Deep & Engaged Learning
“From a mindful perspective, one’s response to a particular situation is not an attempt to make the best choice from among available options, but to create options.”
— Ellen J. Langer, The Power of Mindful Learning
This is where experiential learning meets academic rigor. Where you challenge your intellect and unlock your potential. Where you discover the work you’re moved to do — then use it to transform our world.
Contemplative education at Naropa was born of a desire to transform education.Bridging traditional western academic training with over 40 years of expertise in mindfulness and contemplative learning, the Naropa curriculum is specifically designed to prepare students to engage courageously with a complex and challenging world. Students will not only achieve academic competency, but also gain clarity and self-awareness, feel connected to their community and, crucially, hone their capacity for innovation and creativity.
Contemplative education not only asks students to challenge themselves academically, but also asks them to challenge themselves as human beings. Our small class sizes, field work, meditation intensives, and community events, encourage creative engagement in diverse communities.
The commitment to becoming self-aware and the willingness to ask difficult questions opens students to their inherent wisdom and cultivates their passions, calling and purpose. Students are asked to focus their thinking and consider their own strengths, weaknesses, goals, and misconceptions. Like any learning experience, it is not always comfortable or easy, but the rewards are immense. Truth be told, we do not become full human beings without encountering the challenges of mindfully pushing beyond personal boundaries, learning to work cooperatively, and compassionately engaging issues such as power and privilege.
Naropa students gain more from their college or graduate school experience because they grow personally while learning academically.This means that students can more readily apply their academic work to life. With an enhanced perspective on themselves, as an individual and as a member of society, students leave Naropa better prepared to contribute to their workplace, family and community, big or small.
