Turtles all the way down

Eleven and a half year ago I got an assignment while being on holidays. I was in Ecuador and a shaman told we that I shall bring the holistic understanding of living and how the world functions back to Europe. He explained me that in his world the sun travels  and that earth is balanced on 4 pillars of which each is protected by a giant turtle. The essence is, that everything is in balance and that we are part of a bigger universe.

A few years later I heard about “turtles all the way down” a little story from an old lady who told a scientist that his detailed scientific view of the universe is rubbish as there wold is carried all the way down from turtles.

Why are those two memories coming up now? At the very moment I’m preparing a seminar on brain friendly learning in which I shall use all the latest news on how our brain works to allow trainers a better transfer of knowhow and impact on changing learnings habits. And all of a sudden I remember my assignment I’ve got years back. Being a pharmacist I can explain how the brain works down to neurons. Neuronal plasticity, hemispheres and limbic systems are given terms for me. But do I really need to go that deep into details? Is a pictures like turtles holding a world not better to pass messages. Do details not blur the perspective of a holistic view? I have to admit, I need to reflect on that – and by coincidence today Is a lovely sunny day where I can watch how the sun travels the sky. Kathrin