Archives for Feb,2017

DR. ZACCIAH BLACKBURN, Ph.D., director of The Center of Light Institute of Sound Healing and Shamanic Studies, located in Ascutney, VT, and faculty member at The Graduate Institute

Cultures the world over use sound to attune to, invoke and transform consciousness. It is a powerful tool as it is naturally vibrational and we are vibrational beings. Indeed, the most modern science shows us that all life is vibrational in nature. This is in line with age-old mystical thought of most cultures, which often allude to the vibrational nature of Creation.

The Hindus have a saying, “nada brahma,”or “all is sound” or “all of creation is sound.” They suggest that the primordial sound of manifest creation is the sound of “aum” or “om” … if we were to attune to the creative spirit, we would hear this sound. The Judeo-Christian culture might say “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). This also ties together the nature and power of sound with Creation. Other cultures have stories stating that the Creator had a thought, spoke the word of that thought, and Creation of that thought sprang forth from that word into manifestation. There are numerous theorems stipulating the melodic structures of the universe, from the spin of the planets around the sun to the sun around the galaxy to the spin of electrons in our body and the structure of our DNA. Our modern music is based upon these principals derived from Pythagoras and others.

Whatever our beliefs, we all know the power of the spoken word, music, chants and sung melodies, and how they can move us into states of rapture or despair. There is an inherent potency to the very nature of the sound itself and its emotional content, which can be amplified or enhanced by the spoken or sung verse. While so much music in Western culture has moved more into the secular arenas of entertainment, music in many cultures has historically held a deeply sacred space in the hearts and minds of their peoples. It has used as a catalyst to deeper insight, wisdom, transformation or growth.

Sound itself has an inherent transformative power. It is attuned to the creative matrix of the universe. By coupling sound or music with pure intention to attune to, invoke or transform our consciousness, we indeed have stepped into a powerful place. Sound healing is the intentional use of sound to create an environment that becomes a catalyst for healing in the physical, mental, emotional or spiritual aspects of our being.To become “healed,” simply means to become “whole.” While intent is not a necessary ingredient to affect change with the use of sound, pure or clear intention brings power to us. We cannot function without our intention. The more we are able to couple our actions with clear or pure intention, the greater our acts can manifest.

The intentional use of sound adds power to the conduit, whether it is through the use of an instrument or voice. By surrendering to the highest good, we ourselves become that conduit, or instrument, for peace, healing and change.

By coupling our highest and clearest integrity with our intention, we come into the greatest focus in the use of sound or any healing modality.

While sound can be generated from voice, instruments, recorded sounds or music, or tone generators, the more deeply and clearly we have coupled clear intentions for the highest good of the recipients in generating those sounds, the greater the outcome.

We can use conscious chanting for invocation or attunement, intuitive or “guided” music to come into deeper awareness. There are also the provocative sounds of crystal “singing” bowls, ancient Tibetan bowls or temple bells, the simple sounds of tuning forks, or formless “toning” (intuitive voicing) that all channel through our voice and body.No matter what techniques are used, sound is the current carrying the creative potency of unconditional love and grace from the subtle to physical dense realms.

BY:  Dr. James Trifone, Academic Director for The Graduate Institute’s Master of Arts in Learning and Thinking Degree Program

Educators and parents alike are taking notice of the stress that surrounds our children on a daily basis. The stressors and demands of modern American society leaves students at a disadvantage that can only be remedied by a significant change in the way we structure and approach teaching and learning. However, while well intentioned the current nationally imposed reform efforts have led to increased levels of anxiety, frustration and stress amongst educators. Moreover, contending with students’ increasing levels of anxiety, depression and stress to succeed in a competitive world have led to unprecedented educator absenteeism and burnout. Not surprisingly, research studies have revealed that stressed teachers create stressed students.

If we, as adults, are living and dying stressed out, how have we not caught on that students are also impacted by environmental stress? Perhaps, one might wonder if teenagers and children experience more stress than adults, since they are not ‘in control’ of situations as adults would be. Youngsters are also in the process of maturing, trying to find their place and exploring the world, which, of course adds another layer of underlying stress. Add to that the expectations of tests, homework, pressure to succeed or just to pass a class. Moreover, students are stressed to get a scholarship or make a team, cope with family hardships, health problems, parent’s fighting or breaking up, navigating their own feelings and relationships, not to mention trying to fit in or standing out.

