A Subjective Conscience

Everybody knows what a conscience is, right?  Its that little voice inside of you that tells you what is right and wrong.  It is the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other shoulder advising you in advance of what you should and shouldn't do.  Conscience is what makes you feel guilty when you disregard it.  It is what makes you feel accomplished when you act in accordance with it.  And miraculously your conscience just kicks in automatically when some ethical decision needs to be made. In the heat of the moment, it is your conscience that encourages you to do what is right. 

But how does it do that? And how do we know what is right?  And right for who?

Recently my 7 year old daughter stated, with some degree of sadness, that she has waited her whole life to hear God talk to her.  My husband asked her if she had ever been about to do something wrong, and heard a little voice inside warning her not to do it.  She immediately said yes.  My husband said that was God speaking to her. This was so encouraging to my daughter.  All this time God had been talking to her, and she didn't even know it!

I love the idea of my conscience being one of the ways that God communicates with me, and directs my steps.  I am so thankful that I am working on a relationship with the Creator that will enable me to hear His voice more clearly, and do what is right.

But what about those people who don't have a relationship with God?  How do they know what is right and wrong?  How do they decide what to do and not to do?  Whose voice do they hear?

And to further complicate matters, everyone's conscience doesn't speak with the same objective voice.  My conscience is set up to reflect what is right and wrong for me personally.  But if I'm not careful, it will begin to reflect my personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.  And over time that little voice won't tell me what is right, but it will tell me my version of what is right. 

To prevent this erosion of "rightness", there has to be some objective standard by which we measure ourselves and our behavior.  But what is it?

Panelist Profile: Kurtis Lee Thomas

Kurtis Lee Thomas has graciously agreed to sit on the panel of experts for our Wisdom Workshop on February 8th!  He is the author of The World is (y)OURS.  Read more about his book on his website:  http://iamawakened.com. 

Here is an excerpt of his bio from his website:

Kurtis Lee Thomas is a successful entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and business intuitive who has dedicated his life to following his passion and paying it forward. His mantra of “First you must LEARN, then you should EARN, so eventually you can RETURN”, led Kurtis to become a philanthropist and certified Life Coach. Kurtis adamantly believes that the harmonious communion of the body, mind, and spirit is the key to living a happy and healthy life. This thought pattern and diligent lifestyle choice are what eventually led Kurtis to becoming a certified Reiki Master, certified Hypnotherapist & Neuro-linguistic programming practitioner, as well as a certified International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) fitness professional.

In 2011, Kurtis had an amazing and eye-opening spiritual experience that changed his world forever. Kurtis discovered amazing abilities and mysteries about himself and the universe that he not only felt compelled to share with the rest of the world — he felt obligated!
We are looking forward to hearing what Kurtis has to contribute to our conversation on religion and spirituality.  And we hope you will join us too!  Click here to register!

Panelist Profile: Ava Wolf

Are you wondering about the awesome people who are going to be sitting on the panel of experts at the Wisdom Workshop on February 8th?

Today we feature one of those experts:  Ava Wolf

Ava Wolf met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as a young spiritual seeker in 1967 in Paris, France.  She completed training as a teacher of Transcendental Meditation (TM) after continued study with Maharishi in Mallorca, Spain in 1971.  She taught TM in Philadelphia, New York, and Atlanta. 
 
In  1987, Ava began the practice of Reiki in the Usui tradition, and became a Reiki Master in 1997.  In 1998, she co-founded the Reiki Clinic in the Department of Women’s Oncology at Women and Infants Hospital in Providence, where she also served as a consultant on the Hospital’s Integrative Care Committee.

In 2001, Ava became a certified Kripalu Yoga teacher.  Her focus has been to work therapeutically with people who have cancer, HIV, and MS.

Ava graduated from college cum laude with a B.A. in Theater Arts.  Creative self-expression, spiritual growth, and being of service to others are abiding values in her life.  Meditation is a practice that continues to sustain her. 

 

We are looking forward to hearing all that Ava has to share!  If you want to hear from her too, please register here:  https://wisdom-workshop-registration.eventbrite.com

Hope to see you there!!!

 

Considering Wisdom

When I consider the topic of Wisdom, before turning my attention to the various definitions that my understanding and experience render, I am directed to….

Proverbs 8 – “⁶ Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.  ¹² I wisdom dwell with prudence, ¹⁴ Counsel is mine, I am understanding; I have strength.  ¹⁹ My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.²² The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old.  ²³ I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.  ²⁴ When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.  ²⁵ Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:  ²⁶ While as yet He had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.  ²⁷ When He prepared the heavens, I was there: when He set a compass upon the face of the depth:  ²⁸ When He established the clouds above: when He strengthened the fountains of the deep:  ²⁹ When He gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass His commandment: when He appointed the foundations of the earth:  ³⁰ Then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him;”.

Based on my interpretation of this scripture, as wisdom has received its nature from the Spirit given by God, while having its purpose made manifest in and for the experience and understanding of humanity, I would say that Wisdom is a Spiritual Substance that bends to the Will and Majesty of the Creator and Honors and Promotes the Works of His Hand.  (Substance being defined as: that which is solid and practical in character, quality or importance). 

As I have matured, I have come to value Wisdom as a Divine Resource to assist and improve the quality of my existence individually and within the community of creation.  Purposefully, I do not limit this to the human experience because God has allowed me to engage other sources, both tangible and intangible, ideas, ideals and inventions to benefit me as I make my journey through life.  This I embrace as the wisdom of “use and don’t abuse, and open your eyes that you may see”. 

