"No. It's a failure." I insisted.
"There is no such thing as failure. There is only feedback!" The spirit tugged me towards the drawing board. "Now, learn from your feedback and get this toy in the air!"
The Power of Words
My lips fused together! They shut tighter than welding on a ship. I could not breathe in through my mouth. I stumbled backwards in panic. "Be still," commanded the spirit of Wisdom. I had been complaining about my poor lot in life, when the spirit's temper flared. "Think now!" He snapped at me as I lay on the ground, stuffing air into my lungs through my nostrils. "The power of life and death is in the tongue." The spirit paused and took a deep breath. "Those who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it - for death or for life." Calmed down, the spirit removed my supernatural gag, and I gasped for air. "Now think," said the spirit as he turned to leave. "And chose which one it shall be!"
The Reality Of What Is Not Said
"I find it hard to believe what people say." I attempted to understand a friend. His circular conversation just confused and frustrated me. The spirit of Wisdom chuckled. "You are not the only one with that problem."
“No! They don't lie to you too, do they?"
The spirit of nodded; "They do, but there is a simple remedy!"
"Please do tell!" He had my interest.
"The reality of a person lies not in what you see, rather, in what you don't see. So, when talking to someone you are trying to understand, listen to what they say, as well as what they don't say!"
Risk It!
The spirit of Wisdom threw his head back in laughter. We discussed laws that controlled the spiritual realm, and had a strong influence on our life as humans. One had caught my attention. "Give and you shall receive." I had heard of this law during my religious education as a youngster, but never paid much attention to it. The spirit laughed at my facial expressions as I pondered the effect of this newly discovered reality on my own life. "So, if I was to give away all I had, would I get all I ever wanted?"
The spirit stopped laughing; "Take a risk and find out!"
The Road Less Travelled
"The journey does not end just because the road does," said the spirit of Wisdom. He was floating above me, smiling at the confused look on my face. I had chosen to travel down a path in the wilderness that was less travelled, but it was a path nonetheless. I had walked along this route wide-eyed and ready for adventure, when I noticed the path ended before me.
I was confronted with real choice for the first time. The path could take on any direction I chose. I would no longer be walking along routes decided by road makers, but along routes to destination I choose. I moved from being a traveler to a path maker. "Life's true adventures and discoveries only start when we cut our own road," the spirit of Wisdom urged me to move. I picked a point in the distance and left the road less travelled.
A Little Like…
"He believed I was just like him," I laughed as I relayed the story of an encounter with a man I met through my work to the spirit of Wisdom. The spirit was in the park, portraying an artist as he worked on a sculpture. "Are you?" He asked through the hammering and banging.
"Not even close!" I laughed. "His misconception of me did help close the deal." I watched as the spirit chipped away at his work of art. "Why did he think we are alike?" I asked the creative spirit.
"People like people that are a little like themselves." He paused from the work. "Some people are a little lonely, and so project a little of themselves into everyone around them, creating an air of sharing and acceptance." He returned to his work. "So, what do you think of my work of art?" He leaned back to get a better view of his work. It was a little formless I thought. "Ah, good!" said the spirit, as he chipped away a protruding bit. "A little like me then?"
Slave To What?
I slammed the fridge door shut as I tossed the roll of cooked ham onto the table. A friend hooked on heroin turned down an all expenses paid trip to a rehabilitation centre in favor of facing the odds on his own. I yanked the bread from its bin and tossed it too. I ranted about the folly of his decision to overlook such a good opportunity. The spirit of Wisdom sat and watched my dramatic performance from his seat on the stove. I prattled on about – if he was really willing to get well – that he would grab the opportunity with open arms. "I think we should just force him into accepting that offer. It's not every day such a blessing crosses our path. I think I should grab him and just take him to the centre and sign him up – he will thank me later!" I looked to the Spirit for support, "What do you think?"
"Huh! From a slave to drugs to a slave of your desire! Take away his free choice and he will always remain a slave! Is that what you want?"
Snoring Wisdom
I watched your gentle face as you slept. I was in awe of your beauty when the sound of snoring ruptured the idealistic portrait. I moved to wake you, when my spiritual eyes were opened, and I could see the spirit of wisdom resting peacefully in the park of your heart. I chuckled as I realized it was he, and not you snoring as he lay fast asleep on a bench. I smiled as I remembered a proverb; "Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding."
