THE EXPERIENCE OF LIFE AS A WORKSHOP OF TRANSCENDENT JOY

All learning, including any educational programming, enables a greater quality of life in both an immediate sense, and a broader sense of well-being. The more we become aware of our ability to change across various particular conflicts, the more we can perceive a possibility of change in different areas of life. Depending on what we see as possible through vision and imagination, (which are skills that can be improved), we become motivated at a deep level to take the actions in order to enable that change. The degree of motivation is equal to the strength and effectiveness of action. The fundamental software of this process of learning and change is the same across all domains of knowledge. So we can extract three concurrent parallel tracks of skill progression for every problem we solve. The first track of skill progression is the immediate problem or objective itself, whether that is learning something new, solving a problem, resolving a conflict, or the decreasing and elimination of suffering. The second track of skill progression is the ability to learn, in general, as a knowledge and skill. We may start with a particular problem, but we learn that we can change our circumstances and experiences in life in general. There are many models of intelligences that highlight such a skill, as detailed in many publications. The two progressions can be distinguished, but they happen in parallel, together. Ultimately this second track of learning ability is key in our sense of well being because we grow our confidence in the indisputable fact that we can do something or change an outcome that we may have thought impossible. This is our ability to create. If we can improve our situation at work, why not at home as well? Advanced coaching and executive efforts aim at improving the general problem solving ability for an individual or group over time. There are many professionally research-based books and studies on the benefits of decreased stress and emotional regulation with well-being, such as Carol DeWick’s book Mindset and Daniel Goleman’s books on emotional and social intelligences. Such publications focus on hard-measure real world outcomes in businesses and organizations, but roots of this kind of work are in well-being for the individual in everyday life. The seemingly simple concept of employing learning and change as a skill is painfully neglected in our real-world focus, as demonstrated by the challenges of learning and actual skill-transfer. Throw our emotional physiology into the mix (see Candice Pert’s work on the role of physiology and emotion), and that can make great difficulty of letting go of dysfunctional patterns of action and reaction. This brings us to the third track of concurrent learning and progression: the quality of our awareness. A third track of skill progression is happing in all learning instances, that are parallel with the first two tracks. The first track, if you recall, is the immediate problem. The second is the ability to solve problems in general, or learning as a skill. The third is the most important because it allows us to go from a reactive to pro-active state, which enables the first two tracks of learning in the first place (and any learning for that matter): our quality of awareness. We cannot change something if we are not aware of it first. We can’t avoid something if we do not see it coming. Our quality of awareness is the key for all evolution of our self in personal growth. A scientific term from academic research literature is called cognitive awareness, which can be combined with cognitive knowledge, and skill. This is the basis for the consciousness-first model of accelerated learning presented in this book. We can liken the quality of awareness with other important bases for knowledge creation. For example, the use of a language alphabet as fundamental in creating words. The general concepts of programming are fundamental to writing any software. In this way, the quality of awareness is fundamental to perceiving objects and data in the world for any and all judgment and decision-making, which are key to our problem-solving and creating in the world. How do we improve our quality of awareness? What is the most effective and immediate way to improve our quality of cognitive awareness, knowledge, and skill? My own introduction to improving our cognitive awareness is from the applied field of process consultation. Process consultation, a subset of the science called organizational development (from the field of Industrial-Organizational Psychology)was pioneered by Ed Schein. Schein integrated a number of tools from the theories of cognitive science for application in the business workplace. Others such as Peter Senge and Daniel Goleman apply this concept of awareness of cognition (thought and emotional processes) for real-world decision-making and outcomes. From this extensive work in the field of organizational development, taken together with other sciences such as learning, sports, therapeutic, and performance sciences around psychological skillsets, it is a small leap to say that anything which improves our ability to become aware of our very often unconscious cognitive processes of thought, emotion, and reaction, is an extremely important and valuable tool. This third track of improving our quality of awareness enables the most adaptive ability and intelligence across all circumstances and contexts. Skillfulness in awareness is remaining identified with and as pure awareness in any context, while in the midst of action. This particular phenomenon has been recorded scientifically across cultures and contexts, even in recent scientific research. One notable example of the phenomena is from the context of attaining outcomes in the fields of sports performance and psychology: the state of flow. Though noted as a rare occurrence, the state of flow is associated with the highest levels of performers and performances. It is perfect and harmonious action. This inherent quality of awareness is the only way to recognize any judgments, decisions, or action for solutions that benefit the collective well being of all involved.