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{ MODULE #6 }

Power of Wisdom

“One thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning.” – James Russell Lowell

Wisdom is often associated with age for a reason. It isn’t because those who are young can’t have very wise and profound thoughts, rather that we gain so much from our direct experiences which teach us how to adjust our practices differently in the future.

To imagine something conceptually or theoretically is quite different than to’ve had first hand experience. Someone could offer what we believe to be very sound and solid advice, yet in wanting to “see for ourselves” we may choose to ignore it.

This ancestral power can be linked to the color indigo and element of light in the location of our “third eye” between the eyebrows, caught between the coin of Insight and Illusion. It’s directly tied to our beliefs and intuitions, connected to beings interdimensionally who we may even identify as guiding us along the journey in some shape or form. dimension

Life can sometimes seem like passing a torch from generation to generation. Relatives we’ve never even met from the past often have more in common with us than we could possibly realize, and a large part of that is due to the amount of energies that get imprinted down the line. For good or for bad, we have been brought into this world with strengths and struggles that are shared by many who come “before/after/along with” us.

There is a time and place to listen to the wisdom of external forces, though it isn’t about following blindly. Those who have “been there and done that” may have a lot of wonderful tips to extend, but that doesn’t mean they’re inside your own experience or aware of how things might be different in the circumstances facing you compared to their own. If someone says proceed with caution, listen. If someone says to do or don’t do something, listen. But wisdom isn’t about allowing others to make our choices for us! Instead we can accept feedback with openness, then decide what’s right at the time.

Decisions like these can be made by looking into our own sense of internal wisdom. What is your body telling you? If your head and your heart are at odds, what do you feel deep in your soul? Can you sense the guidance of your ancestors? What are they trying to say?

It is impossible to move through life without growing and changing and learning, in many ways without even being fully conscious of how much we sponge up from the environment around us. The places we frequent, activities we put time and energy into, and people we surround ourselves with have a huge impact on the type of data coming into our orbit. Our attention is a precious commodity.

How silly would it be to wish for more wisdom in a certain area while completely avoiding access to that wisdom? If I’m trying to be wiser with my food choices I’m not going to spend all day at the candy store and surround myself with only people who eat junk food all day, while simultaneously ignoring the wealth of knowledge online or through reading books and access to various media platforms. I’m not going to expect to learn anything about the way my body responds to food if I don’t explore what that looks like.

There’s no wisdom to be gained from sitting around all day if we want to build strength or stamina, that comes from putting in the effort to try and to adjust with what your body needs to achieve these goals. If you reach a plateau, doing the same thing over and over again while expecting further or different results may not be of service (and has even been described to be the definition of insanity).

This is again where wisdom comes into play, because it isn’t a “set it and forget it” kind of energy. Just because something has worked before doesn’t mean it will again today, and neither will failures from the past be an indication that the same things will continue to fail every time in the future. There may be patterns, and it’s sensible to keep track of these, but it’s equally beneficial being ready and willing to adapt to what’s happening in the current moment if we really want to open up to the highest possibilities of what we “should” potentially move toward or away from at any given point.

In our teens or twenties, how we behave and the company we keep may be different compared to our thirty year old selves, and with every passing moment, week, or decade things continue to shift. The wisdom we earn from getting through one year after another doesn’t mean we should look back and judge who we used to be as foolish and unwise, for at the time those circumstances were perhaps what was needed, but what it does mean is that to continue acting in a similar fashion probably isn’t wise for us today if all signs are pointing in another direction.

Good news is we often don’t even desire to go back to those actions and relationships from the past once we’ve truly integrated the lessons. Even if we loved them at the time, those situations had a purpose which may now be complete, or which will spiral back around in a different capacity down the road.

