The Book of Common Wisdom
and Universal Truth

• Audiobook

Preface

Nobody is born with knowledge. We all start somewhere and must obtain it as we go along. It is important to keep your mind open to receiving Wisdom from any source, as you can never truly know where or when you will find the Catalyst that will bring you to realize a truth you are seeking or may not have needed but never known. Though it is important to note, you should not try to open your mind so much that your brain could fall out. If at any time you begin to feel overwhelmed or feel as though we have moved on too fast while reading this, I ask that you simply put it down and revisit where you left off at another time. Give yourself some time to rest and absorb the information provided here, as every word is intentional and meant to help paint a very detailed picture that is clear enough for any person to understand. This book is short but the message contained within is complex and may require more than one read to fully comprehend and implement.Additionally, I ask that you keep in mind the purpose for this short book to exist. There are many sources who will tell you the Right or Proper way to be. Each person is uniquely different, with their own special set of Gifts and Curses. Those who seek to inform you of how you should be, I have come to find most often, present their teachings through a lens that is crafted and catered to allow you to see the world through their eyes. This in itself is not a bad thing if the lense is crafted with good intent, but even good intentions can lead to harmful or unwanted outcomes. The purpose of what I wish to provide is to allow for a Total and Complete and unbiased understanding of Wisdom that I would like to be considered Common some day, and Universal Truths that any person should be able to comprehend. This book is also meant to be a guide to you in your journey of finding your true and chosen way to be.It is possible that during the course of reading this that you may find information here that you already know, or information you have felt true to you but have not became aware of until now. Having spoken on this books purpose, I will say that My purpose for writing this is because I believe in the power of Awareness. I believe that it is our greatest strength as sentient beings, and I want to share this strength. You and each other person have the potential to become Wise, to become Strong, to become Proficient and obtain a Mastery of yourself. It is my great desire to see all those around me and beyond become Strong in this way, to discover and grow your unique special gifts and learn how to smile in spite of your curses, without asking you to change your core beliefs or reconsider where you find your higher power.I hope that by the end of this, I will have done well to express the value of what I have found to be worth sharing, and that you may be able to refer to these teachings as needed while you continue forward on your journey. That you may find within yourself the capability to overcome any obstacle you may face, and know you are making the right decision for yourself.

