Communicating through Wu Wei

Wu Wei - the Tao notion of “non interference.”

Before I was a parent, I learned a valuable lesson in communicating/teaching wisdom to others.  I note “before I was a parent,” since this same lesson probably would have come quicker and somewhat easier.  Alas, since my first offspring came along at nearly 36, I had many years of learning some lessons the harder ways.

So, I found myself as a teacher at a university about 8 years ago.  Soon I noted that I could preach the Disastorous Z results if Student X did Something Y until I was nearly dizzy and nauseated.  Yet, despite numerous warnings, I was always amazed as Student X did Something Y, and the result was Student X was both surprised and horrified to come up with Disastorous Z results.

After time, I realized that I was attempting to teach and pass on years of experience that was earned through - experiencing.  Experiencing life, exploring, experimenting, finding failure, and being victorious in finding success.

I overhauled my way of teaching by establishing safe boundaries and parameters for life experiences to teach certain goal topics, and for both accepting and expecting “failure” from my students (“failure” in quotations, for after time I also learned that in learning through experience, there probably are not any “failures,” rather, just lessons and experience that netted different than expected results).  In other words, I set up the environment for exploration and learning, then as instructor applied Wu Wei and let the students learn by doing.

Loh and behold, the students not only picked up the desired lessons more quickly, but they also had much deeper understanding of the subject matter, and (as reported in continuous contact with some) even fully remembered today.

A couple of months ago, I happened across one of my former students.  I caught up on how he had been doing and what he had been doing in the past 8 years.  He relayed to me how some of my “lessons” had served him well, and had even saved lives.  Further, he stated “You are one of the few people I have ever encountered that managed to teach their wisdom.”

Yet, I wonder.  Was I a poor teacher in not being able to verbally teach my wisdom and experience?  Or perhaps is experiencing the only way to experience and gain wisdom?

Re: Communicating through Wu Wei

In my opinion experiencing is the only way to gain wisdom.  I mean, it is easy enough to read the teachings of say, Buddah, for example.  But reading them and understanding them -no matter to what extent or end- is no comparison to actually living them.  This is the difference between intelectual knowledge and intuitive or felt knowledge, if you will.  I think it is safe to say that without personal experience, the difference could be described as that between collecting facts and data in your brain and actual Gnosis.

Cheers!

Thanks for posting Communicating through Wu Wei.  It was most enjoyable.

Re: Communicating through Wu Wei

You said:

“Yet, I wonder.  Was I a poor teacher in not being able to verbally teach my wisdom and experience?  Or perhaps is experiencing the only way to experience and gain wisdom?”

We can only be wayshowers, and the wisdom and insight best learned comes from the student. Sounds like you are a facilitator of learning perhaps, not a teacher.That is how I approach it too..


Bravo!!

Re: Communicating through Wu Wei

Aye Daibhidh! (just a little tease!),

I agree. The Buddha said something to the effect that no one should accept what he said as the truth until they had subjected it to critical analysis (those could be my words!) and experienced it.

I too have written about this similarly, at times using terms like 'understanding', 'knowing' and 'being' the Truth to say the same thing. Also,Jesus was an Essene and the Essenes were gnostics - am I correct?

Re: Communicating through Wu Wei

Love the Essenes~there is a belief this Essene comunity was where Jesus spent his “mising time”…

Re: Communicating through Wu Wei

Regarding the 'missing time' of Jesus there is a very interesting book The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus The Christ by Levi [de Vorss & Co., Publishers] part of which is devoted to his 'missing time' and, as far as I am concerned it makes a lot of sense. The book is said to have been written from the Akashic Records.
On the subject of his being an Essene I think it is fair to say that this is commonly accepted as fact.
()