The Beginning of Wisdom

This article is about true joy. It proposes that true joy and wisdom are one and the same.

Proverbs 9:10 is often mistranslated from Hebrew as, “The fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

This has been used as justification for a rather tyrannical and wrathful conception of god as some warlike man in the sky.

The original Hebrew root is YRA, “yare.” It does often translate as fear, but this is misleading for our purposes.

Our purposes here, of course, are to help you make use of everything for your own benefit, your own personal advancement and enjoyment.

In this case, the lesson of Proverbs 9:10 can be used to understand a concept that can empower and change your perception of what’s going on in your life. This will enable you to easily align your behavior with your goals.

We have to unpack the words of the Proverb to get the most benefit from it. Let’s get started:

1. The Lord: For our purposes, we will define the Lord as everything inside and outside of you. Yourself, your perception and everything else in the universe are included. You might call this “life,” “reality,” or “existence.”

2. YRA/ yireh: Instead of fear, we will translate Yireh as awe and reverence. Hopefully all of you have had a transcendent experience in your life. Sometimes it occurs during an amazing musical performance, or a bout of serious laughter. It involves deep bodily tingling, emotional exaltation and a sense of eternal oneness with all of life.

The funny thing about the eternal oneness with all of existence is that it is the most normal and basic experience you could ever have. It’s not some kind of mystical thing. It waits patiently behind all the dross, worry and drama of daily life.

When you remember who and what you are, beyond words, the bare facts of existence become deeply satisfying, no matter what problems your mind is dealing with. This is what I mean by “awe.” Recognizing that we know nothing about our existence, and yet here it is, right here with us all the time.

3. Wisdom: wisdom in this case means an understanding that goes beyond all confusion, illusion and delusion. It signifies a beholding of existence as it is, not how we think it should or shouldn’t be. It is not in the realm of ideas. Instead, you find it underneath or behind the screen of the mind where ideas take place. When you avoid the traps of the mind, you reach the unerring wisdom of the body.

The Awe of Existence is the Beginning of Wisdom.

When you experience your first Radical Undoing session, you will know beyond all words and ideas, what it means to feel awe for your own existence. This is the beginning of wisdom, because now you truly understand that your life is your own, and you have ultimate freedom to construct it on your own terms. People often fear this experience, because it means taking full responsibility for your own life.

If you’re not taking responsibility for the creation of your own life, you might want to ask yourself, Who is?

If you’re ready to take that first step, get in touch with us on the site, register for a session, or send us an email to info@radicalundoing.com

-mr.g