Education and the Higher Self

“The troubles of the interior life increasingly dominated his thoughts. He found an intersection between the private and the public.”

– Salman Rushdie
From his novel, ‘Joseph Anton’*

The inspiration for today’s post comes from a comment sent to us by one of 3D Eye’s regular readers and commenters.

I want ALL people to know who they are and be their highest selves. That seeking/revealing journey starts as children. It would be ideal if teachers could help guide young hearts and minds. I don’t think all the guidance should fall on teachers’ shoulders. An adjusted curriculum geared toward self-awareness and all the intelligences would go a long way toward creating satisfied human beings. Keep on fighting the good fight 3Di. I strongly support your message.

We need to thank Brennagee (whose blog is at http://space2live.net/) for reminding us that our aim should be to help every individual, every citizen, and not just the current generation of children and young people, to discover their higher, true selves and become the best human beings they can be.

We know from our years of experience of working with the 3Di model of multiple intelligences that people from all walks of life, from teenagers to university professors, have found the model useful and often revelatory. When we’re not used to thinking of ourselves as having six intelligences working on three continuums in three dimensions it can be very challenging as well as exciting to look within and reconsider ourselves and how we function – intellectually, socially, instinctually, spiritually, etc.

Brennagee raises some key issues in these brief comments.

• Why do so many of us not have a true and proper appreciation of who we really are? (Brenna’s blog often reflects on her own processes of discovering her true self and following her own pathway of self-development and liberation)
• What is our ‘highest self’, and what do we need to do in order to attain it? (Clearly it’s far more complicated than being successful in academic examinations, pursuing a successful career, etc.)
• How many young people and how many adults have any understanding or appreciation that they are on a “seeking/revealing journey”? (Very few schools indicate that their intention is to develop the multiple intelligences of every student, rather than focus more or less exclusively on academic and intellectual attainment)
• Should teachers be the main agents in developing multiple intelligences?
• Are they properly trained and motivated to do this work?
• What happens when parents are unable or unwilling to help develop all aspects and all the intelligences?
• What happens if mentors are unavailable?
• How can the school curriculum become “geared toward self-awareness and all the intelligences”?
• How many teachers currently see themselves as supporting this sort of development rather than teaching ‘subjects’ and ‘raising attainment’?
• Is it possible and practicable to simultaneously develop the personal, social and spiritual intelligences during school time that is ostensibly allocated to learning history, maths, science, etc? (Answer – yes. The best teachers and the best schools know how to do this)
• Is there such a thing as a ‘satisfied’ human being? How do we achieve satisfaction in life?

3Di Associates on its own can do very little to further these goals and aspirations. Our aim is to offer training on our 3D multiple intelligences model to parents and teachers in order that we can raise awareness and promote a movement for change. We need to create a greater awareness so that global citizens can learn from what’s happening within the very best education systems and can then demand beneficial changes within their own communities. We also need better systems for inexpensive adult education so that lifelong learning is possible and achievable.

The world has become increasingly complex, interlinked and interdependent. We need more enlightened leaders and a more enlightened citizenry. We can make a start in schools but we also need to offer the possibility of a lifelong pursuit of our “highest selves”. The need is urgent and we have no time to lose.
Thanks again, Bren, for this reminder.

……………………………………..

*There’s an excellent review of Salman Rushdie’s ‘Joseph Anton’ written by Pankaj Mishra on the Guardian’s website – http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/sep/18/joseph-anton-salman-rushdie-review

Rushdie’s own journey towards greater awareness of self and others is quite fascinating, and Mishra asks some very pertinent questions about his tendency to over-simplify and stereotype others who hold different sets of beliefs and have different aspirations. It’s perhaps a case study in the need for humility – even if you’re the beneficiary of a superb education and have been held up as some sort of literary genius by certain critics for certain books you’ve written. The world is a complex place and we’re all complex beings. None of us has all the answers, and in fact there are no answers – at least none that are absolute and universal. Enlightenment itself is relative and not static. The best we can do is travel down the road to becoming our higher selves, and welcome as much help as we can get from the others we meet and perhaps join forces with along the way.
GF