The world of knowledge has changed so dramatically in the last 25 years. Now we can have all the knowledge we need at the click of a button. So much information that was once difficult to access, is available to everyone who has an internet connection. https://blogs.humanwisdom.me/ # education For the older generation, owning an encyclopaedia was the ultimate source of knowledge while growing up, and really expensive. Now it’s free. In fact, the problem is the opposite- too much information, and not knowing how to make sense of it. But our education system has not changed. It is still largely rooted in sharing and memorising information, and we are examined on this very narrow ability of the brain. Why is it still important to memorise all this information, when it’s all available at the click of a button? It is still designed to help us get a job, and prepare us for the companies that are looking for workers. We think that earning a living is the most important thing in life. There is one other way in which our education system has not changed. It is still focused on teaching us about the world around us, but not at all about ourselves. We know much more about mathematics and science than about loneliness, fear or the art of happy relationships. Why is that? At HumanWisdom we believe that learning about ourselves is perhaps more important now than ever before, because that allows us to live with joy, and a sense of peace, and be excellent human beings, successful on the inside, and in the world. education Inspiring Growth: Understanding the Significance of Motive Description in Education Empowering Through Education: Unveiling the Significance of Knowledge and Exploring the Depths of Related Content for Lifelong Growth and Success.See humanwisdom.me. # education
Why do we feel hurt? In this blog, we’d like to explore the question of why human beings feel hurt and the many benefits that enquiry could bring. This feeling of being hurt is not unique to any one person but the same in all human beings, so we can explore this together, just by looking at ourselves clearly. #healing That understanding itself can bring change. So what are the common ways we get hurt? We get hurt when our expectations are not met. We may expect a friend to call us on our birthday, and when they don’t we feel bad. # healing We also have many psychological needs, which we are not aware of and expect others to fulfil. We want to be loved and respected, feel important, be listened to and understood and so on. If these needs are not met, we can feel hurt. We also get hurt when we are criticized. # healing https://blogs.humanwisdom.me/ If someone is a surgeon and you are critical of their surgical skills, they would feel hurt. If on the other hand you say they are a useless cook, they would probably laugh and agree with you. The difference is that they have an opinion or image of themselves as a good surgeon, but don’t regard themselves as a good cook. # healing We have many such images of ourselves, which we are not aware of, and when they are challenged, we get hurt. We can get hurt when an opinion or belief we are attached to is challenged- if someone says something bad about our religion for example. So, how do we respond when we get hurt? We usually blame the other person for hurting us, even though the expectation or image or strong opinion that caused the hurt in the first place was created by our own thinking. We may react by withdrawing our affection and not speaking to the other person, who may not know we have been hurt, and not understand why. Sometimes our hurt leads us to get angry, and that can lead to violence and we can see the effects of that in the world. There are many benefits of understanding this process more deeply. # healing It may make us take responsibility for the feeling and not blame others for hurting us, because the ultimate cause of being hurt lies in us, in our reaction to what has happened. # healing This may push us to understand the whole process by which our images, expectations, opinions and psychological needs are created and see the link between them and getting hurt. As a result of this understanding we may not react in the usual way by withdrawing our affection or with anger or violence and that may help not only bring harmony to our relationships- but also bring peace to a troubled world. To find out more visit humanwisdom.me. #healing
Title: Using our wisdom to tackle climate change – by understanding the mind where the problem begins In this blog, we’d like to explore a new way of addressing the problem of climate change – by understanding the way our shared human mind functions. Scientists say it is the greatest threat facing humanity and despite the efforts of many governments, the problem is getting worse. How can we respond? We know that rising greenhouse gas levels, which are responsible for global warming, are caused by increasing human consumption and a rising population.