Something New
"I did everything I could." I said as the spirit of Wisdom raced around the fish tank, chased by one of the angel fish. They were playing a game of tag. "No you didn't!" He scooted past and into the miniature castle. "You went back and did the same thing as last time, just louder, harder and faster." His voice echoed from within the castle. This tipped the angel fish off to his location. The fishy spirit raced up to the glass to face me. "And what did that get you?" The spirit and I had been through this conversation before. I was looking for new results. Previously he said I should try something different. I thought I had, but in hindsight, I could see that the spirit of Wisdom was right, as usual. The angel nipped the spirits tail. He was tagged. The angel fish raced away to hide. It was the first time the angel tagged the spirit, as she had come up with a way to corner him in the castle, his favorite hiding place. The spirit swam up to the glass once again, "If you always do what you always did, you will get what you always got!" It was time to try something new!
The Spirit of Death
I know not whether we were in the flesh or in the spirit, but as the spirit of Wisdom and I conversed, we observed an awesome spirit travel towards us. The spirit of Wisdom greeted the spirit of Death. The grim reaper stood tall in comparison to the spirit of Wisdom, with the massive and eerie sickle held in his left hand. As they spoke, I wondered what it looked like under the dark and unwelcoming hood that covered the spirit of Death's face. The spirit of Wisdom turned to me and warned me not to desire such a dangerous thing, "It is peering into the darkness of the hood that reveals the evil darkness that is inside a man! One look is enough to make you realize all the right reasons for you to pass from this life into the next." The spirit's stern warning frightened me so much that I asked the grim reaper if I could dare a look.
His yes rumbled deep inside the cloak, shadowed by a spine-chilling laugh. I took a step closer and peered into the darkness under the hood. Terror engulfed me as I saw evil beyond description. My stomach convulsed, ready to vomit out my spirit, that it may follow the spirit of Death to its final resting place. The spirit of Wisdom pulled me away, and injected life-giving energy into my heart and mind. I lay on the ground trembling and shocked, gripped in fear of what I had seen under the hood, "It… it… it was …" I stuttered in terror, "It was a mirror!"
Success is His
"I have made many plans." All of which have failed. I am viewed as an idealist, with quick and foundation-less schemes for wealth and well-being. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am a lost and desperate individual, feeling caught by circumstance wanting to earn a living. I seek the right and money to walk my own path in this life. The spirit of Wisdom floated before me, not touching ground
, and spoke to me without moving his lips or using words. "Many plans are in a man's mind, but it is the Fathers purpose for him that will stand to the end."
Super Positioning
"Quantum Biology!" I pointed to the documentary on television as the spirit of Wisdom emerged from my mug of coffee.
"Ah! Super Cylinders." The spirit said knowingly as he sat down on the couch beside me. "You are aware of this stuff?" I scoffed. In my experience, the spirit of Wisdom knew more about technology than I care to admit. "The super cylinders self-construct in the cells of the brain, to give the cell its shape and function." The spirit said in a dry monotonous tone. The documentary was about the physical make up of the brains cells. "You have seen this program before!" I laughed.
"The super cylinders have an amazing ability known as super-positioning!" The narrator's voice caught my attention. "This is the super cylinders ability to be in two places at once."
"What possible benefit could super-positioning have for the brain?" I asked. The spirit of Wisdom de-materialize. As his image faded next to me on the couch his form re-materialized in front of me. Soon he had "tele-transported" himself from the couch to stand in front of the television. "Yes, I wonder what benefit there could be?" He looked me straight in the eye for a while. Slowly a smile etched across his face and then he vanished.
Teach me to Prophesy
"Teach me to prophesy!" I demanded from the spirit of Wisdom. He smiled shyly. "Ok," he said. We whisked to a busy mall. Here he told me that he would show me how to foresee the success of any human being. "How?" My childish excitement got me jumping up and down.
"Examine their values!" he stated seriously. He continued explaining that certain words, based in external factors stripped the holder of the power of success. "I don't understand," I groaned.
"Words such as money, or careers, or friends, have external elements that control their fate. These external pieces hold the power to successes," said the spirit. "When someone has a goal that includes external factors, those factors own the success."
"It is when the value-holder favors things that are squarely in his or her control, placing the responsibility of success, snugly on their own shoulders, that they gain the power to succeed!" I was filled with glee of the revelation. I realized that the people in the mall had become symbols of their values in my eyes. "When you see such a soul," the spirit pointed to a person walking towards us, who seemed to own his goals. "You can prophesy that you have seen a champion!"
Beauty Remembered
The early morning sky was filled with a mix of colors; blacks, blues, purples and oranges. The clouds hosted the changing colors as the sun rose into the crisp morning air. The mountains danced with shadows and color. The mist crept along the valley floor, sometimes reflecting the colors of the clouds above it. The mountain forest was filled with the sounds of the animal life. "Have you ever witnessed anything as beautiful," said the spirit of Wisdom as he sat down next to me on the rocky outcrop high on the mountaintop. I remembered the beauty of your smile. I thought about the sparkles of glory in your eyes. My nostrils were filled with your sweet aroma as the memory of your gentle voice filled my head. I looked at the spirit, and smiling I said - "I have."
