E is for Education
‘potential – is for you to grow into. Hang on in there… it may be a bumpy ride.’ ......... Pat Fletcher
Education, just what is it?
I can remember asking myself, way back when – ‘why do we go to school?’ It seemed a reasonable question, about which everyone had their own opinion, none of which fitting what I’ve learnt about education through people’s experiences of it.
Here are some examples, ‘I hated it.’ This came to light when secondary school years were coloured grey on a client’s life map – ‘I just want to blot it all out, for it to not be there.’ This was an extreme case, as on that level, not only were they blotting out their experience of secondary education, but also their whole of five years of formative life experience, in school and elsewhere. Others, somewhat at the other extreme, declared a love for theirs, almost with a yearning to go back, confirming the myth, as ‘the best years of my life.’ Of course there were many, many other variations between. Overall though, each and every one focussed primarily on either positive or negative personal experience on the pleasure/pain spectrum.
As to what it did for people, what they actually got out of it, I am still no clearer.
And that is, in part, what has stimulated this little piece… Here we have my take on what education should be.
See that potential up there in the quote, well my take on what education should be centres around allowing the person to do just that – grow into their potential… whilst smoothing the ride.
And that, my friends is all about the individual flourishing.
I happened across some steps in the education process – the mechanics if you like, which I have since expanded upon. Whilst this might seem too mechanical to the more abstract among us, once recognised can help smooth the way.
Spark – we all know what that is right – it’s inspirational, clearing, triggering a green light all the way inside and out. It’s a woohoo! Yes I can! Positivity, optimism, a good to be aliveness.
In whichever way that expresses itself through you, the senses this positivity triggers are ones of openness to adventure, curiosity, exploration, aliveness - up for it.
Knowledge – everything that’s ever been experienced before translated itself into facts. The tricky thing about knowledge is discerning between facts and theory, theory and knowledge, knowledge and beliefs, beliefs and myths. Much of what we learn in education is purported to be fact when, in fact it’s not. Furthermore, much of what is known outside of education doesn’t get communicated.
As long as we can hang loose, freeing our brain, body, intelligence and senses etc., all should be well-ish.
Understanding – is comprehension of a communication from one person, thing or other. Understanding is easily recognised as the nodding of the head, which may only happen after a little further exploration. In this respect, understanding is another positive experience, this time of a message being communicated, received and understood. The penny drops.
With a fair wind and looseness around knowledge, it should remain that way – purely information in the deepest recesses of your mind.
Consideration – sparks, knowledge and understanding are best served with a good helping of consideration. Consideration is a neurological process, which we don’t have to do as such, as the brain, when allowed to be so, is a super processor of all this stuff. Our brains, happily ensconced in the whole of ourselves is built for cogitating, reviewing, retrieving, assessing to form potential knowledge.
Application – is activity, doing, living. Every moment of every day we become something different to the last - we're alive, we live, we’re active, we take stuff on board, lose other stuff, grow, develop, we get stuff done, we affect things and in so doing, we experience.
Experience – lived experience is the consequential effect of everything that’s ever been lived before. It is the effect on ourselves of simultaneous living, growing, developing, becoming and being.
As our aim in life is to flourish, any knocks along the way have to be fully lived, healed, recovered from, all whilst doing everything else – extraordinarily difficult and time consuming, so much so we can become entangled in an experiential loop.
Assessment – is a mulling and a culling – sorting the wheat from the chaff that can only be done well through times out. When I say, times out, I mean proper times out from everything other than yourself, everything you are and everything that is that aids your flourishing.
Research – assessment may well lead to further exploration that's different to the one of the spark, this one is more cognitive. Cognitive exploration is research. Again without proper time out this can lead to another entangled cycle of research and assessment without any actual progress, growth or development . Space between the two is once again essential.
And now back to the good news in the education process…
Synergy – Ah what joy – when things come together inside, out and throughout that speeds you on your way. Synergy marks the ‘dropped penny’ from ‘understanding’ having done its full rounds becoming an wholistic aha! that can be euphoric.
Enjoy these smoothing, lifting, enlivening path clearers – to the full and wholistically. They are indeed the stuff of our connectivity to everyone and everything. Those all so precious moments when we are indeed one.
So yes, as you can see, there is rather a lot to this thing we call education, isn’t there – a complicated little beast that all becomes a bit of a muddle without proper space and time out.
No one thing should be blotted out of your life, because the fact of the matter is that it can't. You are you right now, because of every moment you have ever lived – the good, the bad, the downright ugly and beautiful. That said, any blots on your travels along the way need and take time to heal. Allow yourself that time.
Here’s How:
Rest without having to have one!
For the super-active among us this can be truly tricky, but once you break the cycle and take charge, communicating loud and clear to yourself that your life is of paramount importance, there will be no stopping you.
Let go, shedding any debris, just letting it fall away into the mists of time.
Breathing nice and slow, fully in your flow, letting your body move as you go.
Turn your attention everso gently to your essence – the essence of everything you are, deep in your core.
Clearing, lightening and brightening in gentle acknowledgement of your life here, right now. Your light gaining strength of presence, spreading throughout, out beyond your senses, breathing light into everything you are.
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here’s what’s happening this week…
Global Reiki Circle – totally free and always will be - continuing to informally pop in and out of universal healing energy. Once I opened to this it was amazing just how sensitive I was becoming to all living stuff. Not only that, but better able to live amongst. Much easier than my more survivalistic ways of living - all round! The next definite date is Sunday 13th June at 8 pm UK time... should prove interesting!
After too long in lockdown, Wholistic Living for REAL – the way your Nature intends workshops are heading out into the real world. I can't wait to begin working with people in person once more and getting more 'less stressed, more living' out into the world.
Still open to travel (when allowed) and do online classes too.
Email info@livingfirst.co.uk for more information.
… prefer ditching your stress for good 1 to 1?
phone Pat on 07737 196 669
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above all,
be safe, be sure, be you-ti-full
Namaste