April 4, 2008
Quality of Learning
"The quality of life depends on the questions we ask ourselves."In Chris Corrigan's latest blog (Parking Lot), he brings up the wonderful challenge to us. Chris is a life learning, experiencing the waves in which life comes at or through us. His latest challenge is about "try(ing) this approach out and see if there is something that gathers your attention and piques your curiosity enough that you’d be willing to engage in a a somewhat public 30 day research project". The question I will ask myself is "In decolonization, liberation, and resurgence, what are the habits that I need to create or foster, and the ones I need to relinquish and dissolve, in order to be a "good" leader, for myself, my family, and my people?"
Chris brings up in this post a concept we had chats about before. Goal setting is something that's always evaded me, despite frequent attempts by School educators. In my recent projects, I've taken up a mentorship with a good friend, Aaron Nelson-Moody, in traditional arts. His first assignment: "Draw. Draw. Draw. Draw, draw, draw." I've picked up "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" a few months ago on the advice of Grace Llywellyn in "The Teenage Liberation Handbook". I have both the workbook and the actual book. I've done a couple of the challenge or tasks and it has greatly changed the way I think. I also found the Right Brain vs. Left Brain Creativity Test. Turns out, they are pretty even. My final numbers were 57% Right Brain, 52% Left Brain.
But what my mentor brought up about goals and passion, is how sometime when we share that passion through telling others of what we are working on, that passion tends to dissipate. I've experienced it myself with story idea's for short stories, or projects I want to get started. So lately, I've been more secretive about them. Not successfully because I still tell most of my friends about my projects, but I've also been recording them so they don't disappear and can find that passion once more. Because regardless if I tell them, my passion may go, but because the project hasn't started or isn't going, I'll find that passion again because I'll be the only one with it.
The other thing my mentor brought up was setting goals for myself, and keeping to them. Even if they are small goals, in a measurable sense. "I'll accomplish this many drawings this week", "I'll read this many chapters this day." Although I think this works for some, I'm finding that it's not apart of my decolonization or deschooling way I want to live my life. I'll ask to talk to him more about "goals"...lol. But for all intents and purposes, this way of, exploration, and inquisitive inqurery into the fabrics of life feels more natural and fulfilling. I don't have a goal, I have question. And I want to see that question answered. But in doing so, I'll return to a child-mind and see where life takes me. As a child-mind, I'll find out some thing don't work, and move around fluid-like to a way that does work. When a child, uncorrupted by school-style learning, goes places with their mind, they keep going in any direction that works. Not judgment or blocks in terms of the acquiring of knowledge. Open, fully, to the things that may come through my mind, and possibly stay there.
So Chris, game is on. 30 day of this question, "In decolonization, liberation, and resurgence, what are the habits that I need to create or foster, and the ones I need to relinquish and dissolve, in order to be a "good" leader, for myself, my family, and my people?"
3 comments:
By all means, post away.
Cool. First I would like to say that I've basically had to start from the ground up. Being raised Roman Catholic by an ex-biker and someone who works for the government (a match made in heaven, haha) I never had any solid values instilled in me. All I ever really learned was how to survive as a victim. I also never had any good role models or sources of unconditional love and support. This led me down a very dangerous path, nearing the end of which I was on the verge of becoming a drug addict... There's alot more to be said here, sufficed to say something in me had to die or I was going to...
I didn't know what to do, so I turned to only thing I knew I could trust, my creativity. I became a full-time painter, photographer, musician, poet, and collagist. Painting was my main focus though. I ended up going to art school (mural painting); but soon after, I met a couple people who began guiding me and helping me heal.
It was weird at the time... I never felt the slightest bit of judgment from these two. And I saw quickly that they didn't want to use me or make me into what they wanted me to be, another first.
Sort of standing outside of myself, I wanted to augment their effort, so I quit alcohol and drugs, walked away from everyone in my life who was dragging me down, abandoned 'activism,' and dropped out of school.
Form then on, and with my friends/mentors support, I began taking apart every idea, belief and source of pain I was holding, tracing it all to its origins, and doing everything I can to learn from it -- and when needed, replace it with something appropriate for me.
