The Essence is Wisdom
It is said that through wisdom the Earth was established and the principles that govern it were determined. Through insight the laws that govern Destiny were devised. And through knowledge, the primordial aether was formed into physical existence.
And the end result was the creation — the
beautiful world we live in.
There is an ancient saying which reads, "As above so below. As below so above." This saying teaches us a very important principle. The physical creation is a reflection of the nature of God.
Did you know, it was the desire to know God that sparked the renaissance scientific revolution?
People such as Isaac Newton and Galileo Galilei, two of the great founders of modern science, both believed that God could be better understood by understanding nature. This same belief has been shared by numerous scientists, throughout the ages — including our modern age.
Similarly, if we want to know God, the first place to start is to know his creation, and this is best done by the development of Wisdom — as the creation is founded on the principle of Wisdom.
How do we develop wisdom?
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What is Wisdom? In essence wisdom can be defined as knowing what to do in a given situation – whilst intelligence can be defined as knowing how to do it Wisdom is composed of knowledge, insight and understanding. Knowledge can be defined as having specific information on a particular topic, or field of study. Insight is knowing the nature, essence, and purpose of something. And understanding is being able to create a mental model or simulation of how something works, and how it will behave in a given situation. |
We will explore each of these areas in more depth later on in this section. But for now, what practical steps can you take to increase your level of wisdom?
The simplest step you can take is to increase your knowledge by reading.
Pick a topic where you are weak but where you would like to be stronger. Now go and read two books on that topic. Choose one theoretical book and one practical "How to…" book.
Let’s say you want to be a better parent. Then get a book on the principles of good parenting and a book on the practical aspects of parenting — your local library or local bookstore should be able to help with this.
If you aren’t a parent pick another area of your life that you would like to develop.
You need to read both theoretical and practical books because all knowledge can be classified as either theory or practice. By learning both the theory and practice of something, you can quickly get a complete understanding of it.
Take just this one step today, increase your knowledge by getting and reading these two books, and you will immediately notice an increase in your wisdom.
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