Foundation

Each of us is in construction of our own Castle, but in order to ensure our Castle can support the weight of all of our decisions, we must secure a proper foundation. To start from the ground up as we all have, it is easy to see how well built some castles are, and with haste try to scurry and begin building. If we set up our home and add too much without first securing and stabilizing the ground we build on, and we continue to add more and more to it, we are risking the possibility of having the entire Castle crumble with one well-placed strike. If there is no support, no stability, no foundation, then your Castle will never be able to weather a difficult storm.The same can be said for when you find someone special to you, you must take your time and work together to build. Coordinate and compromise, if they build a large wing in an area you were not expecting, it can conflict with the designs you had in mind for how your Castle should look. If you try to build too quickly, it can be exciting to see a large structure beginning to form, but without the support structure required to keep it tall, once the wind blows, it could easily be gone.So then these questions must be asked, how do I build a solid foundation? How will I know that it is strong? Where do I find the plans? How will I know if the additions being made by my chosen companion will fit with my blueprint?All of these questions are within the same line, a line of Dominos by which all will fall after you find and knock over the first Domino. The first Domino will fall when you can hear and understand the language of your True Self.The language of your True Self is the first Universal Truth I wish to share with you.Your True Self speaks to you in every moment. Every word you speak or hear, every action you take part in or behold, these all reflect upon your True Self which lies in the center of your heart. Your True Self will speak, it will feel, it will tell you if it feels good about what you are seeing or hearing, saying or doing, and how strongly it feels about it. This feeling comes from the deepest core of your person, it influences what makes you happy and what makes you sad and is the source of information that calls to you when you consider your preferences and desires.This information, it is yours and it is true. Doing only things that would make this source generate a sense of “Correct”, speaking only the things that the source of your being agrees with, this is the first step to learning the language of your True Self.Over a short period of time and through minimal practice, if you are aware of the existence of the source of your True Self, then you will quickly be able to understand the language it speaks. All you have to do is relax for a moment and listen. Think now of your most favorite meal or snack, surely this is your favorite for a reason. It tastes good, but why is this good to you? How did you come about this information? At what point did you decide that this was true for you?You knew this was a good food the moment you tasted it, it was instantly apparent to your True Self that this was something you enjoy. It may not be every person’s favorite, but it is yours. Think now of something you know you greatly dislike. Think for a moment of why it is you dislike it, the feeling that grows in your core when you consider having to do this thing. Think on this feeling, this information, once you feel you have an understanding of the feeling that appears when you have discovered these pleasures and displeasure, you can then compare these two extremes to each other and to more subtle aspects of your everyday life as well.Very quickly you may find that the filter you have built into you has an opinion on every aspect you choose to involve yourself in, as well as the external forces you cannot control. It is when you can not only understand what this feeling means, but also listen to this language whenever it speaks, that you will find you have reached a connection with your True Self. And the Universal Truth is, it is always speaking.Once you can find a connection to this True Self, the next step is in learning to Channel from your True Self. What this means is that when you speak, you no longer devote the task of determining the best thing to say to your mind, you remove this “middleman”, and you allow your True Self to speak. The words will come to you in the moment they are needed, and when you speak, you may feel a sense of fear or excitement at first, but you will also feel a sense of peace and satisfaction in knowing that what you have said is what you are meant to have said, and that regardless of the outcome, you have not held your truth.That is not to say that you should call each person you dislike horrible names, nor should you tell your boss to discover a new crevasse to store his belongings, but it does mean that when you speak and you feel there are things you have left unsaid, you will feel this clearly. It may take some time to decipher the true message you want to relay, but be patient with yourself and check in with yourself to make sure that your message is correct and true.When you act and you do something you wish you had not, you feel regret instantaneously. The key in learning to channel the information from your True Self is in Trusting that the feeling that arises when you are in the moment of needing to make a decision is one that should be listened to and acted upon. By doing this, you are listening to the language of your True Self, and when you learn this language, you will be able to hear it speak in every moment, and will be able to use this information to guide every step you take moving forward.You will be able to know that the actions and words you participate in are those that you are meant to, that you are behaving as you should, and that you are giving all the world a great deal of respect by allowing them to know your True Self. Allowing them to make an informed decision about who you are and if you are somebody they wish to have in their life, and allowing yourself to set the standard for how others should behave toward you.Often times you may find yourself seeking for what to say, stammering, hoping that you do not embarrass yourself or say something foolish. The truth is, you really do know exactly what you would prefer to say the most, and it comes to you the instant it should be spoken. Practice with this, everything you bear sight to will reflect in some way in your mind and heart. Do not be afraid or ashamed of what comes to the surface, it is yours and should be harnessed.Once you have spent some time thinking on this feeling that occurs each time you experience something, once you have obtained a sense of what Right and Wrong feel like to you, you can begin to lay the Foundation of your Castle with incredible stability. Use this newfound power to think of all aspects of your life, what would your ideal setting look like? What do you want to see when you open your front door? Begin thinking of the end goal and what this may look like for you, once you can spend some time and begin identifying little things that would hold meaning to you, you will then have items to begin considering where to place, and you can prepare the space ahead of time.Knowing your True Self and the language it speaks will help you to determine what should be included and excluded from your blueprints, and once you have begun to grow this rough idea, you will have a solid understanding of how big you would like your castle to be, and how much weight you think it may be able to support.When you build your castle to your specific design, it will inherently be stronger than one that was built half-hazard as you went along. You will have an idea of what is expendable and what is essential, what can be compromised, where you can make adjustments or addons. You will have built this from scratch and know every corner of this space. You will know where the integral supports must remain, and you will know where some walls can be broken to allow for new additions. All of these dominos will fall when you can learn the Language of your True Self, and you will have all the tools you need at your side to begin construction on your Castle as well as the ability to know what can and cannot give.Your foundation will be strong and you will be able to take each step forward knowing how to determine for yourself what is Right and what is Wrong, but knowing is only half of the battle. Being aware of this Language will only give you half of the answer, you need to provide the other half, act upon it, and bring the reality you wish for the most into being. This is why Awareness is our greatest strength, being aware may only solve half the problem for you, but that is an entire half of the problem that you no longer need to figure out.The other half often times becomes apparent to you, and it is in this ability to unravel itself and provide the answers that the true strength of Awareness lies. Half of almost every problem can be solved by simply having a proper understanding of the decision you are facing, and finding its answer requires only that you have an honest conversation with yourself and ask yourself how you feel about each decision.There is so much information being presented to you in every moment, if you look inside and listen to the echo that reflects when you ask, you will hear the truth being revealed to you. This truth will be able to guide you through every step and aspect of your journey as you move forward. Before you continue to the next section, I ask that you stop and take a moment to consider all that I have said so far. What it means to you, and take some moments to try to gain an sense of the language that your True Self is trying to speak.