The three factors which are driving this rising consumption – are our need for pleasure which comes from buying things we may not need, our fear which makes us want more and more, and our conditioning influences which make us want what others have because we think that will make us happy. https://blogs.humanwisdom.me/ Buying things that we don’t need and having new experiences bring us pleasure. We identify ourselves with our experiences and our possessions, and that strengthens the sense of self or the I, which makes us feel good. We seek gratification through pleasure, but this feeling of excitement from buying something or having a new experience, quickly fades away until there is a need for it to be replaced by new ones, and that leads to increased consumption. So, why do we have this constant craving for pleasure? Perhaps it is because deep inside we have this sense of restlessness or emptiness, which we are not aware of, and the stimulation that pleasure brings covers up that feeling of the void, if only for a short period of time. Explore this video that allows us to understand how wisdom can help tackle climate change: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2zcg6wLK1c We are not satisfied with how much we have, and always want more. We want to accumulate wealth, not only because it brings us pleasure, but because we fear the future, which is often operating in the background. Exploring and understanding our sense of emptiness and our fear of the future can bring a natural stillness and sense of peace within, and with that, the need for pleasure also recedes. The origin of the climate crisis, therefore, lies in the way our minds operate – in our need for pleasure and new experiences and our fear of the future, all of which lead to overconsumption. If we are able to tackle this problem in the long term, this is where we must direct our energy. We can do this through education, where young people could be taught not only about the world around them but also about themselves. If we can do this, we could address this problem in a generation. Let us not say it cannot be done without even trying. It’s not as hard as it seems. Future generations are counting on us. As Nelson Mandela said ‘It always seems impossible until it is done.’ To find out more about how wisdom can help you, and how it can address the problem of climate change, download the HumanWisdom app or visit humanwisdom.me.
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” – Aristotle # personal development There are many benefits of inquiry and learning about yourself. These include living with a sense of peace and contentment from within and having happier relationships. There are however many obstacles that can get in the way of this journey of learning about ourselves, and in this article, we are going to explore some of them.
As we look within, our image of ourselves may be challenged. We may realize that we are not as loving and kind as we thought we were and that may challenge the image we have created of ourselves as kind and loving people. Or we may think we are good listeners, when in fact we are not. This creates a conflict in our minds and may push us to stop exploring further. It is important to keep going because it is only in understanding and accepting ourselves as we are that we can change if we need to, and find peace within. # personal development Our fear of change can block our inquiry. As we look at ourselves we may realize that there are aspects of our lives that need to change, like our jobs, our relationships, and our addiction to shopping, or the phone. The possibility of change may however make us feel insecure and anxious, and that blocks any further exploration of our own personality. It is important, however, to explore our fear and keep going, because the understanding that flows from this brings its own insight, and change follows without effort. https://blogs.humanwisdom.me/ Watch this short video to understand how wisdom can help you with your self-discovery: Video – https://humanwisdom.me/course/adults/benefits-of-enquiry/s26011 Understanding ourselves feels unfamiliar – something we have never done. While exploring the cause of fear, we may say ‘But it’s only human to be afraid’ and give up without even taking the first step. When it comes to problems in the outside world, we humans are so good at solving them – look at the advances in medicine for example. Why do we assume, without trying, that our internal problems like fear and sorrow have no solution? Surely, we are very capable and do much better than that. We may be keen and have read many books on self-inquiry and know it all, but get frustrated because, despite all that knowledge, we find that there is no real change. The difficulty here perhaps is that we may be repeating what others have said, and not have taken the effort to look at ourselves deeply. It is only in looking at ourselves as we are that real understanding and change come. Being aware of these pitfalls in our journey of self-inquiry may help us to avoid them and keep going. It leads to wisdom, compassion, and goodness and is a lifelong journey. To find out more download the HumanWisdom app, or visit humanwisdom. me.
