Contemplation
From CTLpedia
Project Summary: An Investigation into Contemplation and its Application in Higher Education
A Maricopa Community Colleges Summer Project
Summer 2007
Donna Gaudet
Scottsdale Community College
PROJECT BACKGROUND
I first became familiar with the phrase “Contemplative Education” while reading an article in the January 2007 issue of Shambhala Sun magazine. The article, entitled “Please Help Me Learn Who I Am,” began by outlining several K-12 programs in which teachers utilized classroom pedagogies such as mindfulness meditation, focused breathing, and purposeful listening. The last part of the article dealt with higher education and provided examples of recently created programs for K-12 teachers. These programs provide opportunities for teachers to learn how to utilize contemplative activities in the classroom.
I was encouraged by the student comments listed in the article and also by the efforts of the teachers to choose techniques based upon their impact on learning and development of attention. Determined to find out more about these techniques and about their application in college environments, I began a quest for resources and information related to contemplation.
I would ask the reader to excuse the perhaps unorthodox format of the following report. My intent was to structure the information based upon responses to questions that I have about contemplation and its application in classroom environments. It is my hope that those reading this report may find information that sparks their interest and starts them on their own journey to delve more deeply into this topic.
WHAT IS CONTEMPLATION?
I thought I would begin by gaining a greater understanding of the word “contemplation” itself. When I think about the word, an image comes to mind of lazy, sunny, summer afternoons spent sitting by a lake or out in a big meadow full of flowers just thinking about things. Time is not an issue and the only sign of its passage is the movement of big, puffy white clouds across the sky or waves lapping against the shore.
Another phrase, which my father used to use, comes to mind and that is “navel gazing.” Although the images this phrase conjures up are not nearly as pleasant as puffy clouds or lapping waves, the meaning is the same. In other words, “contemplation” means to spend periods of time intently focused on something whether that something is the great nothingness of the sky or perhaps the fuzz in your own navel.
Turns out that the actual definition is not too far off the mark from what I have always envisioned. Merriam Webster’s online dictionary (http://www.webster.com) defines contemplation as “an act of considering with attention” or “the act of regarding steadily.” The 1983 edition of American Heritage Dictionary defines “contemplate” as “to ponder or consider thoughtfully” from the Latin contemplari. And, finally, contemplation is “the act of attending with nonjudgmental awareness or being open to things just as they are” (n.d., p. 1) as defined by Richard Brady in his article about contemplation in a mathematics classroom.
The critical components of contemplation then, from these definitions, can be listed as: attention, awareness, focus, and lack of judgment. These elements could be very constructive in a classroom environment. What student would not benefit from paying attention, heightening awareness, sharpening focus, and delaying or avoiding judgment?
WHAT IS CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE?
If contemplation is, in a nutshell, the “art of paying attention” as indicated above, then how is the act of contemplation actualized in everyday life? The phrase used over and over in the readings to emphasize activities associated with this supreme form of paying attention was “contemplative practice” (Akey, 2006; Brown University, n.d.; Buell, 2005; Hart, 2004; Haynes, n.d.; Lichtman, 2005; the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, n.d; Zajonc, 2006a; Zajonc, 2006b). The activity most often identified as a form of contemplative practice was meditation (Buell, 2005; Kabat-Zinn, 1994; Rockefeller, 2006; Seidel, 2006; Zajonc, 2006b). Associations between the wisdom (a.k.a. religious or spiritual) traditions and meditation run deep, as Christian monastic monks, Zen masters, and the Buddha himself all practiced meditation as a form of contemplative practice.
However, to define contemplation within the narrow focus of meditation alone not only limits the view of its true potential but links the word to a specific set of practices that many might feel are outside the scope of education. Visions of Carthusian monks in dark brown robes, walking and chanting or Zen priests in pitch black attire, sitting still as stones in a zendo, do not provide images that easily transfer to secular classrooms of learners struggling with a difficult concept.
