Hello Hedge Schoolers,
According to Socrates, nothing that can be learned needs a teacher. Each week I utilise the Socratic principle of teaching and teach while conducting an inquiry. A proud generalist, these inquiries cover a variety of landscapes, with the steps taken being the laying of the path as I walk. Recently I shared the story of the two-faced Roman God Janus in relation to horizon mapping. Have a reread to catch yourself up as it is a delightfully simple but pragmatic practice to help you with your own learning. This week, I want to ground that practice in a little fact-finding mission. This mission is delightfully simple and filled with clues. Clues to help you chart the path you have just recently walked.
Clews
The etymology of language has become a pivotal practice in my own inquiry. Retracing the steps of language to genesis can tell us so much about the word's original intent. How it came to shape our understanding. Michael Meade first introduced me to the origin of the word 'clues'. Clues, is from the Saxon word "clews", meaning a ball of thread. In his book Genius Myth, Meade shares the Greek myth of Ariadne's thread to outline the importance of paying attention to the clues life gives us.
In short, Ariadne provided thread and a sword to her lover Theseus to help him slay the Minotaur in the middle of the Labyrinth. The thread (clews) helped Theseus find his way back to her. Clues in our own lives help us find our way back to who we truly are. Clews help us get beyond the blank page, beyond the doubt. For we don't ever arrive empty-handed. We always arrive with a collection of trinkets, experiences, and questions. We arrive with the thread in our hands. But with our eyes positioned to only take in the future, to only take in that which is ahead, we often forget our clews. The clews that have led us to where we are right now.
We chose the rabbit holes.
The adventures.
The swashbuckling jaunts.
We followed our intentions.
Our desires.
Our interests.
They are all parts of the puzzle. All part of the thread of who we are.
Sixth passengers, Echo Chambers, and Seven Questions
To break free of my own echo chamber, my wife always chooses the podcasts for our drives. She has a knack for bringing interesting sixth passengers to our family drives. The podcast that spurred my thinking for this week's inquiry was a conversation with Brene Brown and the author of "The Coaching Habit", Michael Bungay Stanier. Stanier is a huge proponent of question-based coaching (you can see why it perked my attention) and in the podcast, he steps Brene through his process of working with clients. One particular question really grabbed my attention. On the first pass, it seems broad and not particularly deep, but I know that most people really struggle answering it.
What do you want?
The blank page of a future not yet written. There are so many options right out in front of us when we ask this question. The sheer vastness is enough to leave many people unsure, stuck, or fearful. An easier version of this question is to use our current clews in life to outline what we don't want. This gets the rusty water of creativity flowing clear. We may not be clear about the path ahead, but we know the paths we don't want to walk. The clews of our last few steps can also shed a light on what is truly alive for us at the moment. These clews can shed a light on what is piquing our curiosity. It is pulling on the thread of these clews that can provide us a way back to ourselves.
What do my recent explorations tell me about where I am in the labyrinth of my own life?
Five-step mapping
The practice is quite simple. Make a list of the last five explorations in a range of inquiry areas.
1. The last five podcasts that grabbed you
2. The last five books that you read completely
3. The last five websites, articles, blog posts, YouTube videos, newsletters that grabbed your attention
After you have collated the list, have a look at the list. What does it tell you? What questions were looking to be solved? What, as my dear mentor Leon Cossar would say, 'stretched your attention in the right direction’? Note down themes. Note down feelings. Note down anything else of interest. Revisit the steps and note any quotes of interest.
There is a reason you walked these paths.
4. Sit with the clews and ask yourself how these steps will shape where you are going next.
5. Once you have allowed the clews to marinade in your consciousness, set aside five minutes to write continuously. You may like to pose a question at the top of your page to target the writing. For example, what message does my last five steps have for me?
My example
Books
1. Recapture the Rapture - Jamie Wheal
2. The Journey of Soul Initiation - Bill Plotkin
3. Understanding Human Design - Karen Curry
4. The Shark's Toothbrush - Jay Harman
5. Gene Keys - Richard Rudd
Podcasts
1. The Emerald - Tyson Yunkaporta on Pattern, Kinship, and Story in a World of Decontextualised Minds
2. Alchemergy - Alchemy for Personal Transformation
3. Living Myth - The Breath of Life
4. Living Myth - The Call of the Elder
5. Super Soul - Oprah Winfrey: The Map
Websites/YouTube/Newsletters
1. YouTube - Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr.: The Idea of The Great Ideas
2. YouTube - Alan Watts - Being in the Way - Following the Taoist Way
3. Newsletter - Slowww - 10 Insights to Inspire Your Inner Generalist from “Range” by David Epstein (Book Summary)
4. Website - Farnam Street - How to Read a Book: The Ultimate Guide by Mortimer Adler
5. Article - Gustin - Discovering Purpose: Soulwork & the Purpose Octagon
My five minutes
I see a wrestle in place between polarities. The wrestle between stillness and moving. Being a generalist has always felt like a hindrance but it is in fact a deep asset. My exploration of Human Design and Gene keys provide great maps to help this to thrive. I am deeply interested in the alchemy of transformation and read broadly to gather my insights. This then helps with the creation of maps with which to explore new ground. Nature is a big theme. My own nature and how I connect to the greater web of life. I feel the calling of elderhood and that this broad journey is leading me to come back to the idea that stillness and deep inquiry through deep listening is the path forward. There is no need to rush. The calling of purpose keeps on calling and I have all the clues I need. Breathe as life is only alive if I do. Notice the connectedness to all things. Hold ideas lightly. Naming them tames them and destroys the magic. Be in it, not talking about. Experience. Share. Honour. There are lessons from nature that can be learned in all areas. Be the alchemy.
The above paragraph is unedited. Rereading it, I feel comforted by the journey traveled and stronger in position where I stand. The need to rush forward is met and held in place. There are many clews amongst these steps. They map the future of Hedge School. An honouring of my deep calling to teach while inquiring and to help others to do so. As Mortimer Jerome Adler shares in the Idea of the Great Ideas, “the best teacher is the teacher who in the course of teaching is themselves is learning.”
What can you learn about where you are right now by exploring where you have been?
What insight does it provide to your own quest to figure out what you want?
What next steps does it outline for you?
Personally, my next steps have been to step more and more into mentoring as a direct offering. It is a calling that keeps on calling.
What are your next steps?
I'd love to hear from you so respond to the email and share them.
Till next week,
Steve
Five step mapping: Clues to the Labyrinth of you