Learning Explained

 I said I wouldn’t do this.  I wrote and published that I wouldn't, but the urge to share these thoughts with you is too great.  As I look back on my life, I see that there were certain times and places that were pivotal.  When certain people, places, and things resonated and could not be denied.  This happened recently when the book, Ultralearning by Scott Young, crossed my path.

As in most of the other instances of this sort, the magnitude of the crossing didn’t register at the time.  I began reading the book, and it is quite good.  It sparked in me some introspection on my learning experiences, which I am going to share.  These are personal and not from the book.  Important to me as I read and study the book, but not related to it, other than it is about learning, my pattern of learning.

Answering the question, how do I learn, yields 9  patterns. 1) Memorization (rote) as in scripts, music, and movements.  2) Practice to hone skills.  3)Methods of finding answers already known by others, such as puzzles and math problems. 4) Reasoning for that for which there are no answers. This learning is in the extended use of reason. 5) Using essays to expound a line of reasoning. 6) Solving, as in resolving issues, problems, and situations that are undone.  7) Studying subject matter unknown to me but readily known and understood by others, such as language, mathematics, history, philosophical works.  8) Training on how to do something using methods, tools, and processes already established.  And 9) Trial and Error, by which a multitude of things are learned.

Thinking is an interesting item, and part of all in this group of 9.  Others involve work with subjects, areas, and endeavors that have not been previously encountered or attempted.  Thinking requires that work previously done be applied in ways that go beyond, extend, what was previously accomplished.

There may be more than 9, but as I look at these, they cover quite a few of the avenues of learning that I have followed.  I don’t intend to explore these in detail, other than to think about them.  It will be interesting to see if the book, Utlralearning, adds to, agrees with, or detracts from them.

Learning can be defined as adding to the store of knowledge one has, and uses, to pursue aim. Ultralearning, autodidactism, is one of several ways to do this, in addition to formal education, training, and thinking.

The bases, from which all learning proceeds in our collective culture are the alphabet, the digits, musical tones, and binary code. Learning, until and beyond now, extends them and allows answers to the basic questions: who, what, where, when, how, and how much.

Problem solving is the application of learning to an unresolved issue.  So, it isn’t learning per se.  I think this to be important. We use what we have already learned, what we already know, to solve problems and, in so doing, we may learn something new along the way.

Furthermore, preceding the basics above, are intelligence and imagination.  These are genetic and have been incrementally developing since their beginning, when the spark of awareness started enlightenment, to get to where we are now.  This development process will allow us to go on, to “infinity and beyond.” (Buzz Lightyear)

It may have all started with a similar eternal process in the timeless, spiritual world, which led to the question: what if a physical manifestation of this spiritual realm happened? Voila!  Here we are.

 

Core-spirit

 First a disclaimer, it is important to note that all of what is expressed is mine.  I have been influenced by two major more recent sources of philosophy, the Roman Catholic Church and The Fourth Way.  Then there is the influence of the myths and fables of the pre-christian religion and philosophy of the Romans and Greeks. And at the same time all of what is considered dogma by these is rejected, yet some of it is used as a reference point for what has become known to me as Life and Living.

In all of my mentation, I have intended to describe what makes the most sense to me.  As stated in one of my By John Lina blog posts, what I believe is not important to you. It is, however, important to me.  Whether or not anyone agrees with me is of no concern, yet I feel it important to express my thoughts in writing, sort of for the record.  

In previous posts, I have argued that there is more to this entity than the body that one can see.  There are links to a spiritual world that exist, recognized or not, links that allow the work of the spiritual world to be realized as it continues to pursue its aim(s).  There is the physical body, to which I refer as the brain-body because the brain is such a major part of it.  It is the only thing that can be seen, touched, felt.  The others are manifested by actions taken by the physical body. The second major component is Core-being, of  the spiritual world.  Both of these are collective nouns, because there is much more to each of them. As they are collective nouns, reference can be made to them, in all of their complexity, in the singular form, e.g., the body, the brain, the mind, Core-being, the soul.

There is now a third component that has only recently come into focus.  It is Core-spirit.  This entity provides the being with an active appreciation of life, the French call it, joie de vivre.  There are approximately 80 English synonyms for joie de vivre, not to be listed here.  

An animate physical body can go through any part of its lifetime without joie de vivre.  It isn't necessary for life.  It is, however, necessary for the enjoyment of it, and the inspiration of others.  The effect we have on other beings is important for mutual success.  Understanding that we can consciously invoke it brings us to a whole other level of expression and influence. 

