Wisdomists believe that wisdom which is embodied in the world is the cause of all productive , constructive or life-supporting activity.
Wisdom is something that resides in the mind - and where a mind is full of wisdom it is called the Good Mind.
Wisdomists strive to develop the Good Mind, the Humane Mind, and consequently to have Good Thoughts, Good Speech and Good Deeds which help build a world which is good to live in.
Wisdomists recognise Natural Law - the principles underlying existence and which explains how everything works. Natural Law points to the way that the world can best be ordered for the flourishing of life.
Wisdomism was founded by Zarathustra - a philosopher who some say was born in ancient Iran about 3700 years ago. Zarathustra lived in a time of chaos where the villages were continuously plundered by bands of robbers and where people were in thrall to superstition peddled by greedy barons and unscrupuluous priests. Zarathustra developed a philosophical system or ideology which aimed to help people break out of superstitious thinking and see the world as it really is - something created by people by their own actions. The world could be a good world if only people took the right actions - and so learning to do this and doing it is the most important thing. Zarathustra composed a series of songs to expound his ideology which are called the Songs of Zarathustra or sometimes the Gospel of Zarathustra. The Songs are included in a larger scripture known as the Avesta.
Wisdomism was called Mazda-Yasna by the Persians which means the worship (yasna) of wisdom (mazda). Wisdomism was taken up by the Greeks who called it Philo-Sophia or love (philo) of wisdom (sophia). Wisdomism also had a strong influence on the early orthodox christian church. The cathedral in Constantinople which was the chief church of the Eastern Roman Empire was dedicated to Holy Wisdom - Hagia Sophia.
Persian Wisdomists developed lists of runes - what they considered the most important elements underlying existence - secrets that explained how the world worked. Greek-speaking philosophers and gnostics took up much of the persian thinking and developed their own versions. Northern peoples also took up the idea developing their own sets of runes such as the Norse Futhark.
