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Faith is the key to success

September 11th 2009 10:01

Faith is the pierless bridge supporting what we see unto the scene that we do not.

~ Emily Dickinson, (American lyric poet,1830-1886) ~

As the Crow Flies

The term “as the crow flies” has its origins in maritime lore, when prior to the development of accurate navigational technologies ships would release a caged crow when lost or unsure of their position in coastal waters. The crow would fly straight towards the nearest land thus giving the vessel some sort of a navigational fix. Over time the term evolved into a colloquial expression used to describe the most direct route between two points on the Earth. As an aside, the tallest lookout platform on a ship thus became known as the "crow's nest”.

Of course sighting land at night, let alone a safe port, posed a far more difficult challenge, and using a crow to assist you would have been next to impossible. Fortunately, ancient peoples had long made a practice of banking fires on hills and mountainsides to bring their sailors home from the sea. A concept that underwent further development by the Egyptians in 280 B.C. with the building of the Pharos Tower, history's first, and also tallest, lighthouse. Its light, produced by a fire kept blazing on its roof, could probably be seen from up to forty-six kilometres out in the Mediterranean. The light from these ancient lighthouses produced a halo or arc of light that would silhouette the horizon thereby providing point to which those still at sea could navigate to.

Faith Underpins Success

Faith allows us to expand our horizons!

The adventurous nature of ancient seafarers was such that they would step beyond their comfort zone, into the vast emptiness of the ocean, and placing their trust for a safe return home in God, one another, crude navigational technologies, and a crow that held no loyalties to its captors. Such expressions of faith were paramount to the success of sailor explorers in opening our world and filling in the blank edges of the map.

Faith helps us to deal with ‘life out of context’ and confront those defining moments that test the depth and breadth of our character, challenge us to reflect meta-cognitively, and without exception leads us to a greater understanding of ourselves, our gifts, strengths, weaknesses and needs as well as those of others. Without faith our individual character is held in a kind of limbo. For it is when understanding fails us, and we are at the edge between the known and the unknown, that faith helps bridge the gap until our understanding has grown to the necessary point. At which time faith all but disappears, its work done, and insight is born. Faith also provides us with the optimism that leads to achievement, for nothing is ever fully realised without some degree of hope or confidence.

I believe that all things are possible for those who are able to maintain a healthy perspective between their core and dispositional beliefs, and in so doing are able to maintain equilibrium between the three key dimensions of faith …

Faith in one’s self ~
Based on a belief in the truth and strength of one’s core values; a trust in one’s integrity; and confidence in one’s ability to act in wisdom and with compassion.

Faith in others ~
Encompassing a fundamental belief in the oneness of all peoples which transcends cultural, economic, national and social boundaries; a trust in the good character of another; and confidence that we may live and relate to others in a Christ-like manner.

Spiritual Faith ~
Comprised of a belief in our spiritual heritage, trust in the morality espoused through our spiritual values, confidence that we are part of a greater whole.

It is through our sense of Faith that makes it possible for to successfully apply those habits of mind that enable us to …

venture out by trying new things constantly and taking responsible risks. It may be that this requires living on the edge of one’s competence for a time but that is what being adventuresome is about;

create, imagine, and innovate by trying things a different way thereby generating new and novel ideas with fluency and originality;

apply past knowledge to new situations by accessing prior knowledge; and transferring that knowledge beyond the situation in which it was learned.

Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.

~ Saint Augustine ~

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Posted By: Richard Cramp - Category: parents, education, teaching, mentoring, personal development, growing up, success, tips

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Somewhere Something Incredible is Waiting to be Known

September 11th 2009 09:58

In reference to the myriad of incredible things that are waiting to be known, the late American astronomer, writer and scientist, Dr. Carl Sagan once wrote ...

"The surface of the Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean. From it we have learned most of what we know. Recently, we have waded a little out to sea, enough to dampen our toes or, at most, wet our ankles. The water seems inviting. The ocean calls so!"

This quote alludes to the wondrous possibilities that rest at our finger tips. Throughout history the pool of knowledge that we all share has evolved through a combination of chance discovery, exploration of possibilities, and opportunism driven by the wonderment and awe of what is to be known about the world in which we are immersed. This is the way that it has been for the countless generations that have preceded us, and will be for those that follow.

In the great scheme of things it doesn’t matter whether you make the finding yourself or are the last person on Earth to see the light; in taking the first steps toward finding those incredible things that are just waiting to be known there are two things required of us. The first is an attitude that involves opening our minds to possibility, and being opportunistic enough to seize a chance presented. Being open to possibilities and opportunities prepares our mind to think flexibly and thus be more alert to, and receptive of, those incredible things to be learned.

