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Two of the more profound and most important
experiences the author had in his life was the third and forth
interventions in his life as described in “The
Mystical Path.” These interventions where by his High School
mathematics and chemistry teacher and subsequently two years later
with his college chemistry professor. These experiences did several
things for him. The more obvious experience at the time was they
opened up science and mathematics in ways that he never dreamed
possible. The other was not obvious until years later when he
intuitively knew how to work and to create outside any system yet
satisfy the system and staying within the system paradoxical as it
sounds.
In Grade School, the author was, at best, a marginal student. In
High School, he was placed with the marginal students. Throughout
his freshman year, he tried to fit in and become part of the “in
crowd.” For whatever reason, he wasn’t accepted by the “in crowd.”
But it was at this time he began to take an interest Cartesian
Coordinates and mathematics. So, he started study mathematics. Since
he did poorly with word problems, he spent hours the following
summer working word problems. By the time he began his Sophomore
year, something was different.
As result of a strange fluke, he had the same teach for Geometry as
he had for Freshman Algebra. However, he also had the same teacher
for Chemistry. His teacher saw something in the author. Within a
very short time, he began to challenge the author with more
demanding work in both Geometry and Chemistry. It was as though the
teacher was seeing exactly how fast and how far he could push the
author. The author readily ate and digested all that was given to
him. In a very short time he had the author working at his own pace
and well outside the establish system. In essence the teacher began
to give a private tutelage to the author. The teacher also arranged
for the author to use his study period in chemistry laboratory with
the most advanced Chemistry students. Academically, the author took
off like a rocket. Something awoke in him. His boredom with school
changed to interest. The following year he was place with the most
academically advanced students. Other that physics, he performed
exceptionally well.
In college, he start out as a Chemically Engineering major and was
required to take Chemistry with the the Chemistry majors. The
Chemistry professor saw his task as weeding out the true chemists
from the “want to be” chemists. However, in pushing the class, he
only inspired the author. The Chemistry professor was impressed with
the author’s inquiring mind and tried to get the author to major in
Chemistry. However,
the author was set on learning quantum mechanics. To further
entice the author into Chemistry, the Chemistry professor arranged
for the author to take a Junior level course which explored quantum
mechanics as it applied to chemical bonding of atoms. The Chemistry
professor arranged for the prerequisites to be dropped so that the
author could take the course as a sophomore. However, the class only
increased the author’s determination to become a physicist and learn
more about quantum mechanics. Nevertheless, the author and the
Chemistry professor became very good friends.
Three things resulted from these experiences. The first was that the
author discovered you don’t have to play the game as the rules are
written. You can go outside the way things are done without leaving
the system as such and achieve even greater possibilities and get
information that is normally not accessible. The second was that he
learned he loved to learn. He especially loved to learn if the
learning was about how the universe worked. The third was he learned
he could have great inner satisfaction in doing it. In regards to
having an internal satisfaction, one thing in particular he learned
about learning was that mistakes are just part of the learning
experience - you only need to be ready to clean up any mess you
make.
What comes to mind as the vehicle for this learning experience about
mistakes is the example set by this playful High School Chemistry
teacher in Chemistry Lab. The chemistry teacher always loved it when
the students destroyed the experiment or blew something up. He would
come laughing and making a big commotion carrying his log book. It
was almost a staged comedy act. We quickly learned his routine.
After quickly ensuring no one was really injured, the High School
Chemistry teacher immediately started calling out the price of each
piece of broken glassware and recorded it to charge the student. It
was as if he made his livelihood on the amount of glassware we broke
in our mistakes. He acted as though he was looking to make a profit
on the mistakes of his students. We knew we had to replace what we
lost in the destroyed experiment, but we never felt penalized - in
fact, the students were encouraged to make mistakes. The teacher
acted as if he wanted the business. It was more of a “go ahead and
try it, see what happens” attitude. It was fun. We only had to be
aware that we would have to replace what we broke - but it was
always replaceable. He never allowed us to do really dangerous
experiments, beyond our capability. The more advanced the student,
the more advanced experiment he would allow.
In an aside, what the author came to find over time is that the
Universe is much the same way. It will not allow us to do
"experiments" or have experience beyond what we are capable and
responsible of handling contrary to what we believe. But we do have
to become responsible. As we grow, the experiments look more and
more dangerous - but that is the illusion. It is as safe as it
always has been. But we believe what we are told about life and the
unknown - that the unknown is dangerous. It is as though people do
not want us to live the unknown. If we live in the unknown, we may
find out it is much nicer than we have been lead to believe. Then
people will have to change their beliefs about what life is all
about - and people generally do not like to change.
