As much as I love the Christmas period with all the food and drink you can consume, as well as spending quality time with loved ones, there are times when it can all become a stress-filled, conflict-ridden and decadent exercise which can do more harm than good to one’s mind, body and spirit.

Everyone, I guess, is entitled to self-indulge (within reason, mind) at least once a year, but we must be careful not to enter the new year carrying too much weight, anxiety and damaged relationships.

Christmas should be a time to reinvigorate ourselves and to reconnect with friends and family who we have, directly or indirectly, long since neglected.

Surely, we’re not too busy for the important things in life?

Just to let you know that I don’t belong to any religious faith whatsoever, but felt the need to propose the following ten commandments (with a bit of humour thrown in for good measure) of my own for you to adopt towards having a happy Christmas of moderation.  So no belief in God or morality are required.

These precepts or maxims may or may not  help you to negotiate life more wisely, as well as put you in very good stead for the coming New Year and beyond.  Just remember to have fun along the way.

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Toward Wisdom addresses the nature of wisdom, humanity’s need for it, and ways and means of developing it.

The situation the world faces today is extremely complex. Long-cherished values have begun to conflict with each other: material comfort vs. an uncontaminated world; economic growth now vs. economic well-being for our grandchildren. Toward Wisdom takes the position that the only way to make the world a better place is to make it a wiser place. Wisdom is no longer an option or a frill. We, and the world, need wisdom-based analyses of our problems followed by wisdom-based action.

In the past, becoming wise was left to chance; a few people became wise before they died, but most did not. This lackadaisical approach will no longer do. Wisdom can be developed intentionally, and Toward Wisdom shows us how. The book examines some of the key impediments to wisdom — what they are, how they work, how they came to be — and introduces us to techniques for getting beyond them.

About the Author
Copthorne Macdonald is a writer, independent scholar, and former communication systems engineer. He writes about wisdom, personal growth, the nature of reality, and creating a sustainable future. His published works include six books (two on the subject of wisdom) and over 130 articles, reviews, and column installments.

Cop is also the owner of the biggest Wisdom website on the net called The Wisdom Page which is a website dedicated to helping us better understand wisdom — that vitally important but poorly understood pinnacle of human functioning.

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This post is part of the ‘Ancient Egyptian Wisdom’ series, please read the following first part: Ancient Egyptian Wisdom: Egypt – Source of All Knowledge and Wisdom?

Ptahhotep, (flourished 2400 bce), vizier of ancient Egypt who attained high repute in wisdom literature. His treatise “The Maxims of Ptahhotep,” probably the earliest large piece of Egyptian wisdom literature available to modern scholars, was written primarily for young men of influential families who would soon assume one of the higher civil offices. Ptahhotep’s proverbial sayings upheld obedience to a father and a superior as the highest virtue, but they also emphasized humility, faithfulness in performing one’s own duties, and the ability to keep silence when necessary.

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The website The Wisdom Page has derived a list of forty-eight positive human characteristics that have been associated with wisdom.

These characteristics are:

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The following describes the ancient art of ‘Alchemy’ (from which the word “chemistry” was derived):

Alchemy is an ancient tradition, the primary objective of which was the creation of the mythical “philosopher’s stone,” which was said to be capable of turning base metals into gold or silver, and also act as an elixir of life that would confer youth and immortality upon its user. As practiced historically, alchemy can be viewed as a protoscience, a precursor to modern chemistry, having provided procedures, equipment, and terminology that are still in use. However, alchemy also included various non-scientific mythological, religious, and spiritual concepts, theories and practices.

History

You may well ask yourself, “How does the practice of alchemy relate to oneself?”

Well, before I try to answer that question, many alchemists have attempted and failed to achieve this so-called “philosopher’s stone”, whilst some have claimed to have discovered this elusive magical solution.

But in most cases, these stories (or myths) have been mostly put down to con artists who dabbled in the occult and alchemy so to get rich off gullible Kings who in turn thought that they would become even wealthier than they already were.

However, whatever the truth may have been regarding the history (or legend) of the alchemist’s ambition of transmuting lead into gold, there lies a more than allegorical meaning that we can apply to ourselves in terms of developing our own spiritual, mental and physical lives.

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