Each of us has been created with a mind that understands the world in a slightly different way to the person next to us.
What we sense and how we sense it can differ widely from person to person. The same is true of how our brains are wired to learn.
Have you ever sat in church and wondered why what the person at the front is sharing just doesn’t seem to be sinking in, no matter how hard you’re trying to listen? Have you ever been in a classroom where a diagram of parts of a flower is being shared on the screen that makes no sense to you at all? Do you find yourself muting the voice on your sat nav, preferring to look at the arrows on the screen in front of you? Are there pieces of paper all around your house with notes furiously scribbled on to them? Well that’s most likely to be because your brain has a particular preference for how it interprets information.
The acronym VARK was developed in 1987 by Neil Fleming and stands for: visual, aural, read/write and kinesthetic, each indicating an individual's preference for learning.
Visual
As a visual learner, you will learn best through seeing maps, diagrams, charts, graphs, symbols, colours, shapes and other ways people use to represent what could have been presented in words.
Aural
Those with this preference learn through what they hear or have spoken. Group discussions, lectures or talks, speaking out loud of talking to themselves forms their central mode of learning and connecting with information.
Read/Write
This learning style indicates a preference for learning via words. Writing, lists, diaries, quotations, dictionaries, using the internet (ie Wikipedia with an emphasis on words) all serve to process information in the read/write brain.
Kinesthetic
A Kinesthetic learner values real-life experiences and practical events to learn through as well as demonstrations, simulations, and videos of “real” things, case studies, and practice.
Why is this relevant to the subject of discipleship?
Well, knowing how you learn has a HUGE impact on recognising how God interacts with you on a personal level, and how to form the best habits that suit you. It will enable you to avoid any comparison (why doesn’t God connect with me in that way?) and help you understand other people around you. You might start to notice why you are the way you are in church settings and why you may struggle with certain modes of delivery. Our hope is that it can also empower you to make the changes you need in your daily personal life and maybe in your church life too.
Take the pressure off when encountering other learning styles - know that you’re not failing or getting it wrong when it doesn’t work for you! Some people are multi modal, meaning they dip into some or all of the styles below.
So let’s unpack what each learning style might look like (says the visual learner!) in the context of relating to God…
Visual
You may have more of a tendency to see images or pictures in your mind when interacting with God or asking him questions. Or sometimes, rather than pictures in your mind, you may see words written in fonts, or notice colours and shapes in your mind’s eye.
You may be more likely to see ‘visions’, encounter God through dreams, or see short film clips played out in your mind.
When spending time in the Bible, you may struggle with just reading words on the page, or hearing someone speak them. But using your mind’s eye to recreate what is happening may help you make sense and retain what is written, or even re-creating it pictorially. If this is you, notice what you see in your mind, allow yourself to go further than the facts- what are the characters’ postures? Facial expressions you imagine? Where can you allow your mind to move away from the sunday school bible pictures and into bringing the imagery to life in your mind?
You may also sense that God connects with you through what you see around you. What do you notice about the world around you that visually draws you to him or into a sense of awe and worship? What do you see that stirs up emotion within you?
When with other Christians, you may really value graphics presented, white space on a powerpoint slide and illustrations- these help your brain make more sense of what is being shared. You tend to retain those images. You may value carrying around a pack of post it notes and a favourite pen to bring to life what is being shared.
Helpful tips:
Take a camera wherever you go! Notice what you’re drawn to, and notice what you sense and what God might be showing you when you see it
Bibles with creative journaling have become more popular recently, get yourself one, or just use a journal/ notebook to play around with phrases or words that stand out to you in the Bible
If praying with words feels disconnected to you, consider how you might want to express yourself visually or in graphics to God.
Use colour highlighter pens for scriptures
If you see pictures in your mind that seem a bit weird, lean into this! If your mind feels like it’s full of random images, lean in! Use this as a means of conversation with God ‘which one shall we focus on right now?’
Enjoy using metaphor with God, both in what he communicates to you and how you express yourself to him.
