Definition: demonstrating commendable excellence or great merit; possessing noble value or distinguished character; deserving praise; estimable; virtuous

Quotes:
• True happiness… is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose. —  Helen Keller (1880-1968) American author & lecturer (blind and deaf from 19 months old)
• It’s not our job to play judge and jury, to determine who is worthy of our kindness and who is not. We just need to be kind, unconditionally and without ulterior motive, even – or rather, especially – when we’d prefer not to be. — Joshua “Josh” Thomas Radnor (1974-) American actor, author, & musician

Consideration: In general, if the parents have a strong sense of self-worth, the child can then also feel safe in having that same healthy sense of intrinsic value. If life is not safe, then something else will take its place so that the child will still have an ego identity. If the ego is built on a negative pseudo-structure, these deficiencies will eventually have to be replaced with more constructive and natural qualities.
     The fact is you cannot disconnect from your self. It takes courage and faith to let go of something and go toward another, but if you have a bridge to your new self, you will more easily let yourself do so. The bridge is made of positive qualities. Accept these building materials to shore up your deficiencies. Tell yourself they are necessary, that you are worthy of them, then you will start to crave them. If you seek, the way will be made clear.

Definitions: (1) expressing adoration, veneration, or homage to a divine person; showing sincere devotion; (2) giving respect or honor due to a lofty character; (3) feeling intense love and admiration for a loved one

Familial Quality: liturgical

Saying: Worship leads to service. Service leads to worship.

Quote: Worship, taught Jesus, makes one increasingly like the Being who is worshiped. (146:2.17) — The Urantia Book {1955}

Reflection: Remember having been, almost literally, grabbed by something of extreme interest? Remember being struck with the beauty of a flower, a butterfly, a bird? Nature can hold our fascination for moments or for a lifetime. Remember those long philosophical discussions that were so exciting you stayed up all night? Remember that hug from a child so innocent and giving you were surrounded with love? This state of appreciation and self-forgetfulness can be triggered by exquisite beauty, sublime truth, or heartwarming goodness.
     During these times, you are totally absorbed. You give yourself over to your appreciation. It may be an involuntary act, but you like it so much you would not describe it as a loss of will.

Observation: During worship the ego disappears; there is a sublime self-forgetfulness. There are a certain set of qualities putting you in this remarkable state. They are reverence, playfulness, humor, service, thoughtfulness. But love is primary. Love evaporates negativity and sustained love obliterates it. In this state a few things are notably absent. You no longer are experiencing fear, doubt, or worry, and your prideful ego is left behind – you are not even aware they have gone.

Comments:
• Worship illuminates destiny. Yet that is not its primary goal; it works because you are not only sending love but are open to receiving love.
• Worship would make no sense at all without a personal Ultimate Being. We talk about worshiping a thing, but that is just desire to possess. True worship is pure unselfish love.
• If you are not propelled into worship by an experience of truth, beauty, or goodness, you can generate this state of bliss by your own simple faith. Take the time to focus your attention with all your heart on Someone wonderful.

Definitions: (1) excellent; grand; marvelous; (2) unusually good; extraordinary; amazing; swell; supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Proverb: When one stops wondering at the wonderful it stops being full of wonder. — Chinese

Quotes:
• If you want to find something wonderful, you have to be prepared to wonder. — Gerard “Jerry” Vincent Hubert Downs (1949-) American photographer & writer
• It is wonderful how much time good people spend fighting the devil. If they would only expend the same amount of energy loving their fellow men, the devil would die in his own tracks of ennui. — Helen Keller (1880-1968) American author & lecturer (blind and deaf from 19 months old)

Tip: Don’t be so interested in the ultimate spectacle that you walk unknowingly right by the simply wonderful.

Definitions: (1) a cause of astonishment; a marvel; (2) the quality of exciting and amazed admiration; (3) rapt attention at something awesomely mysterious or new and beautiful

Synonyms: appreciation, awestruck, curious, reverence, thunderstruck, wonderstruck

Saying: Sometimes a wonder is obscured by a miracle.

Quotes:
• To be surprised, wonder, is to begin to understand. — Jose Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955) Spanish philosopher
• Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don’t let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity. — Robert I. Fitzhenry (1918-2008) Canadian publisher

Tip: Deal with what happens as an answer and not as a question.

