Sogyal Rinpoche
Most people will do everything in their power to avoid admitting I don't know! When you do admit I don't know, some people respond as if you are crazy! Adamantly they want to know what do you mean you don't know? Contrary to popular belief, when you don't know and can admit it, you are in line for a great healing or a magnificent blessing.
Few know-it-alls are blessed with new insights or information. When you are willing to acknowledge that you don't know, you open yourself to all sorts of information and assistance from life. Not knowing may send you on a search. It may open your mind and your eyes to things you have never thought of before. The things you discover in your search may bless you at some later date, or the search may heal some long-held fear. What a blessing!
An admission of not knowing is a sign of great faith and trust. It means trusting that even when you don't know, you know that when you need to know, you will know! An admission of not knowing is an act of great humility that leads to the healing of the ego. It is the ego that fosters an internal sense of inadequacy. When you feel or believe you are in some way inadequate, it will always feel as if you have something to prove. Admitting that you don't know is a very loving way to acknowledge that you are absolutely fine with who you are and that you are not afraid to admit it. What else do you need to know?
Until today, you may have believed that it was your duty and responsibility to know everything. Just for today, be open and willing to admit what you don't know. Open your self to receive new information from expected and unexpected sources.
-Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! - Daily Devotions for Spiritual Growth and Peace of Mind ©2000
The tragedy of modern man is not that he knows less and less about the meaning of his own life, but that it bothers him less and less.Vaclav Havel Letters to Olga
My dear sister tells people that they could start at the beginning of these writings and trace a path of growth and a gaining of understanding. While that may be true, doing so amply demonstrates that I have only scratched the surface, a teacup of understanding to the venerable ocean of that which is available for the "knowing." Where these writings fill a certain volume of printed paper, what I don't know could fill the Libraries of a rather large country, admittedly.
That's me: big like Bear, smart like Rock. Alright, so it isn't that bad... Suffice it to say that I am not an expert on anything related to living life perfectly. I don't know of a living soul (although there must be someone!) who is. But what I do know about life, I am honored to share. What I have learned has given my life meaning and purpose. I have figured a some things out, a few concepts and approaches to life that have worked for me.
Mine has been a blessed path of gentle growth, of expanding horizons and joys in new-found knowledge. There have been opportunities for personal growth through service to others, and many places along the way to demonstrate responsibility for that which I have learned. Things began to change in my life because I found that I simply didn't know which choices to make in a large number of situations, and in some cases I just didn't want to know. The changes continued, however, because I discovered that there were some things that I did know, but didn't know that I knew. I discovered that wise guide inside of me, my intuition/creativity/God within/still, small voice. There are many names for this "knowing" part of me, it serves me well, and I depend upon it daily. The most important step in the process of discovering that part of me was the asking. Nothing would have been discovered, no answers would have been obtained without first asking. The old saying, "you never know until you ask" is true in this case, too! I almost always ask my inner self what I need to know. The answer just might be in there, and it never hurts to at least ask.
I had to learn to let myself be guided into truth. I had to learn how to approach this knowing part of me, and make use of it, effective use. Where I found my conscious and subconscious knowledge to be lacking, I had to learn to be patient, waiting for the holes to be filled in when the time was right. I felt bad in looking back, realizing that there were times when everyone else in the world had an insight and I didn't, or they saw something and I denied it until I was ready to deal with it. That was the process, and it was the right path to travel at that time. It takes faith to believe that all was is well, that things are unfolding in your life just as they should. Some things you can fake, but knowing need not be one of them.
Knowing isn't important when it comes to someone else asking of you, "what should I do?" But it is very important when you ask the same question of yourself. You can render opinions, but you cannot make decisions for others, and no one should be making decisions for you. There is no shame in not knowing which decision to make, either. All choices lead to learning and experiences, even the choice of not making a choice. Some paths which our choices set for us are long and leisurely and often don't get us anywhere, and some of the paths we are led to are quick and painful. Knowing helps us avoid those long bypaths, those labyrinths of error which lead us astray from Truth and Light. Not knowing is part of the adventure, as well! It is not a matter of bluffing my way through something, but a process of making a choice and going along with the flow of it to a logical conclusion, discovering and learning from the experience, and applying the wisdom of that lesson to the next choice of its type. Somewhere along the way comes the "knowing."
Use well those tools which you have been given. Your knowing part knows more than you believe, but you do not know it all - nevertheless, ask! Be patient with yourself when you do not know, and make your choices based upon the best knowledge, experience and understanding that you have at hand. Failing that, take your best guess and be open to the lessons which lead you to knowing.
Michael
email: Michael@N-Spire.com
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