ECC Learning Programs
Work on the side of Knowledge + work on the side of Being = Understanding
Understanding is the most powerful force we can create in ourselves.
Nothing better can be sought for in the long run than understanding.
A man is his understanding.
Maurice Nicoll, Commentaries
The beginning of wisdom is: get wisdom;
whatever else you get, get understanding.
Proverbs 4: 7
We learn in order to live the truth at the center of the image we were born with. This paraphrase comes from the poet David Whyte, True Vows:
Hold to your own truth
at the center of the image
you were born with.
Those who do not understand
their destiny will never understand
the friends they have made
nor the work they have chosen
nor the one life that waits
beyond all the others.
…
… make a promise
it will kill you to break,
that way you’ll find
what is real and what is not.
We learn in order to understand and address our psycho-spiritual needs and how they manifest in us.
This framework identifies categories of psychospiritual needs men have that require healing and development in support of our cultivation of being throughout our life. Healing and maturing begins by attending to underlying and root causes.
The reference categories in this image point to learning as well as inner work topics. The spiral image metaphor is intentional. The categories are nested to show causality that is two way, up and down. The lower is the effect and represents challenges to be understood and worked. The higher are causes.
All need categories are related and interwoven. We must continually work on all. To different degrees and times multiple categories can be worked iteratively. As we develop our being, the nature of learning in each category evolves.
These needs are introduced and explained on our Who Are You Being Page.
Learning to Be Whole
What does it mean to be whole, what does it look like?
The dictionary defines whole as an unbroken or undamaged state, of one piece. Integrity is the state of being whole and undivided, the condition of being unified, unimpaired. Features include being sound in construction, uncorrupted, having internal consistency.
You become whole when you are able to integrate your multiple selves and live simultaneously in their associated worlds:
Inner and outer
Spiritual and physical
Being and doing
Individual and collective (human and more than human)
Wholeness is evident when our word and our actions are united. When we are said to have integrity. The inner work, learning, and practices Illuman men do are in service of this aim.
When your learning deepens and compounds over time, when you begin to live with greater integrity, you will experience a more meaningful life on your path to live the truth at the center of the image you were born with.
If you would like to learn more about our learning intention, topics, and programs, let’s talk.
Dave Kraybill, ECC Convener kraybill.1@gmail.com