What is truth?
How do you know if what you think is the truth is really true? For example, if you see or hear something, how do you know that it’s the truth? With so much information on offer, this is a real challenge – to know if something is true or not? Do you trust your gut? Do you go with your inner experience? Do you rely on your wisdom?
Based on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) recent Global Risks Report, misinformation and disinformation would, over the next two years, be the number one most severe short-term risk which could undermine trust and support instability. According to their Global Risk Report, 2025, this risk is intensified by the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) to create “synthetic content” and manipulate information systems.
Thanks to the internet, we are continuously being bombarded by too much content as we jump from one post to another. And although we know that, to enhance our thinking and brain power and keep our neurotransmitters up and running, we should figure stuff out ourselves, it’s just so easy to ask AI for help.
Apart from wanting to write authentically, thinking and keeping my brain going is one of the reasons I don’t run my blog ideas through AI. To read, think, ponder, write, delete, and rewrite is my commitment to synthesise my own content with humility.
Nevertheless, even though AI is a wonderful tool that gives us information and data, how do we learn to apply what’s given to us with wisdom? We know that knowledge is the accumulation of information and facts and that wisdom is the ability to apply and integrate knowledge effectively and appropriately. But do we know when something is really true. Within this context, I am, however, certain that:
The big differentiator for the next few years will be our ability to verify and discern whether
something is true and to apply that truth with wisdom.
I love the work of Yuval Noah Harari, a historian, philosopher, author, and professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Harari, in his latest book, Nexus, states:
History shows, again and again, that having access to more information doesn’t necessarily lead
to a better understanding of the world or wiser decision-making.
This then is our individual and corporate challenge: to make wise decisions based on the truth; to sometimes use the tools at our disposal to get information quickly; and to then go slower to discern and apply this information.
Truth in a soulful moment
I recently spoke to the communications manager at Mergon, Cecile Weyers, about the impact of misinformation and disinformation. She mentioned how they were spending less time on content preparation and more time on reputation strategy, stakeholder trust, and making the calls that no algorithm should make. Her summary resonates so much with my own thinking on soulful discernment when she says:
The irreplaceable value will be human judgement, ethical discernment, and the ability to
discern the times.
The way we slowly create meaning is such an important part of human judgement. And although our faith and spirituality might not verify truth empirically, most of us have deep inner experiences that we just know are true and wise, don’t we? That moment when you feel in your soul that a conversation is real, a friendship is meaningful, a picture is beautiful, a silence is speaking to you, or a piece of music is moving you. In a world that explodes with information overload and many instant fake messages, we must fight to keep our ability to, in a moment, deeply sense the truth, meaning, and beauty of a situation. We must not lose that!
In my research on spiritual intelligence, I’ve learnt that intelligent spirituality is the ability to discern the truth in times where information is often instant and fake. However, we not only need time for that, we need a slower pace to go deeper; to think and feel, and to do it again and again so that we can get as close as possible to true soulful experiences.
Soulfulness is the ability to discern, reflect and find truth in the moment. Soulfulness asks for a deeper journey with God and yourself in this world. One of the biggest challenges I discovered in my daily interactions with people and organisations is the ability to apply knowledge with wisdom and ethics; the ability to discern the times. To soulfully engage with the truth about who God is, about who you are and about where you are. These are the most important questions when we search for truth and wisdom.
The irreplaceable value will be human judgement, ethical discernment, and the ability to
discern the times.
Truth Café …
In September 2016, I had breakfast with Brian Draper (author, speaker and spiritual guide) in, of all places, the Truth Café in Cape Town. We were busy co-hosting a conference called “Shift Happens”, meeting people and organisations to explore the integration of spirituality into the workplace and different life areas. Soon, Brian started asking me questions about my calling, what I sensed was happening around the topic of Soulfulness, and where it was moving me, and in that instant, I experienced clarity and truth in my own journey. I remember it vividly. I can’t explain it, but I know it was a true and pivotal moment in my journey. A moment of truth in Truth Café!
Go and find those moments with God. They are there whenever we slow down, when we think for ourselves, and when we engage with what we feel.
I am reminding myself about a few simple things:
- There is irreplaceable value in human judgement, ethical discernment and the ability to discern the times.
- I want to make sure that I still sense beauty and meaning and cultivate the experience of truth.
- My faith helps me to be soulful and seek truth, but I need to go slower.
- I must remember that there is a difference between information and wisdom.
- I must trust my judgement as it is based on wisdom and slow inner reflection.
REFLECT
When last did you experience a soulful moment of truth, where feeling, sensing, and discerning came together? Do you make time for this? What are the risks if you search for instant information all the time? Search and find those slower moments of truth with God.
RESPOND
Take a few minutes to sense something true for you (in that moment). A relationship, your love for your partner, your gratitude for something small, your experience of God …
Try this:
Set aside one morning a week during which you don’t ask ChatGpt, Claude, or Google for a quick answer. Instead, explore your wisdom, experience, and knowledge to find the answer.
BeWise!
Let me know of your creative stories or soulful ideas at andre@besoulful.co.za.
If you want to schedule a retreat day for a small group, let me know!
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