Strategy for Learning the most from the Courses

[ArcaneHuman]

So i have taken Spirals I and am in the middle of Quicksilver. There's so many exercises under my belt that i don't totally know what to do with them. Like... i don't know if it's enough to just do the exercise for each week and then drop it like a hot potato or if i should try to determine for myself what practices i should do... and then try to do a small handful of those exercises each day. Obviously the more we practice the more we learn but i come against resistance with the more challenging exercises. But maybe those are the ones i should be doing? Or maybe just the opposite. Do the ones that feel easy for me. I could ramble on but i'm sure this is enough to riff off of. My only constant is that i do recapitulation pretty much every day and usually some stalking but not always. Thanks in advance for any insight.

[Moonshadow]

On 1/19/2023 at 11:56 AM, ArcaneHuman said:

i come against resistance with the more challenging exercises.

((ArcaneHuman))

These are the ones you should focus on- they are opportunities for growth. If you think about Spirals, for example, the entire class, in terms of exercises, really is just one movement: getting you to use your intent intentionally + the knowledge that came with the class. Quicksilver, as you're seeing, is developing your awareness and perception, the exercises all geared towards fine-tuning these energies. All classes are just one big movement in a sense that had to be broken down into smaller achievable ones.

What I did, having been a student at the cave too, is that I went through and focused on each class at a time and incorporated many exercise into my life. Some things became part of my daily regular routine, like recap, working with rocks, etc. Remember you are in the stages of moving and understanding your energy as you heal it, so tier 1 is all about you. Focus on the exercise of the week as you take a class because it helps prepare your energy for the next exercise. You can, afterwards, go back and revisit whatever you want and need to.

Here are some analogies that worked for me, silly as they are : with these classes you are going through an energetic transformation and growth, like a Transformer.

Also, if you were a car with a lot of dents, you are taking apart the car (you), understanding how each piece works (a specific class), fixing it, and then putting them all together again but now you've become a car that has technology that the world doesn't really have, and it can do things other cars can't.  

There will be an "aha!" moment, or a series of them, where classes connect, and you begin to realize is that you are turning into the person, the healed, powerful, energetic creature you were born to be and wants to come into the world: each class is a part of that transformation. So go through each class with the intent to take the challenges head-on and learn from the ones you can't do: this is where the real change happens. And if you can't do it now, so what? A year from now, you'll pick it up and do it as easily as making a P&B sandwich because your energy has changed over time... this has actually happened to me.

Long answer, but the short of it is focus on what's at hand, keep on recapitulating (I would really take this class and you will see why when you do- too long to explain here but it goes into such great detail that you don't get from the articles, so worth it), and go for the challenging exercises because "if you push anything long enough, it will eventually move" (quoting Gary). 

I hope this helps.

e.

[cyfnos]

Also some great advice from Travellur.

C

https://www.shamanscave.com/blogs/entry/2022/08/how-to-be-a-shamans-cave-student

[ArcaneHuman]

On 1/19/2023 at 5:04 PM, Eman said:

keep on recapitulating (I would really take this class and you will see why when you do- too long to explain here but it goes into such great detail that you don't get from the articles, so worth it), and go for the challenging exercises because "if you push anything long enough, it will eventually move" (quoting Gary). 

 

Word. This class keeps getting recommended to me. For some reason i keep wanting to sign up for stalking I. I'm now leaning towards recap because it's been recommended a number of times. I think two classes in one "semester" is too much for me.

Your advice really encouraged me to make a list of all the exercises (which i'm still in the process of doing). And i did engage with more challenging ones today, like last week's exercise seeing through the dark. That one's definitely a challenge. I did the coin exercise too. I had crazy results with that one today. But the results didn't even seem like the point of it. So i guess it's good to have ones i enjoy doing and balance that out with ones that take more energy and focus. I could ramble on but i won't. Thanks for the insight and advice

[silenceseeker]

3 hours ago, ArcaneHuman said:

But the results didn't even seem like the point of it.

Good observation, it's sometimes helpful to think of the exercises like a koan where it delivers you to a space or non-place that will teach you something and expand your energy. And to reinforce what Eman wrote, the class exercises are both intended to give you a taste/sample of what can be done and you would be wise to continue practicing and expanding on your own (each exercise can really become it's own thing if you work with them enough) but they are also given in a way to overwhelm you slightly because that gets you out of your comfort zone and then your energy has the space to move. We generally recommend that students take two classes at a time as it does stretch the students comfort level without being too overwhelming. Many students though, take one class at a time and do well, I think because they do devote a lot of energy to working with the movements and exploring them. All the movements sort of weave back together at some point, 

Lorrie

[ArcaneHuman]

16 hours ago, silenceseeker said:

All the movements sort of weave back together at some point, 

yeah i'm interested to see how it will all come together as i learn more. thanks.