The Second Meeting
His audience, both young and old, was captivated by the gentle flow and clever twists of his story. Everyone erupted in laughter as the punch line slipped from his lips.
"I know you from somewhere." I approached him once the crowds had dispersed. "We met once," said the elderly gentleman. "But your arrogance ensured a short encounter." He spoke as he gathered up his things and placed them in a large leather travelling bag. "I apologize." I had an unexplainable urge to get to know this man. It was as if he had a strange energy, a magnetism, which pulled me to him. "To accept would imply that I was initially offended." He stopped packing and looked me in the eyes. "I wasn't. You acted in the way the system guided you." He smiled, picked up his bag and began to leave.
"Please, don't go." I blurted the words before I could control myself.
"I am always with you." He waved as he walked. "Just call and you will see!" He then vanished.
The Singing Hammer
The singing hammerhead's voice was at a painfully deafening pitch. My hammer had bounced off the hard, cold surface without leaving a trace of its presence. The vibration of the rejected and success-less hammer violently and painfully shook the skeletal foundation of my being. I put down the sledgehammer with a thud, which echoed my internal resilience crumbling before the impenetrable barrier. As I viewed the unscathed surface, unaffected by my hammer, I knew in my heart that I had been beaten. I let go of the handle of the hammer and it plonked to the ground. I turned away to find some medical care for my injured ego, when I saw the spirit of Wisdom standing watching me. "There is only one way to break through the protection barriers she has placed around her heart'" the spirit started. "And that my rejected friend, is by using love!" Deep in my own fragile heart, I knew what the spirit said was true, but where I stood I lacked the confidence to take his advice.
"Maybe!" I nodded. "But for now, I need to learn to love me before I attempt breaking through to her."
"Getting comes through giving." The spirit placed his arm around my shoulders and we walked into the night and back to the warmth of home.
Success Of One
"One should not measure success by counting how well developed your cheque account is!" said the spirit of Wisdom. I had taken pride in the amount of surplus I owned. "How would you suggest I measure my success?" I was defiant.
"The success of one's life can be measure by using three very simple yardsticks," the spirit of Wisdom moved to invisibility as he spoke. "Do you have something to love? Do you have something to do? Do you have something in which to hope?"
Success is far more meaningful than just counting your excess.
The Wealth Within
"Seeking to connect to the greater conscience is like someone locked up in a king's treasury trying to escape to find wealth!" The spirit of Wisdom melted into the delicate tissue of my brain matter and communed with my mind as I slept. "I don't understand," I said. I had asked the spirit if there was not an easy way to connect into the greater universal consciousness. I wanted to be able to tap into the wisdom of great teachers, philosophers and magicians of times past. I wanted access to the wealth of knowledge, experience and power that lies waiting in the realms of the greater consciousness. I wanted a heart to understand and experience, rather than information to just know the greater conscience.
"Every mind is part of, and makes up the greater conscience. Seeking to connect to it, in some external fashion is foolish. One merely needs to understand the mind which you possess, and learn to interpret the signals from the conscience correctly."
"I am already connected?"
"The Great Book says that Father has already given you all things that pertain unto life and godliness. One merely needs to learn to tap into the resources within."
Time Travel
In a blink, I stood in a time that was more akin to my values. "Just because your physical body is confined to a physical space and time, does not mean you can't visit generations gone before you." The spirit of Wisdom patted me on the back. We walked through the village as people went about their daily business. Blacksmiths used no power tools to exercise their craft. I watched as children played in streets of dirt. I heard the clutter of hooves, and turned to watch a band of knights' ride by. A child accidentally ran into me, apologized and then went on his way. "How is it possible that I can interact in this age, if I am not really here?" I thought the spirit had brought me here in mind only.
The shock of the physical sensations of the contact with the child reeled through my body. "Times past cannot be physically revisited. The spirit and memories of those moments live on in the greater consciousness. Here you too are only a spiri
t, and so may interact freely." The words of the spirit of Wisdom drifted into my mind as I enjoyed my surroundings through all my senses. Suddenly there was a different sensation. My being jerked as I crashed into my physical body. I became aware of someone standing beside me. I opened my eyes, to find myself back in my study, to the cautious gaze of a loved one. "Where were you?" She asked gently; "Sleeping?"
"No," I chuckled within myself, "Time travelling!"
Travelling reveals Truth
Travelling the earth, I magically gathered the radiance of all the beauty I could find,
But the collection is pale compared to your beauty.
With ancient spells I harnessed the power of the sun,
But it is cool compared to the warmth of your heart and personality.
I witnessed the production of the supercomputer,