A couple of days ago I wrote about Part of history was missing, about how perhaps we are only told as a person, an individual, as a class of students, as a community, as a nation, what those in power want us to know. They miss out what may influence to think one way, and put in things that make us believe another.
I can think back not a few years ago, to a war that split the world.
Without going into the rights or wrongs, I do not want to be involved with that, there are too issues, ifs and buts, I found it incredible to look at the belief systems of others, the understandings of different nations towards that war. Some nations were for it, others were vehemently against it.
If we take the UK (Great Britain), there was a majority for the war, yet in France there was a movement against it. But there is only fifteen miles of sea, a small stretch of water that separates the two countries. Why were the two populations taking or having two different views, understandings or beliefs as to what was going on?
At the time, I was traveling in Italy, and giving a presentation at a big congress in Bologna, housing one of the first universities of the Western World, a beautiful medieval town, full of history. I was told not to leave the congress hall, as there was a strong anti British feeling, and I could come to harm. Of cause I did, to marvel at the wonders of the town.
But why did the town folk (students) of Bologna have such a differing view to the situation than that I had, which was really neither here nor there?
Why were there so many multi-coloured peace flags hanging from balconies and windows? I had not seen one in London.
The answer is what we are being fed by the friends, colleagues, the media, newspapers, TV, radio, the establishments, the politicians, the religious leaders.
We are influenced by what information we are being given, it influences what we believe and understand.
Often there is a lot of missing information, as per the article on the way brain processing information, the deep structure and surface structure of understanding.
On a recent trip to Gaziantep, where I was and do give courses in NLP, Mind Maps and others, my host Mehpare Şayan Kileci of GAP Danismanlik took me to visit a glass museum in the town, Cam Eserler Müzesi. This museum has a glass blowing demonstration areas, fine silverware jewelry making demonstrations, and a museum of glass artifacts second to non.
I was really interested hearing the history of the glass bottles and bowls on display, what they were used for, their odd shapes, but what got me pondering about what I was being told, was what I was taught at school about bronze and the Bronze Age history.
My mind said, and my understanding and belief was, yes there was a Bronze Age in the British history, and as I was told no different, assumed that the discovery of the making of bronze came from Britain. No-one told me that perhaps the discovery of bronze had come from the North Caucasus regions perhaps from the Maykop cultures.
I had been taught history from the British point on view,
Suddenly my belief system was called into question, here was proof of something different to my understanding. At this museum I began to question my history lessons. There was so much missing in my knowledge.
Later whilst working in Bahrain, I came across a book and was told about white slaves in the British history. Something I was never told about in my history classes. More to follow.