Community, Vision, Vocation, and Life

I cannot find words to explain how fortuitous it was that our veterinarian (!) made the distinction between inward and outward journeys when she did.  At the start of my professional development year, the last thought on my mind was that I was largely going on an inward journey.  Instead of traveling the globe studying physical solutions to social problems, I've been (largely) staying put studying text after text of spiritual solutions to social problems.  Only recently have I realized that my desperate 'grasping' at things my thoughts suggested would be the source of pleasure has instead been my source of suffering and misery for almost 10 years (the same is true for what I have run from during that time as well).  My inward journey reflects 'staying put' in all aspects of my life so that I can really experience life, let it pass through me, and remain open to what remains in the present.  In so doing, I am beginning to feel passion for living again and beginning to see the path toward meeting my higher order desires for mind/spirit integration (the latter being more reliable than the minute-by-minute 'promised lands' of my thought desires).

The first time I started teaching, I was driven by my passion for talking about the material.  The second time I start teaching, I will be driven by my passion for heart/spirit based solutions given the material.  I am well aware, however, that a spiritual journey needs community.  In addition to bolstering my own spiritual community by attending silent retreats, Buddhist/Mindfulness trainings, conferences in mindfulness and education and in teaching social justice, and spirituality gatherings, I propose forming community (or sangha in Buddhist terms) at Kirkwood on both faculty/staff and student-levels.

Faculty/staff sangha:

• I think it would be fabulous to explore texts on mindfulness in higher education as part of KCELT book group class offerings.  While most of my contemplation thus far has been individual, I would like to hear how interested others (from staff in main offices to counselors to faculty) see means of implementing mindfulness in their lives and in their work at Kirkwood.  I have not yet done an exhaustive search of possible texts, but I can think of several possibilities including Coming to Our Senses, Occupy Spirituality, Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World, Contemplative Teaching and Learning: New Directions for Community Colleges, Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in without Going Crazy, Agenda for a New Economy, and The Heart of Higher Education: A Call to Renewal.  [The author of the latter, Parker Palmer, ironically introduced to me my first year teaching at Kirkwood.  I find the title of this book and the synchronous timing of his reintroduction both interesting and ironic.]

Class sangha:

• I wish to use Adam Bucko's (Occupy Spirituality) questions the first week in all classes to get students thinking about an integrated (spiritual) approach to course content.  After entry-level, low threat questions to get to know each other, I want to use the balancing questions of 1) what breaks your heart, and 2) what makes you feel truly alive from Bucko to get them digging into content.  Questions will not be answered on the spot, but rather revisited as we progress through each section.
• I plan to use Bucko/Fox non-hierarchical techniques of relating to students as well.  I would like assignments and class time to be more communal and student-led.  I envision less of me standing in front of the classroom and much more of them sharing the results of their experiments, interviews, questioning, and research with each other and with the class as a whole.
• I hope to use Bucko's thoughts on vocation to frame course material for students.  Why not look at how your choice of vocation can be beneficial to your mind, body, and soul as you progress through a discussion of each social institution?  Why not use the time spent in college to choose wisely a vocation that will reflect your values in society (or allow you to work toward what you feel will improve society)?
• I hope we continue to question all topics (and behaviors) rather than devolving into dualistic discussions of "us/them."  To that end, I plan to ask students how satisfied they are with partisan politics, have them debate an issue using this dualistic model (minimum wage, global warming, outsourcing), and then progress in our discussions toward what will instead result in life-sustaining and well-integrated, non-dualistic solutions for the future.  In so doing, I think it would be good to share Pema Chodron's story of "angry faces" [whether Greenpeace demonstrators, US Senators, or _________ they all have the same "angry faces"] whereby emotionally-charged positions are strongly defended rather than community-driven solutions obtained.

Peace out, B.