What is conditioning? https://blogs.humanwisdom.me/ In this blog, we will explore the subject of conditioning- which is a process by which all of our past experiences are stored in our memory and then act from behind the screen of our awareness to influence our thoughts and actions. When we are young, we may think that the opinions we have are ours, and the decisions we make about our life are also ours, but in truth, they are just a response to our particular conditioning. Let us go through some examples of conditioning. If one person reads a right-wing newspaper that is critical of immigration, for example, then that becomes their opinion. If someone else reads a left-wing newspaper that supports it, they begin to think it’s a good thing. When they meet and have an argument about immigration, they just repeat what they have read- except now it has become ‘their’ opinion which they want to defend. They have been conditioned – in this case by the media. Or if you are born in Belfast, depending on which street you lived you would grow up as a Catholic or as a Protestant and adopt the views and beliefs of the people around you. Or if you live in the US, you may think it’s every person’s right to carry a gun, but if you live in Europe you think that’s not right. If we have suffered some traumatic experience it conditions us, and in some cases for a lifetime. In this way, we are conditioned by our parents, our society, the media, our culture, and all our experiences. Our conditioning affects every aspect of our lives including our relationships, our opinions, our career choices, our sense of what we can do in life, and our daily habits. This process of conditioning is common to all human beings and we never question it because we are not aware of the process occurring in the background. Hundreds of billions of dollars are spent every year by various organizations to try and influence people to think in a particular way. They would not do that if they did not think the human mind can be easily influenced. In order to live an intelligent life, and not be controlled by outside influences and our own past, it is absolutely vital to wake up and question our conditioning and see the link between that and our thoughts and actions. That awareness brings its own intelligence and change occurs without effort. We realize then that we do not have to be slaves to our past, and all our conditioning. We cannot erase our memories as that would be foolish, but we can break that link between our past and our present through inquiry and awareness, and live a much more intelligent and rich life. Understanding the process of conditioning may also allow us to live with compassion because we can see that others are just acting from their particular past, just as we do from ours. To find out more please visit humanwisdom.me.
Understanding ourselves In order to be happy and do well in life we need to get on with others and understand them. The best way of doing that is to understand ourselves deeply because as we have explored before, the human mind functions in the same way in all of us.# self-discovery
Understanding ourselves also leads to a sense of inner peace. So- how do we begin? Just as we see a bird flying across the sky, just watching it without commenting, we could observe our thoughts and feelings as they rise in us.# self-discovery . That’s the first step. The second step is to go deeper and explore where these thoughts and feelings come from and the hidden mechanisms behind them. In that exploration lies a wealth of understanding which brings intelligence, wisdom, and change that can occur without effort. This journey of self-inquiry needs no special expertise, just a keenness to find out and a certain sensitivity. It is important that we are honest with ourselves and accept what we find. It is also important not to judge ourselves as good or bad because that blocks further questioning. Here are 2 examples. Suppose we go and see a movie with some friends. Some think it was wonderful, and others didn’t like it at all. The discussion gets quite heated. ‘Why does everyone have a different opinion of the same movie, and why are we so attached to our particular view? On exploring further it is clear that our perception of a situation and hence our opinion is determined by the content of our memory- which includes all our past experiences and our conditioning. https://blogs.humanwisdom.me/ Because the opinions come from our minds, we get attached to them and want to defend them. We are not aware of this process working in the background. We are sure our opinions are correct and never question them. Others do the same and that can lead to conflict. This applies to all walks of life. Understanding this process may allow us to explore situations from different perspectives, without being attached to a single one, and this would make our interactions with others so much easier. Another example could be noticing in a conversation how poorly we all listen to each other. We are more interested in speaking about ourselves and less interested in others. Most people are not aware of this. If we explored it further, we would realize that speaking about ourselves strengthens the ‘me’ and that brings us pleasure. This understanding may make us better listeners and improve all our relationships. In this way, we can explore the entire spectrum of our thoughts and feelings. The understanding that flows from this will help us get on better with others. It will also make us more comfortable in our own skin and result in a sense of inner peace. To find out more please visit humanwisdom.me. # self-discovery
Our education system is failing children and teachers. This is how we can fix it.# learning
The purpose of this thinkpiece is to ask questions of our global education system, to create a discussion and to look at education with fresh eyes. The world is changing rapidly, at a pace we are struggling to keep up with. Our education system is at a standstill, based as it is in the era of the industrial revolution. We are in the age of the technological revolution, a communication revolution, and an information revolution.
Wisdom has never been more needed to address the challenges the world faces. Wisdom can begin by asking questions, especially those we usually don’t ask. https://blogs.humanwisdom.me/
Have we got education upside down? The root of the word ‘education’ is ‘educere’ which means ‘to draw out.’ Do we believe our children come into the world as empty vessels waiting to be filled with knowledge, skills and understanding? Or do they come into the world with built in abilities; innate curiosity, creativity, well-being, resilience, intelligence, and happiness?
Watch children as they look at the world around them. Everything is new, all is to be explored. A child taking their first steps does not give up after the first attempt. Falling down after each attempt is not labelled as a failure. The same child does not look at other toddlers taking their first steps and think how much better the other children are at walking. Parents do not judge their child for the first failures, or even consider them a failure. It is part of the natural process of learning that is innate in every child.
Watch the children in a Nursery as they play imaginatively without consideration for how they might look to others. The imagination they are born with runs wild as they express themselves freely. A child who paints their first picture is not assessed or judged then given a label as a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ artist. They are celebrated for using the qualities within them and encouraged to keep going. But this raises another question:
Does our school system educate these qualities into our children or out of them? As our children move on from early years education we begin to give less importance to these innate qualities in favour of an ever narrowing range of subjects. We begin the measuring, labelling, comparing and judging process that is built into our system. We look at a narrow range of abilities such as academic subjects and the children are shown that if they can meet the expectations of the teachers in that narrow range of subjects, or do well in exams, then they will be a ‘success.’ If they don’t, they will be a ‘failure’.
What do we mean by that word success? A world where you are successful if you are better than the person next to you? A world of competition and a race to the top rather than collaboration for the benefit of all? Should schools, colleges and universities be competing with each other to attain a better set of exam results, or try and get the ‘best’ students so their grades will be higher?
We have an education system that measures children, compares them, then places them in a band of below average, average or above average. A system that judges them based on those measurements and tells them if they are successful or failures. We do this because we think knowledge is important. It is, but is it important to memorise it and test students on that ability, when it is all easily accessible on the phone or computer anyway?
By giving them so much information to assimilate and memorise are we destroying their own curiosity and their love for learning?
When we measure, compare, label and judge our children are we teaching them to do the same to themselves? Are we guilty of creating the problems we see in the world today? These include mental health issues, stress, anxiety, body image problems – the list goes on.
Do the labels we place on our children lead them to believe they are limited, and have nothing unique to offer the world? Does it encourage them to follow a path in life that is not their true calling, but based on fear, or what others expect of them?
Do we then apply the same principles of measuring, comparing, labelling and judging to our teachers and to the institutions in which they serve? Are the labels and judgements we place on our schools and teachers enabling them to make the difference they want to make in the lives of our children, or is it creating a narrow curriculum which is disempowering teachers and leading to frustration, stress, burnout and a disenfranchised profession?
Is there an overreliance on a knowledge-based curriculum in a world where information is available literally at our fingertips? Knowledge plays its part. But the biggest leaps of mankind have come from the innate wisdom and genius that is within us. Helping children tap into their innate wisdom should be the real purpose of education. This wisdom comes from a deeper self-understanding and brings creativity, intelligence and curiosity to the forefront and enables us to live with joy, and find solutions to our problems.
If our current model of education is the cause of these problems, then it could also be the solution. At present we teach children merely about the world around them, but not about themselves. As a result, they may know all about chemistry or maths, but do not know how to make good decisions for their lives, deal with stress and anxiety, have healthy relationships, avoid addiction, be kind, or live with a sense of peace. By including self-knowledge into the curriculum children would be able to access their own wisdom and have the tools to be successful as human beings, and also be successful in the world.
