Mr. Rodger's Said it, so it must be true.
The process of learning is one that happens by acquiring skills and knowledge and having the ability to utilize those for the purpose of accomplishing goals or improving one’s existence. To be open to learning a person must first be open to trying another way of being and giving up the old habits of existence. This requires some amount of discomfort and moving away from what feels known or safe. To open up the self is to let down whatever thoughts or processes we have going on that we feel contribute to us being safe. Many of the thoughts that we consider to be necessary to our safety with introspection can be discovered to be about as protective as bedcovers are to a child afraid of the monsters hiding in the dark. Yes, the child may feel safer and sleep more soundly with a blanket but the monsters hiding in the dark are only as scary as the kid believes them to be.
If I want to be open there’s an important step I believe I must accomplish first and that is finding out in what ways I am closed off or blinded by my own belief’s bias’s and my own limited current knowledge. In other words what are my limitations and what are my fears?
The best ways to analyze these are to acknowledge them. To write, talk, meditate and consistently work through and with all of these beliefs so that they can be out of the mind and moved into the physical space of dealing with what they are and where they come from. Many outdated belief’s come from our parents and are inherited because of our upbringing but we also have belief’s that we take on from our close friends, our society and yes through all forms of media.
To be open to learning is to get to the space of mind where there are no longer any limitations and that place is no easy mountain to climb. In fact, even when you reach it, it can be pretty easy to slip right back into old patterns. However, if you can get to that space, emptying out the mind enough to allow room for the new thoughts to be cultivated, you may open the self to a whole new world of possibilities of growth and discovery.
A good example of this is to consider the untamed mind like a wild space where plants of every variety grow. There may be pretty wildflowers mixed in with thorny brushes, a few toxic species that are to be avoided intermixed with edible berries that are sweet. However, you might not even notice all of this is in this space unless you sit down and observe this space in detail. The next step in the process is to clear away the plot of land of what is not desired. Things such as weeds can be uprooted and yes you may be stuck a few times by thorns, but the process will soon give was to soil where seeds, or new ideas can begin to be planted. A critical step in this process is preparing the soil. It must be free from rocks, old roots, and any species of animals that may cause the vulnerable new plantings to be consumed. Once there is space, and only then can the new ideas begin to grow in the light of day. In this garden of the mind these ideas will also require plenty of water and regular time spent watching for insects and other creatures. In the end the harvest is a fruit which is represented as a new skill, a new behavior, or even a new way of being and knowing the self and the role in creation.
Currently I believe my mental space is like an unkempt garden space. There are tools lying around. There are many weeds, The space could once have been seen as a space for growing but it is in need of attention. So to be open is also a matter of how we use our attention to focus on tending the garden of the mind.
