Angeles Arrien is a cultural anthropologist, award-winning author, educator, and consultant to many organizations and businesses. She lectures and conducts workshops worldwide, bridging cultural anthropology, psychology, and comparative religions. Her work is currently used in medical, academic, and corporate environments. Angeles is the President of the Foundation for Cross-Cultural Education and Research. Her books have been translated into nine languages, and she has received three honorary doctorate degrees in recognition of her work. 

 
                      July Reflection                        
 
                              The Archetype of Wisdom 
                                            by Angeles Arrien

Wisdom is not age bound. We experience some aspect of wisdom in every decade of our lives; however, if after the age of fifty, we are not demonstrating or embodying some kind of wisdom, it is, as Jung points out, “less than becoming.” Wisdom points to the Mysteries of life itself and allows us to find meaning for our internal and external experiences. Wisdom does not exist without its fruits of love, truth, joy, faith and forgiveness.
The wisdom texts of the world further describe wisdom’s universal trends in these consistent ways: 

1. Wisdom carries no fear and seeks and supports a sanctuary of balance and the “Middle Way.”

2. Wisdom is a quality that allows us to deal with ambiguity without fear; opens us to new possibilities, and provides us a way of living with and accepting paradox.

3. Wisdom’s Way is ultimately to live a life that is undivided; and to lift the illusionary veils of separation that exist between mind and heart; spirit and matter; internal and external; masculine and feminine; and work and family. Wisdom befriends and makes room for polarities, opposites, or dualities and is committed to the phrase, “both, and…”

4. Wisdom conveys truth, resolves conflict, and restores justice. Clarity, objectivity, discernment and humor are qualities embedded in wisdom.

5. Wisdom holds creative tension, and hosts diverse viewpoints, without moving to premature solutions. It aligns with heart and meaning.

6. Wisdom is in service of the Divine and is aligned with the Golden Rule. It provides a sense of intactness and wholeness.

Practices