Nature As Our Teacher: A Return To Common Knowledge

From the Sat Yoga perspective there are several types of information and knowledge. We speak of seven, here we will only explore three types of knowledge and information. The oldest and most natural type was passed on through what is known as “common knowledge.” Common knowledge was the basis for the underlying function of the community in village life and before the exchange of money became the major factor for survival. In a village several people knew how to plant, harvest, make cloth, thread, or clothing. Some were better at certain things than others and there was some specialized knowledge, but almost everyone had the rudimentary skills necessary to master their environment in order to survive.

Since that time our society has degenerated into a society based on “specialized knowledge.” Specialized knowledge is the type of knowledge that is reserved for only a few. We buy and sell it, in a capitalist society, in order to survive. When specialized knowledge began it was good. It helped people serve the community more and pass on greater skills to others. With a break in community, however, the growth of individualism, and the competitive desire to have more than others, the nature of specialized knowledge became a detriment. All knowledge slowly began to be specialized until the pool of common knowledge and ability shrank.

The information in specialized knowledge is often coded; everyone cannot learn it or understand it. Those who want to must pay a high price or be an insider. Those with this knowledge try to thwart those who have somehow attained it or knowledge like it, but who are not a part of their group. This causes the common knowledge to deplete more until we end up with a society where only the wealthy can afford to participate fully. The necessities, which were the core of common knowledge like growing food, building shelter, and making clothing, are taken away. No one can afford to live. In today's society specialized knowledge is king.

This type of specialized knowledge disempowers the quality of life of everyone and even the health of the majority of people in most cases. The internet, dvds, computers and the age of information is returning us to the reign of common knowledge again. All of the “forbidden knowledge,” secret knowledge that supports all of the specialties, are being brought out into the open. This is shaking the whole world up. The Lords of Specialized Knowledge are going crazy trying to stay in charge because they are no longer the gate-keepers to the health and well being of the nations. If we, however, as a people, nation, and world want to be healthy and prosperous we must return to a time when specialized knowledge was servant instead of king. To do this we must return to the idea of community by realizing that we are truly one and are interconnected. The change taking place in the world right now is a bit uncomfortable, but it is good that we are being forced to move back toward sanity as a species and a people.

Right now there are many tools on the internet that can help you get in on this great change taking place as our paradigm begins to shift. If you are a teacher, or coach, or workshop leader there are tools on the internet that can help you, from the privacy of your own home or office, teach hundreds of people all over the world. You can have a presentation room, you can form break out groups and travel from one room to the other to listen in, you can have co-facilitators, you can come back together in the main room and do questions and answers. The best one of these I have found personally is called Maestro Conferencing. You can prepare people for this paradigm shift, you can teach people and pass on important information now at a reduced cost to lift the pool of common knowledge again so that we will have a better society and better world. At our website, John Gilmore's Healing Hands, you can find out more about this teleseminar conferencing and how you can sign up for a free trial run just by going to the bottom of our home page and hitting the link.

The age of technology has opened up both teaching opportunities and learning opportunities for all of us. If you are a teacher, coach, teleseminar business person, a social activist, a social worker, or anyone who meets with groups of people to share your knowledge or skills this may be a good venue for you. Opportunities for good communication and information exchange are around every day and they will help all of us create a more beautiful, just and healthy world.