Holistic Education Archives - Holistic Centers Network

SPLASH at Findhorn – A new holistic initiative

November 1, 2013 by Centers' Gathering Leave a Comment

BACKGROUND NOTES TO SPLASH –
SPIRIT LED APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE HOLISM:
A MONTH-LONG HOLISTIC PEER GROUP PROGRAMME

Holistic living involves the whole self and therefore includes the following parts of the person:

Physical

Emotional

Mental

Spiritual and

Relationships between people and groups (Social)

If there is a hierarchy in holistic learning, the process should be led by the higher self or the spiritual self. A helpful analogy is that the whole person can be likened to a carriage and driver pulled by a horse. The owner is inside the carriage, the driver is high at the front with the reins of the horse in his hands. The owner represents the higher self (spirit); the carriage (body); the driver (mind) and the horse (emotions). The direction should be set by the owner, (the spirit) and not by the driver (the mind). Each part then has a clear function in making the carriage move to its destination.

So the idea is to gather a group of people together and do a month-long journey together, making goals and logging results. As individuals this enables us to look at our current ways of living holistically and expand on them or identify areas where we are weaker and need to improve. We can especially look and share at the ways we already let our spiritual or higher self lead out lives. I use meditation as a spiritual practice and can only work as a creative person if I listen to my higher self and wait for ideas to emerge. Creative work is a spiritual practice for me. Other people may use Taize or devotional singing or walks in nature or gardening. There are many, many ways to access the spirit.

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Findhorn, Kitezh and Ecologia Youth Trust

May 8, 2012 by Centers' Gathering Leave a Comment

The Findhorn Foundation, are excited to welcome the founder of Kitezh Children’s Community, Dmitry Morozov and two key members of the Russian foster family community to visit us here in Scotland in May.

There is a strong connection between the Findhorn Community and Kitezh through Ecologia Youth Trust. Liza Hollingshead, founder of Ecologia, which is based in the Findhorn community, shares the story…

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Exploring Holistic Education – Supervision

April 29, 2012 by Centers' Gathering Leave a Comment

COMPONENTS OF HOLISTIC LEARNING

By Dave Till and Christine Lines

This is the fourteenth article in our series on Holistic Learning, to read the introduction and view the other components to follow please click here.

14. Supervision

The culture of supervision has grown in the community of the Findhorn Foundation over recent years. Each working team or service department has regular sessions, (approx. every 6 – 8 weeks unless required more frequently), with a trained supervisor from the Spiritual and Personal Development team who will help them with any ‘illusions, confusions and collusions’ that might exist within the group.

Having a supervisor (in a similar way to having supervision when you are training as a therapist), is an important aspect of holistic practice that can prevent facilitators from building their own unseen patterns into holistic learning.

Supervision can be scheduled even when there are no particular issues at hand and is a valuable opportunity for team building. I’ve heard people say, “I never look forward to supervision but then afterwards look back and think actually that was really helpful and I quite enjoyed it.” [Read more…]

Exploring Holistic Education – Mental Learning

April 25, 2012 by Centers' Gathering Leave a Comment

COMPONENTS OF HOLISTIC LEARNING

By Dave Till and Christine Lines

This is the thirteenth article in our series on Holistic Learning, to read the introduction and view the other components to follow please click here.

13. Mental Learning

There have been many breakthroughs in recent years regarding the mental task of learning information. Conventional education is quite focused on mental learning however there are new ways of using the mind to utilise more of its full capacity.

The whole field of study around Accelerated Learning (AL) suggests that we each have a preferred learning style — a way of learning that suits us best. If you know and use the techniques that match your preferred way of learning, you learn more naturally. Because it is more natural for you, it becomes easier. There are a number of AL techniques e.g. teaching someone else what you are learning, practicing the accelerated learning system in short bursts of 30 minutes of study, and taking frequent rests. And there are many more ways of practicing AL. [Read more…]

Exploring Holistic Education – Models of Group Development

April 13, 2012 by Centers' Gathering Leave a Comment

COMPONENTS OF HOLISTIC LEARNING

By Dave Till and Christine Lines

This is the twelfth article in our series on Holistic Learning, to read the introduction and view the other components to follow please click here.

12. Models of Group Development

Groups form and develop in well-recorded ways. M. Scott Peck, author of The Road Less Travelled, is a good source to understand the different stages of group development and of community.

Dave Till says, “These stages of group development need to be experienced as part of a holistic curriculum. On the Findhorn Community Semester three month programme we the staff would wait patiently until new groups passed their “polite” stage and got through to some real learning or through to their authentic selves. One particularly ‘right on’ group famously had a big party where everyone got very drunk, and after that they were much less ‘right on’ and much better to deal with. God works in wondrous ways!”