There has to be more, then, to the actualization of contemplation than traditional forms of meditation alone. Indeed, there are many other ways that contemplation can be practiced, such as:
• “… sitting, standing, walking, and lying down; using attitudes of not doing; deep listening, pondering, and radical questioning; guided imagery and active imagination; exercises with the body; focusing techniques…; concentrated language experiments with freewriting, poetry, and journals; beholding; and creation of visual images to represent such experiences” (Haynes, n.d., p. 2, 3) • “…chanting, prayer, ritual performance…music, dance, drama, writing poetry or prose, painting, sculpting, and even intent observation of the natural world” (Brown University, p. 1) • “…sitting in silence…meditation, contemplative prayer, mindful walking, focused experiences in nature, yoga and other contemporary physical or artistic practices” (the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, n.d.b, p. 1) • “…various kinds of ritual and ceremony designed to create sacred space and increase insight and awareness” (the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, n.d.b, p. 1)
The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society (n.d.a) divides practices of contemplation into the following categories, as branches on a tree, with examples of each:
• stillness practices including silence, centering, and different forms of meditation • movement practices including martial arts, t’ai chi, and yoga • creation process practices including singing, chanting, and art • activist practices including vigils or marches, work, and bearing witness • generative practices including prayer, tonglen , and lecto divina • ritual/cyclical practices including vision quest, sweat lodge, and building an altar or creating a sacred space • relational practices including dialogue, deep listening, journaling and storytelling.
It seems, then, that there are many practices and rituals that can be considered contemplative. Meditation is just the tip of the contemplative iceberg and is but the most familiar of ways to put contemplation into practice.
ARE THERE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICES APPLIED IN HIGHER EDUCATION ENVIRONMENTS?
I was surprised to read of many courses and programs, at primarily higher education institutions, that implement some aspect of contemplative practice as part of their curriculum. Growing numbers of the instructors at these institutions are fellows in the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society Contemplative Practice Fellowship Program. As of August 2006, this program, administered by the American Council of Learned Societies, has trained and coordinated over “121 fellows, teaching at 103 universities and colleges nationwide” (Akey, 2006, p. 1). Readers who are interested will find links and other information in the Resources section of this document. However, a brief project and/or course listing may be helpful here as follows:
Examples of College Programs
• California State University, San Bernadino, Integrative Education (Sam Crowell); This California State University program is one that was created primarily for teachers from K-12 or community colleges. It involves a two-year commitment to a series of modules (themes) called “Odysseys.” The program focuses more on “integrative cognitive processes rather than integrative content” (Fetzer Institute, n.d.a, p. 9). The program tries to “provide some exposure to various practices from spiritual traditions and invite students to engage in their choice of contemplative practice during the course” (p. 9). • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Jazz and Contemplative Studies Program (Edward Sarath); Sarath designed “Creativity in Consciousness Studies” and the “Contemplative Practice Seminar” which are the “two core courses in the BFA in Jazz and Contemplative Studies” (Fetzer Institute, n.d.a, p. 12). The first course lasts one semester, while the second one is taken for four terms. Students are expected to engage in regular contemplative practice for “at least five terms in the curriculum” (p. 12). In addition, students engage in meditative exercises and creative projects in different classes. Sarath indicates that students report feeling less anxiety and stress in both school and life. They also noted a “greater sense of meaning in their studies” (p. 12). • Brown University, Contemplative Studies Initiative (Harold Roth); “The Contemplative Studies Initiative at Brown University is a group of about twenty faculty members with diverse academic specializations who are united around a common interest in the study of contemplative states of mind” (Roth, 2006, p. 1788). This group is in the process of establishing “an undergraduate concentration in contemplative studies to coordinate students’ academic and personal study in this area” (p. 1788). Examples of contemplative practice activities that are intended to be part of the core course curriculum include a Meditation Laboratory and journaling. • Naropa University, MA in Contemplative Studies (Richard Brown); A two year program focused primarily on teachers from pre-K through higher education (Boyce, 2007), “the program is open to those who are interested in a nonsectarian, contemplative approach to teaching and learning” (Naropa University, n.d.b). Components of the program include sessions in the summer (three weeks) and online coursework during the year.
