BUILDING A PUZZLE WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM IT? By: Christiaan Janse van Rensburg and David Wertheim Aymes

What can we learn from building a puzzle? We decided to do a simple exercise – to build a puzzle. By being open, interested and truly objective, we discovered something new. On the one hand we discovered something about the process itself and on the other, something about what manifested in the end. We can also relate what we’ve learnt to Life in general.

What can we learn from building a puzzle? What did we do exactly? We took a simple puzzle of 90 pieces. The first task was to build the puzzle upside down. We called this the Understanding or Logic Method. The second task was to build the same puzzle the right way around and we placed the picture of it prominently in front of us. We called this the Idea or Picture Method. What transpired looked like what follows in the next slides…

The Logic Method We laid the pieces out on the table, all upside down. We looked at the pieces and through our thinking we had to search for the concepts that properly belong to puzzle pieces. Through our thinking we could find the Logic of rectangle/square, edges, corners and connecting inner pieces. We started putting together the edges and the corners early on already.

Our logic told us to count all the pieces and we could work out from the total that the puzzle must be a rectangle. All the inner pieces were grouped like by like. Just as in the first photo, there was a lot of sitting back, thinking, but still very little hand movement.

We worked out how the inner pieces connected. We could fit these together in blocks of ‘inners’ that could again be connected to each other. Now, at last, there was a little more willing; there was more movement and something more started to appear.

Only through our thinking could we find the concepts that were there to help us build the puzzle. Now we can start to see how this logic that we used, manifested itself on the table, in how we put the pieces together.

An almost complete puzzle was appearing. Here and there we needed to swop pieces around so that the pieces could fit all together. We had to link the ‘inners’ with the outer pieces in order to complete the puzzle.

Finally all the pieces were put together. Logic told us it is a rectangular puzzle and that the pieces can fit together in certain combinations. Through our thinking linking to the pieces via our sense of sight we had to find and work with the concepts belonging to puzzle pieces. These concepts were already there because the puzzle designer had thought them previously. We just had to find them.

When we turned the puzzle around, we got this picture. Something unclear and not like the picture on the box. Other than edges, corners and fitting the inner pieces together, this is pretty much what we would get if we had to build it again in the same, upside down, logical way.

The Picture Method For the second task, we laid the same pieces out on the table, all right-side up. But this time we also placed the picture of what the puzzle should look like, prominently in front of us. This picture became our own mental image of the concept that we wanted to appear. Quickly some hands started moving pieces in place, especially the edges and corners.

Through our thinking we could hold the concept and our will could follow in finding the position of a piece. The picture always remained prominent in our view. Whatever piece was being moved, we could find it on the picture and its corresponding position on the table.

It looked a little bit like chaos, but the outlines were appearing. There was a lot of movement and participation by everybody in the group.

Each piece was moved relative to its position on the Picture. When we looked for a specific piece’s position on the picture, and to the extent that we could hold that image of the position within ourselves, we could quickly place that piece where it belonged.

What was starting to appear? We were starting to see that the puzzle was coming together and that it looked like the picture. The puzzle that was being built corresponded to the picture we’ve always had with us. As well as we were able to visualise a specific piece’s position in the picture and hold that in our memory, assisted us to build the puzzle efficiently.

We were done. What did we achieve? We got a complete puzzle, built to correspond to the picture. If we had to do this exercise again, what would we get? We would get the picture again.

What we discovered about the process was: When we built the puzzle upside down, we had to really see what was in front of us, search for the concepts that belonged to what we saw, the puzzle. Only once we could understand the logic behind the pieces, once we could unite ourselves in understanding with the puzzle, could our Will follow and start the building process. Through this process we did build the puzzle, but we only got something very logical out of it – all the pieces together. There is thus a limit to Logic – it only goes so far. It only understands what has already been thought and brought. When we built the puzzle right-side up using the Picture, we had the Picture to guide us, always. Our Will followed quickly, as with every piece we picked up to move, we could find its spot on the Picture and by holding this in our memory, we could accurately place it into position on the table. Only our ability to hold this position of the piece clearly within ourselves could limit us in any way, and indeed did. It led to more movements than were necessary by far.

What we discovered as being different between the Picture vs What we discovered as being different between the Picture vs. the Logic method: When we built the puzzle upside down, it was only our Logic that re-manifested the thinking of another. We could only get corners, edges and a rectangular shape, the number of different inner shapes and how they could fit together. Only that, nothing more. This had been thought before by another in the design process. The puzzle pieces moved in direct relation to our growing understanding of the original thinking, not in relation to the picture. Only when there was an understanding could people engage their wills and start building. When we built the puzzle the right way around and using the Picture, what manifested was exactly the Picture. The puzzle pieces moved in relation to our ability to inwardly hold the picture, find the piece, and place it correctly. How well we were able to do the above was our only limitation as to how efficiently we could build the puzzle. Everybody could participate immediately because there was a picture.

What we discovered as being common between the Picture vs What we discovered as being common between the Picture vs. the Logic method: There had to be an idea or inner clarity as well as a purpose before the puzzle pieces started moving towards this via the will of the participants. In both cases, what we held in us appeared. Final take-out: Having a clear and accurate Picture of what we want to achieve or do in Life, will work its way through us into the world, to the extent that we can hold it alive and meaningful to us. We can choose to discover and hold what has already been thought and done, or we can choose something more idealistic and know that it will come through our will into the world if we can carry the clarity and real meaning of it alive within us.