Skip to main content

feeling fully

Paramhansa Yogananda talked a great deal about the importance of all-sided education - developing ourselves not only intellectually but also physically and psychologically. Swami Kriyanada has translated this into the four "Tools of Maturity" - body, feeling, will and intellect. In American culture we value body, will and intellect to varying degrees but it seems there is very little attention paid to how to positively develop the feeling aspect of ourselves. We're left thinking that there is something inherently wrong with feelings, that they're not to be trusted. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

"Only by calm inner feeling can a person know definitely the right course to take in any action. Those who direct their lives from this deeper level of feeling achieve levels of success that are never reached by people who limit their quest for answers to the exercise of reason. Reason, indeed, if unsupported by feeling, may point in hundreds of plausible directions without offering certainty as to the rightness of any of them." - Education for Life 

Certainly emotions (as opposed to feeling) can be turbulent and an obstacle to deeper understanding. We are experiencing this now in reactions to current events, whether the pandemic or police brutality. People are following their reason, supported by emotion rather than calm, intuitive feeling, and finding themselves at odds with each other because they all seem to be pointing in "hundreds of plausible directions." 

Some may think that in order to get clear and find our way forward we should step back, look at things objectively. Usually we think of feelings as anything but objective, but again, this is the difference between emotions and feeling. Developing our feeling nature is not about becoming more emotional or even about expressing particular emotions. Instead by learning to calm those emotions and channel that energy we strengthen our intuition and inner awareness. Using calm feeling we can discern from within what is right in any given situation. This is the space from which true solutions can arise. 

Our current circumstance where there seems to be so much division and confusion is calling for integration and wholeness. We need our feeling nature, working together with all aspects of our being, to help us find our way forward with integrity. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

starting again

I've been a little stuck trying to find things to write about now that school is over. I want to share thoughts and inspiration here but I think sometimes I get weighed down by expectations that it must be a particular length or profound in some way. I have to admit that I don't feel inspired to keep writing but I made the commitment so I will do 40 blog posts. It's just going to take a bit longer than I thought. So what is inspiring me lately? Where is there joy? I've been preparing to give a talk on Education for Life and it's been fun to ponder all the amazing ways the EFL principles are present and expanding and spreading in our world and throughout education. People are starting to really rethink the purpose and methods of education in a whole new way. The old systems are breaking down and suddenly we're trying to prepare children for a world that doesn't yet exist, that we can't imagine, that they will create! In the midst of the pandemic even we a...
Post a Comment
Read more

remember who you are

Today I'm feeling so quiet and still. There are dishes to be washed, books to be read, walks to be taken and yet all I want to do is just be. Not even meditate, just sit silent and still and do absolutely nothing at all. Of course then come all the thoughts: I should be using this time wisely! There's so many things on the list! What will I have to show for this day? But I've noticed that there are days of high energy, flow and productivity where a sudden burst comes and then there are days like today where it seems like nothing happens. It's okay to let this be a moment of rest. Again and again I seem to be learning that we are not what we do . One of the most powerful lessons I've learned about Education for Life is that it's not about what you do, but about who you are. It's not about what your students do (or don't do) it's about who they are. Not merely their personalities but their soul-self, their highest and best selves. In the classroom ther...
Post a Comment
Read more

guide on the side

I was watching a class that was given recently about how to teach online. The instructor pointed out the move to online learning is highlighting and supporting certain changes that have been happening in education overall. The old model was the "sage on the stage" which is a teacher centered model where an instructor imparts their knowledge. The new model is the "guide on the side" where the learners are actively engaged in the learning process. The goal of this particular class was to help give people alternatives to simply using a video conference platform to offer their courses and to introduce people to the potentials of learning management systems to make online learning more engaging and interactive.  It was wonderful to hear this perspective since our school and the Education for Life approach is firmly grounded in these types of more dynamic and experiential methods. Our curriculum is student centered meaning we develop the themes and lessons around the stud...
Post a Comment
Read more