#641 Learning to Intentionally Engage with what's Meaningful & Challenging

     • "How do we prepare students to cultivate their own inner resources of spirit and moral courage? 
     • How do we enable them to engage moral and social dilemmas with clarity about their own values . . . ? 
     • And, how, without proselytizing, do we foster students’ own development of character, conscience, and examined values?
 
     Contemplative exercises expand students’ learning from the conceptual faculty of mind to the contemplative (non-conceptual) dimension. In other words, (we can) learn to step back from mental-emotional-behavioral phenomena and 'watch' them unfold, as if from the observer standpoint. The goal is to observe one’s inner and outer activity without judgment. According to scientific research from the last twenty years, it is precisely this contemplative 'observer' faculty that has the power to bring about lifelong learning and shifts in consciousness.

     Contemplative pedagogy (eg Mindfulness) is not about a goal, an outcome, or even effort. It is about being alive to the lifelong path of self-evolution – thereby becoming a beneficial presence in the world, to all beings. Isn’t that what any effective pedagogy aims to do?"

       Fran Grace. "Learning as a Path, Not a Goal: Contemplative Pedagogy – Its Principles and Practices." Teaching Theology and Religion 2011; 14 (2): 99-124.

#629 Curiosity, Waking up

     "To consider that you might play a part in your own difficulties is like a loss of innocence.
     Loss of innocence comes with some advantages though, the main one being self-knowledge. If you no longer believe that the problem is entirely outside, you can be curious. If you are curious about your thoughts, then your thoughts become hypotheses, which you can test. You don't have to believe your thoughts or the conclusions and fears that go with them.
     This is thrilling but also deeply disturbing, because you thought you were your thoughts, and now you begin to suspect that you are not. In which case, who are you? Who is thinking? Being curious - about who you are and your part in your life - is a first step. But into what? Probably into a meditation practice."

       John Tarrant. "Hidden in Plain Sight. The truth is hidden in the last place we look - the moment that's happening to us right now. That's why we meditate." Shambhala Sun, March 2015

#141 The Ultimate Reminder to Prioritize

     As I get older, the frequency with which loved ones, friends and acquaintances die is accelerating. The ones that die suddenly, unexpectedly, really grab my attention. Death is very real, and as they say, "nobody gets out of this one alive".

     So much of what we spend our rare and precious life on is meaningless distraction and compulsive nonsense. See also:  http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2012/06/bread-and-circuses.html

     The force of our habits ("momentum of our lives") is so strong, that death has to be close at hand to inspire us to live consciously, on purpose, with meaning.

     Aging, sickness and death are natural, normal, and universal. It surely comes to all of our loved ones and ourselves. In mindfulness practice we train to be aware and compassionate, to seize the precious opportunity to minimize suffering and maximize happiness for all living creatures, for every one of us bears this heavy load.

     See: http://www.johnlovas.com/2012/04/psychospiritual-technologies.html

Photo: David Kilabuk   http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/your-shot/weekly-wrapper