HOW DO YOU ‘KNOW’ ANYWAY…?

It seems that people are confused about information and Knowledge these days, which got me questioning; both thinking and feeling into Well how is it to know anything anyway? And where then does Belief come in?

In my personal experience, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are at least 3 ways to actually Know and that I no longer want to believe in anything if I don’t KNOW it personally.

THREE WAYS TO KNOW;

Intellectual knowledge lies at the heart of Western systems of philosophy, based on logic, rational and critical analysis; gained through reading, specialist courses or from trusted experts in their chosen fields.

If all knowledge were purely intellectual, reason alone would be enough, eventually intellectual knowledge can lead to hard-core reductionism and completely closing off to other ways of knowing.

It's associated with the understanding and reasoning of abstract things, concepts, theories, skills, definitions and interpretations of them. It is all that type of knowledge that can't be represented by a stimulus of the senses, but must be evoked by the human being and the mind.

Intuitive Knowledge; the way I’ve come to understand it -as a highly intuitive person- actually goes beyond Intellectual knowledge. With the limited use of words, I can only explain it as quick and ready insight, immediate cognition from feeling or direct knowledge without linear, rational evidence. Often psychic, spiritual or energetic wisdom, which is are all intangible words to the rational mind.

In other words, intuitive knowledge, although it won’t contradict the necessity of reason, it will make you question if reason is sufficient.

Instinctual Knowledge is innate, intrinsic, a primal reaction, a natural, impulsive gut or body response to outside stimuli without being based on prior experience. Also without involvement from the intellect or any rational thought process.

Both instinct and intuition bypass the rational mind, are void of reason, which is why in the West we don't give either much credit. Often many of my students talk about not knowing how to use anything other than the intellect and how they wish to be more intuitive and trust their instincts. We all know that we can know better or a deeper level..

So we cannot talk about Knowing without also bringing in BELIEVING..

Belief, which I've come to understand to be not far from fantasy and hope. ‘Believing’ means that you have accepted something to be true, or you are confident, have faith or trust in something that you have yet to know through actual experience. Often loosely based or justified by another person’s Testimonial.

Children often believe in the tooth fairy as their parents confirm this for them by putting money under their pillow.s Eventually comes a time when truth be told to the child that the tooth fairy was made up. Most children -muse;f included can be absolutely devasted when these beliefs are shattered, feeling like we've been lied to and that we cannot trust our parents. For a short while anyway.

SO in other words beliefs are other people’s ideas, concepts, systems, religions that have been passed down - often through family and culture - that has us following and accepting information simply told to us to be true. Which we don't know - experientially - to be true at all.

When one starts to mature and seek wisdom, knowledge and beliefs are automatically the first things to be questioned. Often, when we seek knowledge to confirm our beliefs - like I myself did at 14, questioning my Coptic Orthodox priest with " If everything is written (maktoob) why do we have free-will? He stared hard at me, almost blanked me then told me bluntly I'd lost my way..

This confirmed my inner knowing (from intuition and instinct) that the Coptic church as - represented through uninformed patriarchal dinosaurs -was not something I needed to believe in. So indeed I did lose my way, to find my own truth.

In short, believing is trusting what's been externally told to us, either by family, culture, religion or governments without any physical proof or tangible lived experience of any of it being based in actual gnosis - or knowledge in any form! A few small degrees from fantasy really...

Don't get me wrong, it's great to have something to believe in, like God or the government, faith is truly a beautiful concept. Though what I find most daunting and frustrating about believers is their inability to take full (or any) responsibility for their own lives. As if by nature of believing they must automatically abstain from being responsible for anything, ie health, diet, choices, thought processes, etc

Remember you can always practice sharpening your intuition through deep listening to those fleeting thoughts, images and random flashes of insight. You can also practice trusting your primal instinct- through body-based sensations and communication - and following gut advice. It's not called the second-brain for nothing!

Then when you do return to the intellectual mind - as a secondary source of knowing - things are crystal clear!

So now that you know you know!

Please do share thoughts on what you know about Knowing! xx