Examples of Classroom Use • Roanoke College, English Department (Michael Heller); Heller uses journal writing to create a “time of silence and a contemplative few minutes in the beginning of class” (Fetzer Institute, n.d.a, p. 2). He also requires his students to learn the names of all other students in the class and to share writings and feedback while sitting in a circle. Classes he has taught without these methods feel, as Heller says, “like a class without a heart” (p. 3). He much prefers the use of contemplative methods to the more traditional modes of delivery. • Bowdoin College, Division of Art History (Susan Wegner); Wegner teaches small seminar classes and incorporates the practice of “sacred reading” into her regular activities. This form of reading involves multiple passes, each one with a different focus, through a particular passage or text. The purpose of this type of reading is to allow space and time for deep investigation of a particular writing. Wegner also uses labrynth walking and quiet sitting as forms of contemplative practice. She feels that “as a result of these practices, there is definitely a closer connection between the students and the instructor” (Fetzer Institute, n.d.a, p. 5). In addition, she feels that “there is a willingness to take some more chances, to experiment with forms of teaching and learning that may turn out to be successful, or maybe not” (p. 5). • Sidwell Friends School, Mathematics (Richard Brady); Brady uses contemplative activities, selected specifically to address the dimensions of centering, questioning, awareness, and community, in the design of an honors geometry and trigonometry course that is taught to tenth graders. Contemplative practices that he utilizes include: beginning each class with a moment of silence, including short readings from Thich Nhat Hanh and others as a regular part of class, freewriting sessions every Friday, guided meditations before exams and quizzes, cards passed out during exams to help students remember to breathe and focus, and private (not shared) and public (shared with instructor) journaling. Some students thought the activities were a waste of time and wondered why they weren’t doing more math, but others mentioned utilizing some of the practices in other stressful situations with positive results. Brady notes that “taking time to stop, to dwell on questions, ideas, methods and personal experience creates a different classroom culture from what … students are accustomed to. It is new and challenging” (Brady, n.d., p. 12). He goes on to say that “Often it lacks the immediate payoffs students are looking for…It means going slowly enough to see there is more to what they are working on, slowly enough to be aware of what they are doing and with whom…” (p. 12). • Amherst College, Department of Physics (Arthur Zajonc); Zajonc utilizes very specific exercises in a course he teaches with art historian Joel Upton. These exercises “can be adapted to courses generally, without regard to discipline” (Akey, 2006, p. 2) and include: “exercises of silence, open attention, value scale and sustaining contradictions” (p. 2). A full explanation of each of these exercises is contained in the associated resource. In general, the exercises involve meditation, silence, imagery, sound, and development of attention.
WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF APPLYING CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICES TO EDUCATION?
The resources utilized for this report indicated two primary potential benefits for the application of contemplative practices to education. The first potential benefit addresses a particular dimension of learning. Specifically, the practice of contemplation addresses what Tobin Hart calls the third of three eyes of knowing: contemplative knowing. This type of knowing is balanced with the first two eyes: rational and sensory knowing (Fetzer Institute, n.d.a). Buell states that “strengthening the contemplative side of education would appear to be necessary to restore a balance between the contemplative and critical reason, information acquisition, and applied knowledge” (2005, p. 9). Buell goes on to say that, “altering classroom practices to foster contemplation as well as critical thinking may help realize the traditional educational goal of developing the whole person…” (p. 10). Others authors agree and see the infusion of contemplative practice as a way to “aim for the full and optimal development of the learner” (Davis, 2005, p. 3).
The second potential benefit develops specific student skills or attributes that are beneficial, not just to learning, but to success in life. Specifically, the inclusion of contemplative practice in the classroom can result in reduced stress (the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, n.d.b), less study-related anxiety (Haynes, n.d.), greater capacity to focus and pay attention (Boyce, 2007; Grossenbacher & Parkin, 2006; Hart, 2004; Haynes, n.d., the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, n.d.b), enhanced creativity (the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, n.d.b), and new and different ways of processing information (Naropa University, n.d.a). In addition, “research on contemplation has shown it to benefit performance, character development, and insight…”(Brady, n.d., p. 1).
WHAT ABOUT THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE?
Because of the clear connection between contemplative practice and the wisdom traditions, conducting contemplative activities in a non-religious context might seem difficult, if not impossible. The readings, however, support very strongly that, although the recommended practices have their basis and foundational history in wisdom traditions, they certainly have an importance, benefit, and place in completely secular environments (Haynes, n.d.; Palmer, 1993; Hart, 2004). “Rather than imposing any belief on them [students], as some people might believe these practices do, it is quite the opposite. It asks them what their beliefs are and teaches students how to access them” (Boyce, 2007, p. 70). Hart (2004) suggests that:
…opening the contemplative mind in schools is not a religious issue but a practical epistemic question. It is about how we know, not about what knowledge we are giving others. Inviting the contemplative simply includes the natural human capacity for knowing through silence, looking inward, pondering deeply, beholding, witnessing the contents of our consciousness, and so forth. These approaches cultivate an inner technology of knowing and thereby a technology of learning and pedagogy without any imposition of religious doctrine whatsoever. If we knew that particular and readily available activities would increase concentration, learning, wellbeing, and social and emotional growth and catalyze transformational learning, we would be cheating our students to exclude it. (p. 29).
