The Wisdom Of Your Inner Sage

Deep within our Being lays a priceless treasure waiting to be discovered. It has always been there. It will always be there. It is we who have abandoned it. This treasure is what I like to call our Inner Sage.

So many of us, when faced with challenges or adversity will automatically search ...Deep within our Being lays a priceless treasure waiting to be discovered. It has always been there. It will always be there. It is we who have abandoned it. This treasure is what I like to call our Inner Sage.

So many of us, when faced with challenges or adversity will automatically search for something outside ourselves to either heal the pain, deny the pain, or find the answer. Some will take the road of addiction and denial, others will find solace in the arms of yet another relationship, and still others will go on an endless search of enlightenment hanging onto every word spoken or written by the latest self proclaimed master. Whatever the road, if it is leading you on a journey away from your Self, it is not serving you.

I can write about this because I have done all of these things in my own search for peace. It didn’t work.

What I have discovered is that peace wells up from within when I do four things with commitment and discipline. These four things are:

· Spirit – acknowledging its presence in my life.
· Acceptance - of what is.
· Gratitude - for everything.
· Empowerment – feeling it and owning the feeling that comes from this practice.

When we can do this, we are tapping into our Inner Sage. This is the infinite wisdom living inside of our hearts. This is the priceless treasure we have within. This is where peace lives.

So just what does a typical practice look like in the life of someone committed to his or her Inner Sage?

· Step One: Spirit. For me it begins with daily journal writing or meditation. Any practice that has a purifying and cleansing effect at a soul level. This could also include a solitary hike in nature, yoga, a meditative jog, or some form of artistic expression. Mostly it is something that you do on your own to draw you inward towards your Sage. This is a daily discipline. This becomes an honouring of your soul.

· Step Two: Acceptance. How many times a day do we find ourselves “pushing against” what is? You’d be amazed how often this happens if you start to make a conscious effort to pay attention to all the times you are irritated, angry, annoyed, judgmental. This is not peaceful, and that is how we begin to notice the many times we are not accepting our current reality because we are not feeling like we were when we were in Step One! If we are not pleased with the way something is playing out in our reality, from the traffic jam on the way to work, to the weather forecast we are judging, to the way your partner annoyingly slurps his coffee we are always at choice. It’s important to remember this. Things like weather and traffic jams are pretty much out of our control so choosing to be annoyed by these things seems self-defeating to me. However, if someone decides they would like to project all their anger onto you for some reason, it is also important to remember that we are at choice. First we must accept that this is happening. If we don’t accept a current reality and go into denial instead, or end up making a zillion excuses for the other person’s behaviour, we throw our power away and become a victim. If in the moment we say, “Okay, I’m scared. This person is losing it on me,” we can then move on to the next thought which might be, “Am I going to take this or not? Does this feel peaceful or not? Can I change this situation or not? Do I need some help to help me change this situation?”

· Step Three: Gratitude. I feel this the most when I am out in nature. For others it may be when you look at your sleeping child, when you are genuinely giving or openly receiving love, when you are writing about all that you are grateful for in a journal, when you come across breathtaking beauty, or hear a magnificent piece of music. Whatever it is that sends us to that place of Gratitude, it behooves us to go there more often. The feeling of Gratitude is the closest we can ever get to knowing what God feels like. It is a state of Grace, and it’s impossible to feel unhappy and grateful at the same time.

· Step Four: Empowerment. When I follow Steps One, Two and Three, I feel Empowered. This is an energy that nourishes us from the inside out. It is strong and powerful yet gentle, loving and respectful all at the same time. Empowerment is a feeling quite different from a hyped up motivational sense of energy that comes from a seminar or tape, for as soon as the speaker is gone or the tape is over, we find ourselves falling right back into old patterns again. Empowerment is the grace of our Inner Sage. It is the reward we get for following the path of the invisible One. It is a slow, mindful, underground, unmistakable rumbling presence of a force so loving, so powerful, so full of integrity and wisdom, that if we ever unleashed it in it’s fullest form, we would probably have no reason to be here any longer, for we would no longer be physical. But how magnificent to have access to such an inner guide while we are here. It’s all a matter of choice.

Connecting with our Inner Sage takes desire first and foremost. If you feel like your life has become stagnant, out of control, boring, or you find yourself asking questions like, “what’s it’s all about, why am I here, what is my purpose?” you can rest assured that your Inner Sage is calling to you to seek it out for the answers.

How much do you want to feel like the creator of your life?

How strong is your desire to change what is no longer working? How much inner peace can you stand?

The answers to these questions lay patiently waiting within your very soul.

copyright 2008 Heather Fraser