“I grew up in a tradition that declared that read/write was the only way that God connects with us, and so as a visual learner who feels things deeply, this has been a huge journey of being able to value that when something in nature grabs my attention, and I allow myself to sit with what it brings up in me( noticing my thoughts, feelings and awareness of God dwelling in me), this is just as sacred”
Aural
You may be more likely to actually hear God’s voice, or to be very aware of your own voice’s self-talk by way of the holy spirit communicating with you. When speaking to God or asking him questions, be mindful of what your self-talk is saying- often by listening to this his spirit is communicating with your spirit. Maybe notice what song lyrics are playing around in your head! Often it can be a greater insight, God helping you recognise what you’re thinking and feeling or what your needs are.
You may notice you are more acutely tuned in to God actually saying something- a message, sentence or word, and emphasis for you comes in what you have heard him say.
Similarly, when spending time with God, what you say to him is really important to you. Being able to verbally express things out loud to him feels valuable- if this is you, make time to find space where this is helpful and you don’t worry about being disturbed or overheard if it mutes you!
Another key way in which God might speak to you is through the voice of others, or, by having discussions with others that shape your own viewpoint and bring clarity to what he might be saying. You may really value listening to podcasts, speakers whose voice you value online.
You may also be more attuned to hearing God through music, song or sounds. These experiences may resonate deeply with you
You will prefer to listen to people with authority or with knowledge of a particular area- listening is very important to you. You likely find examples helpful too, and hearing real life testimony or experiences.
Other ways to connect Aurally:
Find an Audio Bible. It’s likely this will be received by your brain much more than by simply reading the Bible.
Explain/ teach others, to solidify your own experiences and learning
Use your voice! Just as important for you as listening, is talking. You might want to record your voice reading out scripture and listen back to it.
Read the Bible out loud as you speak and listen to your own voice.
Find your tribe, others who have a similar learning style who like to discuss and ask questions, argue and debate, to get together and talk thoroughly. Don’t be afraid to ask tough questions and be open minded.
Allow yourself to verbalise with God, to use your words and speak them out loud as you pray and throughout the day.
“This is going to sound weird but it really helps me! When I read something in the Bible, I have to say it out loud a few times (either whispering to myself or louder if on my own). Then, I imagine I’m teaching an invisible audience and I say aloud what I’ve just noticed. The funny thing is, I did it as a child too- I would have an imaginary class and talk to them about what I was learning at school. When I’m interacting with God, I enjoy talking honestly to him out loud, and find that my following self-talk is often his response- I know it’s him because it comes with a sense of peace, and I'm still learning.”
It’s worth noting that this is primarily the way that the church has tended to understand 'Hearing From God’ (hence the saying!) as well as it being our universal experience of the school system. So the temptation is that whilst we start to understand our own unique learning style, we still secretly expect this to result in ‘hearing something’. But it’s good to remember that Aural is a specific learning style in itself.
Read/ Write
You encounter God through the Word on the page- written words, books, learning about God and his nature through reading. You’ll read scripture and your brain will light up- making connections and experiencing his words come alive to you. You’ll maybe be inclined to want to write these things down- so consider a notebook/ journal/ smart notebook to compile what you read and experience of God as you read.
People with a ‘R’ style also like to understand the meaning of words and their roots- consider how this can be an act of worship in itself, and enjoy using your mind to understand context and intent behind scripture allowing God to connect with you through the experience.
Consider which words you are drawn to and explore why… Research the word you notice, what does it tell you about God? What does it tell you about you?
Consider how your prayer life can be writing-based, not having to be spoken out necessarily. Expect him to speak to you and answer you via this means! Church can sometimes place read/write into the ‘but remember, this is theology, not relationship’ box, and yet just as God has created your brain, so he loves to connect with you in the same way so expect encounters as you read and write!
“In my relationship with God, I actually struggle to 'hear' from him and don't often 'feel' Him. However, put the word of God in front of me and He will speak to me from it and will often bring it back to mind when He is directing me. Sometimes I would wonder if I was just 'making it up' because I knew the Word so well but I grew in trust and learnt the difference between a God-prompt and my own recollection of His Word.”
Kinesthetic
As a kinesthetic learner, you learn and engage through doing. Actively participating and having a go, learning through trial and error. You experience connection with God as you experience life.
Therefore, you’ll find being in a church building scenario potentially boring- why go through the other ‘motions’- listening, reading, singing, when you could be out in the action living your faith? Why not consider how you could influence the culture- you won't be the only person in your church experiencing it this way, and it’s worth noting that most children learn kinesthetically in their younger years.