As I further explore the topic of wisdom, I realize that wisdom can be shared, but cannot be given, it is not stagnant but remains consistent, and that it is expansive, yet remains within the confines of its intent.  Consequently, because of its paradoxical nature, I would assert that wisdom is not a companion of the lazy.  It requires diligence and determination and neither is it a one-time acquisition.

 

³⁴ Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.

 

Having been raised as a Child of God and Spiritual Pilgrim, the attainment of knowledge and wisdom has been very much a part of my education.  Have I always strived for it? No!  Have I always understood the value and purpose of wisdom? No!  Have I always believed that it was an essential component for successful living? No!  Nor did I always think of wisdom as wisdom.  But what I have learned despite and in spite of my lack of intellectual conception is that wisdom does not bow down or submit to ignorance, and neither does it shrink in the presence of unwilling minds, hearts and spirits.  Wisdom remains true being its ordained nature and designed purpose.  The lessons that it teaches may be bitter or sweet:

⁹ They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.  ⁵ O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.

Also, there was a time when I mistakenly thought that because I had obtained some wisdom that I had truly become wise.  What I came to know is that the possession of wisdom is having the ability to understand the implication of choices (information), but being wise or utilizing that wisdom is deciding to choose rightly in accordance with those implications.  Consequently, I am still very much a student of wisdom.  I seek it because I have enough sense to know that this will lead to a more progressive and prosperous existence. 

⁸ Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.

¹⁹ My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.

I seek it because I want joy, harmony, peace, love, and prosperity to be the companions of my pilgrimage.  And I also want to be able to negotiate those times when discord, sadness, disappointment and chaos present themselves, as part of the human condition.   Ultimately, I know that God wants the best for me and with the spark of Divinity He placed in me I know He brought me here for purpose which can never be realized in ignorance. 

Finally, what I also love and appreciate about wisdom is that it doesn’t matter what you call it because it is not vain.  Sometimes it may be called “Light”, “Truth”, “Inspiration”, “The Path”, “Divine Guidance”, “Tidbits”, “Nuggets of Knowledge”, “Higher Learning”, “Enlightenment” etc, etc, etc.  But all it ever wants is for me and from me is to pursue it, embrace it, court it, honor it, and love it.   

33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.

35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord.

 

Jewell M. Simmons is the creator and founder of the Sistah Series.  The purpose of the SISTAH SERIES is to provide an opportunity and a venue for women/girls/females to speak of themselves and others in a SISTAH-LY manner that is positive, encouraging and uplifting. Visit her website by clicking here. 

 

Rewrite the Vision. Make it Plain.

Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.--- Psalm 27:14

For more than three years, I have had this dream to bring together experts and have a panel discussion that would feed my desire to grow in wisdom.  I believed that there were other people out there in the world, who felt the same pull as I did... to be better,  to stop making the same mistakes over and over again,  to become more spiritual beings.   My dream was to create an opportunity for all these people to come into a room and sit down and really wrestle with spirituality in an educational and engaging way.  I hoped that people would leave with an even greater thirst to increase in wisdom and understanding.

When the inspiration first struck, I was so excited that God had decided to use me to achieve some larger purpose.  But then the event just would not come together, and I got discouraged.  First there was no venue.  Then there was the issue of cost.  And then there was a general lack of interest in an event of this kind.  So I let it go, and opened myself up to the possibility that maybe God wasn't using me for that purpose after all.  Maybe I had misheard or misinterpreted this calling on my life.

And then about 2 months ago, I was asked to dream big.  I was asked to think outside the box, and commit to making the dream a reality before July 1, 2015.  Immediately, Wisdom Workshops came back to my mind.  A date, a location, and a spectacular line-up of panelist was secured before I could even fully appreciate what was happening.  The event was posted and people began to say that they would come. 

I started to get that feeling again.  There I was... walking boldly in my purpose, laying the groundwork for achieving my mission, for putting into action God's will for my life...  And then life happened.  The date would no longer work, and I felt that familiar self doubt creeping back in.   Would the Wisdom Workshop ever become a reality?

Wisdom is all about learning from mistakes, and growing in spiritual courage.  Courage is required in a search for wisdom because striving to be better forced my to confront insecurity, uncertainty and fear.  Which begged the question... what was I afraid of?  I was afraid that I was wrong and I really hate being wrong. 

I'm choosing to confront my self-doubt because being wrong about one thing, doesn't mean the whole idea was wrong.  I believe God gave me this concept.  I believe God chose me to make this happen.  I believe this event will touch someone's life.  I know it has already touched mine.  And that strengthens my heart.

So I'm taking a deep breath and praying for courage.  I'm pushing forward and re-writing my vision. 

On February 8, 2015 at 1 pm in Providence, RI, we will have the first Wisdom Workshop.  The topic will be Spirituality vs. Religion:  Can one exist without the other?  We will have a panel of experts to lend their diverse perspectives to the conversation.  Those people I dreamed of who are out there in the world yearning for wisdom... they will be there too.  And together we will embark on a dynamic journey, struggling with issues of faith, and love, and trust, and spirituality, and of course wisdom. 

I'd love it if you could be there too.  Visit our website to register: 

https://wisdom-workshop-registration.eventbrite.com

Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.--- Psalm 27:14