REFLECTIVE ESSAY
It is hard to place into words how much I have learned and grown as a person and as a member of the community, but its even harder to describe how much I grew as a soul and as an individual being in this world we call earth and in worlds that we do not see or perceive as real. The Freshman Inquiry class Forbidden Knowledge is one of the best decisions I have made in my life. And that might sound absurd and sort of pathetic to be so thankful and so proud of something that others would call just a class. And that might be true for others but not for me because a class can be just a class but if you bring something extra to it, it can be a place of development at all levels of existence. What I brought in was the eagerness and desire to learn about any information that would further my life and state as a constantly developing artist. I also brought in my own experience and my will to learn knowledge that is not ordinarily available t unless it is specifically looked for. Included in my experience came the ability to make changes and to challenge old ways of thinking, acting and being. Without that extra push and personal interest any class can be just like the next, listening, recording, and regurgitating information on to other people, without really understanding why and what for.
It is also important that there exist a mode, in this case a teacher, that has the abilities and the need to be part of and aid in such efforts. By this a teacher does not have to go out of his or her way or go to extremes for his or her pupils, what is needed is openness. A model has to be open to all his or her pupils in any way that he or she wishes. A model can reach great mutual intellectual height with his or her pupils just by being open. It is like opening a window and letting the air in or out, or both at the same time, freely and naturally. And fortunately enough I had that in Freshman Inquiry.
Forbidden Knowledge impacted all of my college life all throughout the year as well. The demands for the class were many and not always the easiest to comply with, however they were all worth it. The class demanded maturity, responsibility, sensitivity, and most important of all an open mind. And as in all cases that demand such states, they leave an impression for the best. And that is how things came to be with me. After writing ten to fifteen page research papers in a way as to almost reach perfection, writing becomes extremely easier. Then you don’t have a problem when other teachers ask you to write a three page paper in two weeks and all around you there is nagging and complaining, you can easily just respond with a 3 page paper.
Another area that the class had an impact in was my communication and public speaking skills. Before Forbidden Knowledge I had no communication skills and found it extremely difficult to express my thoughts on certain things in a public atmosphere willingly. This metamorphosis happened mostly in the mentored inquiry part of the class. That side of the class provided real positive and comfortable atmosphere for public speaking. It was mostly due to the fact that the number of students became smaller and it placed less pressure on the individual. Mentored inquiry had the advantage of being a bit less demanding and that helped to just straighten your ideas out and improve on your skills. Part of communication was knowing how to phrase things in ways that people would understand and would not respond negatively to or take offense to, it was the part of learning how to be neutral when needed.
The class was made up interesting and varied individuals that made you open your eyes to all kinds of point and views. And by everyone sharing their believes and ideas on things I learned to do the same as well as to accept and honor others as they are and with all that they have to offer, weather I perceive it to be good or bad. And unfortunately I did not completely put my developing skills to use when they were at a sufficient point. And that is because the class was a time for me to take as much in as possible, contemplate, analyze, reanalyze and conclude at a strict level. Apart from all the changes on the academic part of my learning came the non-physical and not always easy to notice and recognize part of my growth, that being my spiritual and truly intellectual side.
My spiritual growth was facilitated and advanced by all the reading we had, which included poetry by different cultures, spiritual texts, and eye opening books. I took a special interest in Rumi “Jelaluddin Balkhi” and his poems “Unmarked Boxes”, “The Milk of Millennia”, and “There’s Nothing Ahead”. Other readings I loved were The Way of the Shaman by Michael Harner, and “The Secret Teachings of Jesus” by Marvin W. Meyer. But the most important and intellectually stimulating read that I performed was that of the Bhagavad Gita. The Gita changed my way of being and acting once again in the course of the class and a am willfully trying to put its teachings into practice and really experience it more. Because of it I have started talking to people who know much about it and who live by it and I am making plans to visit the Hare Krishna Temple and become a regular. The readings amazingly reinforced my philosophies and believes and in a very satisfying way they all interconnected and created a link within their spiritual circle that I wish to submerge my self in.
And so that is point one percent of what Forbidden Knowledge has allowed me to see, experience, find and pursue. Because of Forbidden Knowledge I am now on a journey through time, space, matter, mind and the soul.