Page 64 - To know things we have to have the world inside us

“I used a knob to leverage myself up into the tree, to
experience the feeling of being in the tree, feel a different “Over the last few weeks my ears
perspective from height and to look up under the leaves and have become more in tune with
around the branches. To sit on the branch and feel the solid its music – its rustlings and the
weight beneath me.” other sounds it brings – like bird
song (Tui) and whispering winds.”

“She smells of the earth and I noticed that she has different
smells depending on the weather.”

“The bark on the trunk feels
rough and dry and powdery
and when you rub it ,a residue
comes off your hands.”

“Touch…. A different language to capture

“I could smell the earthy tones of the tree mingled with the fresh further encounters and exploration...
smell of the leaves as the wind blew the scent of tree my way and I The texture of the upper and under part of
could also hear the rustling of the leaves and branches as they the leaf was as different as was the look. The
brushed up against each other and swayed in the wind.” topside of each leaf was shiny green and
beautifully smooth. The beautiful, bronze
underside of each leaf was fabric-like in
texture, like a brushed cotton garment.”
“When touching the tree with my eyes closed, I started feeling
the base of the trunk and worked my way up which felt smooth
but rough at the same time. I came across…”

“I sat quietly under her and observed the clouds that were being
whisked by the wind. I sat quietly and felt as if I was being
blown to another world. There were rustling leaves from the
ground and the leaves and branches of the trees rustled and
‘whished’ around. Almost as if they were talking.”

It seems that the use of many senses rather than just sight allowed teacher~researchers to come~to~know with
greater depth and subtlety.

Deliberately moving past the powerful influence of vision and the brain’s tendency to ‘name’ things quickly,
thereby ‘knowing’ it, allowed teacher~researchers to find what was unexpected… The ‘I came across’ moments
offered a place for curiosity, imagination, emotional connection, surprise, wonder ….. These possibilities are shut
down before they have a chance to live when the predicative brain ‘knows’.

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