“I have been a seeker, and I still am, but I stopped asking the books and the stars. I started listening to the teaching of my soul.”
—Rumi
Defining Inner Wisdom
Whether you think of inner wisdom as the teaching of the soul, or as intuition, insight, or inner guidance, practicing mindfulness will help you connect with it. Once connected to your inner wisdom, you know the right thing to do by how it feels.
Brian Leaf, the author of Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi, defines inner wisdom as “knowledge that comes from quieting the mind, setting aside the ego, setting aside one’s ideas of how things should be, and listening and feeling for what feels truly right.”
This wisdom, Leaf says, “can be a calm, serene feeling or a passionate, electric feeling” that leads to “a deep sense of rightness.” Living from this rightness frees you because it takes away the restrictions of your own and other people’s expectations.
Inner wisdom can come from inspired thoughts, feelings, even images. Mindfulness helps you connect with those thoughts, feelings, and images and sort them from inner turmoil, doubts, negative thoughts, and egotistical whims.
These three strategies can help you increase your inner wisdom:
- Get to know yourself: learn to listen to your intuition
- Keep learning: sharpen your brain, try new things, learn from your mistakes
- Challenge yourself: do the things that scare you
Let’s look at each one of them up close.
Strategy 1: Get to Know Yourself
There’s no way around it—self-discovery is necessary if you want to connect with your inner wisdom.
Writing and journaling your thoughts and feelings is a strategic tool for making that connection. Before you can make use of your inner wisdom, you need to tune in to it. Writing about your doubts, fears, dreams, and hopes is a good way to start.
Life has taught most of us to be our own severest critics. Writing down these scathing and self-defeating thoughts can help you to silence your inner critic.
We’ve been educated to put away childish things, so we’re out of touch with our inner child. Getting your feelings down in writing will help you get re-acquainted with that child.
Writing things down in black-and-white (or color!) also helps you distinguish between what you think you want, what you’ve been trained to want, and what you actually want.
Strategy 2: Keep Learning
Learning new things is an often-recommended tool to keep your logical brain ticking over. Trying a new path also helps jump-start your inner wisdom.
Try a Mindful Activity
Calm down. Strategic tools like mindfulness exercises, yoga, and meditation will help you listen to what your inner wisdom can tell you.
Make Mistakes
We all make mistakes. Instead of agonizing over them, learn from them. Take risks. Your mistakes can make you a better person. Experience makes us wise.
Forgive Yourself
Break the cycle of self-blame and regret. Take an inventory at the end of the day or early in the morning. If you find you’re judging yourself, lighten up. Use some forgiveness statements to free up the energy you’re wasting being mad at yourself.
Laugh
Laughter has many proven health benefits. It stimulates the lungs and the heart. It gives you better oxidation. And it’s even good for your liver. Psychologically speaking, it removes tension, relaxes you, and give you a fresh perspective. It’s also a great way to tap into your inner child and your inner wisdom. “Don’t take yourself so seriously,” is good advice from both.
Strategy 3: Challenge Yourself
Being mindfully alive means working at it. These strategic tools challenge you to increase your inner wisdom by challenging both your brain and your heart.
Do Things the Hard Way
Technology is a great time-saver, but depending on it all the time means your brain and skills decline.
Next time you’re in an unfamiliar neighborhood, use your brain cells to find your way instead of the GPS. When you need some information, do some actual research, talk to an expert or read a book. Don’t just Google it. Add up your share of the lunch tab instead of using the calculator on your phone.
Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway
Stretch your brain and spirit by putting yourself out there and do the thing you’d do if you weren’t so scared. For instance, start that side hustle you’ve been thinking about. Restore that antique car in the garage. Write that book. Enter that race. Build that house.
Challenge the Way You Think
Brain games can keep you sharp but don’t just keep doing the things you’ve mastered. Exercise your brain by learning something new. Listen to other points of view. Diversify.
Stretch your mental muscles. If you’re a poet, try painting. If you’re a computer whiz, write stories. And if you’re a carpenter, learn to cook.
Practice Compassion
Walk a mile in somebody else’s moccasins. Compassion is a natural tendency. It’s necessary for survival!
Jack Kornfield, noted author and Buddhist practitioner, said, “The heart is like a garden. It can grow compassion or fear, resentment or love. What seeds will you plant there?”
Plant some seeds of compassion in your heart. Step outside your usual activities to help someone else. Learn to be a better listener. Be a mentor. Donate some time to a charity.
Applying the Strategies for Increasing Inner Wisdom
Wisdom is the application of knowledge. Application means putting forth an effort. But it’s an effort well worth it. The mindful application of the above-noted three strategies will increase your inner wisdom if you’re willing to put the effort into it.
So, get to know yourself, keep learning, and challenge yourself. Stop asking the books and the stars. And listen to the teaching of your soul!