The author has come to learn to trust the universe that he will not
be allowed to explore or do anything that is not for the greatest
common good, if the intention is properly set. His teachers taught
him well, and he followed their example most of his life. As a
result his life was forever changed. He knew he did not have to do
things they way everyone said they needed to be done. Also, after
that experience in the chemistry lab, he always sought the occasion
to learn and expand his knowledge about how the universe worked. He
understood mistakes were just part of the process and we only make
mistakes until we learn the minimum information, that
minimum set of requisite experience, we need to know to be
successful. In time he came to learn there are no mistakes in
creativity, only learning experiences.
But you may ask: “What about the pain that accompanies mistakes?” “
What about all the nasty things we are doing to the planet?” “What
about all the people that get hurt every day because of mistakes?” “
You call that not dangerous?” “Given how things are messed up how,
can you say that we are not given anything we are not capable of
handling?” “ What, are you crazy?” In actually, the Releasing Your
Unlimited Creativity does provided answers to these types and kinds
of questions. The questions are necessarily addressed specifically,
but the are addressed in a way such that you eventually outgrow the
question. You being to see there is another perspective to all these
questions. In fact, you may also be able to come to an understanding
of how the world is currently the perfect expression of your belief
about how it is to operate.
At the time of these interventions, the author was very aware
something was orchestrating his life for each of these men to
take such an interest in his performance. Their actions were out of
the ordinary. He saw nothing like that happening to anyone else. For
whatever reason, he was being made the exception to the rules and it
was that ability which he learned. He learned how to create
exceptions to the rules. It was the an ability and understanding
with which the author walked away. Although he did not realize it at
the time, he was being taught how to work around the existing system
to create something new. The ability became invaluable through his
career. In can be said, each of these teachers were teaching the
author how to become creative in systems that are rigid and
orientated toward a very precise performance.
These experiences were very important for the author. He was raised
in a social system and education system that was rather rigid in how
it expected an individual to act. He was taught there were those in
authority and he was taught not to question the authorities. What
the author learned from these two teachers was how someone in
authority could use their position constructive to work outside the
system. Where as others may have been taught how to circumvent a
system, he was taught how to work within the system. What he came to
realize in time was that there is usually great flexibility in any
system if one is open to use the flexibility that is available.
However, to use the flexibility that is available one must have a
mind that is willing to set outside of how it thinks things need to
be done. These experiences taught the author to look at the way
systems operated and why it operated as it did as opposed to just
accepting them as they are.
The first rule the author learned was that to create something new
within the existing system, one must ensure the needs of the
existing system are satisfied. If the existing system is satisfied,
it takes little notice of the aberrations. This, in turn, brings up
a second rule. You don’t announce and bring to the attention of
people the aberration you are creating. You don’t necessarily remain
secret. You just don’t bring to the attention of others what you are
doing. You quietly go about creating. From what the author learned
about getting around the system, he was able to squeeze a five year
program into four years. Later as manager, he was able to create
within a structure many things others did not see possible. He learn
how to not be bound by the structure of an existing system.
The right and left hand paths
In time the author came to understand there was a
right hand path and a left hand path to any systems or
organizations. The right hand path is the conventional path and
things are done in the way the system requires, demands or expects.
Then there is the left had path. The left hand path lies outside the
system. It can function relative to the system and with the system
but was not fully part of the system. The left hand path does not
necessarily mean it is a controversial path, an opposing path or in
any way a revolutionary path. Rather it just doesn’t fit the mold of
the way things are normally and expected to be done. The left and
right hand paths are very much like the right and left hand. They
could achieve the same things but they did them in a very similar
but different way.
The key to creating within an existing structure is the left hand
path. It is not to confront or necessarily challenge the existing
system. It is to do what the existing systems tries to obtain but do
it in a way that allows one to not become captive by the system. In
doing so, it opens the door to evolving and change the system.
Confrontation and challenging causes the existing system to become
defensive and more entrenched in how it responds to a situation.
When working within a system or choosing to work the left hand path,
one must become aware of their
code of honor. Your code of honor in essence summaries your
guiding principles in life and those principles that you will not
normally, if ever, violate. In working in any way other that in
alignment with the existing system one must understand their true
intention for acting. Noble sounding goals are often only a mask of
the ego furthering its own needs. To work effectively around any
system, the goal and intention you hold must be higher than the
system in which you are working to change or get around.
Your ethics often needs to be higher than what is required by the
system. It is not that you hold your ethics higher than the system’s
in a judgmental fashion. That is, yours ethics is not somehow better
than its ethics. Rather you respect the goal and intention of what
the system tries to achieve in its ethics. You just try and achieve
it more effectively, passionately, and in a way that gives respect
even to those things that you are seeking to change but also bring
creatively more freedom into the system. You respect the systems and
those in the system are doing the best they can with what they have
been given. If you know and have a better way, then it is your
responsibility to educate them and not judge them. If you are not
willing to educate and bring others along within your understanding,
then you are probably just serving your ego.
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