Walls

It may take some time to think and consider the hundreds of thousands of options we have available to us now and in the near future, but once you have obtained a working understanding of how to hear the Language of your True Self, you can begin to make plans and set the Perimeter for your Castle. Raise your walls in the areas you want them, allow passage through the corridors you want to explore, and plant your pillars of stability where the integrity of your structure is at its weakest. If you use your ability to communicate with your True Self, it will tell you which wall must be strong, which can have flexibility and allow for new growth or additions, which ones should be held firm now but replaced later, and it will tell you where the pillars that create the stability for your structure should go, and where your castle should be unwavering.Once you have an idea of the kind of interactions you want to have, the kind of sights you want to see, things you want to have around you, you can begin to set your walls and place boundaries to prevent anything that is not meant to be there from getting close enough to harm you or the structural integrity of your castle.Boundaries do not serve to prevent you from experiencing things, they are meant to allow you to experience things safely, things that you choose, and things that are within your own comfort zone. This is the first Common Wisdom I wish to share with you.The value of Boundaries cannot be understated. If you do not have walls, you will be exposed to the elements and any passerby who might seek to harm you. So then it must be asked, how do I set boundaries? How do I enforce these boundaries? How will I know when it is okay for one to be crossed? Why do I need to raise these walls?They are required if you want to know who you can trust, who you should let within arms reach or even closer, and who you should keep far away. They will help you know who is worth your time and who is not willing to offer you common respect. They are what will protect you while you move through life and expand upon current relationships, meet new people, delve into new works and harness your mastery of yourself.When you have spent some time considering how your True Self feels, what you want the most, and what you like the least, it will be clear in your mind how you want to be treated. Setting Boundaries for those close to you and those you interact with will help you in a multitude of ways. Once you know where to place these barriers, you need to decide which have flexibility, and which are unwavering. But even in those that are unwavering, how to enforce these Boundaries is incredibly important.When a Boundary is approached and you can see it coming, say so. Explain your boundary, and give the person approaching the chance to make a willing decision to cross it and disrespect your wishes. If they make this willing and known decision, they only prove to you that they are not worth letting closer than beyond arms reach. In fact, if they are not willing to respect your wishes and your boundaries, then you likely should not allow them to associate with you at all.If somebody unknowingly crosses one of your boundaries, then say so. Tell them that they did not know this, but you have a boundary that they are skirting or have crossed, let them know and give them the opportunity to apologize, and make a willing decision to respect your boundaries. If they are somebody who can respect your boundaries, and not press against them or skirt the line around them, then they are worth having around the outskirts or closer.If you can give people the ability to make an informed decision, to respect or cross a boundary that you set, then they will show you if they can be trusted or not. And in turn you show them that you are someone who cares for their own wellbeing, and will not allow yourself to be mistreated.Learning how to say “no, I am not okay with this, and I will not associate with you if you continue to cross this line” is one of the strongest and most stable defense systems you could possibly acquire for yourself, and will do well to protect you from a grand amount of preventable situations. Speaking your truth when the time arises, letting people know a line is being approached, you will demonstrate that you are to be taken seriously, and so should your preferences and comfortability.There may come a time where you find your boundaries being pressed subtly, there is a responsibility on both parties in this moment for the one with boundaries being pressed to bring light to the line that is being skirted, and it is the responsibility of the person skirting this line to acknowledge this and avoid continuing to apply pressure. If you can point out where the line is being skirted, it will take the the power from the unspoken action and remove the ability it has to break through your walls and cross into an area where you can be hurt from. Shed light on what is occurring, and be aware, do this and you will be strong to fight against any who would seek to break down your walls and gain entry to your Castle without permission.After you begin placing these walls and communicating your barriers to the world, you will begin to get a sense for how big your castle should be in order for you to exist comfortably. These walls will serve you well, and give you the opportunity to experience things from a position that is safe to you, comfortable, and allows for you to define what is permissible for you in the realm of things we can control.

