The Rational Mind???
The Rational Mind
Has been on the top of the hill of importance in how we think and make decisions in the Western World for a very long time.
most of my life
truth be told
the more familiar ways of knowing
in my body
have been the relational and emotional knowings
the invisible threads that weave us together
and honestly I have often rebelled against the dominant knowing
out of a frustration that the ways of knowing
my body
(and other bodies, including Mother Earths body)
cried out for-----
were so often dismissed
with an air of superiority.
Ack.
Yup. Dismissed as too emotional, too sensitive, woo-woo, heart focused and yes irrational.
Still am.--described, by some, that way.
And so interesting that the opposite of rational is irrational or illogical. Meaning--no or not.
Our binary language keeps us in the boxes of either/or, right/wrong, good/bad etc. that create so much separation! And the thinking box ticks on....
Yikes.
And, of course, I have been conditioned by the dominant way of thinking and therefore have also doubted the other ways, my sub and unconscious minds siding with the norms we live in. Diminishing my own voice. Other voices. My heart.
(Writing those words I feel a heaviness in my heart. A lump in my throat. For myself and for all the ways I have judged others as less then.)
There is a part of me that wonders, and a part that believes--the possibilities of creating a sustainable, just and equitable world lies in more of us choosing to place other ways of knowing beside--the logical/linear/rational/anthropocentric thinking.
Once we become more inclusive of contemplative knowing, relational knowing, poetic knowing, ancestral knowing, sensate knowing and all the other ways...well.
That perhaps is the point that the great unraveling becomes the great turning.
It's way past time to acknowledge, and honor ,and lift up other ways of knowing my friends.
How can each of us do our part in elevating other ways of knowing?
Here are a few ideas:
Grow other ways of knowing yourself. We all have the capacity. Hint-Wonder upRising practice is one small fish in the sea of growing.
Acknowledge voices who are speaking from other ways of knowing.
Utilize your voice to lift up the voices of other ways of knowing.
Ask “What way of knowing haven't been represented here?”
Give silence a place at the table. It is a way of knowing.
Weave them all into your decision making at the family dinner table, a team meeting or a board.
And lastly-- this post came from the inspiration of readingSand Talkby Tyson Yunkaporta.
Who in many ways blew my mind open even more to the possibilities of sustainability----if we would only look farther than “I think therefore, I am” and all that has followed that way of thinking. Thank you Tyson.
So if you are up for the journey I encourage you to read Tyson’s book.
Or join us for our free Mingle every Wednesday evening 6 pm PST to grow new neural and heart connections. Reconnect to other ways we two can know. Email us HERE we'll send you the details!
To be the change you want to see in the world.
Keep in touch. Keep wondering. And reflecting and growing!
With Love,
Carol and Casey
p.s. a shortdance play list
p.s. another little something (about Bill Gates actually) I think with my heart/mind is important for us to know, wonder and have a conversation about.HEREit is.
p.s.s. this image at the top of this email is a part of asoul collageI did in the last year. its an amazing process to access other ways of knowing too!