Symbol: a wide-eyed child

Definitions: (1) possessing amazing skill or accomplishment; very clever; (2) enchanting; charming; magical; (3) sagacious; wise; (4) praiseworthy

Quotes:
• Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power. — Lao-tse (6^th Century BC) Chinese Mystic philosopher
• Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived. — Helen Keller (1880-1968) American author & lecturer (blind and deaf from 19 months old)

Definitions: (1) engagingly or ingeniously clever in conception and execution; (2) good-humored kidding; smartly facetious; (3) quick to see and illuminate amusing relationships or insights

Saying: Sal atticum (Latin): “attic salt” [wit]

Quotes:
• Wit is the salt of conversation, not the food. — William Hazlitt (1778-1830) English writer
• The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. — Eden Phillpotts (1862-1960) English author, poet, & dramatist
• To be witty is not enough. One must possess sufficient wit to avoid having too much of it. — Andre Maurois [born Émile Salomon Wilhelm Herzog] (1885–1967) French author
• You can pretend to be serious; but you can’t pretend to be witty. — Alexandre-Pierre Georges “Sacha” Guitry (1885–1957) French actor, director, screenwriter, & playwright

(QUICK-WITTED)
Definitions: (1) having a nimble, alert mind; quick in perception and understanding; keen; clever; sharp-witted; (2) being able to readily access memory and put ideas together in new ways

Quote: Those who have a natural talent for calculation are generally quick-witted at every other kind of knowledge; and even the dull, if they have had an arithmetical training, although they may derive no other advantage from it, always become much quicker than they would have been. — Plato (428-328 BC) Greek philosopher

Definitions: (1) having or showing good judgment; discerning; (2) accurately discriminating between what is true and what is false; (3) able to decide between what is proper and what is improper; prudent; discreet; (4) able to conceive of a pragmatic solution; common sense; sagacious

Derivations: Sanskrit, “knowledge;” Latin, “to see”

Synonyms: calculating, crafty, cunning, enlightened, erudite, incorruptible

Balancing Quality: Appreciation

Compatible Quality: common sense

Familial Qualities: farsighted, foresighted, prepared

Saying: A word to the wise is sufficient.

Dictums:
• The heart is wiser than the intellect. — Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819-1881) American novelist
• Be you always as wise as serpents but as harmless as doves. — Jesus of Nazareth (7 bc-30 ad)
• God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. — Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) American theologian

Quotes:
• The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms. — Socrates (c. 4th Century bc) Greek philosopher
• Wisdom is better than strength, and a wise man is better than a strong man. — Amenemope (c. 1100 BC) The Wisdom of Amenemope 26:15-16 {Found 1888; Published 1922}
• [Merlin:] The essence of wisdom is to know when to be doing and when it is useless even to try.  — Mary Stewart [born Mary Florence Elinor Rainbow] (1916-2014) The Last Enchantment {1979}

Comments:
•Wisdom is the result of balancing positive qualities. It is the ability to contrast opposites and choose the highest possible good. It is also seeing the positive in a muddled and complex situations.
•When one is able to see a broader or a longer view, to encompass a greater quantity of truth, or a purer essence of reality, they possess a fundamental aspect of wisdom. People who have a greater wisdom usually want to share it, and, if possible, share it in such a way that those caught in a constrictive web of their own realities will be able to expand their realities, thus finding a way out.

Observation: It is sometimes prudent to keep your head down; and at other times keep your head above water. But it may be a bit tricky to do both at the same time.

Tip: Even a little bit of wisdom helps. Say you are driving and you notice the person in front of you is going to turn. You get over in the other lane and your progress is not impeded – small wisdom. You look even farther ahead and you take one freeway instead of another. Again, you are rewarded with a smoother trip. The larger your ability to choose wisely, the greater your ability to live as you intend.

Advice: If you can’t reach the heights of wisdom then be satisfied with the dregs of wisdom.

Color: yellow

Symbols: 1) honey; 2) an owl; 3) burnt wood; 4) deep water; 5) the dragon; 6) an elephant; 7) a golden key; 8) a ring of flames; 9) the Hermit (Tarot); 10) the snake (Native American); 11) fruit [from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil]

Legendary Figure: Epimenides, a sage and prophet of ancient Greece, slept in a cave for fifty-seven years; he woke possessing exceptional wisdom.

Mythological Figures: 1) Neith, the Egyptian goddess of wisdom; 2) Sarawati, the Indian goddess of learning and wisdom; 3) Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and liberal arts; 4) Athena or Pallas, the Greek goddess of wisdom and skills; 5) Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom, magic, learning, and the arts; also the measurer of time and the inventor of numbers

Divine Definitions: (1) Encompassing the entirety of discernment; Perfect judgment; capable; (2) The embodiment of truth; aware of all of the real facts and true circumstances; (3) The embodiment of beauty; the integration of reality; (4) The embodiment of goodness; knowing what is proper; prudent; discriminative; (5) Enlightened; incorruptible; (6) Having the wisest possible perspective; being able to see all reality at once; profound; (7) Proposing the practical application of His pragmatic plan; sagacious; (8) The most sensible adaptation of omniscience; possessing supreme common sense

Quote: As mind pursues reality to its ultimate analysis … Thinking surrenders to wisdom, and wisdom is lost in enlightened and reflective worship. (112:2.11) — The Urantia Book {1995}

Inspiration: God is our sure leader and unfailing guide. He is the great parent of heaven and earth, possessed of unlimited energy and infinite wisdom. — Hinduism

Consideration: All that we perceive as separate is being coordinated in perfect symmetry because God’s wisdom is absolute and motivated solely by supreme love. All choices taken by The All-wise Creator will be the best course of action for all persons for all time. Nothing is out of place. He experiences no regrets. He makes no mistakes.

