Meditation for May 26th, 2016
Knowledge
One of the most common questions I get, as a popular meditation coach is how do I get so smart? I know a lot. This isn’t ego talking about how much I know – this is fact. I get asked because people want to know the trick to being able to learn and retain the information. Here are my secrets.
Wanting to know
The number one reason I know anything is because I want to know. Most people don’t care. The idea of knowing is the best most people come up with, but actually wanting to know is a little much. Most things don’t affect people directly so it doesn’t need to be known until it does.
Knowing where to look
Finding the information is not tricky, but because of the Internet, it has made people lazy. Just Wikipedia it! Knowing how to track down clear reliable information is getting harder and harder with most online content being driven by advertising dollars and not beholden to the dying ethics of old journalism. This is why most online news sites are biased, because it just wants you to click on it to get the ad dollar because having that slant either makes you feel better or gets you emotionally charged.
If it is a simple list of things, then it isn’t going to teach you a goddamned thing.
Retaining the information
You can read all the books and essays you want, but if you don’t retain it, what’s the point? One of the reasons people don’t retain the information is the same as the first reason, because you want to. If you didn’t want to really learn it in the first place, then you aren’t going to be interested in the content, so you learn nothing.
Another issue is what you are reading is making you mad or some other emotional reaction, you are just going to remember the emotional part and none of the facts.
Remember all those tricks you used in school to pass tests? Notes, flashcards and Adderall? Yeah, that works for non-school learning too.
Regurgitating the information
What fun is learning if no one knows you know stuff? Don’t let that knowledge stay in your cobweb brain. Tell people. Even if they don’t want to hear it, let them know. Even if it has nothing to do with what the conversation is, let them know. Even if you don’t even know the person you are talking to, let them know. Vomit that wisdom spew all over people.
Best way to pull the trigger is when you hear someone say something that is wrong. FUN! It’s time to correct someone. Maybe they are mostly right, but you felt like they weren’t telling the story right. COOL! It’s time to tell the story with some gusto!
Try different ways of learning
Take notes
Be an apprentice and follow an expert around
Podcasts or audio books
Highlight key points in the literature
Do it
Watch videos or documentaries
Kill someone and absorb all of his or her wisdom
Prayer
Thoth,
I have made a huge mistake.
I just tried to argue on Facebook.
Someone has taken the bait,
But might be waaaaay smarter than me.
Are they just quicker with their Google searches?
Or are they just sitting there knowing stuff?
I really want to win this argument.
I know I shouldn’t argue because how mad I feel.
I mean I’m grinding my teeth, shaking and breathing heavy.
This person may just be ironing their shirts while typing between dress shirts,
Totally unaware that someone is as mad as me.
I wish that I could type a response that is thoughtful, balanced and smart,
But still decimate my enemies and stick their heads on spikes at the gates.
Oh, God, I’ve been on this argument for seven hours now and I have nothing to show for it.
Amen.
Craft
Make a list of things you want to learn.
Learn those things.
Teach others.
Repeat.
Goal
You will probably not be smarter than me because I am a wise man. You won’t want to suffer the lengths I have gone to learn what I know.
If you are confusing this for things to win bar trivia with, you are sadly mistaken.