For the last two days, I have been attending a workshop. It is being run by an organisation called Jodo Gyan (www.jodogyan.org) for one of the largest players in Education in India.
What Jodo Gyan does and what Shahji, one of the principal researchers have been doing is trying to find ways to make Mathematics a relevant experience for children in school.
Listening to him and the work of Jodo Gyan, has been an utterly beautiful experience. The joy of seeing an nimble mind in action, humbly but dexterously turning everything you 'know' (have assumed to be true) on its head, without condescending to 'teach' you but just to share an experience or to invite you to explore your own experience, makes for a fascinating learning experience.
I wanted to draw attention to the model of engagement that so many of us have become much more able to articulate but so few of us can pull it off with grace that only comes from compassion and absolute humility.
Schools need to become spaces where the mind, the spirit and life can come together to breathe as one. Teachers unfortunately have little or no experience of this themselves, and so facilitators like Shahji make more impact by example than they do by what they teach.
If the magic ingredient is being connected to one's own Self enough to find a reflection of the Self in everyone and everything around us (compassion), and thereby be respectful and humble, therefore be open to learning and actually listen to learners for what they know, so the boundaries of what not to teach expand, then the basic ingredient of sustainable, responsive education is spiritual in its core.
At the core of Conscious Living, is to my mind, mindfulness and an acceptance of the possibility that there is an unknown. Classrooms of the future need to be those that encourage this personal reflection and the comfort/awe of being part of an unknown whole.Then, there will be a chance that 'fun' will cease to be an artificial construction supported with transient tools that are produced and instead become reminiscent of childlike wonder. Then, there is a chance that the complex melts away to give way to the simple (what we give special status today and call 'profound').
Institutionalised education systems, the world-over systematically gun for the exact opposite, today with a much more confusing veneer of condescension for the curriculum I am sharing as well as a supposed shedding of the hard-nosed commercialised packaging that they were initially designed for. So now we have a chaotic middle path that brings with it little understanding of the immense vocabulary/jargon that is used to describe it, as well as total lack of skill or courage to actually inquire enough to change it.
For me, it has been worth wondering about:
What is worth teaching?
What is the natural trajectory of learning for children?
What is listening?
Who is worth listening to?
What need be accepted?
25 August 2007
24 August 2007
Love those salad days
In the background, my garden; in the foreground, my dinner.Twice this week, in mainstream supermarkets, I've found punnets of "living salad" - and I reckon you can't get much fresher or more nutritious (well, it could - and probably will be - organic, one day) than that.
It's delicious and a sign of how things are changing so fast. In fact, I reckon things are changing at an exponential rate now as we appear to be nearing conscious critical mass.
For the official news release, go to: http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/index.asp?PageID=422&subsection=&Year=2005&NewsID=549
Wasn't passionate about politics
I've avoided political campaigning in recent years - I've found it so negative and dis-empowering.
But (and it's a big but) I stumbled across John Pilger's new film on mainstream TV last week and was blown away. My heart was warmed, my imagination fired up and my tear ducts exercised.
Totally brilliant and utterly inspiring. Many people in South America are re-inventing democracy in a way the West only dare play at.
Check it out at: www.warondemocracy.net
Wake up to conscious living
Environmentalism, healthy living and spirituality seem to have all found a new home under the umbrella term “conscious living” – a phrase I’m finding myself exposed to a lot more lately. It seems people are no longer imprisoning themselves in an eco-warrior identity, muesli-munching ghetto or incense-burning bodily temple. More and more, I’d say, specialised alternative interests are giving way to a more rounded holistic approach to life that mixes and matches the myriad ways of feeling good, looking good and even being good – to oneself, each other and the planet.
Whilst conscious living certainly trips off the tongue a lot easier than the American version – “LOHAS”, standing for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability - what does it really mean? If you are alive, and not in a coma or asleep, you must surely be living consciously?
Well apparently not. Being alive, some conscious living proponents might argue, does not mean you’re living very consciously. To them, life is about the choices we make. And furthermore, the consequence and quality of our choices is directly related to our level of consciousness – or how aware we are. And they might add: the more aware we are, the better the contribution we make to those around us and the world we live.
The simplest of examples is the now very lowly plastic bag. Ten years ago, most of us thoughtlessly packed our shopping into those apparently disposable carriers. Since our consciousness grew to understand that these items, carelessly used, are an environmental disaster waiting to happen, they are latterly shunned and outlawed in some shops and even whole towns.
Similarly, organic food and complementary therapies were once thought of as the choice of navel-gazing cranks, yet are now the preferred choice of many. How long until we say: “Why on earth did we allow ANY poison on foods?” Let alone allowing it to be unnecessarily shipped thousands of miles or grown under exploitative economic conditions. Things clearly change and what was once cranky becomes a more conscious and subsequently unquestioned choice.