I used to be a much bigger fan of going out with friends every weekend, sometimes two or three nights in a row. Staying in all the time wasn’t all that appealing. These days, the idea of leaving the house for the entire weekend sounds exhausting! Not because I look down on it, I’ve just had my fill and I don’t have the same draw toward being in crowds or within larger groups of friends. These days I say give me a night in with my partner, or chilling at a friend’s place over the long nights of socializing and fun I used to love so much being out on the town.

Yes, part of this is also because I value my sleep more, and prioritize my money elsewhere, but a lot of that came from simply enjoying what I wanted to enjoy when I wanted to enjoy it (within reason), then listening to my body when things began to call me onward and elsewhere. I distinctly remember after a year or two if spending my weekend out that I hit a point where it wasn’t appealing anymore. I’d force myself to go because I’d been invited, then wish I’d just stayed home. After a few times like that, I finally started saying no. There was a time when the right choice for me was to continue soaking up what these new memories made could have to offer, and perhaps I’ll find myself in a similar position again someday, but for the last eight years or so the wiser choice for me has been to allow myself the fun of being a homebody more than I ever would have thought in my younger years of constantly flitting about.

I am a deeply social person, so I like having outlets to connect, but have also found I get drained by socializing with others very easily. Just because I’m an extrovert and like to process things by bouncing them off of others, or can become rejuvenated being in the presence of my close friends and family, that doesn’t mean I don’t find interacting with others to deplete a lot of my energy as well.

Not sure I ever fully realized how taxing it was for me, because I only ever saw that as “who I am.” A social butterfly. But I’ve learned that even social butterflies need their boundaries and many if us need alone time as much as the next person. Especially given how much I enjoy connecting with others, it’s easy to become the energetic prey of those who need someone to absorb all their baggage. Something I enjoy doing in the right context, being with others as they transmute their energies, and this can feel very fulfilling when people you know or even complete strangers say they feel like they can open up to you and find that release of speaking something out loud, but upon looking back I’ve continued to find there are instances where I had no real sense of appropriate boundaries for myself in one area of life or another. Perspective I’ve had to gain over time through my experiences and the wisdom acquired behind them .

These days I work with people on their wellness mostly one-on-one, and have a much more clearly defined space for that outlet of holding space for others while respecting my own boundaries as well. It’s part of my fabric to navigate these vulnerable spaces with others, and I’d be doing a disservice both to myself and them if I completely closed myself off to sharing my story and listening to the stories of others. However lines have certainly been toed over the years when I didn’t know how or when to say “no.” A word fairy easy to shy away from, yet which can be the most insightful option at hand.

Our personal power offers the ability for us to choose what we do say yes or no to, yet it is our wisdom body who grows over time and gives us a higher levels of insight for how we decide between these choices. To practice the skill of imagination can help aid us in our wisdom should we desire to envision ourselves in a variety of scenarios, how we might act in one capacity or another, yet it is how we ultimately what we do with these visions that will be the greatest indication of our magnetic pull toward wisdom or folly.

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{ ASSIGNMENT #6 }

30 points

please submit all work to hiddenpowers@mugglestudies.org with the subject “Module #6 – Your HOL Name“

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• Meditation (10 points)

“Half Scroll” / 50 words

Spend some time in reflection of this month’s lesson. Rather than actively thinking about the topic, find stillness and simply notice. What comes up for you? Don’t get too hung up on any particular memories, images, concepts, or feelings that arise, but do take note. Each time something pops up, acknowledge it, then return to centering yourself. Perhaps following your breath with each inhale and exhale as you re-anchor into the quietness. We can tend to have easily active Monkey Minds that want to jump around a lot, and we call it a meditation “practice” because over time it can become easier and easier to calm our inner chatter, as well as doing so for longer periods of time. Some days are more overactive than others, but just because we keep becoming distracted doesn’t mean we’re doing anything wrong. It’s like any muscle, the more you work at it the more you see the strengthening benefits in other areas of your life. After you’ve spent five minutes or so seeing what bubbles up, spend another five minutes jotting these things down. This can be listed as short bullet points with or without addition details, essentially in any brainstorm style you prefer. The goal is to quickly write out as much as you can remember, however seemingly insignificant, or any last minute ideas to get it all out of your head without worrying too much about how cohesive your notes are once written down. You may include anything that has to do with preparing for, practicing, and wrapping up your meditation experience if you’ve used any music/props/scents, and such.