CONCLUSION
This report has but touched the surface of the application of contemplation to higher education. The subject deserves continued study and research into methods and approaches that can be implemented in secular environments, with a wide range of adult learners. Students in the college classrooms of today are pulled and drawn in many different directions. They are time-stressed, often personally stressed, and very often so grade-focused that learning takes a back seat to “checking another course” off their list of requirements. If the methods described here can prompt them and their instructors to stop and look closely at the course content, and really probe their own awareness and understanding of it, then perhaps a window will be opened for deeper learning to take place. Maria Licthmann (2005) provides a proper ending to this report with her comment:
If contemplation has traditionally meant seeing the world as it really is, as sacred, we might say that contemplative teaching makes it possible to see space or sacred time in and through the classroom…In an ever more plugged in, tuned out culture, silence and slow time hint at what contemplation can bring to teaching and learning. (p. 17)
RESOURCES
(SPECIFIC TO THIS PAPER)
Akey, J. (2006). Report on the 2006 academic summer session on contemplative curriculum development. Retrieved July 16, 2007 from http://www.contemplativemind.org/publications/
Boyce, B. (2007, January). Please help me learn who I am. Shambhala Sun, 67 – 73, 119-120.
Brady, R. (n.d.). Learning to stop; Stopping to learn; Embarking on the contemplative learning path. Retrieved July 10, 2007 from http://www.contemplativemind.org/programs/academic/Brady.pdf
Brown University (n.d.) The rational behind contemplative studies. Retrieved June 15, 2007 from http://www.brown.edu/Faculty/Contemplative_Studies_Initiative/rationale.html
Buell, F. (2005, February). A report on the contemplative practice fellowship program. Retrieved July 16, 2007 from http://www.contemplativemind.org/publications/.
Davis, J. (2005). Critical thinking, experiential education, and contemplative education online. Retrieved July 8, 2007 from http://www.johndavis.com/tp/contedonline.htm
Fetzer Institute (n.d.a) Case studies. Retrieved July 11, 2007 from http://www.contemplativemind.org/programs/academic/case_studies.pdf
Fetzer Institute (n.d.b). Report on the survey of transformative and spiritual dimensions of higher education. Retrieved July 16th, 2007 from http://www.contemplativemind.org/programs/academic/fetzer_report.pdf
Glazer, S. (Ed.). (1999). The heart of learning: Spirituality in education. New York: Penguin Group.
Grossenbacher, P. & Parkin, S. (2006). Joining hearts and minds: A contemplative approach to holistic education in psychology. Journal of College & Character VII(6).
Hart, T. (2004). Opening the contemplative mind in the classroom. Journal of Transformative Education 2(1), 28-46.
Haynes, D. (n.d.). Contemplative practice and the education of the whole person. Retrieved July 3, 2007 from http://www.contemplativemind.org/programs/academic/Haynes.pdf
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Catalyzing movement towards a more contemplative / sacred-appreciating / non-dualistic society. Retrieved July 3, 2007 from http://www.contemplativemind.org/programs/academic/kabat-zinn.html
Lichtmann, M. (2005). The teacher’s way: Teaching and the contemplative life. New York: Paulist Press.
Naropa University (n.d.a) Contemplative Education. Retrieved July1 6th, 2007 from http://www.naropa.edu/conted/index.cfm
Naropa University (n.d.b). MA Contemplative Education. Retrieved July 16th, 2007 from http://www.naropa.edu/academics/graduate/maconted/index.cfm
Palmer, P. (1993). To know as we are known: Education as a spiritual journey. New York: Harper-Collins.
Rockefeller, S. (2006). Meditation, social change, and undergraduate education. Teachers College Record, (108)9, 1775-1786.
Roth, H. (2006). Contemplative studies: Prospects for a new field. Teachers College Record, (108)9, 1787–1815.
Seidel, J. (2006) Some thoughts on teaching as contemplative practice. Teachers College Record, (108)9, 1901-1914.
The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society (n.d.a) The tree of contemplative practices. Retrieved June 20, 2007 from http://www.contemplativemind.org/practices/tree-of-practices.gif
The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society (n.d.b) What are contemplative practices. Retrieved June 20, 2007 from http://www.contemplativemind.org/practices/
Wallace, A. (2006). The attention revolution: Unlocking the power of the focused mind. Boston: Wisdom Publications.
