Wisdom Connections

The discussion topic for September was “Tools for Personal Growth, Self-Knowledge, and Understanding Others.” We created a very long list of tools many of us have tried, used, and found helpful. The list is quite extensive and the categories broad ranging from body work to meditation, from using various types of cards, such as Tarot, to journaling, from “readings” of various kinds to self-help books. The following list has not been categorized; the tools are (mostly) in the order of discussion:

Enneagram – a spiritual and personality typology approach (we discussed this tool at length during our August gathering)
Myers-Briggs – a personality typology approach
DISC (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Conscientiousness) – a behavioral typology approach
StrengthFinder 2.0 – an online strengths discovery tool
Astrology (and the new Sunology developed by Sharon Moore)
Numerology
Tarot (and the numerous other card approaches to divination)
Palmistry (and Toe Reading?!)
Abraham (and other numerous channeled material that has been published over the years)
Animal Guides (both physical and symbolic; e.g. what birds are showing up in your life and what do they represent?)
Coaching – external support for personal development (from physical, to business, to spiritual)
Vision Questing (and other indigenous approaches to spiritual discovery and growth, e.g. shamanic work)
Meditation (there are so many forms, from passive following the breath and mantra meditation, to active guided imagery, hypnosis, shamanic journeying)
Energy Work (from Qi Gong and Tai Chi, to Massage, Rolfing, Yoga, a myriad of body work approaches)
Self-Help Books
Journaling (e.g. the “The Artist’s Way” approach by Julia Cameron)
Dream Work and Interpretation (what are our unconscious minds trying to tell us?)
Study of Ancient/Sacred Texts (Bible, Vedas, Upanishads, Tao Te Ching – a whole separate category of “self-help books”!)
Relationships and Community (we can learn so much about ourselves in relationship with others; and so much about others from self-exploration!)

This is a pretty exhaustive list, and yet there are many more approaches. There are whole “categories of systems” all of which can lead to Conscious Living.  And, at the end of the day, isn’t that why we do all this work to learn about ourselves, human behavior; to live consciously and contribute to the Evolution of Consciousness?