"Isn't contemplation a part of all education? Isn't contemplative education redundant?"
The first step to understanding contemplative education is to grasp that it doesn't mean solely self reflection, and it is not the act of contemplation alone that makes it unique.
Contemplative education is learning infused with the experience of awareness, insight and compassion for oneself and others, honed through the practice of sitting meditation and other contemplative disciplines. The rigor of these disciplined practices prepares the mind to process information in new and perhaps unexpected ways. Contemplative practice unlocks the power of deep inward observation, enabling the learner to tap into a wellspring of knowledge about the nature of mind, self and other that has been largely overlooked by traditional, Western-oriented liberal education.
This approach to learning captures the spark of East and West working within; it’s the meeting of two of the greatest learning philosophies in the history of higher education, applied at Naropa University in the context of today’s rapidly changing world.
For a more thorough primer on contemplative education, click here.