It is time for a fresh approach where knowledge has its place, but memorising and repeating it is less important. Instead we need to nurture the innate curiosity and love for learning which children already have. This learning needs to be about themselves, as well as the world around them.
If we are to change the future of humanity, we need to begin by having a fresh approach to education. We need to change education so it no longer adds to the stress and anxiety young people feel, but helps them be happy, mentally and physically healthy, and have the wisdom and skills to deal with the many challenges the coming century will bring. This is what we are trying to do with the Human Wisdom Project. To find out more listen to this podcast https://humanwisdom.podbean.com/e/human-wisdom-project/, and visit https://humanwisdom.me. You can also download the HumanWisdom app from the Apple or Google store.# learning
This is a short video introduction to the HumanWisdom app – https://youtu.be/GYbpYnkGJ0U If you would like to begin a conversation or get involved, please contact: Dominic Curran, Head of Education, Human Wisdom Project. dominic@humanwisdom.me.
Improve educational outcomes: Research has shown that stress and anxiety is common among students. In a survey 80% of students said stress impacts learning. Stress also impacts the ability of teachers to teach to the best of their ability. By addressing this we can boost outcomes. # problem-solving skills
Prevent mental health problems: Many problems originate in our thinking. By understanding why we think, feel, and act in the ways we do, we can be mentally healthier.# problem-solving skills Deal with stress and anxiety: The app offers many tools to deal with stress and anxiety-like breathing exercises, journaling, zooming out, changing perspective etc. It is in your pocket – to help deal with a crisis. 70% of students don’t seek help – and this app could be the answer. https://blogs.humanwisdom.me/ Happier relationships: A deeper understanding of ourselves allows us to understand others better – this is invaluable for healthy relationships – now and in the future – at home and at work. Understand and question their many influences: Young people are subject to a torrent of influences via social media. By understanding how they can be unconsciously conditioned by their influences, they can question them and live with wisdom. E.g. Not blindly follow the latest trend. Live without Envy/ Low self-esteem: By understanding the unconscious process of comparison in their own thinking, they can learn to only compare themselves with others when they need to, and can avoid feelings of envy, low self-esteem etc. They can then learn to follow their own path in life. Develop emotional intelligence: They can learn how to understand and better manage all their emotions like anger, loneliness, desire, sorrow, pleasure and sadness. Communications skills: The module on communication teaches students how to listen deeply, speak with care, and develop empathy. This is invaluable for work, and all our relationships. Leadership skills: The leadership module teaches students how to first be an inner leader, and in charge of themselves. It also helps them develop all the skills needed for leadership, all of which come from wisdom. Eg. Integrity, courage, compassion, emotional intelligence etc. Not be prisoners of their fears: By understanding the roots of fear in their thinking, and how it shapes all our lives, students can grow in freedom and not allow their unconscious and conscious fears to dictate the course of their lives. Prepare them for an uncertain future: The 21st century is going to present students with many challenges. The jobs they will do have not been created yet. They will need to be flexible, deal with uncertainty, and be creative. They also need to learn to deal with failure. Living with wisdom can help with all of these. Discover their true calling: There are so many pressures on students these days – from parents, society, social media etc. and it can be very confusing for them to decide what they want to do with their life. A deeper self-understanding can help them find out what they love to do and discover their true calling in life. Listen to this podcast on the subject: https://humanwisdom.podbean.com/e/finding-our-true-purpose-in-life/ Develop empathy and compassion: Understanding ourselves helps us to understand others – and realize that deep down we are the same human being – this allows us to have empathy and compassion for others, and work for a better world. Avoid the perils of addiction: About 10-12% of the population in most studies suffers from addiction. A deeper understanding of the hidden drivers in our thinking that drive us to addiction can help us avoid it, and more easily overcome it – these include our conditioning, our inability to cope with, and need to escape from emotional pain, and our need for pleasure and stimulation. Listen to this podcast on the subject: https://humanwisdom.podbean.com/e/avoiding-and-overcoming-addiction/ Develop a healthy relationship with food: In the US (the same problem occurs everywhere) 42% of people are obese (with all the health problems that follow) and 11% have an eating disorder. Understanding why these problems occur can help us avoid them – e.g. conditioning, our need for pleasure, and using food as a way of dealing with stress. To find out more download the HumanWisdom app or visit humanwisdom.me and explore how it can help you live your best life. # problem-solving skills
3 ways wisdom can be life-changing Imagine… A life free of stress. A life without anxiety. A life with happy relationships. All this seems utopian given the challenges we all face, but that may be because we have been looking in the wrong place for the answers. Wisdom, which comes from a deeper understanding of ourselves and how our minds work, offers us a different way of being in the world, and a fresh way of dealing with problems # decision-making Let’s explore 3 ways living with this wisdom could be life-changing.
