#697 Choosing to Nurture Wisdom over Ignorance

     At our deepest level, we all know to what degree we're being honestly authentic.
     From this depth of authenticity, we act with innate loving wisdom, increasing joy and decreasing suffering for all.
     Yet, fear and ignorance can lock us into our small selves, small cults, small dogmas, and other self-serving ideologies, leading to hate crimes against our fellow humans, other living creatures, and our environment. 
     So all of us carry both seeds of wisdom, as well as seeds of ignorance.  
     But what determines how we actually live our lives?

     An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."
     The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
     The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
        http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/TwoWolves-Cherokee.html


     “... I have seen evil men become good and that’s the only miracle that interests me.”                                     Satprakashananda
       Dana Sawyer “Huston Smith: Wisdomkeeper. Living the World’s Religions. The Authorized Biography of a 21st Century Spiritual Giant.” Fons Vitae, Louisville, KY, 2014. 

#311 Fearful Child & Wise Grandparent - We're Both, & We Can Mature Amazingly

     Since none of us has perfect genes, nor received perfectly consistent unconditional love, etc, we're all traumatized to some degree from birth. So we have within each of us, an "inner child" who feels alone & afraid in what appears to be a hostile universe. Successful, otherwise confident, middle-aged professionals, can instantly transform into whimpering children in a dental office or other specific situations.
     At the same time, most of us are capable of heroic levels of altruism and bravery in the service of those in distress. So we also have, within each of us, a wise loving stable grandparent, with a broad perspective based on timeless experience.
     Under stress, the fearful child tends to manifest. In good times - or - in a life-or-death emergency, the wise grandparent tends to manifest. With mindfulness training, we naturally mature from a place of fear, towards greater love & wisdom. In the "laboratory of the mind" that mindfulness practice provides, we learn to gently, fully accept & embrace our inner fearful child whenever it manifests, then with increasing stability, we become able to manifest & embody our wise grandparent in thoughts, speech & behavior.
     With continuous intelligent mindfulness practice, even under the worst possible external conditions, awareness, equanimity, kindness & joy can become reality. Our consciousness can evolve well beyond our current imagination (imagination being the product & reflection of our present level of consciousness). This lifelong journey of mindfulness is full of surprises.
     Some of us can find ourselves trapped for decades, or a lifetime, in our hurt inner child part, and require expert help from a trauma specialist to help us evolve into & stabilize in our mature adult part.
     Also see: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2013/08/381-each-moment-new-beginning.html

Mariko Klug