The Path of Wisdom or the Path of Woe

Caroline Myss, the spiritual teacher and author, talks about there being the path of wisdom and the path of woe. She says we have a choice as to which path we take, that we are not powerless. I've been thinking about how best I would define the path of wisdom and I think one way of describing it is perhaps understanding in advance - which is different from knowing. We can know many things but knowledge, of itself, doesn't necessarily alter behaviour. Understanding, however, does. If we understand something, we have integrated it, we are conscious of what it means, we see something in context and are aware of the relationship between cause and effect. As a result we are more able to act appropriately and.. yes, wisely.

So what does the path of wisdom look like? I think it is about educating ourselves so that we understand. We live in extraordinary times where the costs of not understanding have never been higher for humanity and the planet. In one of my favourite films 'I Am' the Dalai Lama is asked "What is the most important meditation we can do now?' and he replies 'Critical thinking, followed by action'. He then enlarges on this to explain that we must discern what our world is, know the plot, the scenario of this human drama and then figure out where our talents might fit in to make a better world.

This seems to me the best definition of what the path of wisdom looks like, As the Enneagram reveals, each personality type has gifts it brings to the world. On top of these gifts we develop certain skills in relation to our individual interests and capabilities. I think we can do no better than educate ourselves (in the wider context of the word and to include working on self-awareness). In this way we will be better able to marry up the innate gifts of our type with our acquired skills and get them out there for the common good.