To be in the Matrix is to do what everyone else does, often in ignorance of the greater context, hidden agendas, possible alternatives and even our own motives. To break out we need increased awareness, but the only way to become more aware is to gain knowledge. To gain knowledge we must educate ourselves. In a nutshell, the way out of the Matrix is to self-educate and ideally (for our own self-interests) develop a habit of lifelong learning.

Education is the key to living a successful life on earth, yet most people consider education as something we get from school. The true meaning of education has been lost and it is largely considered a passive process. This is not true. Education is really something that you must pursue pro-actively. It is something that you do for yourself and has little to do with formal schooling. Real education, self-education becomes an endless process of lifelong learning.

What is education?

I define Education as an on-going and self-generated process of acquiring first cognitive means to gain knowledge, and then ever more knowledge, so as to thrive. It is the process of acquiring knowledge for the purpose of a life Earth.

In this weeks episode of “Living outside the Matrix,” Mark Neale shares his professional perspective on education as an educational consultant and personal coach. We pick up the subject where we left off in episode 50 for this second part of our discussion on education.

What is knowledge?

I define knowledge as awareness of the facts of reality in conceptual form. Although some knowledge can be gained from direct perceptual observation this usually means that thinking is required to understand and integrate new concepts. In order to be sure that what we learn is true, information needs to be evaluated and checked against reality. Hearsay is not necessarily the truth. No information is necessarily true until verified by the evidence of reality by some reliable source. In fact, much information is demonstrably un-true!

Often we think we have arrived at knowledge but we may have used false assumptions in our thinking, or we may have been victims of propaganda. Questioning and seeking answers is a key part of thinking and this is the only way to verify that what we have is knowledge. If our understanding does not correlate with reality it is not true, and therefore it cannot be considered knowledge.

What is thinking?

Thinking is the deliberate and intentional mental process of reasoning with the acquisition of knowledge as its goal. There are many forms of mental activity such as worrying, remembering or imagining, that are not strictly thinking. Thinking uses our distinctly human faculty of reason in a process of asking questions, evaluating, judging, weighing arguments and facts, deducing and inferring to arrive at conclusions.

Thinking is the only means of acquiring knowledge (of reality). We must be aware that when we hear someone tell us something reported as fact that we cannot strictly consider it true until we can verify it by some other means. It is hearsay until we are satisfied that it is proven to be true. This obviously depends on trusting the source of the information and also the over all context.

Lifelong learning

Learning is best achieved in a non-coercive environment where the student has chosen to participate. When learning is forced upon anyone of any age it tends to be resisted and retention is not as good as when interest and curiosity are engaged. This is because thinking is volitional, you have to choose to do it. And you are more likely to choose to do it if you want to.

Lifelong learning results from developing a habit of thinking and trusting our own cognitive process and judgment. This is a process we develop confidence in as we go. We feel good about acquiring knowledge and the sense of efficacy this brings.