The second requires the application of perceptive thought processes – the ability to look at things another way through the ability to change perspectives, generate alternatives, explore possibilities and consider options. For the most part we tend to do this by hypothesising (creating tentative theories) about as yet unverified ideas, concepts or knowledge concerning the world around us. If, through the various processes of testing, our hypothesising proves to be true, we reconfigure those ideas and concepts already held. However, in this regard we tend to be limited by the inflexibility of traditional thinking processes that tie us to a ‘this’ or ‘that’ scenario.

‘Rock’ or ‘Water’ Thinking
Edward de Bono , who has built a reputation on providing thinking tools that are very simple to use and yet powerful in their effect, contends that traditional modes of thinking are static and unproductive, as they are based on the solid and inflexible foundations of 'is' and identity. In contrast to the traditional 'rock’ thinking, he proposes the notion of 'water’ or perceptive thinking which is based on 'to' and the flow of the mind (ie. 'What does this lead to?' as opposed to 'What is...?')

De Bono argues that in traditional (rock) thinking we tend to make judgements based upon right/wrong. Whereas when we are in a perceptive (water) thinking mode our judgements are made around the concepts of 'fit' and 'flow'. Where we apply the concept of 'fit' by asking questions like: 'Does this fit the circumstances and conditions?' Then, after acknowledging the possibility of fit we then move on to the notion of ‘flow’ and questions such as: 'Is the terrain suitable for flow to take place in this direction?’ Hence, fit covers the static situation, flow covers the dynamic situation.

For instance, in a conflict situation both sides will argue that they are right I which they can invariably argue logically. Traditional (rock) thinking would seek to discover which party was really 'right'. On the other hand, water logic would acknowledge that both parties were right but that each conclusion was based on a particular aspect of the situation, particular circumstances, and a particular point of view.

The point is that water logic is highly dependent on defined circumstances or conditions, whereas the very essence of traditional rock logic is that it is circumstance-independent. However, we tend to be so immersed in a rock-like thinking mode that water thinking often seems so pragmatic that 'anything goes' and there is no way of making judgements, or getting a decision. As a consequence, it is likely that many of those incredible things that are waiting to be known will pass us by unnoticed.

There is wonderment and awe to be found just about everywhere!

Helping children to recognise those incredible things that are waiting to be known.
Children have the most amazing imaginations, they view the world with wonderment and awe, are open to possibilities, and are unwavering opportunists. We see this in their play and curiosity about life and the world in which they live. There are a couple of simple little things as parents, mentors or teachers that we can do to assist our children to explore possibilities well beyond their imaginative play years. These include:

encouraging them to continue to view their world with wonderment and awe.

encouraging them to remain open to new ideas.

redirecting their thoughts when they start falling into the trap of traditional ‘rock’ thinking.

This may be done by asking simple questions such as:

Where does this [idea or thought] lead to?

Does this fit the circumstances and conditions [of the situations]?

However, it is not always easy to change perspectives, generate alternatives, consider other options or come up with the right sort of probing questions. It takes time and patience, and a good deal of effective role modelling on our behalf as parents. But as Alexander Graham Bell, once said ...

"The most successful men in the end are those whose success is the result of steady accretion. It is the man who carefully advances step by step, with his mind becoming wider and wider - and progressively better able to grasp any theme or situation."

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Posted By: Richard Cramp - Category: parents, education, teaching, mentoring, personal development, growing up, adolescence, toddlers, success, tips

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Appreciating different perspectives

September 11th 2009 09:52

Learning is ultimately a personal process of understanding the world, other people may be there to help us, teach us, guide us along our path, but the lesson to be learned is always ours; and when we make the finding for our self – even if we're the last person on Earth to see the light – we never forget it.

~ Carl Sagan ~

Thinking beyond the square in which we live
There is a Buddhist teaching entitled “You too are right”; often labelled as a parable within the Buddhist manta, it contains no overt moral message but invites the reader to reflect the issue of ‘differences in personal perceptions’ and is related as follows ...

Two monks who came out of a lecture by their master went on a hot debate regarding what they heard during the lecture. Each of them insisted that his understanding was the correct one. To settle the dispute, they went to see the master for a judgement.

After hearing the argument put forth by the first monk, the master said, "You are correct!" The monk was overjoyed. Casting a winner's glance at his friend, he left the room.

The second monk was upset and started to pour out what he thought to the master. After he finished, the master looked at him and said, "You are correct, too." Hearing this, the second monk brightened up and went away.

A third monk who was also in the room was greatly puzzled by what he saw. He said to the master, "I am confused, master! Their positions regarding the issue are completely opposite. They can't be both right! How could you say that they are both correct?"
The master smiled as he looked into the eyes of this third monk, "You are also correct!"

