Path of the Fourfold Wisdom

Genesis Farm has designed a seasonal ritual space where we summon the energy and and insight from four great wisdom traditions. We call this space the Path of the Fourfold Wisdom. In The Great Work, Thomas Berry identifies these four traditions, which are summarized below:

• The wisdom of indigenous people: Indigenous wisdoms have been distinguished by an extraordinary intimacy with and understanding of the natural world.
   
• The wisdom of women:  Feminine wisdom is distinguished by an emphasis on non-duality, intuition, introspection and subjectivity, and is also the source of visions and dreams.
   
• The wisdom of the world’s classical religions: Classical religions emphasize a spiritual realm that is both transcendent to and part of the visible world, and the belief that humans can achieve the fullness of their own being.
   
• The wisdom of science:  Through the insights from modern science we realize the unity of everything around us, all descended from a single cosmic event. Science inspires awe and wonder for the deep wisdom held by the Universe, and for every aspect of its ongoing development through time and space.

The integral wisdom that we need today incorporates the insights from all four wisdom traditions. Each tradition continuously inspires and informs as we attempt to reinvent the human and to establish new behaviors that align with the rest of life. When we are able to draw upon the great truths, we trust that humans have the resources to build a better future.

The Path of the Fourfold Wisdom reminds us that we are heirs to powerful wisdom traditions that have been handed down through the ages. At the same time, we recognize that the Path of the Fourfold Wisdom does not represent rigid or static beliefs.

For more information about our eight seasonal rituals given here at Genesis Farm, see Portal and Passages.