If we are sitting an exam our mind assumes that the exam is causing our stress. Or if we are stuck in a traffic jam we assume that it is the traffic jam that is making us stressed. If we use our wisdom we can see that stress is just an automatic reaction from our thinking to an external event, because not everyone is stressed, and not to the same degree. It is the difference between how things are and how we want them to be. We seem to have no control over that reaction. # decision-making
To be free of stress we can either change the event, or change our reaction to it. Often we cannot change the event, or another person, but we can change how we react. To do that we need to understand why our mind reacts in the way it does. That journey of understanding ourselves opens the door to wisdom which can help us avoid and overcome stress. You can discover this wisdom for yourself, because you already have it within you, and it can be life-changing.
Living with wisdom can bring lasting freedom. Now, wouldn’t that be amazing? # decision-making
How can wisdom help us be less anxious?
Anxiety causes so much suffering and we seem to have no control over it, but wisdom can help us be free of it.
When we are afraid or anxious and we distract ourselves and think of something else, our anxiety goes away, suggesting that it is a product of our thinking. Our mind assumes our anxiety comes from the outside – from exams, or work, or a lack of money, but if we use our wisdom to look carefully we can see that it is just a reaction from our thinking, because everyone is not affected in the same way. Our fears control and shape our lives in many ways we are not aware of and are a product of our unconscious thinking.
Understanding ourselves and how our minds work, opens the door to wisdom and this allows us to understand the root cause of fear in our thinking. With this understanding anxiety can be prevented and more easily overcome, and this can set us free to live life to the full. After all, the ultimate freedom is freedom from undue fear, and this can be life-changing.
1 in 5 adults and 1 in 3 students suffer from anxiety, so you are not alone. Begin your own journey to wisdom and discover how you can be free.
How can wisdom help us have happier relationships?
Our happiness depends on the quality of our relationships. Even if one of our relationships at home or at work is unhappy, we struggle to be happy. How can wisdom help us have enduring relationships with depth and without conflict?
The more we understand ourselves the easier it is to understand others because deep down we are the same human being and our mind functions in similar ways. We all have emotional needs we are not aware of – a need to be understood, loved, accepted, feel important, and listened to, for example. We expect others to meet these needs, and when they are not met we become unhappy and blame others for our unhappiness. Others expect us to meet their needs, and conflict follows. Understanding this allows us to respond with wisdom. # decision-making
We get easily hurt when our expectations are not met and react by getting angry, withdrawing our affection, finding other ways to retaliate, or leaving the relationship. Wisdom allows us to understand what is going on in our own thinking, take ownership of how we feel, and begin a healing conversation with others.
The art of successful relationships is one we can all learn and it can transform our life.
To find out more and explore each of these topics in depth download the HumanWisdom app on the Apple or Google store, or visit https://humanwisdom.me. It is free to browse.
