Living in the current Information Age, our field of vision is swamped with innumerable bits and bytes of data. We are caught in a never-ending torrent that exhausts our faculties of discrimination, organization, and prioritzation. Reality is constantly shifting, and we are hard-pressed to orient ourselves and gain a foothold on any path. We have a nagging feeling of dis-ease that is the hallmark of our times. What we crave is to be in the presence of wisdom. Not information, not even intellectual understanding, although these are useful tools in the pursuit of wisdom.

Wisdom cannot be seen. It cannot be proved, but there are many ways to enter it's presence if we make it our quest.  The word "quest" is related to the word "question."  By the word "quest," we mean here an open-ended question. As Lois McMaster Bujold  has said, “The most important thing about quests…[is] not in finding what you went looking for, but in finding what you never could have imagined before you ventured forth.”

Wisdom is a quality that can only be experienced in certain inner states, in the presence of one who is wise, or in places of mystery. It is accompanied by an immediate sense that all is well, and even though we know there is no end to the path, we are energized and strangely content. The very act of treading is wonderful because we are both creating and following our paths.

Wisdom is the faculty by which we recognize important and archetypal things. Just as we can strengthen our muscles by using them, we can strengthen our faculties by using them.But first we must discover this faculty. It is like a vast numinous field.  

Just as there are fields of wildflowers, fields of gravity, electro-magnetic fields, and athletic playing fields, we all have our own fields of interest, fields of expertise, and fields of vision.

In the process of seeking wisdom, we become wise. We become more fully ourselves, unearthing facets we never dreamed of, and adding our individual energies to the WHOLE field.

The magic of a wisdom path is that we are both its discoverer and creator. What could be more fascinating and mysterious?

Each workshop approaches wisdom by entering the field from a different path.  Since we begin from where we are, we choose the workshops that appeal to us from our own fields of interest and our own spiritual tastes.

I. WRITING MY SPIRITUAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY: Entering the wisdom field through the drama and story of our own life journeys.

2. TAROT IMAGES OF THE MAJOR ARCANA - ARCHETYPES OF MY LIFE JOURNEY Entering the wisdom field through play, we use archetypal images for our playthings.

3. SACRED WORDS OF WISDOM: Entering the wisdom field by standing on the shoulders of spiritual giants, reading sacred texts of the world's religions.

The workshops share three common elements:

1. They include some creative work with the hands:  gathering meaningful bits, pieces, jewels and other "found objects" in order to make books, scrolls and tarot cards.  By creating, we enter a space in which our intuition and sensitivity are enhanced.

2. They utilize guided visualizations to enhance our ability to attain a state of deep relaxation. By sinking deep into"mindlessness," we contact the more creative faculties.

3. They show us how to capture our insights in a creative and concrete way. We write, collage and color images to help organize our accumulated material. By crafting a material artifact, we keep our insights before us so they can serve as  inspiration to use our gifts.

Click here for excerpts of Wisdom Books along with links to the complete texts. 

Sandy Kahn has a Ph.D. in Religious Studies and an M.A. in Cultural Anthropology. She is also a bookbinder whose work is sold at

Old Leather Books As an adjunct professor she has been teaching Cultural Anthropology, Religions of the World, and Understanding the Bible at Northeastern University in Bostonfor over ten years. She has been teaching and developing workshops that combine bookbinding and spirituality for the last five years. They are finally available on this web site to a wider audience.  NOTE: A fourth workshop is in the process of creation:  DAY/NIGHT JOURNALING:  By writing our dreams and our daytime thoughts, we enter the field of wisdom by way of the nexus of conscious and the unconscious.

Wisdom Workshops
60 C Thayer Rd. # 2
Belmont, MA 02478
617-489-1528
oldleatherbooks@gmail.com