“There are several kinds of love. One is a selfish, mean, grasping, egotistical thing which uses love for self-importance. This is the ugly and crippling kind. The other is an outpouring of everything good in you—of kindness and consideration and respect—not only the social respect of manners but the greater respect which is recognition of another person as unique and valuable. The first kind can make you sick and small and weak but the second can release in you strength, and courage and goodness and wisdom you didn’t know you had…”

~John Steinbeck

How can you teach and share if you can’t communicate effectively? The Curse of Knowledge occurs when one forgets what it’s like not to know something. This presents a serious communication obstacle for leaders, educators, communicators, and lucid practitioners who wish to help others.

Consider the yoga teacher who is teaching the first time student. Does the teacher have the empathy to remember what it feels like to practice for the first time?

How about the founder/CEO of a startup company? He’s been working on his business for 10+ years and knows every intricate detail. When he’s delegating responsibility, does he remember what it’s like to not know as much as he knows?

In Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, Chip and Tom Heath say that the curse of knowledge is inevitable. But is it really?

The Heaths argue that we tend to communicate and teach as if we were the intended audience. Does this have to be the case? Let’s look to yoga for the answer.

In the 2nd limb of Yoga, Niyama, there are 5 Niyamas or self duties.

One duty is Svādhyāya or self study. Svādhyāya teaches us to diligently track our progress. By keeping a journal, writing a blog, and tracking our learning, we can look back and study our old selves in order to remember what it was like to “not know.” Armed with this knowledge, we can empathize with those we teach and thus provide better lessons, making the world a better, more lucid place.

You know things that others don’t.

You want to share your knowledge and experiences to make the world a better place.

Svādhyāya is one way to make sure we remember what we did not know. What are some other ways to ensure that we remember what it was like not to know?

~TR

“Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”
~Rumi

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. When you are seeking to bring big plans to fruition, it is important with whom you regularly associate. Hang out with friends who are like-minded and who are also designing purpose-filled lives. Similarly, be that kind of a friend for your friends.”

~Mark Twain

Everyday someone or something tells me “you need this” or “you need that.” I am guilty of getting caught up looking at flashy possessions thinking, “Wow, wouldn’t it be nice.”

Deep inside I know. I have been blessed enough to travel parts of this world. I know that almost half of the world lives off less than $2.50 a day. I know that thousands do not have what I “need.” If a doctor from Bangladesh doesn’t have that fancy tablet, why do I “need it?” Do I have an ego? He’s the one saving lives.

I know that material desires take away desire for Love. They take away a desire to meet and understand Him.

Looking back on life, I don’t remember many of the possessions. Granted some events I attended were great to attend. Some of the “things” were great to own. What I really remember is time spent with family and friends. The people that surrounded those events and possessions. Whether it was holidays, athletic games, chillin around the house, or chillin at school, my mind remembers Love.

-BL

“On your last breath will you regret what you didn’t do versus what you did?”
~Anonymous

A bit late, but nice to document.

Last week there was a yoga event in Times Square, “The 11^th Solistice in Times Square.”

Event organizers drew over 15,000 yogis for the 5 yoga classes that took place in the middle of Broadway between 43rd and 48th streets. The heavily sponsored spectacle likely lured in about 10,000 more spectators throughout the day.