It's a simple concept-go to the well when you are thirsty. In a well, water is plentiful. The well is deep, it is rich and overflowing. You can go to it and drink of its life giving substance anytime. Spiritual wisdom is exactly the same. It is everywhere. It is abundant. You can seek and find it whenever you are thirsty or hungry for it. You probably know the phrase from the Bible in Matthew, "Seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you." It's an amazing paradigm-what you are seeking is also seeking you. There is a delightful quote from the Jewish Kaballah, "More than the calf wishes to suck, the cow desires to suckle."
Seeking wisdom can be a great mystery though. There is a Chinese proverb that sheds a little light on the subject: "Teachers open the door, you enter it by yourself." We all think that enlightenment comes from outside of us, but it is really something that happens within us. Teachers merely open the door for us to enter. Your kundalini energy, or energy chakras can be initiated, or awakened by a guru, or deeply spiritual, enlightened person, however most of the journey is yours and yours alone.
Meditation is a great tool in the enlightenment process. In meditation, you learn to go to the well within you, to drink of its rich nectar. Meditation will change you, deepen you. You will find within you peace and contentment, pleasure not of this world. When you draw this out of yourself, what you draw out will transform you, pacify and delight you! Your thirst will be quenched. But, it's not just a one time process. Like going to the well for water, you will continue to hunger and thirst for the mystical experience, for spiritual fulfillment. And the more you hunger and thirst for it, the more you will be filled, until your cup will one day become abundantly overflowing.
There is a rich well of spiritual wisdom from all around the world to drink from. I have studied extensively from all of the major world religions and have found rich jewels, treasures and much spiritual pleasure contained in all of them. When you start opening your mind to this universal wisdom and expanding your horizons, you too will soon find a storehouse of rich infinite wisdom to draw from.
In the west, culturally we are raised to think that only the Bible contains God's wisdom. In the east, they are taught the same about the Torah, Koran or Bhavagad Gita. But truth is truth and wisdom is wisdom wherever it stems from. A pearl is a pearl no matter which ocean it comes from. Enlightenment comes from an open heart, open mind and intense longing for spiritual communion. The path you walk is not as important as the destination itself. Drawing Wisdom From the Well is a way of life. Like the Zen proverb states, "Before enlightenment chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.
Copyright Justin Topik 2010
