Group Think

I was born in the fifties.
Maybe that contributes to my need for defined structures and social order—or what I deem to be social "order".
I am being confronted with some of my obsolete ways of thinking in my religious studies class and it's a little uncomfortable but very exciting.
My group (Knosis) finally seems to be structured in a way in which I can interact, but my previous notions of what I need in a group interaction is creaking like a door in a haunted house.
The Group:

• Olivia: She is the Knower of Things. I absolutely respect this young woman's ability to retain and draw upon information at lightning speed but I can get lost on her road to comprehension and respond defensively when I can't follow. I really need to trust that she will come back from Deuteronomy to Taoism  and meet me—or maybe I need to let go of the need to be met in the middle and just listen and learn from her 

• Ken: He is "The Speaker of Things. Ken is very articulate man who is a good candidate for commercial voiceover work. He is supportive to the group in reiterating a point in an eloquent manner.

• Heather: She is The Seeker of Things. She expresses a genuine interest in learning, not only about why a grandfather may not eat meat on Fridays, but about the subject matter and the perspective of others.

• Phouthavady: She is The Watcher of Things. She quietly observes and then surprises a person with a verbal to-the-point punctuation of the interaction

• Kim: She is The Juggler of Things. Kim may present at times as overwhelmed by maneuvering through the information while maintaining many other factors in her life, but she has a razor sharp insight that is a delight to hear.

Then there's me. 

Here I am trying to be The Learner of Things.

Well, the first thing I am learning is there are many ways to learn things.

I am accustomed to figuring things out and assimilating information in an solitary manner where I have control over the information and method of assimilation.

Group Think is new to me. I am learning to learn in a social manner that I don't need to control anything to learn something. 

And I think there may be a wily plan to demonstrate that learning does not need to be broken down into categories once one grasps the big picture, but I still needed to break the group into segments before I become one with them in a unified view of religious studies.

The painting below is titled The Thirteenth Observer 

The capacity to observe life and Humanity, objectively, from a perspective outside the Self or one’s participation in environment and tribe is truly a challenge.Some believe it is impossible because we are subjective beings.Some believe we are limited to our physical experience in our observations and therefore can never truly experience objective truth about our existence.Perhaps consciousness consists of etheric optic nerves which are invisible to us through our limited vision.Perhaps these nerves are extending outward in each of us, reaching toward one another to create a unified view while the larger part of ourselves oversees the process?