WISE
Human Definitions: (1) having or showing good judgment; discerning; (2) accurately discriminating between what is true and what is false; (3) able to decide between what is proper and what is improper; prudent; discreet; (4) able to conceive of a pragmatic solution; common sense; sagacious

Derivations: Sanskrit, “knowledge;” Latin, “to see”

Synonyms: calculating, crafty, cunning, enlightened, erudite, incorruptible

Balancing Quality: Appreciation

Compatible Quality: common sense

Familial Qualities: farsighted, foresighted, prepared

Saying: A word to the wise is sufficient.

Dictums:
• Be you always as wise as serpents but as harmless as doves. — Jesus of Nazareth (7 bc-30 ad)
• The heart is wiser than the intellect. — Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819-1881) American novelist

Quotes:
• The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms. — Socrates (c. 4th Century BC) Greek philosopher
• Wisdom is better than strength, and a wise man is better than a strong man. — Amenemope (c. 1100 BC) The Wisdom of Amenemope 26:15-16 {Found 1888; Published 1922}
• [Merlin:] The essence of wisdom is to know when to be doing and when it is useless even to try.  — Mary Stewart [born Mary Florence Elinor Rainbow] (1916-2014) The Last Enchantment {1979}

Comments:
•Wisdom is the result of balancing positive qualities. It is the ability to contrast opposites and choose the highest possible good. It is also seeing the positive in a muddled and complex situations.
•When one is able to see a broader or a longer view, to encompass a greater quantity of truth, or a purer essence of reality, they possess a fundamental aspect of wisdom. People who have a greater wisdom usually want to share it, and, if possible, share it in such a way that those caught in a constrictive web of their own realities will be able to expand their realities, thus finding a way out.

Observation: It is sometimes prudent to keep your head down; and at other times keep your head above water. But it may be a bit tricky to do both at the same time.

Tip: Even a little bit of wisdom helps. Say you are driving and you notice the person in front of you is going to turn. You get over in the other lane and your progress is not impeded – small wisdom. You look even farther ahead and you take one freeway instead of another. Again, you are rewarded with a smoother trip. The larger your ability to choose wisely, the greater your ability to live as you intend.

Advice: If you can’t reach the heights of wisdom then be satisfied with the dregs of wisdom.

Color: yellow

Symbols: 1) honey; 2) an owl; 3) burnt wood; 4) deep water; 5) the dragon; 6) an elephant; 7) a golden key; 8) a ring of flames; 9) the Hermit (Tarot); 10) the snake (Native American); 11) fruit [from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil]

Legendary Figure: Epimenides, a sage and prophet of ancient Greece, slept in a cave for fifty-seven years; he woke possessing exceptional wisdom.

Mythological Figures: 1) Neith, the Egyptian goddess of wisdom; 2) Sarawati, the Indian goddess of learning and wisdom; 3) Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and liberal arts; 4) Athena or Pallas, the Greek goddess of wisdom and skills; 5) Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom, magic, learning, and the arts; also the measurer of time and the inventor of numbers

Definitions: (1) innocently charming; engagingly sweet; attractive; (2) cheerful; merry

Derivations: Old English, “joy;” Anglo Saxon, “delightful”

Quotes:
• Let your life yield a sweet, winsome melody that this old world needs so desperately. Yes, you can if you will. — Charles Rozell Swindoll (1934-) American pastor & educator
• There is to the poetical sense a ravishing prophecy and winsome intimation in flowers that now and then, from the influence of mood of circumstance, reasserts itself like the reminiscence of childhood, or the spell of love. — Henry Theodore Tuckerman (1813–1871) American writer

Definitions: (1) inclined or favorably disposed to act; ready; prompt to respond; (2) done, given, borne, or used with cheerful readiness <a willing volunteer>

Adage: Energy flows where intention goes.

Poetry:
Lead me Zeus, and you too Destiny
To wherever your decrees have assigned me
I follow readily, but if I choose not,
Wretched though I am, I must follow still.
Fate guides the willing, but drags the unwilling.
— Cleanthes (c. 330–230 BC) Greek philosopher

Affirmations:
• I will continue to make headway.
• I will bear up under the strain.
• I will clean up my own messes.
• I will double down on what I know is right.
• I will lay up my treasure in heaven.

Inspiration:
I will allow my will to be God’s Will.
I will align my will with God’s will.
I will that my will be God’s will.
God is willing His Will to be my will.
God is willing. I am willing.

Advice:
• Be willing to hear what another is saying. Are you secure enough to be open to change your behavior to conform to another’s insights?
• Be willing to consciously surrender yourself to the guidance of your guardian angel and your inner Spirit. Give them permission to adjust your mind and soul to the pre-approved settings you are hoping to attain. You are still in control.