What it means to be a fool

And so take the first steps towards Wisdom

Guest article by Sol Bloomfield

Introduction by Occult Mysteries

The following delightful email has been sent to us by a new reader. It describes with gentle humour and humility what it means to discover that we are all fools, and so take the first steps towards Wisdom. We cannot think of a better time of the year to publish it than today!

The author tells us that, like many people brought up in the Christian Church, its dogmas resulted in her rejecting the Bible. This, as she later realised, was her loss, for it is in this much misunderstood book that we find one of the greatest of all Occult Truths concealed in plain sight: "A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart is at his left" (Ecclesiastes 10:2).

This refers in a concealed manner to the higher and lower selves of Man, the higher of which is the Right Use of the divine heritage which Man derives from on high, while the lower is that foolish animal part of his being, which rises up from the Deeps (where it resides at the left hand of the Evil One), as soon as a child is quickened within the womb, and clings to him tenaciously for as long as he lives on earth; ever trying to capture his higher part and drag it down to Hell in the end.

This is to let you know that I have started to study the series of articles you recommend on your website. As I continue to make progress in my studies, I wanted to let you know that the messages I may send to you every now and again may not have any other purpose than to thank you and share some of the thoughts, 'a-ha' moments and inspirations prompted by reading your articles.

My quest has always been a very private one, and the people I share some of my 'inner world' with can be counted on the fingers of one hand. After reading some of the articles you have published, I feel that here, at long last, I can make myself 'at home'. So, thank you for rekindling my own quest for the meaning of Life, which has animated me from my childhood (sometimes getting me into trouble with the grown-ups for my inquisitive and 'rebellious' and non-conformist mind), and also for reconciling me with the Bible. I come from a Christian family and although I rejected religion from a very early age and the Bible, I did intuitively recognise the wisdom encapsulated in it (the teachings of Jesus have always inspired me). Wisdom which I would later find in other sacred texts, philosophical writings, etc., that I explored, but never fully studied for the same reasons I ended up rejecting the Bible.

In many respects, as is probably the case with many other sincere seekers, I feel like the prodigal son, or in my case daughter, as I am a woman! Although, as I said, my quest has always been a very private one and I have always been wary of so-called or self-proclaimed spiritual groups and people, the fact is that at some point in my life, through some books that I have read, people I have met, and all the mumbo-jumbo so widely spread through the Internet, I found myself in a state of deep inner confusion.

Somehow though, I would like to think that I was kept from sinking deep into chaos thanks to my intimate relationship with my own Divine Sparkle, the sensation of being 'wrapped by grace'. By which I mean those specific moments in my daily life where I can feel a Presence which is bigger than life, for the lack of a better word, literally wrapping me in its arms, pervading me with a genuine love and reverence for Life and living. It is a joy that I find most in contemplative solitude, and like the subject of John Temple's moving story of spiritual discovery, I have developed a not-so-bad 'bullshit radar' of my own, probably for similar reasons to 'Richard', for like him I too had a 'difficult' childhood.

In all honesty, I am one of those fools that got led to your website through one of the many mumbo-jumbo blogs on the Internet. Despite my 'bullshit radar' continuously lighting up, my experience of, and disenchantment with, the world of international development run by governments in which I used to work, had made me sympathetic to the notion that there just might be some truth in some of the conspiracy theories that circulate on the blogs I used to frequent. But I quickly came to the conclusion (with a little and not-always-so-gentle help from my friend—my Higher Self) that it was all mostly nonsense (and even dangerous misinformation) and that even if it was true, it was a waste of my precious life to dwell upon it, and that I had better focus on what truly matters: honouring the Gift of Life bestowed upon me by the Supreme Creator.

Now, with this came the feeling that I was a complete fool and that I had better give up my 'stupid' (albeit always sincere) quest for meaning and reasons (divine or manmade) why the world was in the state it was, and just BE. In particular to be the best human being, mother and wife I can be, which is far from being foolish! But—there had to be a but! There was still the yearning. . .the call. . .yes, that Call that will not stop calling because it knows you CAN actually hear it, and are just being downright silly, really, pretending you cannot hear it! And there came the questions. . .'OK, go on and just be...but what exactly does it mean to Be? Be who? Be how? For whom or what?'