Therefore, how do we expect students to find success and exceed in academics if they are not being taught healthy coping mechanisms? Stuck in a society of stress, we forget what a danger constant stress can be to ourselves and our children. However, there are a few teachers here in Connecticut who are taking steps to change and reverse the cycle of stress for themselves and for their students. These teachers are making changes in their classrooms, so the next generation will not be forced to stay in the detrimental cycle of being stressed out and sick. Many Connecticut teachers and soon-to-be teachers are choosing to release tension by engaging in grounding strategies, meditation, mindfulness and yoga. These professionals are working to better their lives. Moreover, integrating such strategies into their classrooms educators are beginning to see their students transform out of the stress culture into people who are focused on creating self-awareness and balance.

MINDFUL MOMENTS

Alisa Wright, teacher of wellness at Regional School District 6 in Morris, Warren, and Goshen elementary schools, felt that she had personally reached the point in her life where she wanted her attitude and self-awareness to be more focused, so she could create the environment that helped her thrive. When Ms. Wright was a student herself pursuing an Integrative Health and Healing Masters of Art degree at The Graduate Institute, in Bethany Connecticut, she was encouraged to explore Mindful Moments, as she calls them. Mindfulness is the practice of being and staying aware of objects, nature and the people around you. Repetitive actions and schedules take us away from being keenly aware of our surroundings, while mindfulness tries to connect with the normal everyday moments. These were moments of reflection on uniqueness, tapping into potential, and opening up to the realm of possibility that surrounds us.

As Ms. Wright reached the point where the practice of mindfulness was creating profound differences in her own life, she felt drawn to implement mindfulness techniques in her classroom, so her students could experience this ‘shift in feeling and thinking,’ too.

Ms. Wright started promoting mindfulness through the use of a community garden at her school. Students get to engage with nature and learn patience and focus and reflection as they work and reflect in the garden. She has seen that when the students are being taught how “to make observations on a holistic level allows them to explore details overlooked in the past, and they more fully understand the importance of becoming part of the garden experience. Students notice the beauty of nature and their relationship to it.”

STRESS DIFFUSING

Randy Colin teaches at Oxford High School in Oxford Connecticut, and is a current student enrolled in the Integrative Health and Healing Master of Art's Degree Program at The Graduate Institute. She stated that she was experiencing personal changes since she began to regularly practice the stress management techniques that she was introduced to by faculty. Randy has been implementing a lifestyle of striving for a ‘healthy balance’ in and out of the classroom.

Stress, in small doses, is good for our minds, since it spurs us into learning and adapting. However, ongoing stress over situations beyond our control can cause our minds and bodies to become unbalanced. Balanced living is achieved by knowing when and how to diffuse stress.

Keeping this in mind, Ms. Colin asks herself to be aware of what is triggering her own stress and why a certain reaction or fear is being expressed while she is in a ‘stressful’ situation. Being able to identify the source of stress allows one to redirect their reaction to a healthier method of dealing with the stressors. Students are taking note of the changes in Ms. Colin and are beginning to respond to her redirection methods. She has started using stress diffusing in her classroom, she tries to remind students to consider the cause of the stress and they talk about. If the stress is caused by something that isn’t so important, she helps them learn to release the stress. She is focusing her attention on calming their breathing and redirecting the frustration in a healthier manner. Knowing that redirecting can decrease discipline problems, she is focusing on teaching her students to identify stressors and to find healthier coping methods other than the ones they had previously developed. Stress diffusion is going to help students in the long term. These soft skills of coping and diffusing are necessary for functioning in society, but are rarely taught. Randy knows that her students will grow to be healthy, focused adults, because she is teaching them how to diffuse stress while they are still teenagers.

