Re: Thoughts on teaching #4 and #5

[Guest guest]

> What do I want to experience with my students again.

> Moments of love...that unconditional light and love.

>

> Ok....I'm off to clean the house...still

Hey Dancin',

Love your inquiry

May I step into your business for just a second, and suggest that you

find ONE thought, the one that provokes the strongest feelings in you

and just work with that. The mind likes to throw up a hundred stories

and sometimes its easy to become overwhelmed by the enormity of it

all.

I have found that if I can really undo what may appear a very small

story, then a host of other stories are undone as well. The same

mistaken belief often underpins a multitude of stories.

Repeating the same inquiry over and over can also be very rewarding.

This is what happens in an Inquiry circle. You get to do the Work on

a single thought with a different person facilitating you each time.

Each time you do the Work, you may take it a little deeper and find a

realisation that you did not see before.

In my experience it can also be very easy to let the Work degenerate

into just a mechanical intellectual exercise, which is why it appears

not to work sometimes. Inquiry works best, when I have suffered

enough from believing my mistaken thoughts and now I REALLY want to

know the truth and find freedom from the very bottom of my heart. It

takes a lot of honesty and courage to question what I have deeply

believed for so long. Well, that's my story for now. LOL ... You may

find it helpful, or not!

Loving what is, angel, and that would be you.

Neo

[Guest guest]

Hi Dancin' and the others,

first, I enjoy reading your inquiry, it's so easy to follow the

process of your thinking and the recognition makes it funny...

Makes it easy to be WITH you.

But all this time I keep wondering, and I'd love to hear your

thoughts about this:

I was a teacher too, actually I still am, but circumstances are very

different.

I taught maths for two years to 12 to 16- year olds.

I like the sharing of knowledge, being on an adventure of exploration

together, yes, this is even possible in maths, in case anyone

wonders, and to discover together with the students the various ways

of solving (mathematical) problems.

But the system made me hate the same things that Dancin' is talking

about.

I was manipulative, stressed, and felt awful.

I feel that learning is the students' business, but the job made me

feel I had to make it my business. My colleagues, the administrators,

the whole system I was in made me feel I had no choice. Or, more in

particular, I felt that if I would do it my way, I'd have to be brave

enough to go against everyone's expectations, even those of the

students, and, since they were feeling the stresses of the system as

much as I was, my fear was that it would create chaos. Ok, that was

my story. And also my story was that I'd lose my job, because I felt

that my integrity was not compatible with what was expected of me.

So my conclusion was that I did not fit in a system like that.

So my question to you is, could it be possible that inquiry leads you

to decide that the circumstances are not compatible with what feels

right to you?

Maybe it's not always possible to be LOVE and fit in a system that is

based on distrust and force.

Can you be a janitor and be LOVE?

Can you lock another human being behind bars and still be LOVE?

By the way, now one of my jobs is to teach adults who have made it

their own choice to learn maths, so I can feel free to share with

them what I know, it's such a different experience.

And also... here in the Netherlands new schools have started, based

on the principle that the students learn what they want to learn,

from age 4 up to adulthood. My youngest daughter is on a school like

this. And interestingly, among the people involved with setting up

this school I met several who are practicing The Work....

Seems like the two go together very well....

(there are schools like that in the UK and in the US too)

So, really my question is, inspired by Dancin's inquiry: maybe some

circumstances are not really compatible with a lifestyle of inquiry,

of trying to undo your stories, unless one is already totally

enlightened? And even then?

Eva, wondering, wondering and very interested in your thougths on

this!

[Guest guest]

Hello Eva and others,

I experience a lot of stress in my " teaching job " .

I told before that if I would investigate more deeply I am afraid that I could

not do this job any longer... My story is also that I need to keep a certain

harmor to do my job. If I would get too sensitive....too healthy...and become

too aware of what I am doing with the kids, the parents and the colleagues I

would be squashed within no-time!!!

Since I am doing the work I catch myself saying something to the kids and the

question pop up in my head: " is this teally true " ...?

The system/ society makes certain demands what the children have to learn within

a certain time. Every year there are quite a few tests. The children have to

score in a certain way to pass. (this is measured on a computer and compared

with an average throughout the country with the same age of kids after a certain

time of education). If they don't then their parents are usuelly very worried.

Most of the time they want their kids to score higher, " to get the best out of

them " : meaning mostly that they fit better in the society to get higher jobs

etc...etc...

In doing this job I think I should teach the kids many, many things, try to get

them to listen to me, try to make them wanting to learn, try to make them to

treat each other and me with respect, try to use their learning material, the

things from the school with respect etc etc...... I think this is my job...this

is what I get payed for (by the system).

