Really understanding the problem
Published: Wed, 04/22/15
Not many messages at the moment, we are very busy. One thing that is adding to the load is getting our car through its MOT (Ministry of Transport yearly road worthiness test for those outside of the UK). One problem is that the windscreen wipers are not returning to the correct position and therefore block vision so it fails the test. The question was why. I thought I knew and removed the wiper unit, opened the cover on the motor/gearbox and looked at the rotary switch which tells the relay when the wipers are in the right position and stops the movement. I looked and could see nothing wrong so we investigated the rest of the circuit, bought a new relay and installed it (very inaccessible location so a good thing that Venetia has small and nimble hands) and still no result. So I had a third or fourth look inside the wiper motor/gearbox, looked even closer and realised that there were three contact tracks on the rotary switch and
only two contacts, then I could see that one contact had broken off meaning that the circuit to the relay could not be completed any more. Solution now obvious, replace motor /gearbox and it will work.
I have seen the writer Alan Watts quoted as saying ‘When you really understand a problem then the solution is obvious. I am slightly annoyed with myself for not seeing the nature of the problem immediately, the clue was there in that there were obviously three tracks and only two contacts and there were three wires on the back of the plate but for some reason it did not register. I could have just replaced the motor and it would have solved the problem but it would just have been luck and I would not have known the real reason why.
Ivar always said that Stav was about learning to see reality and to really understand the web of life. It is not an easy process, it takes patience, genuine observation and a willingness to admit that something does not quite make sense until you see the reason why. This process requires the engagement of the conscious/rational mind and allowing the unconscious/intuitive mind to play its part too. This does need relaxation and patience. Sleeping on the problem is by no means just a saying. If you make a request of your intuition for an answer to a problem before going to sleep there is a pretty good chance that you will wake up with the answer, the eyes see everything, the intuitive brain registers everything, the conscious mind filters out the 99 plus percent that doesn’t make any ‘sense’ which is fine if you really know what you are looking for and it is in the less than 1 percent left, but if the answer is in the other 99 plus
percent you need to let your intuition sort it out in its own good time.
I try and use this stuff in my life, it isn’t always easy to find the patience and confidence that your intuition can sort out the knowledge you require. Our education certainly doesn’t prepare us for solving problems this way, all you learn at school is that the answers are already there in books and from your teacher so all you have to do is learn them and regurgitate the ‘right’ answer in exams. Conventional education certainly does not teach you how to think.
Stav is about learning how to see the web for yourself. It doesn’t happen overnight but it isn’t really that hard either, just something you need to practice. Training opportunities include using a problem solving approach to self-defence this Saturday in Crewkerne http://somersetstav.co.uk/sd.html and I am willing to devote a day of training in the basics of Stav on the 2nd of May http://somersetstav.co.uk/daycourses.html and of course Summer Camp http://stavcamp.org/index.html when you can learn direct from Ivar himself as I did.
regards
Graham
PS MACE tickets are on a discount for a few more days, I am teaching there so why not come and support me? and see what else you can learn there http://www.mace.org.uk/