Zajonc, A. (2006a). Love and knowledge: Recovering the heart of learning through contemplation. Teachers College Record, (108)9, 1742-1759.
Zajonc, A. (2006b, Fall/Winter). Contemplative and transformative pedagogy. Kosmos Journal V(1), 1-3.
OTHER RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
Durka, G. (2002). The teacher’s calling: A spirituality for those who teach. New York: Paulist Press.
Grossenbacher, P. (2006). Buddhism and the brain: An empirical approach to spirituality. Paper presented at Continuity + Change: Perspectives on Science and Religion” June 3 – 7, 2006 in Philadelphia, PA. a program of the Metanexus Institute. Retrieved July 11th, 2007 from http://www.metanexus.net/conferences/pdf/conference2006/Grossenbacher.pdf
Hill, C. (2006) Introduction. Teachers College Record, (108)9, 1723-1732.
Hill, C., Herndon, A., & Karpinska, Z. (2006). Contemplative practices: Educating for peace and tolerance. Teachers College Record, (108)9, 1915-1935.
Holland, D. (2006). Contemplative education in unexpected places: Teaching mindfulness in Arkansas and Austria. Teachers College Record, (108)9, 1842-1861.
Kessler, R. (2000). The soul of education: Helping students find connection, compassion, and character at school. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Klimburg-Salter, D. (2003 The contemplative scholar: Report and findings of the survey of contemplative practice fellowship recipients. Retrieved July 16th, 2007 from http://www.contemplativemind.org/programs/academic/03_Fellowship_Report.pdf
Miller, J. (1999) Education and the soul: Toward a spiritual curriculum. New York: State University of New York Press.
Murray, P. (2006). Center for the contemplative mind in society: Contemplative practice in arts education meeting. Retrieved July 16th, 2007 from http://www.contemplativemind.org/programs/academic/boulderarts_report.pdf
Nelson, M. (2006). The fruit of silence. Teachers College Record (108)9,1733–1741.
Stock, B. (2006). The contemplative life and the teaching of the humanities. Teachers College Record, (108)9, 1760-1764.
Thurman, R. (2006). Meditation and education: India, tibet, and modern america. Teachers College Record, (108)9, 1765-1774.
CONFERENCES, GRANTS, SOCIETIES
2008 Contemplative Practice Fellowship Competition, the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society. For more information, see: http://www.contemplativemind.org/programs/academic/fellowships.html
American Council of Learned Societies. A private non-profit federation of sixty-six national scholarly organizations. The mission of the ACLS, as set forth in its Constitution, is "the advancement of humanistic studies in all fields of learning in the humanities and the social sciences and the maintenance and strengthening of relations among the national societies devoted to such studies." For more information, see: http://www.acls.org/
Mind and Life Institute online at: http://www.mindandlife.org. The purpose of this Institute is to “promote the creation of a contemplative, compassionate, and rigorous experimental and experiential science of the mind which could guide and inform medicine, neuroscience, psychology, education and human development.”
Mindfulness in Education Network. The purpose of [the] network is to facilitate communication among educators, parents, students and any others interested in promoting contemplative practice (mindfulness) in educational settings. For more information, see: http://www.mindfuled.org
Naropa University, Contemplative Pedagogy Seminar for Faculty, August 2 – 8, 2007. Naropa University invites applications from higher education faculty for a Contemplative Pedagogy Seminar. At this small interactive seminar, educators will discover methods for infusing the academic experience with mindfulness, compassion and creativity. Senior Naropa faculty will share their expertise in contemplative theory and practice, engage participants in dialogue and assist them in integrating contemplative dimensions into their own pedagogy, curricula and learning environments. For more information, see: http://www.naropa.edu/cace/seminar.cfm
Retreat for Academics, November 1st - 4th, 2007, Trinity Conference Center, West Cornwall, CT. The Center [will] offer [its] first retreat for academics that will give in-depth training in personal contemplative practices as well as contemplative methods adapted for the classroom. For more information, see http://www.contemplativemind.org/programs/academic/register.htm
Summer Session on Contemplative Curriculum Development, August 12 - 17, 2007, Smith College, Northampton, MA. Summer Session Participants will devote the week to rigorous investigation, reflection, writing, and discussion, guided by distinguished scholars and contemplative teachers who have already developed such courses. For more information, visit: http://www.contemplativemind.org/programs/academic/summer.html
