What are the Wisdoms?
The Wisdoms of The Infinite Way is a collection of 132 deep statements of truth that came to Joel over a period of two years. During that time, he was frequently awakened during the night with the strong sense that he was to get up and pick up a pen and paper. Then one, two, or three Wisdoms would come through.
Joel recognized that these Wisdoms were given to him by the Spirit of God. He also realized that some degree of spiritual discernment would be required to fully understand them. Today they do not seem shocking, but at that time, Joel realized that the Wisdoms were much too radical for the world to accept, and that he could not just publish them outright. So he gave them to twelve of his most advanced students, and these students worked with them for two years to prepare consciousness to receive them. Then they were released publicly in 1956 as a new chapter in The Infinite Way. Each Wisdom conveys a message in itself, although sometimes several Wisdoms appear in sequence with a unifying idea.
Joel’s advice for studying the Wisdoms
Joel encouraged students to work with the Wisdoms, saying, “Study the Wisdoms earnestly. Live with them day in and day out. Meditate on them and they will open up a way before you—the way of fulfillment.”[1] He suggested that we take them one at a time and treat each one as if it were a separate teaching, fully absorbing it before going on to the next. He said that just because the words seem familiar, we should not assume that we understand the meaning, and he emphasized that there is a depth of meaning in the Wisdoms that will change our entire experience on earth if we perceive it.
Using the Wisdoms in World Work
In The Infinite Way, every individual directs his or her own path. Those of you who have chosen to do world work will use the approach that feels most comfortable for you. Joel has recommended the three daily meditations, and you may have discovered your own unique ways to do world work as well. On this website, we offer the monthly world work recording, a monthly excerpt from Joel on world work, and a suggested monthly Wisdom. These are resources available for you to incorporate into your world work practice as you wish.
It has been our experience that working with one Wisdom for several weeks is a very effective way to develop the consciousness of that Wisdom. In using the Wisdoms in world work, we have found it helpful to read the Wisdom thoughtfully and ask, “How does this apply to world work as I understand it?” Those who are using the monthly Wisdom will be united in consciousness around one Wisdom, and can lift each other in realization as well as uplift the consciousness of the world. As Joel has said, we are not building the higher consciousness for ourselves alone, but for the world, so that the Christ Consciousness will become the consciousness of mankind and new generations will not have to individually attain the enlightened consciousness. They will simply be born into it.
Downloadable Wisdom cards
While the Wisdoms are incorporated in the book The Infinite Way, many students find it helpful to have the 132 Wisdoms on cards for study and contemplation. Acropolis Books offers downloadable files for making your own set of Wisdom cards. To access these downloadable files on the Acropolis Books website, click here.
[1] January 1958 Letter