This brings me back to your website. No matter how I was led to find it, I am glad and grateful that I did find it, and that I kept coming back to it. Now, I no longer feel like a fool. I know I am a fool! Funnily enough, I was born on April Fool's Day, so at least I am well-qualified for the role. But there is a subtle, and yet clearly marked difference between 'feeling like' and 'knowing' that one actually is a fool.

The sense of peace and subsequent laughter that came with the realisation of my foolishness was also accompanied by a fountain of tears. Tears that kept streaming non-stop! Yes, it is one painful experience to truly see and realise that one is a fool! Paradoxically as it may sound, the pain was soothed by an extraordinary feeling of Joy and Relief (hence the laughter). Nor, despite the pain, were these tears of sorrow—especially not any feeling of sorrow for myself. They were not tears of sadness, guilt, or gloom either. They were not even tears of repentance.

What those tears were and where they came from, I shall not share for such experiences belong to the ineffable and one's unique relationship with the Supreme Creator. What I will share is that I was deeply and sincerely humbled by it, and that for the first time ever I caught a glimpse of the Pure and Divine Beauty that surrounds us at all times and that all true fools carry inside. My wish is that, one day, we will all be able to dive into it and fully embody it! And that will be one Glorious sight! This experience has opened up a whole new and broad window leading to a path of infinite opportunities for REAL learning, understanding, and growth to happen. Your website is one such opportunity! I feel that my quest for Wisdom can now TRULY begin!

NOTE: If you have enjoyed this article you may also like Losing your way in which we discuss the foolish 'mumbo-jumbo' the author encountered in her search for Wisdom and how to distinguish it from the true teachings of the Wise.

You can read more about fools and folly in an essay by guest writer John Temple.

Article © Sol Bloomfield. Commentary © Copyright occult-mysteries.org. All worldwide rights reserved. Published 1 April 2017.

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Wisdom and Folly

Afterword by Occult Mysteries

The final paragraphs of the author's moving letter reminds us of a line from J. R. R Tolkien's —The Lord of the Rings—in which the Wizard Gandalf tells Frodo at their parting on the shores of Middle-earth: "I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil."

Those of our readers who have been blessed with a similar revelation to that related by the author, will know that the inward truth of such experiences cannot be expressed in words nor communicated to others, for they are, as she rightly says, part of our "unique relationship with the Supreme Creator."

So it is fitting that our afterword should include a collection of sayings about Wisdom and folly loosely adapted from the books of J Michaud PhD, principally The Teachings of Li Wang Ho. We hope you will enjoy and profit from them as much as we have enjoyed and profited from the author's remarkable letter.

"All men are Fools, and fools only have wisdom if they know they are fools. The rest are still fools—only more so: for they do not know it. On the other hand when a fool in his foolishness is happy it is cruel to make him wise before the appointed time. Better a happy Fool than a miserable Sage."

"It is said that the Planets are the eyes of the Heavenly Lords. So it is no wonder they twinkle when beholding the follies of Man."

"But as Wisdom pursueth the Wise, so do the ignorant run after folly. The home of Wisdom is in Heaven; the home of Folly is upon the earth: which is thy choice, O, Seeker?"

"We learn more from the failures of fools than from the successes of the wise. But when a fool commences to argue, it is better to be silent."

"A vain man resembles a blind peacock who has lost all his feathers but still struts about proudly in the nakedness of his ugliness and the lack of decent covering for his ineptitude . . . . which, being blind, he cannot discern. The stupid regard him with scorn; the wise behold him with a smile. But he knows neither scorn nor smile in the blindness of his vanity—and stalks along with vapid mien."

"The wise hide their tongues within their hearts, and the stupid carry their hearts upon their tongues. To upbraid a foolish person is greater foolishness still, for it is like the Buddha of clay preaching to the Buddha of mud. It is as much a waste of time as battering in an open door, and so it is waste of time if those not yet rich in diligent wisdom try to improve those who have an abundance of indifferent sense."

"To fools, almost anyone who does things in a different or unusual way without offending another may seem to be a superior sort of person. But the fools produced by the creators are very strange beings whose intellect is darkened by the clouds of shame and ignorance."