Knowledge to wisdom

Moving beyond concepts  

We all know a million, billion things.  We know the right things to eat, the importance of exercise, the benefits of shifting our focus when in a rut, the value of presence and the ecstasy that love brings.  All of these things are pivotal aspects of our well-being.

The difficulty comes when we know these things yet don’t apply them in our lives.  We become seekers, seeking the next book, class, workshop, event, teacher, skill, relationship, or financial opportunity that will be the one that brings it all together.  Seeking is not bad or wrong, its actually great because it sparks inspiration and new perspectives, however the issue is when we keep what we’ve learned as a concept and use our seeking behavior as an escape to avoid the commitment needed to apply what we’ve learned to our life.

The only way that knowledge moves from being merely a mental concept is through using what you know.  Sometimes you may need to hear the same information a few different times in order to really begin to use it, but the issue is that people tend to get “disinterested” and instead of following through they move on to the next “magic bullet”.  These are the people that have an experience and say “I did “xyx” but it didn’t really help, everything (aka I’m) the same”.  They are expecting that the “thing” they did is what will change them, when instead it is they that will change themselves through their experience.

There are often underlying fears that may “distract” people.  Common ones are I’m not good enough, I can’t really change, I don’t know how, I’m not worthy, I’m not capable of getting it, Its too late, I’m too old, etc.  Fear, feeling anxious and worry are quite frankly stupid reasons to not apply what you know.  Politely acknowledge their existence and allow them to be there and also let them know who’s boss and who’s running the show, the show of your life.  A fear-led life is boring at best and unbearable at its worst.

Living wisdom

Commitment & courage

Commitment isn’t easy but it really isn’t that hard either.  You simply decide.  Decide what is important and what is not.  A good question to ask yourself is “what are you committed too?”  Do you know, or are you running on unconscious  scripts and actually have no clue?  You may think your committed to being love in your life, when actually your committed to everyone liking you.  You may think your committed to be in a loving relationship, when actually your committed to not rocking the boat and making sure the relationship is “secure” instead of loving.  You may think your committed to living your passionate career, but really you are committed to your safety and survival.  You may think your committed to healing, but instead are really looking for comfort and neutrality.  You may think your committed to a healthy life, when really your committed to avoiding feeling bad.

So check where you think you’re committed to your values, but where fear is actually running the show.  This can be subtle and takes some awareness to see.  One way to begin to notice it is that fear will always show up as avoidance, external safety (i.e. being approved by others, financial security), being “logical-reasonable”, focused on neutrality instead of new possibilities and concerned with what is lacking or could become lacking.

Living wisdom takes courage. You must ask yourself what is your core underlying intention and are you living it?  Are you meeting your standards for what you want and who you want to be?  If the answer is no then courage must come in.  Courage to choose differently even if its scary and you perceive potential loss; loss of security, relationship, or love.  Move forward despite your inner demons that keep you in fear rather than in your alignment.   In courage you will find yourself making choices differently, saying yes where you used to say no and no where you used to say yes.  This will force you to show up differently and you will begin to embody your knowing instead of just thinking about your knowing.

Dr. Amanda Hessel, Chiropractor, Network Spinal Analysis & Somato-Respiratory Integration, Boulder, Colorado