This is a short video introduction to the HumanWisdom app – https://youtu.be/GYbpYnkGJ0U
An old aborigine elder once said – ‘Traveller there is no path. Paths are made by walking. Wisdom allows us to be the change we want to see in the world and live our best lives. To find out more download the HumanWisdom app or visit humanwisdom.me and explore how it can help you live your best life.# decision-making
Introduction – Wisdom, which comes from a deeper understanding of ourselves, can lead to greater self-awareness and help relationships flourish. We have so many relationships through our lives – with parents, children, friends and work-colleagues. They can bring us so much happiness, but can be equally heart-breaking if they are dysfunctional. ‘If humanity has to survive we must cultivate the science of relationships – the ability of all people to live together in peace’ – Franklin D Roosevelt With 60+ modules the HumanWisdom app gives you the tools to access your own wisdom, understand your own ego, and then apply this to enhance every aspect of your life, including your relationships. It could help your relationships flourish in many ways:
Listen with depth We all have a need to be listened to, but not the same need to listen. Listening with depth is a skill we can all learn, and this can enhance all our relationships. https://blogs.humanwisdom.me/
Understand what is not being said Being able to understand others clearly, including what is not being said, can deepen our connection with others, and avoid misunderstandings.
Speak with care Wisdom helps us learn to speak with care, and consider how it is going to be received before speaking.
Be more flexible Understanding our attachment to our own point of view can help us be more flexible and this can help avoid conflict.
Criticise others carefully If we are not aware, the constant criticising of others can strain our relationships. Wisdom allow us to be sparing in our criticism and offer it carefully.
Live without Envy By understanding the unconscious process of comparison in our own thinking, we can learn to only compare ourselves with others only when we need to, and avoid feelings of envy, low self-esteem and resentment – which can reduce stress and relationship conflict.
Develop emotional intelligence By understanding ourselves we can better manage our emotions like unhappiness, anger, sadness, or loneliness. This helps us have happier relationships.
Understand emotional needs We have many emotional needs we are not aware of which we expect others to meet. When they are not met we get hurt, and angry. Understanding them allows us to respond with wisdom.
Be kind Our mind is usually thinking of itself and how its needs can be met. This leaves no space for kindness. Realising this allows us to respond with wisdom, and go out of our way to be kind to others.
Develop a positive attitude A positive attitude is something we need to consciously develop, because our minds have a natural negativity bias. This allows us to overlook the faults in others. ‘The beginning of love is to let someone be perfectly themselves, without trying to fit them into our image’ – Thomas Merton
Realise that your anger comes from you Wisdom allows us to understand that our anger comes from ourselves – it’s a reaction to a feeling of being hurt or disappointed. Anger can harm relationships and this understanding allows us to respond with wisdom.
Receive criticism without reacting Being able to receive feedback and criticism with intelligence is a skill we can all learn. Being open to listen to negative feedback and act on it can keep all our relationships healthy, for the long term.
Understand expectations In all our relationships we carry many expectations of how we want others to behave. When these expectations are not met we can get hurt, get angry and this can strain our relationships. A deeper understanding of where our expectations come from allows us to respond with wisdom.
See people freshly. Be grateful. Our mind usually takes what it already has for granted and focuses on what it does not have. Wisdom allows us to be grateful for what we do have, and see people freshly.
Learn to love Wisdom allows us to love others for their sake, and not just because of what they do for us. Love is acceptance, and wisdom allows us to accept people as they are and not try and change them.
Learn about yourself Relationships offer a mirror in which we can learn about ourselves and grow as human beings. Every reaction we have teaches us something new about ourselves – if we are open to learning.
Learn to forgive To keep relationships healthy, we must learn to forgive others and overlook what we perceive to be their faults. Wisdom awakens compassion and makes forgiveness easier, because we see that deep down we are the same human being.
Have deeper, more meaningful connections with others It is beautiful when our relationships have depth and meaning – we feel closer to others, and less lonely. To get closer to others we need to overcome our fear and be more vulnerable – sharing what we really feel. Wisdom can help us do this.
Learn to respect differences We become unconsciously attached to our own conditioning and want others to think and behave like us. Wisdom allows us to respect differences because we have a deeper understanding of what is going on in our own thinking. To find out more download the HumanWisdom app or visit humanwisdom.me and explore how it can help you live your best life.
