Wisdom Works is the name given by Rabbi Finley to his synthesis of many psychological and spiritual schools of thoughts. While traditional personal, couples, and family therapies work for many people, others don’t see enough change, quickly enough.

 

Wisdom Works has two main foundations. Conceptually, Wisdom Works begins with people who have a relatively clear and reality based understanding of where they are at now, and a vision, including a moral vision,  for what they want to become. Self-understanding is surprisingly difficult. We often have narratives that, consciously or not, blame others (particularly parents and spouses), for how we are. Sadly, our vision for change often focuses on other people changing. 

 

Wisdom Works starts with personal accountability. However we became as we are today, we can make a decision now for how we want to be tomorrow. The firm resolve to engage is transformation is the most important decision we can make in our lives. This decision will shape what we will do about our past and how we will forge our future. 

 

Once we have a reality based understanding of what we are now, and a vision for the person we want to become, rooted in personal accountability, we need two main other factors for transformation:  the Will and the Skill. A major part of Wisdom Works is developing each.

 

Wisdom Works entails persistent work at clearer and clearer self-understanding, steadily cultivating a vision for ourselves in all aspects of our lives, perseverance in strengthening the will to engage in such transformation, and devotion to mastering the skills to get the work done. 

 

Procedurally, Wisdom Works is an incremental program of mastery of skills. We typically begin with Virtue, restraining (not repressing) negative speech and behavior. Unlike a focus on expressing thoughts and feelings, we begin with a focus on self-regulation, and only expressing ourselves to other when we are self-regulated. We learn not to criticize others, not to complain to others about themselves, not to use harsh, accusatory language and not to escalate conflict. We learn to minimize defensiveness with hostile or resistant people, and to process with others in wise and productive ways. 

 

A necessary part of Wisdom Works is learning how to think rationally and well, and how to reason with others productively. 

 

Once we can self-regulate and think well, we can further engage in inner life insight and transformation. 

 

From a procedural perspective, virtue sets the stage for thinking well. Virtue and thinking well are the basic requires for optimizing our personal and interpersonal lives. Within the context of personal virtue and welwell-regulated interpersonal lives, we can skills in inner life insight and transformation. 

 

A further reach of Wisdom Works, for those inclined, is the spiritual search into human depths, and the philosophic study of the values that shape our outer and inner lives - love, justice, truth, beauty, the good and the holy.