The Systematic Law of Learning

January 29, 1985

Available in the KPHI Audio Library.

Watch this class
on SummumTV.
... the story about a frog named Hermes.

We need to talk about the systematic law of learning. It is not a new law. It has been around for eternity. It is nothing new. It has been said many times, in many different ways, in many different forms. An example of this systematic law of learning can be seen by understanding the story about a frog named Hermes.

There was a group of scientists who decided to do an experiment on how our environmental system affects the manner in which we learn things. These scientists began their experiment by observing a frog in its environmental system. They soon discovered that the frog was subject to its environmental system, and how it processed information around him.

They took this frog, hooked electrodes to its brain, and they sat the frog on a lily pad. Then they created a shadow, and arranged it directly in front of the frog. They found that by doing this the electrodes would respond, recording the electrical impulses from the brain of the frog. This happened because the frog recognized that there was a shadow in front of it. This allowed the scientists studying the frog to discover that whenever a shadow went in front of the frog, it always knew that it was there. The reason that the frog knew that the shadow was there was because frogs are very sensitive to shadows in their environmental system. Frogs sit on lily pads on a pond, and different birds of prey fly over them, casting shadows, and they swoop down and grab frogs off their lily pads.

Hermes the Frog
Hermes the Frog
Photo copyright and courtesy of Amy Finkel.

Intrigued by this knowledge, the scientists then put an insect directly in the frog's field of vision. The frog would stick its tongue out and capture the insect that the scientist placed in front of it. Again, they found the electrical impulses being sent through the frog's brain.

Then they tried something unique. They placed a pencil in the frog's field of vision. The frog did not recognize it. He did not even see it. He was completely unaware of the pencil being in his environmental system. The scientists found this even more intriguing, and began experimenting with higher forms of life. They soon discovered that even human beings only see and understand those things that are part of their environmental system, or their belief system. The things that they believe in are part of their environmental system. If you happen to be Hermes the frog, and we held a pencil in front of your eye, you may not realize that it is there, because it is not a natural part of your environmental system.

You may be asking, what does this have to do with the systematic law of learning? What we are trying to point out here is there is a very simple process of learning, and everybody goes through this natural law. It has different levels. It has the level of the frog that can't see a pencil. It raises itself to all conscious life forms, and, of course, on to you. You have to build an environmental system that will allow you to recognize things, understand them, become aware of them, or know what they are about. This is called the systematic law of learning.

For example, I could ask the people here in Utah what different conditions of snow there are in the world. Most skiers would discuss that their favorite snow to ski on is the powder snow. Other skiers would say there is wet snow, dry snow, heavy snow, light snow. There are all different kinds of snow. Depending on the part of the country you are from, or your environmental system, you would have different experiences and different belief systems about snow. Your understanding depends upon your perspective, what you have learned, what you have formed a belief system about. Most people who have seen snow have a certain understanding of snow. If we go North to where the Eskimos live, we would find that they have twenty different terms for conditions of snow. They are always with it, and have more experience with it.

That brings us to the systematic law of learning. The way that it works is you begin with questioning. It is like when I took algebra as a kid. I sat in the back of the class, and when report cards came out I got an "F" in the class. My parents did not like that at all. They told me if I wanted to be comfortable in life that I needed to improve my grade. When I went back to class, I sat right up front in order to fix the problem. I recognized that I did not understand algebra. I had to say to myself, "Is there such a thing as algebra? What is algebra? What does it mean?"

I had been going to the class. I had been placing my body there and spending time there, but nothing was happening or I would not have gotten an F in the class. So I put myself in the front of the class and said, "What is this, what does it mean?" This was when I questioned it.

By placing myself at the front of the class, I said to myself, "I am going to listen to my teacher. I am going to give myself to this algebra. I am going to surrender to the algebra class. I will move into a consciousness of submission and listen with an open mind, remain in that point of not knowing." I had to stop believing that I knew everything there was to know about algebra because I didn't, or else I would not have failed the test. This was the obstacle that stood between me and knowing algebra, because I had a belief system that I already knew. I had to let that go.

At this point of not knowing, I surrendered to the algebra. I submitted myself to the problem. I went home and took activity or action in the algebra. I experienced it. What I discovered when I went home and worked the problems, and experienced it, and then took the next test in algebra, I got an "A" on it. Through this systematic law of learning, by questioning something, by moving into a state of not knowing, or by surrendering to it, and then by taking action or experiencing it, I began to learn it. It became a part of me because of my experience with it. As I moved out of action and experience with it, I moved into a new knowledge of it.

There is nothing in existence that you learn except through the systematic law of learning. Many years ago, I started teaching this lesson after I was first taught this lesson by those who initiated me into this knowledge. This is not a new knowledge. There is nothing new. Everything has always existed. It is only where we allow ourselves to arrive at this through the systematic law of learning that we finally know something.

When the student's mind is open, then comes the voice to fill it with wisdom. - Summum

This is the exact same thing as the systematic law of learning. Everything within nature is the same way, as above so below. Your lives are the same way. You may have gone many years within your life without learning anything. Inevitably you arrive at a point where you get ready to listen, then comes the teacher. This is the first lesson to tell people. Unless you are ready to hear these lessons you will hear nothing. Only those who are evolved to the point to understand this will be able to hear what is being presented.

If I asked you to look at the sun and tell me what it looks like, you would most likely tell me it looks like a big, bright yellow ball. If I took a friend of yours two million light years from here, and they look at the same sun, and I ask the same question, they would say that it is a tiny, bright blue star. In reality they are suns, and both individuals are correct, but everything is relative depending on your perspective.

For some people, it is only possible for them to look at a sun millions of light years away from only one perspective because that is all their ears can hear, it is all their eyes can see. They are stuck. They are not allowing themselves to hear the words of wisdom. They are not allowing themselves to learn anything new, for their belief system tells them that they already know all. It is very important that we arrive at the point of not knowing. It is important to arrive at this state of surrender, of questioning, and experiencing the action within everything in our lives, before we can move on in evolution.