Transforming the Role of Education to Focus on its Intrinsic and Spiritual Dimensions

• In Event: Education for Inner Transformation and an Expanded Self: Paradigm Shift in Education

Abstract

Point of view

Marginalization exists because some groups or races are placed in a place called center or mainstream. Alienation happens when we forget who we truly are and what we want from life. As a Chinese, a female, a foreigner studying abroad, and a seeker, I have once felt marginalized and invisible. Unfortunately, current form of education does not help eliminate my sense of marginalization and alienation; nor does it enable me to see the unity among human species and between human and nature. I felt powerless in the education that only aims to provide students with well-paid jobs without paying attention to their internal well-being.

Furthermore, as one of the mass produced students by the current educational system, I have been trained to become more analytical, rational, critical, and oftentimes skeptical. Education “separate[s] facts from feelings” (Palmer, 1998, p. 66). I was forced to separate my mind from my heart and soul. It was only after I started on searching in my inner self for strength, by yoga and meditation, and by seeking answers from spiritual teachers and many other channels, did I began to see the Oneness that grounds all existence. Confucius emphasized self-cultivation as a crucial step to enact the transformative power within human beings so as to transform the external world (Wang, 2007). I began to cultivate the power of love and felt strengthened in my innermost sense of self as a connected global citizen. Through this experience of expanding my inner self, I am filled with love and this transformation process provides me with a new perspective on the roles of education.

Methods and Data Sources

This article will be a reflection on a personal journey from seeking empowerment externally to a journey finding meaning and wisdom within the inner self. Personal journal, and reflection on the process of opening myself to a higher force, which is Love, are detailed. The power of meditation is contemplated upon, as well as Eastern and Western spiritual wisdom that have immense power to help us reach into our deeper self and greater Self, are discussed.

Conclusion

This paper calls for education to shift its focus from external or material well- being of students to their internal well-being. The author argues students should be coached to live their lives in a conscious way, constantly reflecting on their inner selves and seeking higher meaning of living in the world. In the process, insights and wisdom are cultivated, and self-confidence and sense of social responsibility generate agency for a better world.

Author

• Ai Zhang, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey