What
is True Knowledge?
I look back at my college years
as a wonderful time of life. The knowledge I gained was fantastic.
To this day, I totally enjoy the campus environment as a bastion
of the knowledge humanity has attained. The traditional approach
to gaining knowledge obviously has great value. It is responsible
for the technological and cultural achievements humanity has attained
over the past several hundred years. However, if we take a careful
look, we realize that this traditional approach to gaining knowledge
essentially amounts to memorization of facts and ideas as well
as replication of techniques. It is sometimes referred to as an
outside/in approach. That is to say, knowledge is viewed as something
external that the individual takes into their being. In contrast,
the inside/out approach is based on the notion that knowledge
dwells within the individual. In that case, learning is the process
of bringing one's awareness into contact with what dwells hidden
within them.
An examination of the nature and
structure of existence and the place of human beings within that
scheme reveals how the inside/out approach actually works. Modern
physics tells us that everyone and everything is one with the
Unified Field, i.e., the underlying basis of all existence. The
Unified Field is the source of all the intelligence, harmony,
power, and creativity that brought this universe into manifestation.
It follows that contained within everyone and everything lies
unbounded knowledge. The crux of the matter is that because we
are human beings, we have the ability to directly access from
within that source of infinite grandeur-the storehouse of all
knowledge.
The technique of unveiling that
inner potential is profoundly subtle. Its pursuit is the foundation
of what has become known as spirituality. However, through the
years, it has become inundated with dogma and even fanaticism.
Its elusive nature has shrouded the understanding in a garb of
mystery and mysticism. The subtlety required to attain this "true
knowledge" has resulted in it being referred to as traversing
the razor's edge or passing through the eye of the needle.
A rational approach is required
to filter out any distortions or misconceptions encountered along
the path of learning. Throughout the ages, such discernment has
been recognized as absolutely essential in the attainment of true
knowledge. We live in an age when rational thought has become
the norm. For that reason, we now have the potential (not just
as isolated, rare individuals, but as an entire species) to traverse
that razor's edge and pass through the eye of the needle, attaining
true knowledge. In other words, the inside/out approach is now
at our fingertips. This rationality is certainly not to be employed
at the exclusion of our spirituality. In fact, the opposite is
true. The seamless mergence of heart and mind is fundamental to
this path-it is the next great step in human development. That
integration of heart and mind results in wisdom which is the fruit
of true learning. As we attain wisdom, we naturally live in harmony
with nature.
The process of true learning is
two-fold. On the one hand, it involves a specific meditation technique
where the awareness awakens to, and integrates with, the foundation
of all existence, i.e., the Unified Field. Secondly, it involves
a release of mental and emotional conditioning that has imposed
constraints, restrictions, and limitations upon individuals. These
conditionings sometimes die hard. We have become entranced by
them. Our conditionings overpower us. We become so thoroughly
identified with them that we come to believe they are our deepest
truth and most heartfelt longings. The art of moving beyond such
conditionings, while at the same time not succumbing to another
set of conditionings, is subtle indeed.
Navigating the waters of life
is not a simple matter. It cannot be reduced down to a finite
set of laws or concepts. The bottom line, "give it to me
in a nutshell" approach modern society is so fond of, is
grossly inadequate. Though fleetingly refreshing, it merely births
a new dogma.
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