Is Knowing More Defense than Certainty?
Most of us think we do, but most of what we think is only the surface layer of deeper desires, motivations and longings. Exploring what underlies our desire for money, fame, love, peace, happiness eventually leads us back to our deepest longing – to be real, to be authentic, to be our deepest nature.
When attended to, every action, every interaction, every thought, feeling or sensation can lead us deeper into more intimate knowing of our self. This type of knowing has a very interesting side-effect – it frees us from the habitual, compulsive NEED to know that drives most mental activity.
This attending is not grasping for knowledge or definition. It is more a curiosity – the best image I have is that of a dog with it’s head cocked to the side and it’s ear raised. I often find my heart, mind and soul embodying that curious nature.
It’s presumptuous to speak for all of humankind, but I think it fair to say that most of us seek meaning, a higher purpose, completeness or some form of deep personal satisfaction.
And, most likely, in that seeking, we find ourselves at times following a path or a person that turns out to have been a distraction, a misrepresentation, or a dead end.
The more constrained or distorted our view, the greater the possibility of being misled or misleading ourselves.
In my experience there are two critical tests we can use to measure the potential of a path or a teacher:
- No Sacred Cows or Stones Left Unturned
- Freedom – There should be an evolution of freedom in all facets of our unfoldment.
In properly organized groups no faith is required; what is required is simply a little trust and even that only for a little while, for the sooner a man begins to verify all he hears the better it is for him. George Gurdjieff
There is no absolute up or down, as Aristotle taught; no absolute position in space; but the position of a body is relative to that of other bodies. Everywhere there is incessant relative change in position throughout the universe, and the observer is always at the center of things. – Giordano Bruno, 1584
It is better to make a piece of music than to perform one, better to perform one than to listen to one, better to listen to one than to misuse it as a means of distraction, entertainment, or acquisition of “culture." – John Cage (1912-92), U.S. composer
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