A Higher Level of Understanding

It is a warm spring morning in 1998.  I have just awakened to the healing sounds of the Atlantic Ocean. Immediately, my attention is drawn to my husband talking in his sleep. Often times, words are muffled and difficult to decipher during sleep.  Not this time.  Cecil’s words are clear, insightful, theological, and philosophical:

“We must move to a higher level of understanding, a higher level of thinking, a higher level of being”

While I am awestruck, these profound words are what I expect to hear from Cecil who has a Ph.D. in systematic theology and philosophy.  His words resonate within me and (in my opinion) express hope for a fragmented world.  Seventeen years later, I’m still convinced that if these words were practiced in everyday life, they would start a worldwide movement toward wholeness. In this essay, I’d like to share my interpretation of Cecil’s prophetic words.  I’ll include strategies for moving to a Higher Level of Understanding.  In future writings, I will explore a Higher Level of Thinking and a Higher Level of Being.

A Higher Level of Understanding

First of all, it is the way I see it. Or is it? A perceptive quote reads, I’d agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong.  To my chagrin, this quote describes my attitude more often than I’d like to admit.  And, this is probably true for most people.  That is to say, on any given subject, human beings hold one view and are unlikely to be swayed to other perspectives. Consider the following examples: Christians believe that Jesus is the way to life.  Muslims believe that Allah leads the way.  With respect to abortion, there’s the pro-life and the pro-choice viewpoint. Lastly, some believe that healthcare is a right while others believe that healthcare is a privilege. In each instance, who’s right?  The philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche describes it this way. “You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.” Making a declaration that my way is right and other ways are wrong moves away from healing and wholeness at every dimension of life.  A Higher Level of Understanding is needed to move beyond situational impasses.

Second, we are connected to every other human being and this connection makes us ONE. Herman Melville expressed it this way. “We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men [and women]; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.”  In a similar manner, the universe is fully integrated with life sustaining systems (sun, moon, water, air, wind) linked together miraculously to support human life and the universe.  Natural resources (to name a few: oil, natural gas, water, coal, phosphorous, and rare earth elements) are necessary for healthy existence of the total universe.  While specific natural resources are more abundant in one country than another, they are not meant to be restricted for that country’s primary use and manipulation.  And certainly not as bargaining chips when there is a humanitarian crisis for a specific resource in a certain part of the world.  Indeed, Martin Luther King, Jr. put it this way: “We are caught up in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied to a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”  When a Higher Level of Understanding is operationalized, one makes decisions based on the interdependencies and interrelatedness of humanity and the universe.

 “There is a destiny that is common to us as brothers and sisters. No person lives alone. What we put into the lives of others, strangely comes back into our own.” Edwin Markham

Third, negative childhood life experiences sometimes lead to fear, self-doubt, self-hate, and selfishness in adulthood. The ego sets up a false arrangement to compensate for these insecurities. As a result, one’s authentic identity is lost or at least diminished.  In other words, our true human nature (compassion, love, patience, and empathy) is compromised leading us to become harsh judges with unsympathetic attitudes, hate, intolerance, and self-righteousness.  Psalm 51:6 reads, “Thou desire truth in the inward part and in the hidden part, thou shall make me to know wisdom.” Being true to self is the pathway to wisdom. Through wisdom, we learn to love ourselves just as we are, every aspect of our being. The more self-love is demonstrated, the more we love others.

A Higher level of Understanding moves away from an attitude of disconnection and pretense toward wholeness demonstrating:

• Willingness to be open to other person (s) truth acknowledging their viewpoint with attentiveness and respect
• Willingness to understand people’s behavior and practice forgiveness
• Willingness to understand the impact of culture on individual and community behavior

A Higher Level of Understanding prompts one to pause and look deep inside their soul.  Our tendency is to look at others; what they did or didn’t do; what they have or don’t have. Looking inward is not the natural human response, but with practice it becomes instinctual.  When this happens, the peace that passes all understanding takes over.  Faith in the Almighty Sovereign God imparts divine wisdom to willing ears.  God reminds us that the human mind is not capable of understanding life situations fully.   The whole picture is not at our disposal and that “we only see through a glass darkly.”  As we begin to take the ‘wait and see’ approach, judgmental attitudes diminish, and empathy increases. The end result as my husband said so profound in his sleep is to move to a Higher Level of Understanding.