To be honest, I was sort of expecting it to be like a magic key that, when turned, everything would be alright... That there was some word or idea I could think that would let me live once and for all.
It took a while to figure out, but, as far as my needs went, I learned that the things which enter us become roots when we feed them through use or denial, and to deal with those roots we have to grow our own, literally starving the old.
So now I focus on that, on nurturing and building a good structure that allows me to breathe and grow.
Some of the things I've been doing lately:
I do my best to exclude the words "try" (because the word 'predisposes failure') and "but" (because it puts a negative spin on your words) from my vocabulary, and to avoid absolutes, logical fallacies and assumptions when I communicate.
I exercise and make a point of laughing every day (all I have to do is watch the news, hahaha.)
When sitting, walking, and going to sleep, I keep my hands open (this helps to become less introverted and more open and direct)
I write down and carefully anaylze my dreams.
From time to time, I switch hands (write with my right) and do eye exercises (left, right, up down, and in circles) which helps to improve higher brain functions, (eg, communication between the lobes.)
I do a number of spiritual exercises as well, but it's not really appropriate to talk about that on the net.
Well, as I mentioned before, this is all pretty nominal stuff, but together it helps me to break all the arbitrary habits and conditioned responses and feelings I've adopted which do not serve me.
There are dozens upon dozens of other things I've done like this over the past 5 years. I think it's all helped... Nearly all of my internal work has been in isolation though, so now I'm at the point where I have to get back to life, so-to-speak.
Well, that's all I wanted to say. Here's hoping someone somewhere can get something from this.
I didn't know what to do, so I turned to only thing I knew I could trust, my creativity. I became a full-time painter, photographer, musician, poet, and collagist. Painting was my main focus though. I ended up going to art school (mural painting); but soon after, I met a couple people who began guiding me and helping me heal.
It was weird at the time... I never felt the slightest bit of judgment from these two. And I saw quickly that they didn't want to use me or make me into what they wanted me to be, another first.
Sort of standing outside of myself, I wanted to augment their effort, so I quit alcohol and drugs, walked away from everyone in my life who was dragging me down, abandoned 'activism,' and dropped out of school.
Form then on, and with my friends/mentors support, I began taking apart every idea, belief and source of pain I was holding, tracing it all to its origins, and doing everything I can to learn from it -- and when needed, replace it with something appropriate for me.
To be honest, I was sort of expecting it to be like a magic key that, when turned, everything would be alright... That there was some word or idea I could think that would let me live once and for all.
It took a while to figure out, but, as far as my needs went, I learned that the things which enter us become roots when we feed them through use or denial, and to deal with those roots we have to grow our own, literally starving the old.
So now I focus on that, on nurturing and building a good structure that allows me to breathe and grow.
Some of the things I've been doing lately:
I do my best to exclude the words "try" (because the word 'predisposes failure') and "but" (because it puts a negative spin on your words) from my vocabulary, and to avoid absolutes, logical fallacies and assumptions when I communicate.
I exercise and make a point of laughing every day (all I have to do is watch the news, hahaha.)
When sitting, walking, and going to sleep, I keep my hands open (this helps to become less introverted and more open and direct)
I write down and carefully anaylze my dreams.
From time to time, I switch hands (write with my right) and do eye exercises (left, right, up down, and in circles) which helps to improve higher brain functions, (eg, communication between the lobes.)
I do a number of spiritual exercises as well, but it's not really appropriate to talk about that on the net.
Well, as I mentioned before, this is all pretty nominal stuff, but together it helps me to break all the arbitrary habits and conditioned responses and feelings I've adopted which do not serve me.
There are dozens upon dozens of other things I've done like this over the past 5 years. I think it's all helped... Nearly all of my internal work has been in isolation though, so now I'm at the point where I have to get back to life, so-to-speak.
Well, that's all I wanted to say. Here's hoping someone somewhere can get something from this.
Speaking of decolonization, I've been looking for an opportunity to share some of the exercises and habits I've tried to develop. They're not glamorous or anything, but would you mind if I shared them here?