Ceiling

When we consider how high we can go, we are instinctually at first comparing how high we have seen others go with how high we have gone. You can look at other buildings, you can compare the size of their Castle, see that they have certain areas where they are greatly proficient, which has manifested in the form of a great large tower. It can be disheartening to see a Castle with so many great large towers, but each of these towers took a great deal of time, practice, and continued failure to be able to build tall and soundly. You must take each endeavor one step at time and be persistent.It is at this point you must remind yourself that Comparison if the Thief of Joy, and if you allow your peace of mind to be disrupted by envy, something that was a treasure a moment ago to you can quickly be seen as another piece of trash. This is the next Common Wisdom I wish to share with you.So then it must be asked, How do we build our ceiling? How do we know how high to build? When can we begin construction on our great towers?When considering the height of your ceiling, it is easy to think that the heights others have achieved are the pinnacle of how high we can go, but often there are those out there who seek to test these limits. It is worth keeping certain areas of your Castle under construction for this reason, and keeping yourself open to allowing for new and creative build-ideas from those who pass by to visit, and from those you go to visit.If you feel you are building in the wrong area, it is okay to tear down a few bits and go back a few steps, because you have done so well to set your foundation, and your True Self continues to guide you as you go, you will never need to concern yourself with how this will work 10 steps down the line. Just keep your end goal in mind, and keep placing more stones as you build, and have trust in yourself that the guidance you hear from the center of your being will have your best interest in mind.It is also important to keep in mind, that when you build your ceiling, you are in some capacity saying to yourself that you know where your limits are. You know how far you can push yourself without breaking, and you know how much further you should feasibly reach for if you were to attempt to try and raise this ceiling to a new height. Building this Castle serves a great purpose, more than simply protecting yourself, you are working to Define yourself, collect yourself in a form that you can present to anybody at any time you wish, have a place to offer to those in need of your time and help, and reflect upon the world the kind of earthly-haven you would most prefer.Just because you place a ceiling though does not mean that it cannot be broken, by you or others. Sometimes you will find yourself welcoming another in who will take you by surprise, and help you to shatter this ceiling you have created and provide you a blueprint for a greater tower than you have been building on your own. This is why it is important to build your Castle with flexibility, and to continuously keep your mind open to receiving wisdom from any source.When you are trying to build a great tower, and find proficiency in a chosen field, you will likely run into a great deal of competition and find that some fields have folks with very very tall towers. You must first decide what class of tower you wish to build. A simple, jack-of-all-trades watchtower, an imposing and impressive monolith, or perhaps something in the middle that is a combination of your best ability and satisfaction with being greater than a humble watchtower.Comparison can very well be the Thief of Joy, very much so in this case, but it can also be used as a valuable tool to learn how others have built their towers, the steps they took, and the challenges they faced. If you were to reach a high of some of these other towers, then you would have as great a chance as any person to be able to build one a tiny bit bigger, if that was your goal.You also must not be afraid to fail. Building a great tower is the act of chasing proficiency, and proficiency can be obtained by anyone regardless of your unique Gifts and Curses.The only true difference between a Master and a Novice is that a Master has Failed more than a Novice has Tried. This is the next Universal Truth I wish to share with you.Failure is a great gift, it will teach us how to do better, show us where we went wrong and what to avoid, what needs work, and were our structural integrity is at its weakest. We only need the perception required to see failure as the gift that it is. If you can learn from your mistakes and avoid repeating them, through practice, time, and effort, you will find yourself becoming proficient at any endeavor you attempt. You cannot be disheartened when you fail, think to yourself in each moment, each wrong step, what could you have done differently? What skills might you have been able to acquire that could help you to circumnavigate this hurdle? And if you do not know these answers, then seek guidance.Perspective is key, and even a random stranger could prove useful with their third-party outsider’s perspective. It can even help you to find the biggest nay-sayers you know, tell them your tactics and challenges, and ask them to explain the hurdles or point out flaws in your plans. Every potential roadblock, hurdle, and pothole you can foresee will increase your chances of success and increase your proficiency. Such is the power of Awareness, and why I continue to state that it is our greatest strength. To be aware of your failures, the ones you have experienced, and the ones you have yet to face, will make you Strong and prepare you against each identified upcoming challenge, and give you a base of information to work from if you come across new but slightly similar challenges.