Becoming aware of this third entity brings with it the possibility of invoking Core-spirit and developing the ability to strongly and constructively influence others.  The Apostles did it at Pentecost and some performers have done this effectively. How to invoke it is still not fully understood.  The first step seems to be to recognize it when it appears, then attempting to recreate the process.  Another is to ask that it manifest itself.

"In the beginning was the word..." This opens the Gospel of John, the Evangelist, and has some interpretations, one of which is literal.  We have The Lord's Prayer, in which we invite the Core-being to do for us. We could also have a prayer that invites Core-spirit to come into our lives.  Saying it aloud, a good idea for all of our prayers because in doing so they become physical expressions, causes us to focus physically on the expression of the invocation.

Such a prayer could be: 

Core-spirit, third person of this entity,  we are grateful to have you make your presence felt.  Instill in us the joie de vivre that will enable emotional and intellectual connection with whom, and to what, we are engaged, for the mutual benefit of all.  Amen. 

Imagination

(This is a corrected version of a 2009 Post.)

Yes, I opened a blog for these notes, but it is such a beautiful day that I am out here in back, enjoying the mild temperature and soft breeze. We have some beautiful cardinal birds in our yard/neighborhood, and they are always a joy to see. The grass is dark green.

I’ve been reporting about mom in the blog and will expand on her condition some here. She is hanging on by a thread. I thought surely, when I spontaneously awoke at 3:19 am, that’ she’d gone. I went back to see her just a few minutes before and when I went back to bed I thought; was she breathing? Then I was convinced that she wasn’t. All sorts of fantasies ran through my mind but then at 4 am she called out; she needed the potty. My imagination had been running amok.

This is not a new thing; I have often been involved in situations where it ran wild; and for many years. It happened/s so often that I discount it most of the time. These flights of fancy are often books by s.o. else. Most stories are single source and follow a thread, even if hidden, all the way through. Anyway, I no longer get stampeded.

Just now I had to stop writing and tend to mom, who is constipated from not enough fluid, not enough food, and then the vicodin. She said, “Can’t you just shoot me?” Well, no. For whatever reason she isn’t finished with this lifetime yet; there must be s.t. left for her to do, some influence on s.o. One has to believe that we are all here for a purpose.

In a blog I said I was looking for the labyrinth into which I would go. Wending through one is what we do and more than one at a time. I may have found it with mom. She is my purpose a la moment. I have to keep my schedule free for her, to answer her calls, get her up and down, feed her, and encourage her. As long as she’s alive, she gets my time.

I am not going to project anything about Carola; she is a saint the way she is pitching in. Yet her memory is slipping, and it is more and more noticed. I can’t allow my imagination to get carried away on her. I’ll deal with whatever when the time comes. Just like a horse on a x-country trial; he has to decide each obstacle as he comes to it.

The blogs are fun. I do them in word then add the paragraph html controls and copy them to the editor. I have found that 1000 words minimum and 1050 max is a good length. It is 33 of these lines at 8 per x 4. It amounts to 1 ½ pages of mss so a 250-page book would be about 160 or so blogs. That’s about 6 months at one per day. That same book would be 10 notebooks, more or less.

I read what I write and often don’t like it very much. It can sound stilted, out of date, cold, and impersonal. My writing moods change often. My short stories sound more like newspaper reports. I recall a version of The Elephant Man that was written in this clinical style. I liked it, although I doubt if anyone else did. It was written to convey the story and nil else; no color. It appealed to me because I am a knowledge seeker and care less about the style side of things. This is why texts, lectures, and analyses are more interesting than novels and such. Yet poetry is another thing entirely. I like to write it and read it.

In the case of poetry it is because it is puzzling. IOW it can be interpreted on different levels, at different times, by different readers and even the same reader. No one, not even the writer has all the answers.

We watched home videos of Sean, Mk, etc last night. I am enthralled by my image and my voice. I started out somewhat critical of it but got over that soon enough. I am big, resonant, and have a presence. I’ve got about 10 to 15 years left in me if I keep myself. Yet as long as Mom’s here, I have to be like one of the wise virgins and keep my lamp trimmed and filled with oil. IOW keep my arms, legs, torso, and heart strong and deepen my reservoirs of psychic and physical energy. Plus take advantage of any opportunity to perform.

One can’t go back. The time vector has no negative aspect. Events are recorded but cannot be altered except by the chicanery of the historians. Certainly, the historian within remembers it just the way it went down.

