Recently I came across the idea of “slow epiphanies”. At first it didn’t seem like much – an interesting contradiction in terms perhaps – but as I have reflected on the idea it is making more and more sense. I came across it in a piece on the various ways we learn. The suggestion was that sometimes our learning happens slowly and that it is by sticking to habits and practices that seem boring that this kind of learning slowly emerges. Not consciously at first but, perhaps, as a growing awareness that we are seeing and doing things differently.

As I thought about this it seems to me that there is some real sense in this. It has drawn my attention to the things I do that are more exploratory and that help me maintain an openness to new ideas and experiences. Here is a short list of things I have thought of that could be part of a process of “slow epiphany”.

  • Journalling – writing regularly with an intent of simply recording what comes to mind.
  • Reading in a general area with no goal in mind.
  • Participating in a “community of practice”, whether formal or informal.
  • Following interesting blogs – just listening to what people have to say, and paying attention to what captures their attention.
  • Meta-conversations – talking about the way conversations you are engaged in happen. Once again not with a goal to have them conform more to a particular ideal but with interest and curiosity about what makes them tick.
  • “Shooting the breeze”!
  • Engaging in a practice (perhaps meditation) in which you notice the thoughts that come and go but don’t (as far as that is possible) engage with them or pursue them.

What strikes me about these activities is that they are largely based on a different kind of awareness or attention. Not so much goal oriented and therefore more narrowly focused as curiosity oriented and therefore much more broadly and less sharply focused.

So my simple questions are:

  1. What am I doing/what are you doing now to support this kind of learning?
  2. Is it enough?