To Be Wise
How often have I been at a total loss for words in the face of someone’s pain, fear, loss, distress? Often.
And how often have I suddenly, and without planning or conscious choice, heard myself saying the deeply caring and wise words that may lead to healing? Not often enough, yet I always recognize when it happens. It is an experience that cannot be categorized or missed. It has its own life and comes in its own way and its own time.
I have often wondered where this “wisdom” comes from, especially since I seldom remember what was said. I do always remember the deep feeling of connection and a sense of rightness. And then, this year, I discovered this simple, beautiful Christmas song by John Denver.
“It’s in every one of us to be wise.
Find your heart, open up both your eyes.
We can all know everything without ever knowing why.
It’s in every one of us, by and by.”
It rang true, as some songs often do for me. Wisdom does not really arise from understanding, or knowledge, training or information. It likely can be bolstered or seeded by our personal experiences but is not linked directly to them. I am firmly of the mind that it comes from a wide-open heart. Not that I open my heart on purpose, mind you, though the practice of standing behind my heart may help. It is those times when, confronted by a deep, soul-need of the person in front of me, a need that is often not recognized by either of us, that my heart simply opens without my planning or agreement, and wisdom pours out. I have come to the conclusion that this unexpected wisdom is an expression of Soul-Love.
The first time I remember this happening, this soul-to-soul response, was in group therapy at Rancho Pino. It was in response to the deep sadness and fear of a young man about being an emotional doormat to others.
I don’t know what his reaction was, though I noticed in later sessions that he seemed to have turned a corner. I, however, was struck in terror! I didn’t understand what had happened, and I was enrage that it had, especially enraged because I didn’t know what had happened. Even now, I can see and hear myself yelling, “I don’t want it”, over and over again, and swinging my purse around and around.
My therapist kept ducking to keep from being hit and saying, “It’s alright, Charlotte.”
I finally stopped, turned to her and said, “It means I?”
“Yes,” she replied.
“I don’t want I?” I asked in confused tears.
“Yes.”
“What happened?” I finally asked.
“You touched souls” she said, and I knew exactly what she meant.
Beneath my terror and my rage was something so deeply, sweetly “right” that I simply accepted the experience as possible and my own.
I have since come to honor and embrace that part of me that opens up soul-to-soul when in the presence of soul-need. I have finally come to accept that wisdom makes itself known without me, only through me. I have finally come to accept that I am not in control of such occasions. My work with Quan Yin has helped, that’s for sure. The depth and richness of our channeling sessions is dependent upon the depth and richness of the issues or questions brought to Quan Yin. Just as the depth and richness of those who share their loss or pain will open my heart beyond my conscious decision and pour out the love and wisdom that is part of each one of us.
It IS, indeed, in everyone of us to be wise, to open our hearts and to let that wisdom pour out without ever knowing how we know, or why.
Thank you, John, for putting that beautiful, awe-full experience in such simple terms!
Blessings,
Charlotte
The Language Magician
While there is verity to the old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me,” it would be more accurate to say, “your words will never hurt me.” My words to myself or to you will and do either hurt me or heal me. The subconscious hears and sees everything as a projection, extension, or reflection of itself, therefore the only “you” there is, is a projection of the “me” I AM,
While “everything outside of you is a mirror for something inside of you” may be correct English, it somehow lacks the energy and impact of Quan Yin’s, “ There is nothing outside of you that is not a mirror of what is inside of you.” It is from this perspective that The Language Magician will an added feature of The Hermit’s Lamp.
For April, 2023: Every time you hear or say the phrase “Public Servant”, change it to “Serving the public”.
Notice how your energy changes, and how you see others and yourself with this simple, magical change of phrase.