CHAPTER 30: SHARING KNOWLEDGE...
The greatest good you can do for another
is not just to share your riches
but to reveal to him his own.
– Benjamin Disraeli, British Statesman
We begin learning about the world around us from the time we are conceived, and we continue to learn from everyone and everything we are exposed to or influenced by for the rest of our lives.
I have always believed that we are all teachers, and we are all students — throughout our lives. I also believe that any time we cross someone’s path, we either will learn something from them, or we will teach them something.
This learning can come from our parents, our siblings and other family members, friends and neighbors, our school teachers and classmates, the people we meet in stores, libraries, and church, as well as from books, television, movies, games, internet, and so on.
We are surrounded by so much knowledge — we can’t help but absorb some of it when it is all around us.
(This also ties in well with Jung’s concept of a collective unconscious, don’t you think?)
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Students Do Share What They Have Learned In Class!
I expect my students to share the knowledge they gain from being in my classes, and I expect them to share my CD (and now my book) with their friends and family.
Over the years, I have had quite a few students who have studied with me and who have been in enough of my classes that they can teach my class. And, I know that some of them do! I love to hear that they are sharing their knowledge!
I know that some of them already have shared their knowledge because they let me know when I see them that they have used what they learned in my class to teach someone else how to meditate.
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One example who comes to mind is student who happened to be a bull rider. He had been in a couple of my classes and had a copy of my CD he was using to practice on his own. I had worked with him on visualization to help him improve his bull-riding skills.
I ran into him several months after the last class we had together, and he shared with me that he and his buddies would go out to his truck before their bull riding events and they would meditate — they all had improved their skills.
Picture that!
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Another one of my students asked me to be sure to mention that this program works with families, too. He had been in several of my classes while in a court-ordered program, and had taken a CD home with him. He had listened to it regularly and shared it with his family.
He told me how my class had helped him to build a better relationship with his family, and to figure out how to deal with family issues.
He commented that it also has helped him to bond with other people in a pro-social way. As far as I know, he is still practicing.
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Students Also Share Their Ideas With Me!
Years ago, when I began the project of creating a CD for my kids, I asked them for their opinions, and worked on a script for the project. They were more than happy to share their ideas and suggestions with me.
I then put together a demo, had a group of girls from the juvenile detention center listen to it, and asked them to critique it.
Based on the comments and suggestions, a few changes were made, and it became the InnerTeen CD I have been giving away to my incarcerated students since the spring of 2006.
When I began writing this book, I wanted to make sure I was including all the things my students would want to see included in a book that was written at their request, and for them.
Again, I asked my students for their suggestions.
And, again, they were more than happy to share their ideas and suggestions with me. I received some wonderful feedback from my kids — four pages of notes, as a matter of fact! I have included every one of their suggestions, ideas, and requests in this book.
I doubt that I would have created my CD — or this book — had my students not requested them.
My classes, my CD, and now this book all have been created for my students, with major input from my students, and because my students have asked for it.
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THINK TIME:
What knowledge do you have that you can share?
PART FOUR
CLOSING THOUGHTS
I have chosen to be happy
because it is good for my health.
– Voltaire, author
NOTE
Since publishing my book, I have uploaded the Guided Meditation to my Blessings Found... website, my facebook page, my youtube page, and this page. Students no longer need to try to obtain a copy of the InnerTeen CD.