When I was growing up, I learned in school that a meter is a meter (a yard is a yard) and that the standard meter is in Paris. Black is black and white is white. There was even a time when people believed that the earth was flat, a disc, and the center of the universe. Now we are discovering that more and more of what we were taught is not the simple truth. Recently photos of earth from space have been published that show a beautiful sphere, and quantum physics and Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle opened the door to a new understanding that matter behaves differently than we thought. Even though we know this now, we tend to continue approaching the world from old knowledge. Seeing the world from other perspectives is a challenge for most of us and requires an openness to constant unlearning, and new learning, in our daily lives.
You may remember the parable The Blind Men and the Elephant, in which a group of people who could not see examine an elephant to understand what this animal is all about. They each touch a different part of the elephant and compare their experiences. They find that they draw completely different conclusions. This describes the dilemma in which we find ourselves today. Approaching something from different angles seems logical to many of us, but why, then, is it so difficult to live in a world of ambiguous views and understandings? Openness is required to see the world in new ways. We need to step out of our personal comfort zone.
Is it progress to learn something new each day? “Yes” if the goal is to see the world in a new way, and “No” if the goal is to prove that one’s view is correct.
I studied sociology and an important tool I used was statistics because it can test assumptions and observations. Yet, statistics can be interpreted in different ways, and even the raw data I used could lead to different or intended results. This is exactly what we are experiencing all over our world right now: playing with numbers to create facts, when they are just parts of the elephant.
What are our options for living meaningfully with ambiguity in our lives?
A New Equations teacher told me during a training session that knowing my Soultype gives me a place to put down and connect the loose ends of my life. From this place, which I call my reference point, I am in my authentic, natural, personal soul-strength, and capable of opening to unexplored, uncharted views and realms. I have found that for me, unfamiliar techniques that outsmart my thinking strategy and old patterns in my brain are very helpful in seeing the world in a more profound way. To allow the perspectives of all nine Soultypes to broaden my own perspective creates a deep serenity and trust in others and myself.
Welcome to a journey of discovery!
Hans-Peter Kraus
Hans-Peter Kraus, Soultype 5, is a student in the NEATO Level 2 – New Equations Expansion program. He enjoys linking bridges that create a balance between different perceptions. Hans-Peter lives on the border triangle of Germany, Switzerland, and France, near Freiburg (Black Forest), Germany.