teaching Archives

Math and physics—or ‘hard science’—can be intimidating to some (or many). Because most of the time, it is approached as abstract concepts and principles detached from reality. This area is often a space your kid may not feel too confident.

But to Ulli Helmstetter, teacher of mathematics and physics, these are like lenses to see through this perfectly uncertain world. It’s the knowledge that ties us closest to understanding nature because they are nature itself.

Having to tackle seemingly rigid concepts, it was easy to fall oblivious to your environment and self. No other subject could even frustrate you as mathematics. But Ulli understood these from a perspective that brings him back to the very purpose of knowledge: to be able to live in this world and live in it fully. Math and physics, in their essence, teach about the fundamental principles of nature; problem-solving and adaptation; of the truth, spirituality, and profoundness of life.

And as a teacher, he took it as his mission to share this lens with his students and encourage them to re-discover the infinite magic of the world that we live in as he did when he first fell in love with science.

The whole world is like a hologram. Every piece resembles the qualities of the whole. Like the tail of the elephant—you touch it and you know it’s an elephant. No matter where you look if you look clearly and healthily at things, you’re always connected with the truth. It doesn’t matter which method you use to get or stay connected.

Just like how science is—that it is not a set of information that we have and can hold in our hands. Understanding it is an infinite process as it is ever-expanding. But the basic principles are what we can hold and learn. After all, these principles, math, and physics, are just anchors to the higher intelligence that have let us thrive amid the horrors and wonders of this world!

life Understanding the World of Meditation through Math and Physics

Links mention in the podcast

Podcast Highlights

To bring an understanding of the changes in paradigm—understanding what an open, mystical world we are in—has been my mission to my students. – Ulli Helmstetter
Science is not a set of information that we have and that we know most or almost everything in the world. We hardly know anything. It’s an infinite process. And it’s fascinating to have the feeling that we can take part in this process. – Ulli Helmstetter
Math and physics are not a fixed system that is boring and invented by mankind. This is nature itself. – Ulli Helmstetter
No matter where you look if you look clearly and healthily at things, you’re always connected with the truth. There’s no escape. It’s just a matter of being connected. It doesn’t matter which method you use to get or stay connected. – Ulli Helmstetter
Math is like a lens for looking at your life. You learn how to approach problems. – Ulli Helmstetter

Guest Bio:

Ulli Helmstetter is a dedicated teacher of mathematics and physics. He has taught in schools in Germany, Costa Rica, and Kenya and over the past 30 years. Aside from teaching inside the classroom, he coaches kids on the more practical skills that kids need to reflect their school performance in exams

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Who is a guru?

For many of us, the most common introduction to the idea of a guru has come from people who get attached to a style of yoga and stumble across the fact that there is somebody behind that system. And that somebody is whom we might call a guru.

The word guru in Sanskrit means “heavy”, and this heaviness is there to help make us aware of where we are in a place and time and to help up through those blind spots in life when we can’t find resolution just by reading a self-help book. So in that sense, a guru is often necessary to help us ‘wake up’ and be present and not stay trapped in our own heads.

But there are also dangerous gurus who have taken advantage of their power and been abusive or associated with cult behaviours. This has left many people sceptical and searching for new ways to trust and be open to the idea of a guru. Gurus provide frameworks and these are helpful, but they’re not necessarily the only truth. We should investigate if these leaders are actually bringing us towards our goals, but also the idea that anything or anyone can be a guru to us.

Spiritual leader Eckhart Tolle famously said, “I have lived with several Zen masters – all of them cats.” You can inspire wisdom in many ways. Anything around us could be a “guru” or a tool to discover our personal guidelines.

What’s really teaching us?

So do we need a guru or not? I’m of two minds behind this idea. Dr Robert Svoboda explains, “the experience of working with a guru is not always pleasant, and can in fact be quite challenging.” The guidance of a guru might not always be constructive or easy to digest, which can then bring the sensation of standing on the edge of growth. I believe that we do need some form of guidance in our lives, whether that’s from the presence of a guru or maybe through practices like meditation, mindfulness or tantric yoga, which do not favour a guru, but can help us to awaken and be clear, right here right now.

Don’t get me wrong. I know that there have been people in my journey who have helped me to gain this gravity and connectedness to the here and now. And because these people were in my life, I have been able to evolve in ways that maybe I couldn’t have alone. But on another level, if we were to lose the ideas of a guru in order for us to find guidance, would we still create the experience for ourselves? We are all so ready to follow direction right now. But who is really teaching us? Why do you need to attach yourself to a person?

Hey teachers, leave them kids alone!

No guru, no method, no teacher is something we commonly live by when we come into adulthood. After years of following guidance from parents, teachers and curriculums, we are suddenly left on our own. But the true question is – are we disciplined enough to live our lives like this? I don’t always have the answers (believe it or not), so I’m putting the question out there and asking you – why do we feel the need to force one another to ‘see’ things? If we simply ‘follow’ all the time and don’t take the time to distinguish ourselves, then we just become another brick in the wall.

For this reason, I am always encouraging more conversations between my students and myself. Because for any type of guidance, we should always be asking – how is this landing in your body, mind and all the layers of you? Is this an experiment gone wrong or right for you? Is this creating results?

If you would like to dive deeper into finding out what is right for you – learning from the big guru (nature and it’s rhythms) – then join us for the Sunday Soul Sessions, starting from Sunday 24 May.

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Tag: teaching

Understanding Nature through Math – Ulli Helmstetter