Wisdom a Learned Skill

I attended a lecture today titled the Neurobiology of Wisdom by Dr. Dilip V. Jeste.

He defined wisdom as having:

Pragmatic knowledge of life and social decision-making

Emotional regulation

Pro-social attitudes and behavior (empathy)

Reflection and self-understanding

Ability to deal with uncertainty

Value Relativism and tolerance towards different values

Brain scans have shown that the pre frontal cortex (intellect) and the limbic striatum (emotion) are involved I these traits. Wisdom comes about when we have a healthy balance between these new and old parts of our brains.

But these are not inherit traits they are traits that come out of experience. If you teach a person a mental skill and have them practice it you will see ‘brain growth’ (increased cells, synapses, and blood flow), but if they stop practicing the ‘new growth’ will disappear. Our brains are continually growing and changing based on our experiences. As a result the wisest people in our sociality are not necessarily the oldest by the ones with the most life experiences.

This is especially true in the pagan community. I have meet many elders who are in there 50’s and 60’s but I have met and learned much from many Priestesses who are younger them me. It is our experience not our age that makes us an elder in the pagan/Goddess community.