Hearth

The Hearth is the Fire and Heart of your home, when you have determined your foundation, begun construction of your walls, and found the height of your ceilings, it will be time to light this fire and signal to the world that you have a home, and they are welcome to visit you. Though there is no metal-detector that exists for evils or those who would seek to harm you given the chance, you do have in your disposal a set of very powerful tools that will allow you to determine for yourself who should be welcomed inside to sit by the fire you create. On its face, in an ideal world, we would want to welcome anybody in with open arms.To see each other man as your brother, and find a kindship in the experience of a living world. A kind heart with no measure is what each of us is born with, and over time through hardships we are found to put a wall over certain aspects of ourselves for protection. These walls are good to have, but we should also consider that the people who made us place these walls in the first place are likely not the people who are standing in front of us asking to be let into our Castle.It is good to keep in mind your past experiences, but we should make our best effort not to hold the new people we meet under the same umbrella as those we have known in our past. Each person is uniquely different, and while there may be some crossover, you truly never know what is behind a door until you open it. It is important to give folks who have not wronged you the chance to start off fresh, and make their own impressions. See which of your boundaries they can exist comfortably outside of, and which ones they seem to wander close to or press. The value of giving this fresh clean chance cannot be understated, the appearance we give to ourselves and show to the world is often not reflective of the truth that lies in the center of our being.So then we must ask this question, how can we let go of the horrors we have experienced in our past, and open our heart to giving a fresh chance to each person who deserves it? How can we bring ourselves to answer the door when someone we do not know comes to knock, and look at them without bias and without seeing your past, that they had no part in?The key in how to open yourself in this way is to simply treat others the way you would want to be treated, and always know in your mind and heart that you yourself to not like to be treated poorly. Using the sentiment of selfishness and the desire to be treated well to guide you in how you should behave, selflessly, toward each other person. This is the next Common Wisdom I wish to share with you.In order to take each moment as it is, without bias but also without forgetting the lessons you have learned that brought you here, you must drink a Fresh Glass of Perspective. Each morning when you wake, you should take a moment and think about where you have been, where you are going, and where you are now. Consider the previous events and be thankful you are no longer experiencing them. Think of what was good that you strive to achieve again, and know that this is part of why you are continuing, to reclaim a previous joy you have once known before and expand upon new ones you will find along the way. If you have know it once before, then you can know it once more.Think of where you would like to be and as you continue to draw from your True Self and refer to your blueprint and current status of your Castle, continue to step toward this final goal and know that in time you will finish this project and be able to take a step back and look at the fruits of your labor. Be persistent, and continue to work toward your goal. Do not concern yourself with how much time it is taking, only look at what you have done so far and continue to believe in yourself and trust that you are working toward the right path, because you are continuously being guided by your True Self that speaks in every moment.When you can learn to take a step back, and view the project as a whole, you will find that in some areas you possibly could have been standing too close to be able to see the flaws that a bit of additional perspective would have more easily pointed out to you. This is why it is important to seek guidance from other points of perspective when you are unsure, and even if you are sure, if you want to make certain that you have the stability and clarity in practice that you do in your mind, find folks who will poke at the seams and search for cracks, use their advice to fortify your structure, and see your project from all sides instead of only the side you stand from at the time of looking.In order to not hold the new people we meet accountable for the sins of the previous ones we have known, we need to intrinsically understand that each person is uniquely different. And that while there may be many similarities between people, ultimately, the decisions and actions one person makes are not guaranteed to be replicated by every person you meet. You never truly know what a new person will do or say in a situation, even if you are certain you have seen it a hundred times before, you need to be able to give a chance to those who have not yet shown you that they do not deserve it. It takes a great deal of time to know if somebody is worth letting closer than you can reach with your arm, but it takes a very very short amount of time to know if someone is not worth letting closer than the edge of your sword.When you can adapt an understanding of the Language of your True Self, and you begin to channel this language as you yourself speak, you will come to find that when you always and only speak from a place of truth, the people you speak with will find themselves far more comfortable with you and willing to open up about things they otherwise may not have. The reason for this can be found within the brain itself. The thought patterns that must be executed in order to fabricate a deception require seven times more energy than the thought pattern it takes to channel your truth. Subconsciously every person you speak with will be able to sense this additional strain, and know that there is something unclear about what you are saying.Deception is the Root of Evil. Those who willingly participate in the art of Deception are likely willing to participate in Greater Evils. This is the next Universal Truth I wish to share with you.Whether it be through text or spoken word, you know in your heart if the message being provided is coming from the heart of the speaker, and you will know in your heart a feeling that arises when you hear the fabrications of deception. Listen to your heart, allow it to communicate the truth that is has to tell you and gain a sense for when you are being deceived. It never hurts to take a step back and ask for more time, and those who practice the art of deception hate to wait. They will push back against this, and prove to you that they are not willing to respect your boundaries. Using this great filter, you will be able to stand at the threshold of your door and know in a short amount of time who is worth allowing to sit by your fire in your home, and who should be told to come back at a later date.You will always get more from life being honest and truthful than you ever will from any amount of Deception. You may think to yourself that there are folks you use Deception as a weapon to great effect, they earn much for themselves and surround themselves in material possessions, power, notoriety. But someone who operates under this extreme will never know true peace of mind. Sooner or later, part way through your life or at the end of it, you will feel a heavy regret in your heart for all the times you have benefited at the expense of others.

