Learning/Revelation
There is a two sided coin that has learning on one side and revelation on the other. They meet somewhere at the sides of the coin. That means they are always attached yet seem to be opposites.
We think in opposites – dichotomies. We think that everything has an opposite – good/bad, right/wrong, Mother Theresa/Greedy CEO.
If we can set the concept of duality aside for a moment, I believe we can see the common ground that all dichotomies share. This vision of commonality will assist us in melding differences and reaping deeper connections between seeming opposites.
Let’s look at learning and revelation. They are different and the same. They both put us in touch with something we didn’t know. Learning seems to be technical in nature – meaning there are formulas to follow. Revelation seems to be instant learning where the steps aren’t always visible. The learning (collection of successive pieces) isn’t always conscious. Reminds me of a story . . .
I’ve had a driver’s license since I’ve been 16. Before that I was a passenger in many cars. I was exposed to all sorts of highway information getting into my consciousness – much of which I was unaware of. The conscious focus we have does not get to see all the data that we are exposed to on the periphery, yet we process that information other than consciously. When I was 44, I had a highway revelation. I was traveling to a seminar in Massachusetts and I saw a highway sign that I had seen literally thousands of times. I never questioned the sign and really never knew its meaning. It was just there. Then all of a sudden, I got the gift of awareness that the sign meant I was either on a bridge or going under an overpass. It was learning and revelation rolled into one.
The collection of data had been ongoing. The assembly of that data into a revelation showed me how one side of the coin meshes with the other.
We can, however, have learning without revelation. That’s usually the case when we act as if we know it all or think that we need more facts to get an answer. The focus remains on deliberate learning which crams our limited consciousness and doesn’t allow revelation in. Revelation is always knocking at the door. We just have the music up too loud to hear it, or the blinds closed so we can’t see it.
There is impatience with people in “getting it.” We all want it yesterday. It’s the cultural conditioning of our world that has us think this way. Most schools teach nose to the grindstone and repetition as the formula for success. I submit more learning and revelations would take place in the typical 50 minute class if the last 5 minutes were dedicated to integration. That means a period of quiet contemplation that allows the mind to still and gives revelation an opportunity to enter.
Trying to get to the other side of the coin gets in the way of getting there. Maybe we can put the same thing on both sides of the coin and label it as “Levelation.” This way we show how adding the two together makes them partners instead of apart.
I trust this blogpost will be a learning experience that leads to a revelation for all of us.
All the best,
John
http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan
http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301
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