allow Divine Love to change and transform our lives. In many cases, this means letting go of any hatred or fear that we have been harbouring. To start to let go of fear, we have to acknowledge and accept that we are afraid.

When I’m honest with myself: fear is usually about situations beyond my control. Like most of the things that happened in 2020. Letting go of that fear requires that I learn “fear of the Lord” in a new way: trust in the invisible.

And only now am I discovering that level of courage to have faith. I haven’t figured out my “calling”, but for now, I’m willing just to take the one next step that is clear on the path ahead and trust that the rest will be revealed when I’m ready.


Inspirations:

The fear of I AM THAT I AM is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Divine One is understanding. For through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.

Proverbs 9:10-11
The fear of I AM THAT I AM is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Divine One is understanding. For through wisdom your days will be many and years will be added to your life.
The fear of I AM THAT I AM is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Divine One is understanding. For through wisdom your days will be many and years will be added to your life. Proverbs 9:10-11

Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.

Proverbs 19:2
smart compassion, smart courage, taking inspired action, Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.
Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way. Proverbs 19:2

Trust in I AM THAT I AM with all your heart;
    do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
    and he will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 3: 5-6
Trust in I AM THAT I AM with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek Divine will in all you do, and the Divine will show you which path to take.
Trust in I AM THAT I AM with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek Divine will in all you do, and the Divine will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

So get rid of your feelings of hatred. Don’t just pretend to be good! Be done with dishonesty and jealousy and talking about others behind their backs.

1 Peter 2:1
feelings, hatred, pretend, be good, dishonesty, jealousy, talking about others behind their backs
So get rid of your feelings of hatred. Don’t just pretend to be good! Be done with dishonesty and jealousy and talking about others behind their backs. 1 Peter 2:1

All knowing is doing
All knowing is doing. Dr. Humberto Maturana
wisdom, change, intelligence, divine love, The measure of intelligence is the ability to change. Albert Einstein
The measure of intelligence is the ability to change. Albert Einstein
ideas without action are worthless
Ideas without action are worthless! Harvey Mackay

There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to avoid them. But they are there for a reason. Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there.
There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to avoid them. But they are there for a reason. Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there. Paolo Coelho
A man is the sum of his actions, of what he has done, of what he can do. Nothing else.
Gandhi
We must be willing to let go of the life we planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
Joseph Campbell

We keep brainstorming options and plans, but Divine Purpose prevails.
We keep brainstorming options and plans, but Divine Purpose prevails. Proverbs 19:21