Wisdom 101 -- INTRODUCTION [partial extract]

The aim of the book of Proverbs is to help you improve your life in a natural and easy manner by following the simple yet powerful programme of personal development drawn up for the benefit of his subjects by King Solomon of ancient Israel, the wisest person who ever lived.

All that is now known about the principles personal development and success was already known and taught by Solomon almost three thousand years ago, and recorded by him for posterity in the sacred collection of Proverbs that now form the focus of this workshop in wise living. The principles of wisdom do not change or vary with the culture of the reader. They are eternal.

Solomon’s Dream

According to the accounts found in the Bible, God appeared to the newly-crowned Solomon in a dream and offered him his heart’s desire. Unlike the fabled King Midas, however, who, according to legend, foolishly asked that all he touched be turned to gold, the young Solomon asked not for fame or fortune but for wisdom to rule his people well. Pleased with this request, God replied: "I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be" (1 Kings 3:12).

From that moment Solomon began an inspired study of the principles of wisdom, collecting the writings of sages from all over the world, distilling their essence into his book of Proverbs.

Goads and Nails

The Hebrew word translated "proverb" more nearly means parable or parallel – a cleverly constructed metaphorical statement in which both the young and the old, the simple and those already wise, can discover useful principles to apply to their lives.

The law of cause and effect shapes our lives, and there are things to do, and things to avoid doing that make a difference, acts of omission and commission. Accordingly, Solomon seems to suggest that there are two kinds of proverbs -- Goads, which are designed to prick our thick skin of complacency and so stir us into positive, productive action, and Nails, solid and reliable values or truths that help us avoid making ruinous mistakes.

Life-changing Wisdom

In a perverse, backward sort of way, we are all already wise. Unfortunately, our human weaknesses negate and frustrate that wisdom. An interesting parallel would be that of good seed being sown in a garden. Although the seeds contains all the potential needed to produce excellence plants, the poor gardener can frustrate that potential in many ways --by not tilling the soil properly, by depriving the seedlings of water and nutrients, and by allowing weeds and pests to attack the plot and choke off the growth. Likewise in our lives, the success that should be readily available is, all too often, self-sabotaged by negative emotions, such as greed, lust, selfishness, anger, malice, envy, anxiety, fear, impatience, carelessness, pride, laziness, inertia, and ignorance that lock millions of into mediocrity, poverty and ill-health.

Through inspired writings of Solomon, however, the foolish can actually become wise -- more effective, capable and productive than they ever thought possible. Slowly but surely, day by day, moment by moment, thought by thought, decision by decision, action by action, they can turn their lives around and grow in a natural and easy manner, and begin to . . . . . [End of extract]