In this parable, the first monk ignores the possibility of other valid points of view; thus having heard the verdict he wanted to hear he leaves without hearing any further discussion on the matter.

The second monk, having become aware of the fact that two differing perspectives may be validly drawn from the same circumstance, has an opportunity to gain further his wisdom and enlightenment from the situation by asking the simple question “ ... how can we both be correct?” He, however, on hearing the judgment that he too wishes to hear opts to ignore the validity of an alternative perspective and walks away satisfied that his particular take on events is acceptable.

The third monk, demonstrating the greatest propensity for personal growth, reflects on the situation questions the Master the poignant question ... how can both points of view be correct? The Master in his wisdom understands that if the third monk is to fully appreciate the validity of different frames of reference then he must reason out and reconcile the apparent paradox himself. The resolution of which comes down to, the particular perspective from which you view the universe and your existence within it. is for the most part a shared experiences there will, however, be occasions in which we find our particular perspective at odds with that of others. This is all a natural part of the human experience as the particular frame of reference that we hold is a product of circumstance and conditioning.

A readiness to accept and respond to change is a continual part of the human experience; an experience that is assisted by our capacity to think critically and communicate clearly, and to develop questioning minds motivated to the continued pursuit of learning as lifelong endeavour. Yet, accepting that there may be more than one way of viewing a situation can at times be both difficult and challenging for adults, let alone children.

"Our pervious experiences affect our perceptions!"

The learning process
Right from birth we begin to construct a personal reality of the world, as we perceive it, through a series of mental images or schema that represent various aspects of what we have come to understand it through that which we observe, sense, experience, and are taught.

As we make our way through life’s journey, new information that falls within our existing frames of reference is easily remembered and incorporated into our worldview through minor modifications of existing schema. However, when new information is perceived that does not fit a schema, we can …

simply ignore or quickly forget the new information (the most common reaction) basically because we choose to ignore it or as is most frequently the case we are merely not conscious of or even perceive the new information;

or if the new information cannot be ignored, existing schemas must be changed and results in either our …

assimilating the new information through a reorganisation of existing schemata to fit the new information. For example, when an unfamiliar dog is seen, we will probably just assimilate it into our dog image of a dog; or

accommodating the new information as a new schema. For example, if the dog behaves strangely, and in ways that don't seem dog-like, we will formed a new mental image for that particular dog.

For the most part these schema are an effective and efficient tool for interacting with, and understanding, the world. Requiring no effortful thought in most everyday situations, they allow us to apply automatic thought processes to quickly organize new perceptions into schemas and act effectively without effort.

As a consequence, our perceptions can either positively influence or hamper the uptake of new information, such as when existing stereotypes give rise to limited or biased discourses and expectations (prejudices). Hence, our capacity for personal growth (academically, physically, spiritually, and socially) depends in many ways on our ability to view ideas, experiences and information from different perspectives (ie. to continually change our frame of reference in order to assess the validity of information) and adjust our schema. This constitutes a fundamental part of the learning process.

Habits of mind
When our children experience trouble in problem solving situations, they inevitably experience difficulty in shifting their frame of reference in order to approach the problem from another perspective.

Being open or closed to other points of view (the ability to change from one frame of reference to another) is a habit of mind that is directly related to the ability to think flexibly. Therefore the ability to change perspectives, generate alternatives, and consider options is something that we train ourselves to do. It is, however, not a stand-alone habit as it draws strongly upon three other key habits of mind …

our ability to reflect metacognitively, that is to think about our thinking. By knowing how we come to know things we become aware the thoughts, strategies, feelings and actions and their effects on others.

questioning and problem posing, we simply need to ask ourselves and others ‘How do you know?’ Having a questioning attitude and developing questioning strategies to produce those data.

remaining open to continuous learning. We learn from our experiences! Having humility and pride when admitting we don’t know; resisting complacency.

So what can we do to help our children develop proficiency in applying these habits of mind?
For the most part these skills cannot be taught directly; they need to be modelled and practiced. Therefore, wherever possible, we should patiently guide our child to a conclusion rather than simply providing an outright answer. This, of course, requires patience and a willingness to model the process of changing frames of reference by asking a series of leading questions that get your child to …

reflect on the thinking they have used that brought them to the current stage in the problem solving process (ie. ‘what have you done to get to this point?’ or ‘explain to me how you did this’ …);

view the situation from different perspectives (an effective tool here is de Bono’s ‘Six Hats’, which gets the user to view a problem from six different perspectives, one at a time.

Finally, we should encourage our children to develop the kind humility that avoids notion that their ideas and perceptions are necessarily is better or more important than those of others.

"Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward."

~ Henry Ford ~

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Posted By: Richard Cramp - Category: education, teaching, mentoring, personal development, growing up, success, tips

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