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.
© Michael Mamas, 8/06