Wisdom
TRUSTING YOURSELF
Wisdom
In our complex, rapidly changing world, true wisdom emerges not from accumulating more information but from accessing our natural intelligence—the innate capacity for clear seeing and wise action that's always available when we pause.
The Pause Method culminates in WISDOM—the integration of presence, calm, clarity, creativity, and connection. When these inner resources work together harmoniously, we access an intelligence that transcends mere thinking and problem-solving. This natural intelligence allows us to navigate life's challenges with both compassion and discernment, responding skillfully rather than reactively.
This session explores two complementary pathways to wisdom: The Wise Brain Reset that helps us respond in the midst of daily life, and the Contemplative Pause that allows deeper insights to emerge when we're facing complex questions or feeling stuck. Through these practices, we learn to recognize and work with common obstacles to wisdom—including our tendency to analyze rather than allow, and our discomfort with uncertainty.
As we deepen our access to wisdom, we discover the power of simplicity, discipline, renunciation, and devotion as foundational elements that sustain our practice. These roots nourish our ability to trust ourselves more fully, accessing the natural intelligence that has been with us all along but often goes unrecognized amid the noise and pace of modern life.
When we pause to access wisdom, we create the conditions for living and working with greater authenticity, purpose, and meaning—discovering that the most profound guidance for navigating life's complexities emerges not from external sources but from within.
The Power of Awareness
In this wide-ranging conversation, Jon Kabat-Zinn explores mindfulness not as a technique, but as a radical way of being—an invitation to live fully in the present moment. He reflects on awareness as our innate capacity, meditation as a love affair with life, and the liberating shift from identifying with thoughts to inhabiting the space of knowing itself. A powerful reminder that mindfulness is both ordinary and extraordinary, practical and profound.
Keeping It Sacred
In this pithy yet potent excerpt, Susan Piver reminds us that meditation isn’t just a tool for self-improvement—it is something sacred. And for any practice to be truly sustainable (and not become dry/mechanical) we must get in touch with the sacredness in our own personal way. Guided by her Buddhist background, she suggests three simple rituals—making offerings, requesting blessings, and dedicating merit— that invite us to reconnect with the heart of practice, shifting it from a to-do list item to an expression of reverence and inner nourishment. These gestures, though rooted in tradition, are deeply personal and accessible. If this resonates, you could experiment with her approach for yourself!
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