Décor

It is at this point in time that you should give some consideration to the message you want to display to the world. We gain a grand amount of information in the first moments of seeing a person, the place they call home, and those they let close to them. All of these things reflect upon us, and we can know the truth of how we feel about them. Some things make us proud, some would seek to embarrass us. There is nothing wrong with having a “Guilty Pleasure”, in truth we are very complicated people who cannot be painted so easily with a single-color palette. The setting we choose to display in our homes and on our person does send a message whether we like it or not, and being aware of this message can help you to determine how best to assort these arrangements.You must also keep in mind that no matter what it is you do, however you arrange your Castle, there will always be 100,000 people out there who will dislike each and every decision you make. Some will even dislike these decisions to much that they would even call you “Bad” for making them.The truth is that nobody lives your life but you, and you will never be able to please every person. Even if you tried, there will be those who want you to see you go your own way, and if you cater to as many others as possible, you would never please them as well. This is the next Universal Truth I wish to share with you.Choosing how you want to display yourself to the world is an important part of setting the foundation for opening lines of communication, but the value of effectively communicating cannot be understated. So then it must be asked, how can we bring ourselves to communicate what we want? How can we begin to find our voice? To find comfort in speaking our truth?The key is in Trust and Practice. Trust that the voice you want to speak is the one that should be spoken, and practice speaking this with strangers you may never see again, and those you are most comfortable with who you can trust to hold their judgement of you while you explore the inner sanctum of your mind. Find a low stakes environment where you can Play the Role of yourself, and say the things that you would most prefer to say. Truthfully. From your heart without fear, and at risk of looking foolish.You will never find what you are not looking for, so you will need to provide yourself opportunities to exercise your ability to to find your voice. Take small steps and make small changes as you can. You will find that when you reach a point where you must act on a decision, often times we will feel a greater amount of fear in our heart when the decision will have an important outcome, or when it means a great deal more to us.It is in these moments that we need to remind ourselves that within the Heart of every Great Hero lives a small Coward. And that the difference between a Courageous person and a Cowardly one is that a Courageous person will act in spite of the fear that they feel, whereas a Cowardly person will allow Fear to be the roadblock that prevents them from acting.Because the journey you are on is so personal to you, by the time you think to begin working on obtaining a mastery of your voice, you should have a basic understanding of what you would like to say when these moments come. You would feel it inside of your chest as your heart beats, and you get closer and closer to being able to hearing it speak to you. It is in these moments you need to think to yourself and remind yourself, that nobody will know how you feel if you do not tell them.It’s easy to think that someone would be able to walk by you and ignore you and think that you have no troubles, when in truth you may be very distressed. Some people are very capable of wearing a mask and hiding their truth in this way. When you feel this fear in the times when you would need to speak up and you know it is time to speak, take this opportunity, and speak your truth. If you feel that there is something left unsaid, then say that. Tell them you are not finished, and that you have more to say. You will surprise yourself with the outcome, and that often times the outcomes we think will happen are not the truth of what happens when we open ourselves up in this way.When we can bring ourselves to speak the truth that comes into this moment, we display an act of Heroic Courage that your True Self will thank you for. And when you do this often enough, you will find that it becomes easier and easier to do. It will always be difficult to some extent, Heroic Courage does not mean you will not feel fear, it means you will still be able to act when you do at a time when it would be important to do so.

