You don´t have the skill to read...

[Raz]

What is reading? is it a skill? is it something you do? After a certain point of experience you don't have a choice. You have no choice, you see these sequences of symbols and hear an inner voice. is that really a skill? or is it a form of growth?

There are things in my life that I do that make some people stand in awe and applaud. I fire dance... When I started fire dancing just a little over 10 years ago it was intense, I practiced for hours every day without fire with my fire staff for about a week before I dared trying to light it on fire and spin. And when I finally did light it on fire I really felt like I accomplished something intensively cool.

Now 10 years later there is no difference for me if I do it with fire or without fire. I just get on stage, light up the staff and I accept the flow of the ride. The fire staff moves me as much as I move the fire staff... I enter a dance with my loving partner that happens to be on fire...

Last time I preformed a kid came up to me and said with big eyes full of awe; "you are the fire master!".

I did not feel like a fire master... in fact I did not feel like I was anything at all... I had just showed up in the right place at the right time and everything just happened like magic... There was no effort... No skill... I did not feel like I was involved...

Just like you don´t feel involved with the voice in your head that is reading these words out loud in your head for you... WOW you can READ! YOU ARE THE MASTER OF SYMBOLS!!!

Not that there is no passion or joy... But the passion and joy I am starting to suspect is after a point found in just showing up to relax, focus and allow the magic to happen...

[AnthroHeart]

Hard to read a big block of text.

[Minyatur]

It's programmation, like learning to play an instrument is mainly about muscular memory.

[AnthroHeart]

I figured if I came back and read it in full it would be intensely pleasurable.

I used to juggle 3 clubs, and 3 balls.

[tamaryn]

Reading is being a Seer. It is seeing past your pain to the source. To seeing the Choice or Lack of choice everyewhere is to See, to be awake. Seeing control or 'no choice' everywhere is also a form of choice in this Logos.

Reading is an aability to use to Blue ray. aplply wat you can see to what you can feel, to what you can hear, to what you can know

[The_Tired_Philosopher]

I'd just call it a learned tool.

Not everyone knows how to read.

[tamaryn]

Every channels; Everyone Reads

[The_Tired_Philosopher]

You know what I mean lol

[Cyanatta]

Vielleicht kannst du eine neue Sprache lernen? 

[The_Tired_Philosopher]

Its a lot easier as a kid... heh

[Raz]

LOL Might have been a little drunk when I wrote this, hey it was my Saturday but there is something to it... At some point things stop being something we do and become more something we are... And what we are keeps evolving... Thus I don´t believe in the concept of skill (even though the expression is valid in practical situations), I feel that 'universal growth' is a more accurate pointer to what is going on...

[Cyanatta]

Its a lot easier as a kid... heh

Nah, old myth is old, and it's been disproved.

[The_Tired_Philosopher]

It has???

Seriously??

What better excuse to learn Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Japenese!!
Seriously though? That's just another 'fluke-up' by science and another lie I've lived with for half my life??

[Cyanatta]

It has???

Seriously??

What better excuse to learn Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Japenese!!
Seriously though?  That's just another 'fluke-up' by science and another lie I've lived with for half my life??

Yup, this article sums things up nicely: http://esl.fis.edu/parents/advice/myth1.htm (links for the studies at the bottom)

I was under the same impression myself, but just on a whim I decided to start learning German (and attempted a few others) a couple years ago with some free language learning apps (such as Duolingo, Memrise, and a nifty one I just found called HelloTalk, which pairs you with native speakers of the language you're learning, who also wish to learn your native language). Duolingo is probably the most popular, free, language learning app and my personal favorite as far as learning vocabulary and phrases. It's also extremely helpful with user comments below each question to clarify any confusion, and most of the time the best explanation is already up-voted to the top of the comments. Most of the languages available to learn are European (most popular being Spanish, French, and German), but there's a few critical languages they're adding. Esperanto was added not too long ago which I'm super pumped for, and Russian is almost ready for Beta testing 

If your focus is on conversation skills, which I'm working on now myself, I highly recommend HelloTalk and iTalki. You have to pay for iTalki but it's reasonable with its pay by session method, and of course package deals are cheaper but even a couple sessions can make all the difference with a native speaker. You basically "shop around" for a formal or informal tutor (less expensive rate) from an accredited school or university and hold lessons over Skype for 30 minutes or an hour.

Also if you have Steam you can purchase a game called Influent ($10 for one language, $5 for additional ones) which basically lets you walk around in an interactive environment (bedroom, kitchen, and living room) as you learn words for common objects and associated verbs that go with them. For example: you click on a guitar, it'll say the word, show the word/translation, and suggest the verb "to play" or something like that. I think it's a cool concept, but for $10 I feel like there could be more to it. I'm throwing this one out there just because there aren't too many free apps that offer Japanese (seeing as this one isn't either) but the game was originally designed for learning Japanese. Memrise has some basic grammar and beginner lessons for Japanese as well that are pretty useful, but as the name implies the app is mainly for memory skills, not so much interaction/conversation.

Sorry for all that spew, but I loves me some language learning.

Here's all the info and links if you're interested:

Duolingo (also an app): https://www.duolingo.com/
Memrise (also an app): https://www.memrise.com/

How HelloTalk works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Py9f_0n1L0 [1:22]
Influent gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v94meofJaBk [1:26]

[The_Tired_Philosopher]

-Wipes away tears-
That post -sheds more tears- was beautiful.  Links and everything!  All the information!

Thank you :'D

I make threads impaired often.  I'd even say I try to be salacious just to be real to try and give them some color, but still try to be honest...
The results vary, but I like this thread.  I now slowly am questioning so much of what I've learned though.

Still.  Platinum star, seriously thank you.