Living in an age of mass information and access, we are presented with the ability to know so much. Yet not understanding enough of what we know is largely harmful, distracting and draining. 

This is evident in the ongoing violence, disconnections and injustice present in our world. This is evident in the unrest and restlessness within ourselves.

And we are overwhelmed, exhausted and burnt out by it all. Since it appears that everyone knows we need to rest, why is no one rested? Understanding means we’re not only talking about it, we’re being about it. And that requires the resource of skill, bolstered by countless moments of being honest and accountable with ourselves while no one else is watching or validating us. What we know and understand informs our energetic investment and conservation; the rest is up to you.  

In other words, knowing is potential and understanding is power. Through the lenses of our individual values, priorities and purposes this alchemy takes shape very differently.  

I don't believe it's enough to know: knowing can be too passive whereas understanding is actionable power in choice, acted upon / embodied even if the decision is to be still. Understanding is complex because there is weight in responsibility and accountability. Many of us also weren’t raised or taught to be empowered by responsibility and accountability but to shy away from or choose from places of fear. Like another side to the same coin, understanding enables more possibility and alignment. 

At the moment writing this, the world is witnessing a painful struggle towards understanding. While so many of us are willing to understand, there are others who are reacting and swept away by what they know in singular and binary dimensions. Success and power are celebrated by individuals whereas responsibility and accountability are diluted into empty acknowledgements (if any) by the ambiguous entities of brands, businesses and institutions. 

Knowing is not inherently bad or not enough. However, knowledge often leaves too much space for partial truths which can be destructive. The ongoing oppression of marginalized communities outside of white supremacy and colonial capitalism is an obvious example. Simultaneously, knowing does not automatically establish space for empathy, compassion and connection. One person may cognitively know that personal growth is difficult, yet to understand through experiential learning and self-inquiry is a stark contrast. Knowing does not touch us the same way understanding does because the latter requires investment of time, energy and attention. The latter requires practice, which is riddled with failure, imperfection and non-linear processing.

Embarking to understand anything and anyone is a close and deep process typically punctuated by a range of emotions including discomfort, self reflection, doubt and even inconvenience. Because understanding holds power for evoking change, our natural resistance in the very hardwiring of our thinking brains and egos kick in. Understanding requires humility and grace. These demanding processes are full experiences and the intention is not about being rewarded; there is little instant gratification and immeasurable learning. Comprehension invites us to become involved in ways beyond our careful selection and preference of what may have once been familiar or easy. As such it takes various forms such as routine practice, courageous embodiment, hard examination, studying and even rich emotionality, all of which are deeply demanding and require inner resourcing to support. It is reasonable and relatable that we would fear these journeys. They might lead us to outcomes we don’t intend or cannot imagine. In a world chaotic, uncertain and painful, many of us opt to only know much, rather than diving deep into understanding. After all, understanding is loaded with responsibility; integrity is the alignment of our intention into action and impact, over and over again.

With access to such sheer amounts of information, our understanding is shaped by meaning. I like to refer to the metaphor of meaning mapping as a way to orient us where we currently are and where we may decide to move, including exploration and direction. This comprehension and clarity of understanding lies beyond knowledge, informing us through different contexts and situations past verbal language guided by our inner compass. By understanding our inner workings, we’re able to choose how we show up in a given space and relationship. For me this sometimes looks like consistency in behavior over time, others as change and fluid adaptability. Other times it’s telling the truth even though scary, or perhaps deliberately choosing to disengage for protection and peace. Understanding is the act of embodying spirit in skin and caring for skin with spirit. My inner and outer worlds are much richer when I choose coherence and integrity; my intentions speak for themselves, through actions louder than words.

While we are more connected than ever through the giant mesh of consciousness that is the Internet, ongoing oppression and scarcity compete to divide us from our humanity and each other. Knowing is celebrated through institutionalized emphasis on memorization as an accumulation of information enmeshed with the glamorized culture of hustling and excess consumption, ever fast and fleeting for more, more, more. Neuroscientists and spiritual communities alike wonder if our brain’s anatomy is even evolved enough to be moving through the world in these ways. 

How we are taking care of ourselves (or not), as well as the relationships within our communities and collective cultures, hinges on the discernment of knowing vs understanding. By moving into understanding, we are in the spaces of sensing, feeling and being. There are often no words or language to put to this because sensation is non-verbal in nature. It is experienced only in the present moment within our bodies: energetically, viscerally, physiologically, intuitively.

A major aspect in moving beyond knowing into understanding lies in the very questioning of where our knowing ends and understanding begins. This discernment is akin to examining when is enough and how it relates to the context of our lives in a given moment: if I know the difference between knowing and understanding, I am in fuller responsibility (and responsiveness) to how I enact upon and embody them. 

For instance: as children we are taught and come to know that being kind is important. Our comprehension is only established through the experiences of kindness including the lack thereof. We learn when we witness others being treated kindly/unkindly at the same time that we experience the varying degrees of receiving kindness and being kind ourselves. The web of connection is tangible in seeing that what we know is real, like its own living being with many facets. Knowing does not necessarily impact our realities whereas understanding directly creates it. Ideally, as more aware and more resourced adults, this process of relating and being in relationship is paramount in our participation and effect in the world. Reflect on your main learning style(s) and notice how it is a lens for examining when you knew so much of something it shifted into understanding. Precise discernment shapes transformation and transmutation alike.

When we choose to move beyond knowing into understanding, we create more spaciousness and capacity for our humanity, in turn for others and our world. 

To be here now, together and apart:

Are you reactive or responding; are you being conscious or conned?

What aspects of your life need you to move beyond simply knowing?

Do you know and understand yourself?

Here when you care to share. Reach out via email or DM me on Instagram.