Trial and error, experiences, examples, case studies, testimonies coming alive, observing others and having a go, making mistakes- these are all really important aspects of how you learn and connect with God.
You are likely to be inspired by a God of Action, who acts on his people’s behalf, who gets stuck in and dirty. Therefore you may be drawn to charitable work or social justice…as this is where the stats are that back up the theory - He works!
Meet with others who inspire you and motivate you in their walk.
Role playing. If you’re creative, get yourself in a church improv group!! Re-enact scenes in the Bible or get involved with helping others experientially encounter the Bible, whether it’s to kids or adults, it will benefit you to experience it.
For you, just doing, and expecting to experience the Spirit as you do, is key. Not looking out for a voice or picture whilst doing, but embodying his presence/ dwelling at work in you and being confident of that.
It’s likely that God may connect with you by giving you activities or people to see or practical needs to meet and problems to solve.
Helpful tips:
Use all of your senses, even those you’ve not considered in a ‘connecting with God’ way before
Speak to people about their real-life experiences
You may not get so much out of watching, for example, dramatised versions, but real life accounts of people’s lives and experiences are gold to you.
Focus on what has really happened in your life- share those experiences with God- it may feel uncomfortable because you know he already knows! But it matters to you, so it matters to him.
Go on adventures with God,
Immerse yourself in ‘God at Work’- practical, real life examples, with evidence, of God in the here and now.
You may even want to consider your own body and how it practically reflects the nature and existence of God. It may be that when out running or exercising in the gym, you most experience the presence of God as you use your body. He loves to connect and interact with you in this way.
“I don’t connect to God through feelings or hearing, but by seeing things happen and giving it a go. I get bored listening to people drone on but when I see things happen in the people around me, I connect with Him.”
“I notice that God uses real-life experiences to show me deeper things. Even when I read the Word, He often uses the examples of characters or situations in the bible as case studies. Interestingly, this also impacts how I share when I teach- I use real life examples and case studies to communicate lessons”
It's also interesting to note that many people have a combination of learning styles, (or are multi-modal, meaning they have features of all of the above) in which case you will recognise and favour a number of different explanations and suggestions above. Enjoy being playful and noticing what works for you, and noticing how God loves to interact with you.
A few more thoughts
“As a child I was taught a very regimented way to pray, the same formula every week. When I realised there were other ways to do it, it was a big deal. When I discovered interactive prayer through my wife, it was the first time I felt like I'd had a personal conversation with God.
It’s great to share stuff together as a church community but we don’t have to. During worship, I sometimes just sit and listen to others singing and I worship God through that- it stops other things entering my mind. I think he’s just happy when we love him the way we love him
I love to journal via the Bible app. I read a lot around a subject, I love nature, being on the coast, just being with God having honest conversation as we walk along- I’m all the modes! I don't want to miss out!
My advice would be don’t conform, find whatever works for you then share it with other people.”
It is also worth mentioning that if you don’t know where you fit in the above, chances are there’s other experiences taking place that God may be inviting you to tune into- after all, this isn’t a finalised list. Take notice of what your thoughts are doing and where your attention is.
“I don’t feel like I fit the VARK descriptions, but instead would describe my learning style as immersive and experiential. My relationship with Jesus is encounter-based and I’m often aware of his presence. Sometimes the presence can feel stronger than being present in the room if, for example, I’m in some training. But I can both take in what's being said, whilst being in his overwhelming presence, whilst making mental notes of going down my own study track from the training I’m hearing, all the while working on staying present in the room. I’ve learnt that I need total stillness and contemplation, to be able to process all that’s going on in my mind- meditation, allowing, accepting, letting it go, breath prayers and being thankful.”
Summary
Knowing your learning style has a HUGE impact on recognising how God interacts with you on a personal level, and how to form the best habits that suit you. It will enable you to avoid any comparison (why doesn’t God connect with me in that way?) and help you understand other people around you. You might start to notice why you are the way you are in church settings and why you may struggle with certain modes of delivery. Our hope is that it can also empower you to make the changes you need in your daily personal life and maybe in your church life too.