I think it is hopeles to fight the system! And I find myself many times doing

that....

In doing this I am many times not following my own integrity...and am many, many

times in the business of others....

I want to make amends to you for my angry answer when I thought you were

implying that I was not being honest... Indeed I was not and did not have the

courage to admit it... Maybey you remember what I am talking about. I have been

trying to find the mail back on the web and I could not find it... I hope you

accept my appology...

Love to you all,

Maneesha

Re: Thoughts on teaching #4 and #5

Hi Dancin' and the others,

first, I enjoy reading your inquiry, it's so easy to follow the

process of your thinking and the recognition makes it funny...

Makes it easy to be WITH you.

But all this time I keep wondering, and I'd love to hear your

thoughts about this:

I was a teacher too, actually I still am, but circumstances are very

different.

I taught maths for two years to 12 to 16- year olds.

I like the sharing of knowledge, being on an adventure of exploration

together, yes, this is even possible in maths, in case anyone

wonders, and to discover together with the students the various ways

of solving (mathematical) problems.

But the system made me hate the same things that Dancin' is talking

about.

I was manipulative, stressed, and felt awful.

I feel that learning is the students' business, but the job made me

feel I had to make it my business. My colleagues, the administrators,

the whole system I was in made me feel I had no choice. Or, more in

particular, I felt that if I would do it my way, I'd have to be brave

enough to go against everyone's expectations, even those of the

students, and, since they were feeling the stresses of the system as

much as I was, my fear was that it would create chaos. Ok, that was

my story. And also my story was that I'd lose my job, because I felt

that my integrity was not compatible with what was expected of me.

So my conclusion was that I did not fit in a system like that.

So my question to you is, could it be possible that inquiry leads you

to decide that the circumstances are not compatible with what feels

right to you?

Maybe it's not always possible to be LOVE and fit in a system that is

based on distrust and force.

Can you be a janitor and be LOVE?

Can you lock another human being behind bars and still be LOVE?

By the way, now one of my jobs is to teach adults who have made it

their own choice to learn maths, so I can feel free to share with

them what I know, it's such a different experience.

And also... here in the Netherlands new schools have started, based

on the principle that the students learn what they want to learn,

from age 4 up to adulthood. My youngest daughter is on a school like

this. And interestingly, among the people involved with setting up

this school I met several who are practicing The Work....

Seems like the two go together very well....

(there are schools like that in the UK and in the US too)

So, really my question is, inspired by Dancin's inquiry: maybe some

circumstances are not really compatible with a lifestyle of inquiry,

of trying to undo your stories, unless one is already totally

enlightened? And even then?

Eva, wondering, wondering and very interested in your thougths on

this!

[Guest guest]

Dear Maneesha,

> Hello Eva and others,

>

> I experience a lot of stress in my " teaching job " .

> I told before that if I would investigate more deeply I am afraid that

> I could not do this job any longer... My story is also that I need to

> keep a certain harmor to do my job. If I would get too

> sensitive....too healthy...and become too aware of what I am doing

> with the kids, the parents and the colleagues I would be squashed

> within no-time!!!

> Since I am doing the work I catch myself saying something to the kids

> and the question pop up in my head: " is this teally true " ...?

> The system/ society makes certain demands what the children have to

> learn within a certain time. Every year there are quite a few tests.

> The children have to score in a certain way to pass. (this is measured

> on a computer and compared with an average throughout the country with

> the same age of kids after a certain time of education). If they don't

> then their parents are usuelly very worried. Most of the time they

> want their kids to score higher, " to get the best out of them " :

> meaning mostly that they fit better in the society to get higher jobs

> etc...etc...

> In doing this job I think I should teach the kids many, many things,

> try to get them to listen to me, try to make them wanting to learn,

> try to make them to treat each other and me with respect, try to use

> their learning material, the things from the school with respect etc

> etc...... I think this is my job...this is what I get payed for (by

> the system).

> I think it is hopeles to fight the system! And I find myself many

> times doing that....

> In doing this I am many times not following my own integrity...and am

> many, many times in the business of others....

Yes, you are. You support their parents in their lie, by teaching the

same things. You rather teach them a lie you don't even believe, that

to tell them the truth. And you believe another lie, about how their

life depends on you. How they would not get along fine enough in

Society if you don't show them. And that's what is. No way to win

arguing against it.

> I want to make amends to you for my angry answer when I

> thought you were implying that I was not being honest... Indeed I was

> not and did not have the courage to admit it... Maybey you remember

> what I am talking about. I have been trying to find the mail back on

> the web and I could not find it... I hope you accept my appology...

I can't see anything that you would have to apologize for.

> Love to you all,

> Maneesha

Love,