Spiritual Wisdom to Ask the Right Questions

“Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.” Ronald Reagan 

To empower the mind, we must ask ourselves many questions and seek answers to the questions asked. When we ask, we may also receive—just as Jesus said: “Seek and you shall find.” That said, many seek but still do not find, just as many ask questions but do not receive answers because they do not have spiritual wisdom to guide them in what they seek and in the questions they ask. To illustrate, millions of people lined up for the Power Ball lottery, but they did not find what they were looking for. So, asking questions and seeking answers require not only human wisdom expressed in the intent to ask, but also, more importantly, spiritual wisdom manifested in the willingness to receive the answers. Without both, there is no true human happiness.

The word "happiness" has its origin from the Icelandic word "happ" meaning "chance" or "luck." That is to say, there is no absolute guarantee in life that the search for happiness will result in finding it, although nearly everyone seeks happiness as one of the main goals and life purposes.

Seeking answers to all the questions asked requires spiritual wisdom to show us that we are all living in a material world full of problems, that solving others' problems does not help us solve our own, and that solving our own problems does not guarantee we will not have any more problems to be solved as we continue our life journey. Spiritual wisdom can only be intuited in the presence of God.

The Human Flaw

Human unhappiness comes from the human flaw, which is human attachment to the many material things in the physical world they are living in. Attachment is only natural and instinctive, but too much attachment may also become a burden to the mind and the soul—the human flaw that leads to asking the wrong questions and thus receiving the wrong answers. Letting go of human attachment may help knowing the right way to finding both human wisdom and spiritual wisdom, which may ultimately point the pathway to attaining true human happiness.

It is also important to know that we all have a body, a mind, and a soul living in the physical world. They are all inter-connected and inter-dependent on one another for co-existence in order to live and survive in the physical world. The mind, the body, and the soul all work together as a system of life energy. The free flow or stagnation of this life energy is dependent on the “state of being” of the body, the mind, and the soul at each moment. It is this moment-to-moment alignment in the body, the mind, and the soul, as well as their alignment with one another, that creates the unique state of being, which is a miracle in itself.

On the other hand, the misalignment of the body, the mind, and the soul may stem from the human flaw of attachment, which may adversely affect the body; given the close body-mind connection, the mind contaminated by the body may ultimately infest the soul too.

The body is like a wild horse, unbridled, running here, there, and everywhere. The mind is like the horseman, riding on its back, trying to rein it in and bringing it back on the right track; to do just that, human wisdom is required of the horseman. The soul, existing in a totally different dimension with its inherent spiritual wisdom, supervises both the horse and the horseman, providing the latter with a compass and a roadmap so that both the horse and the horseman may continue the journey on the right track and reach their final destination.

What role does the human flaw play?

The human flaw may negatively affect the behavior and personality of the horse, and thus challenging the skill and horsemanship of the rider. This may lead both the horse and the rider onto the wrong track and get lost. 

The bottom line: without the wisdom to know what true happiness is, we will never find it no matter how hard we may try; without the wisdom to understand who we are, we will never be happy because true happiness comes from the true self with both human and spiritual wisdom.

Read my book: The Wisdom of Letting Go. Find out how and why human attachments are obstacles to living a life of balance and happiness. Get the wisdom to let go of your emotional and material attachments in order to live as if everything is a miracle.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Seeing With Your Eyes, Not With Your Brain

If you are seeing with your eyes, and not with your brain, you may not have depression. 

Millions of people are suffering from mental depression, and you are not alone. There are millions of people all over the world who have this disorder.  Just don’t deny it, and don’t stigmatize it!

Depression is one of the most devastating mental illnesses. Unlike other physical ailments, depression deprives an individual of an identify:  the individual can go on for years without getting anything done, or having any idea what to do with life; drifting from one thing to another, and not knowih ng what to want from life. Spiraling down into a black bottomless pit of despair, the individual simply loses the capability to live well. This is what happens to a depressed individual.

In depression, you tend to see things with your brain, instead of with your eyes; similarly, you hear with your brain and not with your ears. Perception is all in the mind. But, unfortunately, these deceptive perceptions become so "real" to you that you begin to "believe" in them, especially when they continually talk to you as internal dialogues. Changing your thoughts to change your mind is the only solution. This is not easy, but that is the reality.

People with mental depression usually have muddled thinking: there are too many thoughts filtering through their minds. That is, they have a tendency to analyze or to explain their perceptions so as to make some sense of or to draw some conclusions from what is going through their minds. Unfortunately, analyzing or thinking through what is in the mind will only create more mental blockages or internal dialogues that only perpetuate the inertness and aggravate the sense of loss, which are the characteristics of a depressive mind. Getting rid of your many internal dialogues may help your depressive mind. Once the mind becomes uncluttered, depressive thoughts may dissipate. If you wish to heal your depression, you need to heal your mind first. It is always mind over matter.

Those suffering from mental depression must have undergone some traumatic life experiences that triggered their depression. Depression does not just happen to any individual without a reason. Letting go is the answer: Instead of explaining or striving to explain any given situation or event, just learn to let go. The ability to let go of what you are desperately holding on to holds the key to recovery from depression.  Unfortunately, letting go is easier said than done. The good news is that you can use self-suggestions to change your subconscious mind, thereby changing your conscious mind to let go of any negative emotions and thoughts you may have. Your conscious mind might have relinquished all depressive thoughts of past experiences, but your subconscious mind may still be clinging on to them like leech.

The bottom line: learn the wisdom of letting go—letting go of all your attachments, of your negative emotions and feelings in the bag and baggage you have been carrying with you all these years. 

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau