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Page 3 of 3 Danny
Sprague-Chaffin, a peace studies major at Naropa, formed a nonprofit
organization, raised funds, and led the effort to build a school in a
remote region of Nepal. Until he found a meaningful purpose and
application of his passion, Danny didn’t feel comfortable with his place
in school or in the community. His need to improve the world drew him
to the children of Nepal; Danny combined his own insight with the
learning he received in the classroom, allowing him to perform effective
actions that served the world community. Through hard work, dedication,
and insight, he has made lasting changes in the lives of many children,
all from a place of contemplative inquiry and informed and
compassionate action. Naropa
alumna Amber Gray is another wonderful example of the results of a
contemplative education. Amber trained in somatic counseling psychology,
and today she offers psychotherapy, training, and program development
throughout the world, particularly to survivors of extreme trauma. Amber
spent much of 2010 in Haiti after its devastating earthquake, offering
informed, compassionate service to Haitians. She collaborated with their
community and mental health organizations, providing training and
support for caregivers and citizens. Amber assisted these caregivers in
fully integrating their own personal losses, so they could better serve
the larger community from a truly healthy, holistic, and aware space.
Amber’s contemplative practice allowed her to manage this work
effectively and with compassion. It is her contemplative practice that
informs, fuels, and nourishes her deep passion to serve. Graduates
of Naropa’s degree programs run businesses, teach, create nonprofits,
and serve in myriad ways. One of Naropa’s graduates, Arron Mansika,
studied environmental leadership and then founded a successful business,
Boulder’s Best Organics, in 1996. The Boulder County Business Report
ranked it the second-fastest-growing company in the Boulder Valley in
its revenue class (sales under $2 million) in 1999. Arron says reporters
are often surprised that he is so successful in the business world
despite having graduated from a school that doesn’t offer a business
degree. “I think there is a misperception as to what a mindfulness
education can prepare you for,” he said. “I jumped right into the
Western business world, but with, in my opinion, an advantage: I am
showing up fully.” Among the characteristics of showing up fully, he
says, are having a strong sense of who you are, listening to your
intuition, being vulnerable yet brave enough to speak your truth, being
awake, and dropping fear and hesitation so you shine through as
yourself. Albert
Einstein said, “Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking
that created them.” Many of the world’s problems require new and
innovative approaches to find lasting solutions. The focus on immediate
results and a bottom-line mentality have come at the expense of future
generations, creating calamitous effects in nearly every sector of human
society around the globe. More of that kind of thinking won’t solve the
complex, multifaceted issues that plague our global community. The
greatest disservice we can do to students is to imprint them with how we
assume the world to be, without giving them the necessary tools to
investigate and explore the world as it is, with an open heart and a
discerning mind. Students need both skills and opportunities to explore
the vast range of possibilities the world has to offer so they can find
creative solutions to the world’s problems. “By
virtue of increasing connection, the personal transformation cultivated
by mind training has great potential for enabling humanity to live on
this planet sustainably and in peace,” P.G. Grossenbacher and Steven
Parker wrote in “Joining Hearts and Minds: A Contemplative Approach to
Holistic Education in Psychology” (Journal of College and Character).
Those whose higher education includes a contemplative education
component are imbued with the much-needed capacity for authentic insight
and revolutionary thinking; they are poised to meet the world as it is,
and have the passion and capacity to improve it. When these students
graduate, they have spent years turning problems upside down, looking at
them from the inside out, holding them quietly within, and working
collaboratively with others to find novel approaches to solving
them—providing not just a quick fix, but a true change that benefits
everyone. Gandhi said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose
yourself in the service of others.” Service, when used in a
contemplative education framework, is a form of meditation leading to
profound insight and positive transformation, both personally and
globally. This form of compassionate service allows insight and heart
wisdom to flow through all of one’s deeds and actions, imbuing everyone
and everything he or she touches with the benefits of such awareness. All
of those qualities are nourished by a special kind of education, a
contemplative education. Naropa University graduates are able to work
with the raw tensions of the world and the complexities of the human
dilemma, ultimately cultivating a fuller human experience. Although we
all have our own particular intentions, hopes, and dreams, when we allow
our hearts to be open we can best utilize the many gifts and
opportunities that come our way. When I look back on the seeds of my
life, they were planted during times when I was able to reflect on the
deeper questions of life. These many encounters created space in my
life, allowing me to gain awareness of myself, the world, and my
personal path of informed and compassionate service. With
such insight one is able to cultivate community and nourish positive
change and personal growth. In such a community, there is always the
opportunity for real human interaction and heartfelt connections.
Commonalities, rather than differences, take precedence. In the
contemplative educational environment at Naropa, students, faculty, and
staff can allow the walls around them to dissipate so that they develop
authenticity. I have seen it time and time again. It’s such a powerful
opening of the heart that once awakened, the human connection cannot be
severed. When this realization has been achieved, there can never again
be anything that stands in the way of the heart and its ability to
connect with others. That is contemplative education, and that is how
we, as a community, are changing the world. The real question, though, is how can you apply these principles to your life? We
all must cultivate our heart’s willingness to closely inquire into
ourselves, our relationships, and our communities. For the success of
our society we must demand a rigorous approach to practice and an open
investigation into ourselves. Only when grounded in authentic
self-awareness do we have the capacity to answer the call to serve.
Naropa
University president Stuart C. Lord is an expert in service learning,
multicultural and spiritual education, and leadership and ethics. He has
a Doctor of Ministry degree with a specialization in multicultural
education from United Theological Seminary, has been a leader in
humanitarian work in America and abroad, and received a distinguished
alumni award from Texas Christian University.
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