In 1984, Peck co-founded the Foundation for Community Encouragement (FCE), with the mission, “to teach the principles of community to individuals and organizations.” In his book The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace, Peck says that community has three essential ingredients; inclusivity, commitment and consensus. [Read more…]

Wandering Dao Qi Gong School

April 11, 2012 by Centers' Gathering Leave a Comment

Daniel Li Ox, the founder of Wandering Dao, will be attending the 2012 Gathering at the Findhorn Foundation. His main goal has always been to make self-healing and alchemical practices accessible to westerners. In the ‘9os he founded Tao Quebec, a Qi Gong School in Canada, which changed name for Wandering Dao Qi Gong School when he left Canada to teach on the road.

After 25 years of practices and deepening his knowledge of the traditional system and of the teaching methods that suits better the western mind, Daniel reorganized the system in a very practical way without compromising the traditional training. For more details about the Outreach Program he would like to bring forth click here.

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Exploring Holistic Education – The Value of Service

April 9, 2012 by Centers' Gathering Leave a Comment

COMPONENTS OF HOLISTIC LEARNING

By Dave Till and Christine Lines

This is the eleventh article in our series on Holistic Learning, to read the introduction and view the other components to follow please click here.

11. The Value of Service

Service is an integral part of an holistic life and even within communities that focus on the spiritual, the value of service needs to be reinforced and encouraged.

The path of selfless service is an ancient and well-respected tradition that needs to have its place restored in the modern world. The word seva comes from the Sanskrit root, sev, meaning to “attend” or “to go towards.” Seva is generally understood to be “service” and one way to look at seva is simply as volunteer service, and in the case of a community, this could mean cleaning the kitchen after a shared meal, caring for the garden, or the offering of professional services such as bookkeeping or architectural skills.

In the community of the Findhorn Foundation, the concept of service is called ‘love in action’ and this is one of the three founding pillars, the other two being inner listening and co-creation with nature. ‘Work’ departments are called service departments instead and a mixture of education and service is common for most guests at Findhorn. [Read more…]

Exploring Holistic Education – Spiritual Practice

April 2, 2012 by Centers' Gathering Leave a Comment

COMPONENTS OF HOLISTIC LEARNING

By Dave Till and Christine Lines

This is the tenth article in our series on Holistic Learning, to read the introduction and view the other components to follow please click here.

10. Spiritual Practice

If individual spirituality is acknowledged as the leading edge of the holistic process, a spiritual practice becomes invaluable.

Regular meditation, excursions into nature, singing, dancing, yoga, writing or parenting can all become a spiritual practice. These are practical methods of cultivating an awareness of the higher self, and can be quite different to a religious practice that may depend on a belief system and strict rules.

Dave Till shares, “I use my own creative writing, poetry and performance as part of my spiritual practice. Other people may use gardening or listening to music. The spiritual self is alive and well if it is acknowledged and we take time to listen to the wisdom it shares. Better still, if we acknowledge that the spirit has a role to play all day long in everything we do, then we create the basis for a truly holistic life.” [Read more…]

Exploring Holistic Education – Meditation and Attunement

March 28, 2012 by Centers' Gathering Leave a Comment

COMPONENTS OF HOLISTIC LEARNING

By Dave Till and Christine Lines

This is the ninth article in our series on Holistic Learning, to read the introduction and view the other components to follow please click here.

9. Meditation and Attunement

In a holistic community, meditation is an essential way to connect with our spiritual nature and move beyond the mental and emotional realms, into a place of inner silence and stillness.

Meditation and attunement are daily practices within the Findhorn Foundation, both in the service departments and in the guest programmes. There are daily meditations in the main sanctuaries morning and evening, held by community members, before and after work.

Most departments begin the morning shift with a short sharing or check-in, followed by a brief attunement, which is almost like a ‘mini meditation.’ The attunement is an opportunity to pause and connect with how we’re feeling in the moment, to connect with each other, and expand our awareness into the spiritual nature of life. It can also be an opportunity to focus on our intentions for being together, the project or the task at hand, and bless the day ahead. People often comment on how much more smoothly the day unfolds when it begins so consciously. [Read more…]

Findhorn 2012 – Staffing and Volunteers

March 12, 2012 by Centers' Gathering Leave a Comment

During the 2012 Gathering we will explore a variety of topics, including staffing and volunteers. The following members of our community have been invited to join the participants and each session is co-created by all involved, sharing experience and learning from each other.

Monica Bohni, is focaliser of the Spiritual and Personal Development Team and involved in our staff intake programme LEAP (Living Essentials Apprentice Programme) where people apprentice and learn the ways in which we live together here at Findhorn. [Read more…]