Counsel

You are only one person, and insight is a requirement for perspective. If you cannot open your mind to seeing something from a different angle, you will only see so much from your perspective. The trouble with this is that sometimes you wander a bit too close to your work to see the full scope of what it is you are doing or where you are stuck, you will not be able to see the structure beginning to fail you from above and you will not be able to see the easy and preventable challenges that are clear from the third party’s perspective on the other side.Every person is uniquely different, and will be able to provide a different level of perspective to your situation. It is important that you try to include those in your Private Counsel, who you can turn to for guidance and perspective, who can not only agree with you at times but also challenge you when you need to know if your plan is flawed. Having people you can turn to who can look at you and tell you where your plans are weak and where you can expect to find potholes and hurdles is a value that cannot be understated. Every perspective you can see your situation from will only add to your chance of success.But you do not want only nay-sayers, you also want people you can trust, who can listen to your difficult issues and help you without casting judgement. It can be hard to determine who you should let into your council, but your power to set Boundaries and filter out those who should be trusted and those who should not be let close will help you to determine who can be turned to in your time of need.When we are considering who to turn to, there are a few things we must ask. How will I know who can bear the weight of my burden? How do I find people I can add to my counsel? How can I convince them to join this circle of mine?There is a Universal Truth to be told here, one that I've mentioned briefly earlier, that you never truly know what is behind a door until you open it.When you are meeting and getting to know somebody for the first time, you are reaching out from your side of the valley to theirs. You each throw a rope and begin to build a bridge together. Once you have put together the base structure of your bridge, you can finally meet, and work together one step at a time making it stronger.As time goes on and you share experiences, you find yourselves testing the strength of the bridge. Sometimes a heavier suitcase comes with your friend than they had previously. It is important to remember that when you are visiting another person you do not bring more luggage than your bridge can carry. If you are consistently bringing over luggage that is always heavy and numerous, you should give consideration to which bridge you are crossing and be sure that it is strong enough to carry this load.Often times you may find it hard not to open up to a stranger, and you may find yourself revealing more information than you intended to. If you struggle with this just remember, you don’t have to prevent yourself from ever opening up about your struggles, but make sure that your bridge that you are building is strong enough, and try not to put too much weight on a new bridge. The plans might have looked nice, but only time will tell if it’s integrity will hold. You could find a really beautiful bridge already built out in the middle of nowhere, but it's also possible that it can only support so much weight at a time, so you cannot judge the look of any bridge.If you were to look to those you know who have a great number of friends and counsel members and ask them, “How did you come to have so many friends?” They would likely tell you that if they have 100 friends, it is because they have met 1000 people. This is not to say that so few are worth knowing, only that out of this large group of people, only so many were able to build a strong enough bridge to maintain the weight of each other’s bags, and also enjoyed the Décor of each other’s Castle. They sat together at their Hearth, admired the height of each other’s tower, and respected the perimeter of their walls. They worked together to build a stable foundation by which each other will have their own permanent installment, and can visit any time.There is a simple answer to how to obtain and maintain a new member of your council. In order to have a friend, you have to be a friend. This is the next Common Wisdom I wish to share with you.You cannot simply take and take and give nothing in return, you need to be able to let those who need someone to lean on come to you, if you are ever to expect them to be able to be there when you need someone to lean on. If you are only taking from those close to you, they will soon have little for themselves or anyone else, and you will be preventing them from their journey. There is ownness on them to uphold their boundaries, and at both ends there is a bridge that can be severed.In order to prevent this from happening, there is a balance you must find between speaking your mind without restraint and recognizing how much weight your words may carry. And being a friend does not mean throwing yourself at every opportunity into exhaustion trying to please every person around you, kindness has to have a limit and you must try to see when someone is truly seeking aid from you, or seeking to take advantage of you. If you allow someone to place their foot on top of yours, when you are not paying attention, that foot could easily find its way to your neck. Pay attention to how much weight is making its way across your bridge, and when you start to feel overwhelmed, it is your duty to yourself to use your power of Heroic Courage to speak and say so.