CALMING YOGA

Yes, you heard that right. There is a teacher here in Connecticut who is able to get your 5-16-year-old children to sit down and do yoga with her. It isn’t as hard as it sounds, and it helps them relax from their constant energy, focus on thinking and being mindful of their surroundings, and guides them to de-stress as they learn to release negative thoughts and energy.

Melissa Constantini, an educator with a Master of Arts Degree in Learning and Thinking from The Graduate Institute, has started meditation camps for students in Connecticut. During the camp, she guides students on utilizing focusing methods, anybody can benefit from learning how to keep their mind relaxed and focused on the task at hand, but children especially struggle with focus, since they usually are more focused on outward exploration rather than calming their minds.

Each day of the camp, the students practice seated meditation, then they all join in yoga before they begin the activities of the day. During creative time, she guides them in creating calming crafts, such as rain sticks or mandala circle journaling, to focus their minds on creativity. In doing this, students learn to use meditation to bring out passions, change and creating in the artistic areas.

DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO THE STUDENTS?

As noted above, Ms. Wright has begun to see what she is terming a restorative impact on the day for students who are practicing mindfulness. She has found that if her students are practicing mindfulness and reflection before she begins teaching them for the day, the classroom settles down with a focused energy which has a restorative impact on the rest of their day. This is allowing students to have a deepened understanding of the interconnectedness of self, others, and the world.

However, this change isn’t just happening in her classroom, the entire district has taken notice of the changes and many teachers have implemented her Mindful Moments. These teachers who have come on board with the idea are also finding similar results. Ms. Wright believes that helping students learn mindfulness and stress defusing techniques will have a “ripple effect of good” on the student’s lives.

Another teacher, Kahseim Outlaw had presented to his school faculty on the benefits of mindfulness, meditation and yoga, and later was able to start up an after-school yoga class for the faculty and students at his school. With each class, Kahseim taught yoga concepts and techniques. The basics of yoga lie in connecting mind and body and brings with it the ability to look deeper into actions and thoughts to find one’s purpose and path. While these are foundations of yoga practice, understanding these concepts is what takes a 1-hour yoga class and causes its impact to spread throughout one’s week and life.

In the beginning of the semester, the attendees were mostly faculty with a few scattered appearances by students. However, by week 5, there were more students attending than there were faculty members in the class. By the end of the 16-week semester, Kahseim was the only faculty present, all other attendees were students. Students were choosing to stay after-school to practice, discuss and explore meditation and yoga. Students who saw that staying for yoga for an hour would have a better effect on their lives than other activities they could be engaged in. Even during finals week, students wanted to stay for yoga, because they were seeing the difference a weekly 1-hour yoga class was having on their mindset, choices and academics.

According to Terri Bhatt, educator and co-founder of the Calm-trepreneur Program, high school students diagnosed with anxiety and depression often find themselves struggling with daily routines and classroom interactions.  For some, school attendance can become a challenge.  Recognizing that school absence reinforces anxiety rather than diminishes it, an Interim Instruction room fills the gap.  "Avoidance of pain or discomfort is a natural human response, but when avoidance of school and daily responsibilities starts to become a habit, we step in,” she shared.   The Interim Room, known as the “Zen Den” by students, is a dedicated classroom space that offers low-level, non-fluorescent lighting, comfortable seating and creative work zones, providing a low-sensory, low-stimulation environment for students.  Here, teens struggling with anxiety and depression learn breathing, grounding and mindfulness strategies, while also finding a supportive space in which to keep up with school work they might otherwise be missing.  “The results have been quite impressive,” Bhatt says.  "We are keeping students in school and on track.  More importantly, we’re giving them the tools they need to calmly re-focus their energy and manage their day."

One of Ms. Bhatt ​'s most important realizations has been that stress and anxiety can be contagious and self-reinforcing: “If teachers are stressed, their students probably are too.” Reports of anxiety in the teaching profession have reached an all-time high, with research pointing to teachers as having stress levels comparable to that of nurses and police officers.   ​As a response to this need, the Calmtrepreneur Program (www.calmtrepreneur.com) was developed ​to ​provide a comprehensive approach to tackling ongoing stress among teachers and other professionals.  With a focus on personal development and strategies for maintaining calm, the program aims to give participants the tools they need to self-manage and restore balance ​ - which translates to a healthier classroom environment for everyone.

