The gift of soul wisdom
- Kaitlyn Steele
- Jun 19, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 3
‘The soul has been given its own ears to hear things the mind does not understand.’
Rumi
Sometimes we know things in the depths of our being. We speak of knowing 'instinctively' or 'in our gut' that a particular course of action is the right one, of 'having a sixth sense' about it or of 'feeling it in our bones'. We talk too of a strong sense of certainty or conviction that a particular thing is true even though we do not know how we know. We have not been taught that it is true. Our reasoning does not tell us that it is true. We only know somewhere deep within ourselves that it is true. Such knowledge does not come to us through our senses or our intellect. It comes from an older, wiser self within us. A self that is capable of a greater breadth and depth of seeing. A self that is able to draw on deeper ways of knowing. We call this the kind of knowing wisdom.
Dictionary definitions of the word 'wisdom' generally speak of our ability to draw on the knowledge, understanding and experience we have to make good judgements. The poet and wisdom teacher Ranbindranath Tagore calls this 'small wisdom'. But there is also, he says, a deeper form of wisdom, a 'great wisdom' that enables us to grasp more profound and complex truths about ourselves, our inner world and the outer world we inhabit. I call it soul wisdom for it is a way of knowing that comes naturally to the soul.
Soul wisdom draws on what writer Christine Paintner calls 'awakened vision' and psychologist David Elkins calls 'transcendent perception'. We see things that neither our physical senses nor our mind can perceive. We see beneath and beyond the surface of things in a way that deepens our awareness, understanding and appreciation of what we see. Elkins speaks of the ability to see through the eyes of the soul, 'to see ordinary things in an extraordinary way.' Paintner calls it seeing with 'the eyes of the heart'. She speaks too of 'the art of beholding'. To behold is to hold something in our gaze with awe and reverence for the sheer wonder of and beauty of its being. It needs far more than a mere glance or a quick look. Paintner describes it so well. Beholding has, she says:
‘… a slow and spacious quality to it. Your vision becomes softer as you make room to take in the whole of what you are seeing. There is a reflective and reverential quality to this kind of seeing.’
To behold is to create an empty but welcoming space within us in which the things we see become visible to us as they are. It is to become fully present, attentive and receptive in each moment of seeing, waiting patiently for the inner landscape of their being to be revealed.
When we look at something in this way, we see it as it really is and not as we want, expect or judge it to be. We see beneath its surface to the very essence of its being. We see its uniqueness, its simplicity and its beauty. The spiritual writer William McNamara describes it as taking 'a long loving look at the real.' And as we do so, we enter into what philosopher Martin Buber calls an 'I-Thou' relationship with it. Buber distinguished between two very different types of relationship. In an ‘I-it’ relationship, we relate to the things we see as objects to be analysed, observed, reacted to or used. In an ‘I–Thou’ relationship, we are drawn into a deeper, more intimate connection with them.
In his book, 'The Naked Eye', Richard Rohr identifies three kinds of seeing: 'first eye seeing' which brings us knowledge through the senses, 'second eye seeing' which brings us knowledge through the mind and intuitive 'third eye seeing' which enables us to come to know something simply by being fully present to it. The truth is that all of these ways of seeing are important and have their own part to play in helping us to create healthy cultures and societies. The tragedy is that in our 21st century world, too many of us are taught to see third eye seeing as inferior and untrustworthy and therefore, of less value and importance. And so we come to mistrust our soul wisdom or even to dismiss it altogether.
I have discovered, however, that when I am able to trust the intuitive wisdom of my soul, it becomes the wisest of inner teachers. It is the inner compass that always leads me exactly where I need to go. And I have come to know too that when I am living in rhythm with my soul, the easier it is for me to hear its voice whispering words of wisdom in my ear.
'It’s quite simple: One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.'
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Bibliography
Martin Buber (2010) I and Thou. Martino Publishing
David Elkins (1998) Beyond Religion. Quest Books
Christine Valters Paintner (2013) Eyes of the Heart. Sorin Books
Richard Rohr (2009) The Naked Now: Learning to see how the mystics see. Crossroad Publishing
©Copyright Kaitlyn Steele 2026
Kaitlyn Steele
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