The Awakening of Intelligence
By Wayne Sebamurti Gentry
Presented by Omni-U Virtual University
Many of the problems that we face everyday, during our lifetime, can be solved by uncovering the hidden obstacles which prevent our mental, emotional, and spiritual growth and development. One of the greatest obstacles that actually "arrests" our development is miseducation. Many of us are eager to learn something new and, consequently feel that,because of it, we have grown in our understanding of ourselves and the world in which we live. However, we rarely pause to examine and critically evaluate what we have learned, to see if our knowledge is based on facts or fiction, reality or illusionary beliefs. Such a self- examination is crucial for us since we have been- and continue to be- miseducated. Those of us who are the descendants of Africans who were held captive,aka "enslaved" here in America, are faced with the task of making such a critical examination. We must examine , not only what we have learned but also what we are still being taught, in the process of being miseducated by our adversaries.
To accomplish this, it would benefit us to study the works of Dr. Carter G. Woodson; Naim Akbar; Dr. Amos Wilson; Marimba Ani; Hunter H. Adams III; Dr. Josef Ben Levi; Dr. Jacob H. Carruthers; Dr. Gloria Latimore Peace and others who have pointed out the ways in which our consciousness has been, and continues to be falsified in the process of being miseducated. In this particular article, I would like to focus our attention on the works of Dr. Naim Akbar and W. Curtis Banks who proposed the sequence of deconstruction, reconstruction and construction as a way to liberate a mind which has been miseducated. I would like to add to these three components, a fourth component which I feel precedes the three listed. This is the act of "disruption," which is something that has been masterfully explored by Prof. David Bohm and Hunter H. Adams lll.
Everything in life that we do is predicated on what we know. The way in which knowledge is established in our minds is through a process that is called education. Receiving a wrong education, ie., being miseducated, will result in the establishment of wrong knowledge. Consequently, wrong knowledge produces wrong actions. Understanding how all this works is rather obvious and straightforward. However, what is not immediately apparent is the fact that knowledge itself, is not something that exists as a static form of information and memory stored within our brains. Knowledge doesn't function like a bystander waiting to be called into action when needed. Knowledge is an active process which is participatory and ,therefore, it is involved in every act we perform as we relate to others and to our environment.
In other words, what we "know" is constantly flowing in and out of our field of experience. Hence, Knowledge is synonymous with movement. It is not a stationary form of information and memory waiting to spring into action when we decide to launch it. To correct knowledge which is ill founded, false, and erroneous, its motion must first be disrupted. To disrupt means to stop, run interference with, or prevent a system, process, event, or activity from occurring or continuing in an expected way.
By carefully attending to the characteristics, tendencies and content of our own knowledge base, we disrupt its movement and, therefore, temporarily halt its flow into our field of experience. In other words, by simply engaging in the act of self- observation, we can disrupt the momentum of our habitual thought patterns long enough to examine them. Once this is done, we can then deconstruct the "content" of our knowledge to uncover the errors that are operating subconsciously.
Believe it or not, the sheer act of self- examination not only disrupts our habitual ways of thinking, it also performs the task of deconstructing the contents of what we know! During this act of deconstruction, a force higher than knowledge, which is intelligence, starts awakening to reveal the errors of our thinking. In other words, the answers we seek in order to solve our problems already exist within us. We just need to turn our attention inward and allow our innate intelligence to reveal the solution(s).
Only after the deconstruction phase has been undergone, can we then reconstruct the "Right Knowledge," which will correct the errors of our thinking. Moving forward, we can now enact a construction of the knowledge we will need to protect and prevent ourselves from committing new errors as we seek to advance our overall growth and development.
This, too, is brought about by the intelligence that has been accessed via self-observation and self examination. Naim Akbar in his book "Know ThySelf," cites the work of W. Curtis Banks who created this process of deconstruction, reconstruction, and construction as a means to liberate a mind that has been miseducated.
As we perform these tasks, we are actually awakening our innate intelligence. As I mentioned earlier, it would also benefit us to study the work of prestigious African scholars who have dedicated their entire lives to the liberation of the African mind.
Some readers may not be able grasp these ideas because they are too accustomed to looking at knowledge as memory that's engraved in the brain. Neither knowledge nor "ego" are entities.
Each is an activity.
Knowledge likewise is not a stationary form of memory, it is an activity of the mind. The way we are accustomed to making sense of things is affected by how we have been mis-educated. However, when we engage in self- observation we will see how our knowledge is continuously flowing in and out of our experiences. Our thinking capacity has been disrupted and because we “think” that it is intact, we tend to try to change others, circumstances, etc.
As a final word, a popular and extremely insightful sage named, Jiddu Krishnamurti called this whole process of awakening intelligence to uncover the errors of our thinking, "Choiceless Awareness." He emphasized that by simply being "choicelessly aware" of what is going on internally and externally, we can bring about a radical change in our thought and behavior. For those of us who realize that our minds have been heavily conditioned ,i.e., miseducated, I would also like to suggest that we include the study and practice(s) of self-inquiry and meditation so that we can extend our goal beyond emotional and mental liberation! Meditation is designed not only to liberate the mind, but to transcend the mind altogether, thus enabling us to rest in the most essential nature of our Being, which is Spirit. Being aware at the spiritual level of our Being brings perfect peace and supreme intelligence. Our search for peace and happiness can then come to an end.
The truth of the matter is that we are already what we are seeking,I.e.,Peace and Happiness. Spiritual practices are designed to enable us to awaken our divine intelligence and, thus,to "recognize" this truth, and to live out of the context of such a recognition, here and now.
Bibliography
J.Krishnamurti "The First & Last Freedom”
David Bohm."Wholeness and The Implicate Order"
Naim Akbar."Know ThySelf"
Recommended Reading:
Wayne Gentry. The Nature of Intelligence: A Look Beyond Mere Thinking. (Currently in the process of being reprinted).
Recommended Viewing:
“Spiritual Development: Right Perspective; Right Focus; Right Context” Featuring Mystic Wayne Sebamurti Gentry
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