Learning to learn is one of my things. On a very simple level, I feel passionate about ‘teaching’ people how to learn rather than modern alternative which is stuff them full of knowledge. Teaching is perhaps the wrong verb here because the essence of being a good learner is that you know how to do it without a guru, teacher, tutor telling you how to do it. However, certainly in the western world, very few of us are shown how to learn when we are young. In fact the opposite is often true, we are not allowed to find our own way to solving a problem, this is taught out of us because it is unsafe or dangerous in some way.
‘So why the deep shit this morning?’ I hear you cry. Well friends, it is because I managed to do some ‘finishing’ yesterday and I also did some aquatic meditation. I know I mention swimming often here. This is because it has been important to me for a long while. Yes, yes the exercise is good but it is the breathing and meditation practice which is much more significant. For me, when I swim it is time when no one else can get involved in my internal conversations. Sometimes, mostly in fact, it is a time when all my brain considers is the rhythm of the stroke and the breathing practice necessary to, well stay alive. This gives me time to let the rubbish stuff go and let the good stuff back in. Of course, I also get the positives from the endorphins. Unless someone commits a ‘Pool Etiquette Crime’, I emerge from the water feeling happy.
‘We still don’t know why you were rambling on about learning Kay?’
I suppose the need to share those thoughts with you was a combination of giving my brain space by swimming, reading something prepared by a prospective teacher and the latest ‘Strike’ book. Despite all the positives I had getting out of the pool, I was sent back into a level of despair on reading the paper from the prospective teacher, as I realised that many of the teachers we are training don’t understand about learning. They perhaps know the mechanics (although not so much in this case) but they don’t feel the passion. On a very basic level, I suppose I am talking about fishing:
The other thing that has set me off thinking about learning is a little left field. It is the latest Strike novel ‘The Running Grave’ (Robert Galbraith). The core of the story is based around a religious cult. This in itself is just part of the story, however, the author encourages us to think about the techniques cult leaders use to ‘teach’ or should I say brainwash their followers. It makes you consider where does ‘good user’ of meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, chanting, journaling etc morph into brainwashing monster?
