Art of Self Learning #

Key Lessons from Self-Teaching: Or, the Art of Learning How to Learn: #

The following sections advocate for a profound shift from external, rote learning to an internal, intuitive, and experiential process driven by focused attention, persistent purpose, and the cultivation of one's inherent spiritual power. The underlying philosophy suggests that true knowledge and skill come from within, guided by the individual's spirit and developed through conscious and unconscious engagement with the world.

• Challenge Age-Related Learning Beliefs: The belief that learning is easier in youth and that the mind becomes rigid with age is presented as a misconception. If the mind is allowed to grow and strengthen, it will learn more easily and quickly than during physical infancy, and will become more adept at learning new things. This widely accepted idea is deemed a truth only because people believe it to be so.

• Conditions for Lifelong Learning: Individuals can learn any art, profession, or business and become skilled, even without formal teachers and at "middle age" or later, given three conditions:

  • 1. Genuine Earnestness: They must be truly committed to learning.

  • 2. Overcoming Self-Limiting Beliefs: They must actively fight against the idea of "can't" or that they are too old to learn.

  • 3. Immersive Engagement: They must put earnest thought into examining the subject.

• The Nature of True Study: Authentic study is characterized by unforced examination and attention. Conversely, "studying hard" or attempting to force admiration often leads to dislike for the subject, explaining why many school children resent lessons.

• Strategic Use of Teachers: Teachers are most effective when a learner has already developed an interest in the subject and has specific questions. Beginning to explore an art or trade independently allows one to practice with their mind and formulate intelligent questions before seeking a teacher.

• Embrace Originality and Inner Guidance: While the experience and rules of predecessors are valuable as suggestions, rigid adherence to "canons of art" can stifle originality. The spirit within can best and quickest teach, making its own rules and developing new, original methods. Historical figures like Shakespeare and Napoleon succeeded by trusting their internal power and suggestions.

• Power of Persistent Purpose: Any purpose that the inner "mind" persistently focuses on will be accomplished. This "strong desire" or "never-ceasing longing" acts as a living seed in the mind that constantly grows. Understanding and consciously following this law leads to happiness, whereas ignoring it can lead to misery.

• Connection to the Infinite Spirit: Through the exercise of the mind, individuals can achieve almost anything they aspire to. By calling upon the Infinite Spirit, they gain strength, beauty, enrichment, invigoration, and "electrify their souls and bodies". This self-reliant path leads away from dependence and towards self-sufficiency.

• Beyond Rote Memorization: Mere memorization of words, sentences, and rules is viewed as overstraining the mind and failing to convey genuine understanding. It's akin to carrying rifles without learning to shoot.

• Memory as a Tool of Experience: Memory's primary function is to retain what the spirit has truly grasped through practice and experience. Learning is depicted as a process where practice, even through failures, leads to understanding, which then becomes solidified in memory. Attempting to recall rules during practical learning can actually hinder progress.

• Learn by Absorbing Ideas: True learning, such as learning to dance, comes from absorbing the "idea" from someone who already possesses the skill. The "invisible self" (mind) then gradually trains the body to act in accordance with this internal plan.

• Cultivate Serenity and Repose: To learn quickly, one must adopt a mood of serenity and repose. Trying to "study hard" or in a hurry is counterproductive, as it attempts to force memory and is the opposite of the ideal mental state.

• The Spirit as the Ultimate Teacher: Individuals should learn in their own way, guided by their inner inspiration. The "spirit" (the real self) is the best and quickest teacher for understanding principles and developing skills, often creating new and original methods.

• The Mind as a Tranquil Lake: When the body is quiet and the mind tranquil and receptive, the spirit can work most effectively, reaching out to bring back ideas, methods, and conceptions. In this state, the mind becomes like a "tranquil lake," clearly reflecting knowledge and inspiration from "more exalted regions of mind or currents of thought".

• Everyday Observation as Study: The process of learning occurs constantly, even in daily activities like observing people's faces and dispositions on the street. This informal study aims to cultivate an understanding of human nature, which is recognized to have practical and commercial value, particularly in discerning trustworthiness.

• Intuition as Inward Wisdom: Significant achievements, like Napoleon's successes, are attributed to "intuitive, self-taught knowledge of men". Intuition is described as an "inward teaching" and "inward teacher" that resides within everyone. Nurturing this through free play and demanding wisdom from the infinite Spirit can lead to the development of genius.

• Self-Possession and Mind-Body Mastery: Self-possession means the spirit controls the body as its instrument, focusing on the task at hand rather than the instrument itself or anxieties about success or failure. This allows one's "real power" to act.