We tend to analytically break up information and gain a logical or rational understanding of it. For doing this we try to measure it, compare it, find relationships to what we already know and then store it in our memory. Everything connected with our physical world can be understood like this and it is very useful and practical.

What about things that we cannot see or perceive with any of our physical senses? Even in the physical world things like DNA, Virus, Atom, Proton, Neutron, Blackhole, Distant Galaxies, etc cannot be directly seen or perceived. We use analytical tools for numbering, measuring, comparing and relating to gain understanding of such things.

The other thing is intrinsic knowing with or without a conceptual understanding. Let me use an analogy to explain the difference between the two. Imagine that there is a PhD research scholar in Alaska, writing her thesis on Bananas. Bananas do not grow in Alaska so let us say that she has never actually eaten a banana. She has thoroughly researched the subject and written a 500-page thesis on it. On the other hand there is an illiterate banana farmer in south India who has been growing all kinds of bananas all his life and half his daily diet comes from the banana plant. But he has never studied about the Banana. In this example the first person has a conceptual understanding and the second one has a knowing of the subject.

You can even compare a Cancer Research scientist or an Oncologist who treats Cancer patients. Compare this person’s knowledge of Cancer with that of a Cancer survivor, who has actually suffered through the Cancer, deeply experienced it from the inside and survived from it. One has a conceptual understanding without a knowing and the other has an experiential knowing without a conceptual understanding.

Learning about oneself, the spirit aspect of oneself, needs experiential knowing and I have seen that conceptual understanding actually acts as a barrier to getting a deep experiential knowing. When we seek to learn about Intuition or Emotions or Empathy or Awareness, we get carried away by the theory. We seek to read about it, write it down and memorize it and once we do that we think we know it. The thought that “I know this” closes you down from seeking further knowing or experiencing.

If you are keen to embark on this ”Awareness Journey” and open up the spirit aspect of you to make your life journey smoother and richer, you need to be aware of this pitfall of conceptual understanding. Consciously drop the need to apply logical, analytical thinking and trying to understand and remember and instead seek to deeply experience from the level of feelings and sensations and from the level of extra sensory awareness or knowingness. When you open up like this with curiosity, a whole new aspect of yourself will uncover itself and be available to you.

An Pause we invite you to journey with us into this knowingness. Join the writer of this article Selvan, our energy healer and meditation master on a journey into Awareness with our everyday online guided meditation sessions. Know more here