Tapping into our core values and bedrock wisdom

What are some of the key truths about yourself that you learn over a lifetime? My strong sense of self – of who I am – discovered and strengthened over a lifetime, has helped me get through jarring setbacks. I realized long ago, through periods of depression, unemployment and adversity, that I have a core, bedrock sense of myself and what I have done and accomplished that is good, and what I am capable of doing in the future. That has sustained me through all the failures and horrible wrong steps I have taken. It’s the core, the soul, the essence that forms over the course of a lifetime. But it’s sometimes vulnerable because there have been so many bad experiences and situations that have attacked my foundation, Some of them have been beyond my control. But the core, like sturdy granite monolith, endures, holds up, even when I’m not aware that it is supporting me and keeping me whole.

Long ago, in an instant messaging conversation, I had one of those brief bursts of lucidity that often come out in those conversations, but which rarely register with the other person. I saved the online dialog. Here is something I said that I think is true at all stages of life. I said this in middle age, but it is as true then as now:

I am 53 years old. (This was in 2004) I have read a lot, lived a lot, been a lot of places. Still, even at this age, I acknowledge I have a ways to go yet on my journey toware peace of mind and final enlightenment, spiritual completion or fulfillment. A part of my basic philosophy, which I like to share with others, is summed up in the above words.

Along my long and winding spiritual path, I am always seeking signs that mark the way, in a manner of speaking. They appear to me at unexpected times and places. Sometimes it is something uncanny and unforgettable that someone tells me when I am in a perfectly receptive state of mind yo hear it. Sometimes it’s a book or article I stumble upon unawares. Often it’s literal signs that pop out at me when I’m on my way somewhere. Sometimes I think synchronicity is involved because there’s no way to explain the perfect alignment of what I see “out there” and what I’m thinking at the moment.

When I scan the bargain book table at the bookstore, I occasionally come across surprises such as “The Little Book of Secrets.” I can’t resist it and buy it, and in looking within find truths that speak directly to me. Sometimes, kernals of wisdom come in seemingly innocuous and trite packages. By this I mean, when someone says he has 81 secrets for living a happy, successful life, I am naturally a bit skeptical. But when I actually take time to see what the author is saying, I find self-help books fascinating for what they aspire to offer people, but I usually never buy them. When I do, more likely than not I’m extremely grateful. This spurs me on to look for other offbeat or unusual books of “wisdom” including books of quotations and explanations of life’s mysteries and secrets. And today, computer algorithms on Amazon and YouTube, are able to “find” videos and books that unlock or answer even more of life’s secrets and questions.

One of those questions is this, and it’s a loaded one: “What is success?” As I have gone through life and developed and strengthened my core values, I have learned over and over again that “success” has nothing to do with material wealth or possessions. Those are just outward trappings of a certain kind of “success.” Then one might ask, “What is “prosperity?” That in turn can mean many things as well. Prosperity to me is having enough materially to enable me to do those things in life which ultimately lead to inner peace and wisdom, whether traveling, buying enriching books, giving gifts or money to friends or people in need. We all requite a certain amount of stability to advance along the path to knowledge and enlightenment and that means meeting basic needs such as food, shelter, health care, a job that is secure, and relationships with others.

How do we uncover the “secrets of life?” We can read and listen to the words of past and present-day teachers, gurus, spiritual masters, and scholars who have spent lifetimes searching for wisdom in the “most ancient and revered writings on our planet” which have survived for thousands of years.

As we skim along on the surface of life, we find ourselves yearning to delve deeper, to tap into the wisdom of the ages. When we do, the random signs and lessons cohere into meaningful stories and explanations. We glimpse the whole, briefly, fleetingly and then it is gone. But each time we do, we are more sure of our calling, our purpose and our destiny. By the time we are old, we will have hopefully achieve a level of wisdom that enables us to calmly weather the storms of life and become prepared and ready for what comes after this life. That is what I hope.