Karl R. Wolfe

Faith and Reason

Throughout my life I have always had a preference for living with tools that bring practical results rather than an abstract philosophy. There are two kinds of information, knowledge (intellect) and wisdom (intellegence). Knowledge is held in the head. Wisdom is an intuitive inner knowing. Knowledge is held in our mind and is what we talk about. It is data, information, facts, opinions, philosophies, beliefs, mind sets, structures, and models. Opinions, facts and judgments are great. The truth is, what you know intuitively inside you is what counts, not just what you know rationally.

Wisdom energizes our whole being and creates an awareness that allows you to turn knowledge into action and practical results in life. Wisdom allows you to take clear and decisive action. Worried you are going to make the wrong choice? From that rational place, you will! There is another way to live. Stay conscious and check in with your inner guidance system. There is a cycle: intuition, action, results, consequences. Some choices make life easier. Some choices make life harder. All choices have outcomes and yet all choices lead to wisdom. The right choice is the choice you make in each moment. That is why wisdom has such power and significance. Reason provides us with direction and a capacity for a clear vision. Faith allows us to trust the intuitive process, our inner guide, to take that leap of faith to a place beyond duality, beyond right and wrong. A place where you make choice without considerations. A place where you just know! You can’t explain this to your rational mind or anyone else for that matter. You live in the world of synchronicity. What some would call the zone.

You can control your actions in life, but you cannot control the outcomes. You can control what you focus on, but you cannot control the results. If you take no actions in your life, you get the results you don’t want through default. If you take action then you are more assured of getting a result you want than if you take no action.

Life is a series of events, moment to moment. In some moments you will have more clarity than others. The more you trust inner knowing, the more moments of clarity and the more effective your life. This is not about reasoning yourself from moment to moment this is about trust and faith.

You have no control over your thoughts. They just appear in your head from the collective unconscious. You are not responsible for what you cannot control. You are responsible for where you focus your attention. You do have limited control over that. And with training you improve your focus of attention. You can focus your attention on negative thoughts or positive thoughts. It is up to you. Or you can just let them go!

Emotions are like the weather they just pass through and they change. We cannot control them either. If you focus your attention on negative emotions as they pass through, you re-enforce them. If you focus on positive emotions as they pass through, you re-enforce those. Focus on the feelings you do not want and that becomes your life. Focus in the feelings you do want and that becomes your life. It is up to you where you focus your attention. You have control over that. That is how you can change your life. It is up to you what sort of map you create for your life. If you have no map, no plan, no vision for your future, other than the noise that appears in your head from the collective, then you will live a life of noise through default. It is your responsibility to take control and create a map and a strategy for your life.

People are interested in spirituality or psychological growth so that they can feel better or be accepted in life more of the time. Healthy people choose pleasure over pain. However, you cannot control your emotions. You have no responsibility for emotions that you have. They just are emotions. You do have responsibility for your behavior. You can control your behavior, how you respond to your emotions. Feelings you have in the moment are a natural part of life. Accept that and you live more freely. When you have a strategy, a clear map for your life, then you will know what to do to stay on purpose in the face of highly charged emotional situations.

You may be preparing for an important presentation that will have a major impact on your career and an upcoming promotion. Your partner walks into the room and says our relationship is over and walks out of the room. No explanation! One could fall apart and be unable to concentrate on the task before them. Another person might say “I accept what I am feeling. I feel great pain, a sense of loss and confusion. I am stunned. That is all true, and what is my purpose in this moment. I have a presentation to make tomorrow.” You set your emotions aside and you do what needs to be done. You may even do better the next day, than you may have, as a result of the focused awareness. That is the sign of adult and mature behavior. You function as an adult. This is how people live functionally and effectively. In reality you cannot wait to be in a good mood. Sometimes you feel great and sometimes you don’t. Whatever you feel in the moment you accept it and get on with your life. We are accountable and responsible for our behavior in every circumstance, no matter what!

If you allow circumstances, things, thoughts or feelings to make you uncomfortable in your life then you will be at the effect of fear and outside forces. You will allow external factors to control your life. You cannot control outside forces. What you can control is your behavior in relationship to outside forces, such as fear. Fear was meant to be a guidance system to keep you from hurting yourself. You can’t control fear, but you can control how you respond to fear. You can control whether you react or respond to fear. You can change your behavior. You begin to rewire yourself emotionally when you make a new choice and take creative action in the presence of fear. You begin to rewire yourself emotionally when you realize that discomfort is a positive indicator that you are taking risks, growing and on a new path. The discomfort becomes an internal cue, a healthy positive indicator. People limit their lives when they stay in a comfort zone. Others say bring it on, bring on the discomfort and they grow!

There is nothing wrong with you, it is your behavior that doesn’t work. The blessing is that you can change your behavior. You are absolutely the only one in control of your behavior. No matter how you are feeling, confidant or not, motivated or not, you are totally responsible for your actions and what you do. Above all else accountability for behavior is what counts!

Enlightenment is a form of behavior. If it is a destination you have chosen for your life then one day you will live there. If you know deep in your heart that is your destiny, the more moment to moment experiences of that you have, of that feeling, the faster you will achieve your destination. You have purpose in each moment, whether it is opening a door, or drinking water, staying small or taking a risk. Whatever that purpose, it is your choice. Staying on purpose, incrementally, moment to moment yields an enlightened life. In a sense it is an ethic of discipline, it is about a focus of attention and continuity. It is about staying true to yourself, your strategy and your vision for your life. It is not about some subjective state of feeling good all the time. It is about feeling everything in life objectively. It is more about how you behave in relationship to thoughts and feelings from moment to moment. This is enlightenment. This is maturity.