The teachings surrounding wisdom have been popping up around Infinite Smile recently. So here’s a re-posting of part of the chapter on this subject from Awake in This Life:
As the audience, or Witness, of the illusory and repetitious charade of ego on the Stage of Mind, we suddenly have an empowering choice offered to each of us in every single situation that we might encounter. In this choice we always uncover a chance in each moment to surrender any and all forms of attachment. Wisdom comes from our ability to watch without judgment and therefore see through the various levels of our clinging until we are confronted with the profoundly obvious Truth that every thing that can be conceived is merely a ripple in the totally unified, oceanic expression of Emptiness. Truly seeing that all things are an expression of this Oneness is wisdom.
From the summit of the Mountain, all things begin to take on an entirely new meaning and assume a position in our consciousness in ways far different from what weve always known. Weve previously touched on how all things can be seen as having three defining qualities: every thing is temporary; every thing is interdependent; and every thing is ultimately an expression of the Infinite. The realization of this makes the ego, as well as all the other constructs of our minds, rather trivial. Every thing, including ego, becomes largely insubstantial in the face of the expansiveness of the Infinite Oneness. But we dont just dissolve into bliss at this recognition. Nor does our infinite wisdom show us that nothing is of any importance at all. Life itself, from this perspective, is never meaningless. On the contrary, recognizing the temporary nature of all things, the interdependence of all things, and the empty or Infinite nature of all things can inspire us to live our lives with intense courage and compassion in every situation because the Knowing of this Truth frees us from the habitual orientation built and serviced by the small self.
When we begin to rest in this Truth, as this Self beyond the self, we can freely participate as the wisdom that is revealed by that which witnesses all experience. Then we can start to source our lives from an inexhaustible supply of fearless availability. From the Witness, we wisely recognize that we are free to choose how we will respond to any and all circumstances that might arise. Instead, for instance, of being bound by the usual responses to the constant threats and desires offered in our life situations, we begin to see another way to operateone that is generous to everyone involved, including ourselves. When we fully re-center our consciousness in the formless, inclusive, and groundless space of the Witness, we become free of all things because we begin to see that we are all things. It is at this point that we begin to offer a presence to the entire Universe that is nothing less than the unattached and enlightened grace of Being.