When I was a youth, every time our Independent Investigation of Truth teacher walked into the classroom, he would walk to the big blackboard, put a small white dot on one corner and say: “This dot is the sum and total of all knowledge thus far and the rest of the blackboard is what we do not know!!” I remember the sense of awe and humility I felt but more so I remember the sense of relief and peace that came over me. Why relief, you might ask? Well because it confirmed the fact that there is no ground whatsoever that I could argue with another for their different opinion and justify the wisdom of arguing no matter how outrageous I thought the opinion was!!
From then on I chose the preferred position of a wayfarer; seeking the truth and living in a state of wonder and discovery. This is a very fine line where neither love nor hate can accompany the wayfarer to the rightful destination. It reminds me of one of my favorite passages by Baha’u’llah called the Tablet of True Seeker and the part where he says: “He must so cleanse his heart that no remnant of either love or hate may linger therein, lest that love blindly inclines him to error, or that hate repel him away from the truth.”
The above TED talk by the young neuroscientist Dr. David Eagleman is a delightful confirmation of how integrated education might employ the attitude of humility and wonder in learning and application of “We just do not know”! Integrated education appreciates the fact that book learning and acquired knowledge are only one of the ways of knowing and not all of it.
Our hope is that this window in education will help close the hate gap between people of different views, beliefs, religions, backgrounds, and cultures, increase our capacity for tolerance of diverse views and soften the sharp edges of ignorance, prejudice, and conflict.
I thank Soul Pancake for posing this question. I would love to hear about your experiences with alternative modes of learning.
Keyvan Geula is a licensed Marriage, Family, and Child Therapist; LMFT. She received her Master of Science in Marriage, family, and Child Therapy from the University of La Verne, in La Verne, California. She employs the latest research in behavioral sciences, neuroscience, and the Baha’i principle of the oneness of all humanity to serve the well-being of her clients.
She offers her services as a clinician, lecturer, trainer, and supervisor to a global set of clients in person and online. In her clinical work, she incorporates the wisdom of the Baha’i Writings, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy research, Mindfulness meditation, and consultation skills, as well as knowledge of the spiritual self.
She is an adjunct professor of Behavioral Sciences at Citrus Community College, faculty of continued education at Claremont Graduate University. She teaches psychology online to students at Baha’i Institute of Higher Education.
She is the Founder and Executive Director of Center for Global Integrated Education (CGIE), a non-profit Baha’i-inspired educational organization, which explores oneness of all humanity, and teaches the integrated mind-body-spirit approach in education.
She has served for two years as the producer and host of a two-hour weekly live radio show for the Persian community in Sothern, California focusing on the role of the psychology of spirituality in personal and social transformation, creativity, emotional and social intelligence, and a greater sense of harmony in a global society. She also has been the host and producer of TV series called Transforming Human Consciousness for eight years. She regularly writes and blogs on www.cgie.org/blog on topics related to integrated education, the oneness of humanity, the powers of the human spirit in the betterment of global society, elimination of all prejudice, equality of women and men, and education reform. Some of her shows are posted on her; Keyvan Geula YouTube Channel.
Mrs. Geula has served in several Baha’i institutions since her youth in Iran and USA.