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• Monologue (15 points)

“Scroll-and-a-Half” / 150 words

Consider what you’ve written down from your brainstorm. What jumps out at you that’s wanting to be explored a little more deeply? Come up with a topic based around these meditations and write an essay about your personal perspective on the matter. This could be a single aspect or multiple elements from your list. In addition to sending in via e-mail, you feel like sharing with your peers go ahead and post this to the corresponding “Monologues” thread at the Class Forum with or without including your “Meditation” and/or “Mindfulness” responses added in together. This is voluntary and will not effect your points one way or another, however it will add to our community vibe and could stir up conversations or contribute toward any “Mining” points others may wish to accrue over time.

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• Mindfulness (5 points)

“Quarter-Scroll” / 25 words

In what way(s) is this month’s Power currently in- or out-of-balance in your life? Is there anything you could do, communicate, or adjust that would help either regain or maintain this balance, and/or in what ways might you already be doing this, whether you’ve fully realized it or not?

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{ EXTRA CREDIT #6 }

30 points

Choose any TWO of the following prompts.

Extra Credit options may NOT be used in place of Assignment work.

In addition to submitting via e-mail, you are encouraged to please share these publicly in the corresponding “Extra Credit” thread over on the Class Forum wherever comfortable. While this will not effect your points earned, it will encourage interactions by providing additional ways for people to connect. Particularly those who take part in the “Mining” portions of these exercises over time if they enjoy or relate to your work and choose to touch base on something you may have shared within their own writing.

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• Manifestation (15 points)

“Scroll-and-a-Half” / 150 words

Write some kind of a Short Story or Poem that revolves around this month’s Power. Let those creative juices flow! Please note that regardless of number of lines, even poetry submissions must adhere to the 150 word requirement for full credit.

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• Memory (15 points)

“Scroll-and-a-Half” / 150 words

Share a story from your past that reminds you of this month’s Power. This may be from your real life (keeping privacy rules in mind), and/or experiences you’ve had here at HOL.

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• Media (15 points)

“Scroll-and-a-Half” / 150 words

Based on your reflections from this month’s lesson, choose one piece of media you find in any way to relate to these concepts floating around. This could be a book, television show, movie, musical album, etc., and doesn’t have to be something completely new to yourself, so long as it speaks to you as connecting to the vibe you’re associating with this energy. Perhaps you’ll go into detail about why you chose this in particular, along with what aspects correspond most appropriately with your sense of this month’s power. What’s your general opinion of your selection’s strengths or weaknesses? Anything unexpected or enlightening come up along the way? Include whatever you feel compelled to share!

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• Mining (15 points)

“Scroll-and-a-Half” / 150 words

Head over to the Class Forum and explore. If you find something written in a previous post that in your mind relates to this month’s power in any way which inspires you to further expand or reflect upon, you can use this as an option for Extra Credit here. You’re welcome to poke around or ‘mine through’ the past years of work shared from previous members of the class to find thoughts, concepts, theories, or stories that strike a chord in you and help point toward something you may wish to write about here.

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++ Please Note: in accordance with official HOL School Timelines, NO EXTENSIONS are permitted past end of semester deadlines. “Muggle Studies: Hidden Powers” is a One Term Class. Any Assignment, Extra Credit, or Exam MUST be received by 11:59pm HOL-time on January 15th (for Fall), then June 15th (for Spring) in order to qualify for House Points or a Quill unless a minimal grace period has already been granted. ++

presented by Prof. Sindor Aloyarc

hiddenpowers@mugglestudies.org