It is important to be getting s.t. positive accomplished in whatever situation one is in. The choice of actions to take is personal. There are considerations but bottom-line it is up to me. This is where all the influences on behavior come into play. A choice has to be made, it is then made, and with the consequences one must deal. This is why I said previously that approval/ disapproval is a primary consideration for/of me/mine. Often, I think it is the first one. Then other factors are evaluated. It is sort of an emotional response thing. And when I say first, it is even ahead of legal, moral, and ethical, or can be, if I am not aware.

I don’t think I am a special case in this way. Some of us learn from experience and make the better choices. I have, in the past, done for approval, lost for approval, kept quiet for it, etc, etc. It is for me, and I am the center of my universe, one of the most powerful of motivations.

I want to keep the house and yard nice, why? My first blush was for approval and second was to maintain the resale value; this is more rational. But the former is/was my primary motivation. I didn’t want anyone pointing out flaws. S.t. tells me I am like a barking dog that barks but doesn’t know why. I dream, scheme, plot, and plan but get nowhere; I am in nowhere KY.

On the Subject of Death

 Established in my thinking is that this Brain-body, alive and well, has a symbiotic relationship with a Core-being.  One is temporal, will last up to 100 years or so.  The other is not of this world. He does not "die" when Brain-body dies.  To say that he is eternal is not appropriate. The world, of which he is, is not relative to time.  What he does, where he goes when the body dies, is not known and will not be the subject of speculation.  He does not, however, cease to exist with the demise of the former.

There is no escaping the fact that the two co-existed for a long time, and shared experiences.  Some are new and some are places and people revisited from Core-being's past.  Both pursue goals, aims, that eventually became compatible, and the relationship is mutually constructive.

Brain-body's goals come from his imagination and reasoning, as he attempts to satisfy perceived needs. When, in the course of events, those goals are antithetical with the objectives of Core-being, he removes himself from the field and the well-being of Brain-body is put in jeopardy until things are again put in order.  This was the case several times during this lifetime.  Now, and for the past approximately 40 years, the two have been compatible.  This could be the reason for insights that are experienced and recorded. Core-being has opened the kimono from time to time.

During a lifetime, the thinking that takes place, of all kinds, acts as food, nourishment for both, and the more of it there is, the better.  Like bodily food, the quality, quantity, and content of it is important, and it is entirely possible that Core-being influences the selection of the subject of such thinking.  One of these insights may be the following understanding of what happens upon the death of the Brain-body.  

At the time of death, all the physical systems of the body stop functioning.  This includes the brain as well as all the organs that support life.  The brain dies and that means the memories and impressions, the knowledge, and the skills acquired during the lifetime are lost.  The Core-being, however continues his quest in pursuit of his aim, whatever that may be.

Those activities, of the combined being, that were instigated by Core-being may produce memories that are shared.  It is these, now colored by the lifetime just finished, that are carried on to the next inhabitation of a Brain-body.  Thus, the next "host" may experience deja vu, as has this one from time to time.

At death, however, the Brain-body ceases to function.  To say it doesn't exist anymore isn't true, the dead body is there and slowly returns to the molecular compounds that, if allowed, go back into "circualation." When it dies, all of the experiences it had are likewise ended.  Only those recorded as images and words that can be recalled by the living, remain in museums, libraries, and personal collections.  The playwright of Carousel, the Musical, put it succinctly.  As long as there is one person who remembers, it isn't over, the memory lives on.  Core-being, however, continues his spiritual existence and his quest.

A Later Take on Master

In all of my thinking and writing about Life and Living, prior to 2024, I referred to a part of the being as Master.  He was defined as being in the background, mute, patient, passive, and persistent.

Last year, I found the Five Tibetan Rites and started doing them regularly.  It took a few weeks to work up to the prescribed 21 repetitions of each, but that level was finally reached.  Not long after I began to notice a significant difference in me; I was more attentive, and that turned out to be tip of the iceberg.

As time went on, Master became more active in the daily life of the being.  So much so, that he was no longer referred to as Master, but as Core-being.  He was now taking an active role in the daily functioning of the being.

It can now be said that this being, me, is comprised of two major parts, Core-being and Brain-body.  Core-being most closely resembles the soul in the Catholic religion, in that he is immaterial (a member of the spiritual world), could be called the mind, and even could be eternal.  Brain-body, so called because the brain is such a major component of it, is the physical being.