This process allegedly prompted the 19th century philosopher Schopenhauer to say: "Truth always goes in three stages. First it is ridiculed, then violently opposed, and finally accepted as self-evident."
Seen another way, perhaps it’s those who live unconsciously who ridicule those endeavouring to live more consciously, ultimately waking up to the “self-evident” truth that perhaps the earth isn’t flat, maybe witches shouldn’t be burned and could it be that we can’t go on living with so little regard for the earth’s finite resources?
On a lighter note, my own definition of conscious living would recommend associating with what’s uplifting and inspiring in order that life becomes easier and more enjoyable. I promote living in the moment and going with the flow - being happy now, knowing that I’m doing my best and going in the right direction at least. What’s best and right however, only time will tell.
It’s also worth saying that living consciously is not an on or off matter; it’s a continuum, leading – some say – to the highest states of human experience. Whatever the theory, clearly life is about choices. If you disagree; that’s your choice. And when it comes to conscious living, the choice is yours; the choices are yours. Are you choosing wisely?
Whilst conscious living certainly trips off the tongue a lot easier than the American version – “LOHAS”, standing for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability - what does it really mean? If you are alive, and not in a coma or asleep, you must surely be living consciously?
Well apparently not. Being alive, some conscious living proponents might argue, does not mean you’re living very consciously. To them, life is about the choices we make. And furthermore, the consequence and quality of our choices is directly related to our level of consciousness – or how aware we are. And they might add: the more aware we are, the better the contribution we make to those around us and the world we live.
The simplest of examples is the now very lowly plastic bag. Ten years ago, most of us thoughtlessly packed our shopping into those apparently disposable carriers. Since our consciousness grew to understand that these items, carelessly used, are an environmental disaster waiting to happen, they are latterly shunned and outlawed in some shops and even whole towns.
Similarly, organic food and complementary therapies were once thought of as the choice of navel-gazing cranks, yet are now the preferred choice of many. How long until we say: “Why on earth did we allow ANY poison on foods?” Let alone allowing it to be unnecessarily shipped thousands of miles or grown under exploitative economic conditions. Things clearly change and what was once cranky becomes a more conscious and subsequently unquestioned choice.
This process allegedly prompted the 19th century philosopher Schopenhauer to say: "Truth always goes in three stages. First it is ridiculed, then violently opposed, and finally accepted as self-evident."
Seen another way, perhaps it’s those who live unconsciously who ridicule those endeavouring to live more consciously, ultimately waking up to the “self-evident” truth that perhaps the earth isn’t flat, maybe witches shouldn’t be burned and could it be that we can’t go on living with so little regard for the earth’s finite resources?
On a lighter note, my own definition of conscious living would recommend associating with what’s uplifting and inspiring in order that life becomes easier and more enjoyable. I promote living in the moment and going with the flow - being happy now, knowing that I’m doing my best and going in the right direction at least. What’s best and right however, only time will tell.
It’s also worth saying that living consciously is not an on or off matter; it’s a continuum, leading – some say – to the highest states of human experience. Whatever the theory, clearly life is about choices. If you disagree; that’s your choice. And when it comes to conscious living, the choice is yours; the choices are yours. Are you choosing wisely?
To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.— Albus Dumbledore (J.K. Rowling)
Those who know me will argue that I have used this forum improperly to glorify my cat, Minchy. My belief is that Minchy does provide us a lesson on Life. As a tiny kitten not more than 2 weeks old, she spent a week in ditch crying for help without food and water until we found her.
The malnutrition has had lasting impact on her bone structure, her spine, shoulder blades and pelvis are deformed and since her ribcage constricts her lungs, the slightest exertion causes her breathing difficulty. She must be in pain, but I have never known her to let on except once. She has more joie de vivre than Paris Hilton. Minchy teaches me, that it’s living with dignity that the tough one not death. It’s in this context that I asked you to read Shabry’s story.
23 August 2007
Greener Living Expo
"Over 20 times more people worldwide are affected by floods than 40 years ago (perhaps July 07's floods in the heart of England bare testimony to this). The polar ice caps are rapidly melting and the rainforests, the 'lungs of the Earth', are being destroyed at an alarming rate.
We all realise that climate change is a real problem and needs to be addressed immediately. But what is the next step to take once you have realised that considerate living is your responsibility?
Our first pioneering environmental expo will take place on 9th and 10th of February 2008 in Exhibition Hall 1 of the Barbican. It will be a 'one stop shop' for regular people and businesses who want to live and work in a more sustainable way."
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