Monarchy

As you sit upon the Throne of your Castle and first place your Crown, It is important to know that you are on a journey just as everyone else is, and that no person began this journey with every aspect mapped and coursed, with all of the resources they need available to them. Our paths change as we continue forward and there has never been a path before that has not seen some form of hurdle or roadblock that made them need to divert the course of their journey. While you continue to move forward keep in mind that with every step you take you will be learning, growing, and progressing on your path. That you will continuously improve upon your Mastery of yourself, and that every situation will test your ability to stay true to what you feel in your heart you should do.This is where you sit and look upon your Castle, take pride in your accomplishments and know that the pinnacle of your being will always be here. Your Castle may improve, and you may add to your riches and structure as you go forward, but in this space, the Truth is that you are the Master of your own Universe, and only you can bring about the changes that you want to see in yourself and the world around you.You will decide in this space what kind of King or Queen you wish to be. Cruel, or Benevolent. Tyrannical or Just. If we remember all that we have heard thus far, the answer would be clear to us, that if we were to visit any other person, we would want to be treated with respect and dignity. It is upon this Throne that you will contemplate the greatest decisions that you will face, but with the great filter within you, you will always know in your heart which outcome you would most prefer. The road to get there may not always be as clear, but every step you take forward will clear more of the fog ahead of you.When you Reign over this space, every person you let through your doors becomes your responsibility. How they are able to behave to an extend while in this sacred space should be agreed upon before entering, because this is your Castle you have the authority to say what is permissible here. You do not have to subject yourself to intolerant and brazen people who would seek to knock over your shelves and laugh at the face you make when they break your trust.Being a Strong King or Queen does not mean you need to rule with an iron fist either, in truth, the best thing you can do to create this space is to know yourself, know the kind of kingdom you want to live in, and vocalize this desire to those around you. Speak up when you see something is abhorrently out of line, and give praise and uplift those who help you move toward your goal of creating this Palace of your own design.As your castle grows in time, so too will the traffic it sees. You may find yourself wealthy in a number of ways, but there is one way in which we are all wealthy, and it is this wealth that we must find a way to share if we are ever to truly grow our Castle to impressive and commendable heights. Having an impressive Castle will mean nothing if we do not have companions to share the space with, and the only people who will want to share your space with you are those who you can work to prove you can be a friend to. The best way to earn somebody’s favor is to give to them without cost. Not material posessions, but something far more important.Your time is the most important and valuable gift you could ever give to a person, and to offer anything without cost is the greatest form of kindness. Without expectation of any form of return. To operate under this extreme will slowly grow you into becoming a more benevolent person, and will do well to show those close to you that you care about them, and that you appreciate them being in this space.This is not to say that we all have an abundance of time to share, often times we will find that 60% of every day is devoted to things we did not choose or would prefer not to do. There is really very little time that we have to decide what to do with and how to share it, even less if we consider that we only have a limited amount of time to share to begin with.We need to keep in mind that just because we have not heard from somebody in a while does not mean they truly mean to ignore us, often times people will find that when they have only 40% of their time available, it’s hard to fit in all of the friends they have met along the way when they also have to consider fitting in exploring their own passions and desires as well trying to find time for their family and closest loved ones. The hard truth here is that we are spoiled for choice, and more often then not, the most dire situations take our attention and leave us with little room to choose among the sea of options.When you take this seat and you look over all that you own, consider what you can spare, how strong your foundation is, how much work you have done, and how much left you have to do. Do not feel overwhelmed by the size and scope of your ideals, continue to place down one block at a time and know that nobody who has a very large Castle has built it overnight. Drink a fresh glass of perspective and know that you have done so well to get this far.

Connection

There will be a natural inclination to want to read this book through to the end before giving yourself time to fully digest and process each message. I would implore you to please revisit each and every topic at least once more, go slowly, and be sure you are comfortable with saying truthfully that you understand each and every domino that I have tried to bring your awareness to before moving onto the next one. Allow them to fall and watch this process, see them branch out and connect to each other.Once you can knock over this first Domino, all others will fall after in this line. This Universal Truth has already been shared with you, but it is in this moment that it must be expressed again.This is why I have not spoken much on specific situations or those that would be very nuanced and pertain only to you, because being aware of these essential starting points that I have covered will help you to overcome almost every obstacle you will find yourself facing on your personal journey. These obstacles and situations will become traversable and currently exists somewhere after one of these essential starting Dominos somewhere down it’s line.My purpose for seeking Wisdom was so that I could find the Root Source of as many these issues as possible. Considering all of the issues I have faced, and of issues others have faced as well who have spoken with me, once I have felt I could speak on the root of all of these, it became time to share my collection of Wisdom that was once rare to me but is now common, and Universal Truths I have come to understand, that apply to all beings without exception.I can only show you the first Domino, but knowing where it is makes the task of pushing it over easier. Half of this job is done for you simply by being aware, and it is for this reason that I say that Awareness is our greatest strength.There are no more questions I would ask on your behalf, at this point your primary focus should be on internalizing the lessons I have expressed to you, and use this space to begin asking yourself these specific and nuanced questions. Feel in your mind the difference when you ask yourself an honest question and you tell yourself a truth versus a lie. You will feel very quickly the difference in your mind and heart when you tell these two answers. You are built with a great filter already, and the information used to build this filter comes from inside of you. You only need to learn to listen, and take some time and patience to try to understand how it speaks.And finally. I wish to speak briefly on the power of One. This will be the last Common Wisdom I wish to share with you.A single drop of food coloring can change the entire contents of a glass of water. Enough glasses of water could change the entire contents of a Pool. And enough pools of water would be able to change the color of a much larger body of water. For me, this work is my way to use my power of One to affect many.I do not need every person in the world to read and understand this short book right now in this moment. Those who need to hear this message the most will hear and know it, and they will intrinsically and subconsciously do as I have been doing and lead by example, knowing that not only is their chosen path the best path for them, but that it will encourage others to want to follow their own chosen path as well.And in this way, you and each other person may have the ability to find yourselves becoming Wise, becoming Strong, becoming Proficient and obtaining a Mastery of yourself.