Since awakening, Core-being has been participating more actively in the thinking of the being.  He can best be understood with an analogy.  A horse and rider enter the arena, make a round outside the jumps, then start the course.  The rider guides the horse from jump to jump.  The horse adjusts his stride to suit the run-up and height of the jump and together they go clear and head to the next obstacle on the course until it is completed.  The horse is unsaddled and put in the field. In this analogy the horse is the Brain-body, and the rider is Core-being.

Just like the horse is not in the arena doing events all the time, the Brain-body is also left to its own devices most of the time.  Core-being, with the full cooperation of the Brain-body, sets the objectives for the being, puts him through his paces in daily life, keeps him on track for performance, but allows the Brain-body ample time to rest and recuperate, to attend to physical needs for its well-being.

Core-being, like the rider, has his own needs to consider when not "on the horse."  Some of those needs are for the care and maintenance of the horse and some are to enhance the capabilities of the rider.  Core-being is of the spiritual world and has objectives related to that world.

The question of the objectives of Core-being is interesting.  My vague memories, and impressions I've had in various places in the world, my attraction to certain places, activities, and even people, lead me to believe that this Core-being has been here before.  If he has, is he working to move on to a different level of existence?  Are there accomplishments necessary to make that move?  Is he an angel locked in a development cycle?

I suspect that to which we refer as God is a collective noun that names the spiritual world.  As such it has many facets.  The spiritual world may be hierarchical, and this Core-being may be at some level in that world, working to move up.  Admittedly this is all conjecture, but it makes sense to me.

My understanding of Life and Living has an advantage over organized religion in that it changes as I continue to think about it. Organized religion is rigidly defined and rarely changes.  When it is changed, many adherents are traumatized because of it.  This is where I depart from organized religion, be it The Fourth Way, Catholicism, Christianity, Buddhism, or whatever.  I've taken the advice attributed to G. I. Gurdjieff, to use it as a starting point and think about it.  This is where I am now.

Cicero

 Cicero, Marcus Tullius Cicero to be exact, wrote the book How to Grow Old, in Latin of course, in about the year 40 BC.  Through the work of others, it has been preserved and has been available for lo these many years.  It was a favorite of Ben Franklin.  

It is a good example of the difference between other life forms and us.  He wrote his thoughts over 2000 years ago, I read them yesterday.

Many of my contemporaries are involved in the arts.  I write and act.  Some paint; others write poetry.  Some sing, others act or are involved in theater or video.  All of us are busily expressing our particular talent.  As a group we are piling up a vast number of examples of our work.

Then multiply that by the many others in the world today who are doing the same thing.  Then multiply that by years that this has been going on, from cave paintings until now, and you have a landfill volume that rivals discarded trash.

Every one of us, from before Cicero to now, and even beyond today, does this to express ourselves.  I doubt if any one of us cares if another sees and/or appreciates our talent.  It is simply important for us to express it.

This need for expression is not unique to humans.  Birds sing, lions roar, elephants trumpet and shove each other.  Almost all animals perform for one reason or another.  Often it is to demonstrate superiority for the privilege of mating.

The difference is that ours can be preserved.  We may do it because it demonstrates our talent to ourselves and anyone unfortunate enough to listen.  For us it could be a notch in the belt of immortality, just as is Cicero's book.

Food for the Soul

It's obvious to the casual observer that there are interesting differences between humans and the rest of the organisms in the life sphere.  To name just a few: language and historical records using it, clothes that do more than cover and insulate, but provide status and rank, and landfills.  There are many others not listed here.  No other species has these.  There are also many myths surrounding these differences, one of which is that of the Garden of Eden.

The central idea of that is a willingness to become spiritually aware, making a choice to become enlightened.  It is called "Original Sin," but was it a sin?  Sin is defined as "...an offense against religious or moral law." That base is covered by the "Don't eat the fruit..." admonition, how convenient.

The story is a fable that attempts to explain this condition of difference.  The real reason is unknown.  But one cannot escape the fact that we are not the same as the rest.

I have my theory, but it won't be written here.  Perhaps in my journal, but just like all the rest, it is theory and would not survive the scrutiny of scholars.  Yet, I don't care about that.  My theory suits me just fine, and I think it explains why things are the way they are.

I would urge the reader to think about this and not accept the pap of myth, but come to an understanding of his/her own.  Thoughts are the food, the nourishment, of the soul.  And, like food, some is more nutritious than another, but most of it is somewhat nourishing. 

It is better to produce ideas than to accept those of others.  Feed your soul and it will grow and develop in a healthy and vigorous way as a result of the particularly favorable environment of your thinking.