In closing, it should be said that with so much chaos and stress surrounding us, it is great to know that the future generation is being taught different, BETTER coping mechanism for handling the hard moments in life. Maybe our children will be able to do more than cope, maybe they will be able to rise above stress and live in mindful awareness in every moment of their life.

But to get there, to give them the chance to have a different lifestyle for them to know a less stressful existence, educators and parents need to make a mindset change.  Schools of today and tomorrow need to embrace a new culture of learning and thinking, whereby classrooms become mindscapes for engaging and drawing upon the inherent creative and intellectual capacities of all learners. It is now necessary to deconstruct the current educational framework and dialogue on reconstructing ones that better address the challenges of learning and thinking in the 21st century.

Learn more about our programs @  learn.edu

I recently attended week-long conference at the Ghost Ranch in Albquiú, New Mexico. The conference was entitled "Earth Honoring Faith: Journey of the Universe” and featured a cadre of eminent religious and scientific scholars. Two of the presenters Mary Evelyn Tucker and her husband John Grim are visiting faculty with The Graduate Institute. Tucker is a senior lecturer and religious scholar in Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, as well as the Divinity School and the Department of Religious Studies. Grim is a Yale University professor with expertise in Native American religions, as well as co-founder and co-director with Tucker of Yale’s Forum on Religion and Ecology.

The conference focused on developing a new worldview that embraces the wisdom from both science and religion to better understand how to re-connect humanity within rather than outside of Nature. The conference theme stemmed from the inspirational book and Emmy award-winning documentary Journey of the Universe [JOTU] co-written by cosmologist Brian Swimme along with Mary Evelyn Tucker. In addition Tucker and her husband were executive producers of JOTU.

The film weaves together the insights gleaned from modern science with the enduring wisdom from the world’s religions to view Cosmic and Earth evolution as a profound process of creativity, connection and interdependence. The film instills a deep sense of belonging and participation that invites us to embrace a more meaningful understanding of our place and role in the story of the universe. JOTU tells a story situating humanity as one of millions of interdependent species borne within the womb of the Cosmos. All matter can be traced to the prodigious energies used to forge every known element either within the fusion furnaces of stars during their “lives” or when they have reached the end of their billion-year lifespan culminating with a billowing fireworks-like display of kaleidoscopic plumes of gas and dust in the wake of a supernova explosion. Therefore, as Carl Sagan iterated decades ago, we are all “star stuff” and, as such, kindred spirits with all of creation.

Religious leaders, environmental and social activists, as well as educators attended the conference whose overall design was to (1) emphasize that we are one human family connected to each other and all there is and; (2) engender a discussion of constructively responding to the ecological, political, social, economic and educational crises we currently face as a global family. One of the notions discussed was the relationship between opposing processes that give rise to form and structure of our planet. What this brought to mind was the dialectic between extinction and the opposing process of emergence or re-birth. There have been five mass extinctions of life on Earth over the course of the past 3.6 billion years, all of which can be attributed to natural processes. However, in the aftermath of each mass extinction, like the Phoenix arising from the ashes, life not only persisted but also flourished in abundance and diversity.

Scientists now concur that we have reached the end of the Cenozoic geological period, during which time the Earth witnessed the adaptive radiation of thousands of mammalian species including our own only a few hundred thousand years ago. A study, recently published in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, confirms what many scientists have believed for some time.- “…The resulting biological annihilation obviously will have serious ecological, economic and social consequences. Humanity will eventually pay a very high price for the decimation of the only assemblage of life that we know of in the universe.” We are now immersed in a new epoch characterized by “biological annihilation” of wildlife that the Earth has not experienced since the last mass extinction millions of years ago. However, unlike mass extinctions of past eons, this new one is due to overpopulation and overconsumption, as well as the intervention in natural processes of a single species-Homo sapiens. Therefore scientists have confirmed Earth has now entered into what is now called the Anthropocene epoch [the prefix “Anthro” refers to human]. The Anthropocene is so named because the planet’s landscape, air and water systems are being transfigured and negatively impacted while its plant and animal inhabitants decimated due to the human predilection to survive at the expense of everything else.

