This is my “eternally spinning” top (until the batteries run out). It is on my shelf in my office. Kids and adults who see it notice curiosity shows up inside of them as in, “Cool, look at that! How does it work?”. Curiosity is built into us. As we grow curiosity can become harder to get in touch with yet it never really leaves us . When we can approach who or what is important to us with curiosity we notice other feelings, thoughts, and sensations showing up inside of us. We  also are better able to come up with new moves or solutions to difficult issues we face. A little tougher move is to bring that curiosity to the sticky stuff inside of us that seems to be getting in the way.

Sorting these experiences onto the matrix helps learners get into contact with their natural curiosity. We are always spinning, that is, in the process of doing something with our words and actions. Like a top, we spin best when we are able to maintain our balance. We move, we notice, we adjust. Our minds are along for the ride and through language we label, evaluate, judge and analyze our internal experiences. This can be really useful for what happens outside of our skin but when applied to the stuff we don’t want it can really get us stuck to the point where the mind latches on to language and we pay less attention to where we are going. In short, we get a little wobbly.

Inviting learners  to share in the matrix point of view, we help them tap into this basic learning process with less attachment to the “mindy” stuff. We take their words and “spin” them into the land of toward, away, behaviors or mind. It is like taking a picture of a spinning top, a moment in time where they can experience what is going on in and around them. If they are wobbling, that’s okay, they just notice that. If they are humming along they can notice that too. There is no right or wrong way to spin.  Noticing with curiosity very often leads to choosing behaviors that work. Choosing is empowering.

For those of us who use the matrix another aspect of spinning is that we can feel the “spin” of language as it hooks up with our mental experiencing. When we notice our spinning we are of course free to choose what we do next to influence our learners. We and they are always “in the act of”. While our minds look for nouns or “things”, the experience of learning and growing is more like a verb. Curious indeed!