Competencies - time and learning

Being Hallowe'en is the "thin time" between the old year and the new for pagans and witches, perhaps I am a bit more tuned in, turned on, or just plain balmy tonight.

I have no idea where I am in my journey. I feel my way along the path one day at a time, like a meditative labyrinth, empty and full simultaneously. Empty of any previous pain, as much as I can be; bailing when I need to. I make no claim to enlightenment now or ever. I am a hermit. I am a lover. I am passionate. I am. And someday I will be something else.

We are all on a journey. Fill up with each breath, sucking in the darkness, breathing out the light, and moving toward the centre. Everything else is a distraction. Spiritual beings having human experience. Learning and returning.
My learning this week comes when I think about competencies. The Suzuki method of teaching children to play violin or piano considers four levels of competencies:

• the unconscious incompetent
• the conscious incompetent
• the conscious competent
• the unconscious competent

As children gain confidence and skill, as they gain a repertoire of classics practiced by many hands before, they ascend this scale of competency, until they forget to look at the music sheets and they play and have fun with their instrument, without even thinking about being nervous in front of audiences. Improvisational musical, multi-harmonic creations, unique and extraordinary exude from the unconscious competent.

Perhaps humanity is in transition between our conscious incompetence and conscious competence. We achieve more competence by practice, practice, practice! SO…

WHAT is it we must practice? Who set the practice tasks?

• Is it about killing each other that we practice until we are perfect at it?
• Is it about altering the balance of clean water OR rainforests OR boreal forests OR clean air until our home is not habitable, is that our practice?
• Is it about loving one another better? How do we do that? Who is measuring that? How do we determine if we are being successful at that? What is in it for us? What are the competencies we are developing by loving one another better?

In the Christian texts, could these practices be the Ten Commandments? According to his book, Conversations with God, Neale Donald Walsch says those commandments would be reworded to be less austere rules and more like guidelines based on love. Perhaps if the original translators had been cozier with the Big Voice in the Sky, our individual competencies may have chronologically developed sooner. 'Cause ain't nothing worse than a cruel rule - "I am the lord thy god - you shall worship no other before me." "Oh YEAH - Watch me!" [said with a sneer, leer and a loud voice - swagger. Talk about throwing down a challenge! Appealing to the bitter baseness of our humanity.

I know I rail against anyone telling me what to do in a harsh tone of voice. For me, rules are made to be broken. Guidelines – ok, I could live within a big open field, but don’t fence me in. [oops, I hear music again]. Oh and hey... I love.