Knowledge and understanding

These two words, knowledge and understanding have been on my mind quite a lot during the week. So what is knowledge? Knowledge is about facts, information, skills etc., that have been acquired through education or experience and it is also about being aware of things. Anybody can learn a load of facts by reading or searching the internet but facts alone don’t really mean much at all. Understanding where those facts came from and how they were made is important.

I am a great reader and I am always searching for books to read, many fiction ones but also a lot of non-fiction where I can learn about different places and things. I love to know why people made new machinery or discovered new places to visit. I want to know how things are made and how they are used. I might admire a painting but I want to know why the artist painted that particular landscape or portrait. So for me knowledge and understanding go together.

Knowledge and understanding both appear in the Druids Prayer and with them comes the word justice, but I’ll save justice for another time. But there is a different kind of knowledge that we have, an inner knowledge or knowing when things are right or wrong. Some months ago I was asked a question and I answered but was then asked how did I know. I just know was my response. Deep inside there is another form of knowledge which may come from the past or from other sources as yet unknown.

For many years I knew about auras and how they could be sensed and seen but it is only recently in terms of science, that this kind of thing is becoming fully understood. I always knew about the effect of different colours on my feelings but science took time to work that out. Sometimes I feel that science is now confirming much of what I have known for years but where did my knowledge come from? It came from this inner knowing. What are your thoughts on inner knowing?

Walking your talk, balance and inner knowing

I have heard these words so often over the years, ‘Walk your talk!’ So I am pleased to see so many people starting to do this. It is very easy to talk about what you can do to recycle, or to respect others, or to help to save the earth for another generation. But do you actually do anything about it?

I started to talk to others about all of this and then managed to get a group of people together to talk about what we could do but to actually do something as well. We’ve only met twice so far but ideas are plenty and actions are starting. You can’t just sit there and do nothing!

But looking at the plastics problem I have found clothes made from bamboo and some with bamboo and cotton. Both of these grow so that in itself brings another problem. If we all decided to have bamboo and cotton clothes then growing the cotton and bamboo would take over areas meant for other things to grow like food crops, trees and various plants. So there has to be a balance.

Most of us have lots of plastic items in our homes. Some plastics are never replaced and that is fine I suppose. It is the single use plastic that is the real problem, the pop bottles, the plastic bags for food and so on. Here again we need a balance.

Some thing else that cropped up this week is inner knowing. I have knowledge at times that I know has not come from something I have learned but is inside me. Where does this knowledge come from? A example came to my mind. Years ago my mother said to me ‘Don’t go in that room, you could cut the atmosphere with a knife.’ In that room people had been arguing. Today I know that it was the negative energies that could be sensed but how did my mother know this (she was born in 1916)? She also said the wind would blow the cobwebs away if I went for a walk in the wind.Cleansing the aura of course. So does this inner knowing come from our ancestors or are we born with it?

The plant is Honesty!

Words from the Druids Prayer

I have spent some time this week thinking about the words of the Druid Prayer. Some words stand out clearly, knowledge, justice, truth, love. There are many versions of this prayer but they all have the same intent within them.

At this time in our lives and in our chaotic world, then these words are ones we need to hang on to. I am not sure what order I should put them in as for me they all have equal impact. However, truth and justice are extremely important at the moment. How do we know what the truth about a situation really is? This is where knowledge comes in of course. But don’t take everything you read as being true. So many lies are told nowadays and so many truths altered to make people think differently. Brainwashing was a term used many years ago but it is inherent today. You have only got to look at adverts on the TV.

If we are really spiritually aware and awake then we will have that inner knowing of what is truth and what is a lie. Work on this so you get better at it! So what about justice? There is not much of that about at the moment so we need to make sure it happens in whatever way is right for you. Last week I wrote about protests and the word protect came up as an alternative word. I think this word ‘protect’ fits in here. We need to protect our justice system and make sure it is not contaminated by wrong thought.

Knowledge is something we gain over the years although many of us who go deep inside know that we all have an inner knowledge that can serve us well. Dig deep into your inner self and find that knowledge. You are going to need it.

Love of course is a word often used and misused too. Unconditional love is so important and we need to work at this more. Putting all four words together can make a powerful statement whatever order they are. Let’s concentrate on these words today and all days until the world changes for the better. One word I missed out is understanding but for me they all come together in understanding, and for me understanding is also part of knowledge, truth and justice.