The Natural Self is the acquired, socialized perspectives we have had grafted onto us during early life experiences. The natural self is composed also of our personality factors such as attitudes, and intellect; our inclinations towards solitude or being with others, our physical/emotional differences that make us more or less sensitive to specific stimuli; our genotype and gender, as well as our adopted frames of reference and early self-concepts.
The dialogue with the Natural Self requires a lot of uncovering, a lot of teasing out the essential facts, and involves an exploration of discovery in which we identifies personal cognitive strategies, feelings about confidence and competence, and gets us to examine truthfully what makes us tick as learners. What are our intrinsic motivations and how are they bound up with self-concepts of the past. When embarking on new learning, how do these past self-concepts come into tension with our current learning experiences, in which we are trying to master new processes of acquiring new knowledge and accepting new opportunities for growth and change.
Questions for Narrative Inquiry:
What things am I open to learn more about?
What are my natural strengths? What accomplishments and personal qualities am I proud of?
What learning event has been significant for me in a positive sense?
What learning event has had a profoundly unsettling impact on me, but has been crucial for my personal growth?
How can my preferred way of learning, and my learning strengths and weaknesses help me and hinder me from learning new things?
How do I see myself in my role as learner? How do I want my teacher to work with me?
In what ways am I open to interacting with new people in new ways?
What do I wish to protect and preserve about myself ? What changes to my beliefs am I not willing to allow?
