Words to Ponder ~Discernment

“Keep me away from the
wisdom which does not cry,
The philosophy which does not laugh,
And the greatness which does not bow before children.”
                                  
~Kahil Gibran  (1883-1931)

Discernment

We have before us on any given day the golden opportunity to make a choice.   Do I take the few extra minutes to fix up my hair, or do I wash and wear?  Do I choose paper or plastic?  Do I stay home and care for my sick pet, or leave him in the trusted care of someone else and take the long road trip to visit family?  Do I bring an umbrella, or just grab a hat?  The choices are endless.

And I’m not even touching on the more deep choices..  The spiritual choices.  The choices that seem to have an effect on everyone in my family, and my friends, and even on people that I don’t really know.

How do we make these choices, and know that we are choosing the path, the course, or the right action that stays in alignment with God’s will for us, and the highest good of all concerned?

With each choice we have the opportunity to explore our ability to use discernment.  Which is the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure.  Usually, discernment is used in line with spiritual choices.  Of being able to call on Holy spirit to help guide us. 

Unlike judgment, which comes from a place of the ego mind, discernment is more than just a thought process.  For choices that range from seemingly simple to extraordinarily difficult choices, with discernment, there is a deeper Spirit that we call upon.  A Spirit that is gently leading us, nudging us, or even kicking us in the behind..

In my own experience, I have found many tools, have spoken to many teachers, and I have listened to much guidance along the way.  And there are choices to make in even finding the information that will guide us to make yet another choice.

Many people look outside of themselves for that guidance.  There is a great amount of wisdom to come from the many esoteric tools available to us, like dowsing, astrology, tarot, pendulum, angel cards, runes, and seeing a gifted medium or intuitive person to name but a few.  From any of those sources we can pull out a hint, a guided message and some very profound information that is there for us to practice our own gifted ability to discern fact from fiction. But which most importantly is there to use as a pointer to go within for the truth. 

There is a flaw with all methods of choice, as many continue to believe that the answer is beyond them, that the source, or the tool, is the only place to find the answer.   The flaw is not in the tool, the teacher, or the intuitive, but is in the answer-seeker’s inability to practice discernment.

How do we know that we are being guided by Spirit to help us to process the information and discern rightly?   Discernment doesn’t come in an instant.  It is something that develops with hard work.  We must do the work.  We must trust our inner guidance.  We practice using our own instincts.  We trust our heart. 

Because when our choices are in line with judgment, or are coming from our ego mind, they are a choice made from fear.  We have been blessed with free will, and as beloved children of God, we are free to make those choices from that place of fear.  There are lessons in that fear-place for us to learn from. 

But when our choices are coming from our heart, and they are in alignment with the highest good, we are tuned in to the very presence of God within us.  We are making a choice from a place of love.  That is when we know we are using discernment.  When we have made the choice that is in alignment with Gods will for us, and the highest good of all.

So, what choice did I make? For the small choices, I chose to do that which made me laugh, and for the big one, I chose to spend time with distant family, celebrating the turning of the year with my now 5yr old nephew. 

I chose to bow before children.