Nonetheless, as the geological record has revealed, the Earth is resilient and has survived past mass extinctions and therefore will survive and thrive with or without us. Thus, there is hope in recognizing the creative, renewing and fecund nature of our planet wherein the emergence of new species will continue to evolve and replace extinct species for ages to come. However, if we want to continue journeying with Mother Earth we need to recognize that this emergence-extinction dialectic is neither pendulum-like nor cyclical. Rather this dialectic depicts the spiraling and evolving of "time and place" creating new contexts. We need to acknowledge that we live in a living and evolving Universe. It is a difference between viewing it as a dead and static state of "being" and recognizing it as a living and dynamic state of "becoming". Henceforth, rather than viewing ourselves as human "beings" it appears more accurate to perceive ourselves as human "becomings" who have reached a critical juncture, or what Malcolm Gladwell refers to as a “tipping point” in our evolution. Whether our species continues the journey depends on whether or not we choose to consciously make changes in how we view ourselves and interact with the landscape, air, water and myriad species that Mother Nature has spun on her loom into one grand tapestry that we perceive as the “web of life”.

The time has come to reinterpret the 18th century Enlightenment values of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness through the lens of inter-connectedness or what Vietnamese and Buddhist poet, Thich Nhat Hanh, refers to as “inter-being” [i.e. to interdependently exist with others]. What the world needs today is to experience "wonder" within the sacred natural world we call home. Wonder or awe literally takes ones breath away. In awe’s wake one’s breath is restored through the process of inspiration, whose etymological roots can be traced to the word "spirit". Therefore, being awe-struck leaves us transformed and able to see things anew that as a consequence, leaves us re-spirited and thus, enlightened to perceive what before had only been overlooked or unseen. What the world needs now is a new story filled with wonder along with the wisdom that emerges when taking time to observe and appreciate the natural beauty and elegance in the form and structure of our environs. Humans need to finally recognize and acknowledge that we are entangled in an interdependent “web of life”. Moreover, it behooves us to begin behaving like a “family” member rather than a stranger to our global inhabitants, as well as resolve to fully participate as trusted guardians rather than plunderers of our planet and Her resources.

The new crises created during the human age of modernity require now, more than ever, a New Story of interdependence and spirituality that spawns new forms of social, spiritual and environmental activism based on: (1) embracing ecological integrity; (2) fostering social, economic and restorative justice and democracy; (3) non-violence and Peace; (4) valuing, respecting and honoring the spiritual connection between humans and the Earth; (5) integrating science and ethics; (6) viewing the universe as a “living”, creative and evolving system; (7) activating human energy for ecological and social change; (8) acknowledging humans as "trustees" rather than stewards of the earth; (9) embracing a broadened ethics among humans and non-humans; and (10) espousing an integral ecology whose values include: (1) reverence for the earth community; (2) respect for humans and all species; (3) restraint in use of natural resources; (4) retribution of technology and aid; and (5) responsibility for the future of life and restoration of ecosystems.

The Earth Charter [http://earthcharter.org/discover/the-earth-charter/] began as a United Nations initiative, but was carried forward and completed by a global civil society initiative in the last decade of the 20th century. The Charter provides an ethical framework requisite to creating a “just, sustainable and peaceful global society for the 21st century” and, as such, can serve as a primer on writing a New Story.

The Preamble of the Earth Charter begins with a profound and sobering notion:

“We stand at a critical moment in Earth’s history, a time when humanity must choose its future. As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise. To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny. We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace. Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations.”

Pope Francis proposes in his recent Encyclical that we embrace an integral ecology as a new paradigm of justice; an ecology “which respects our unique place as human beings in this world and our relationship to our surroundings”. The inherent wisdom in this papal document is thus aligned with those that espoused by others, most notably His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Therefore, the religious and scientific communities are united in their appeal to usher in a new accord that promotes embracing an integral ecology founded on interconnectedness and interdependence of our global community.

In order to connect the message inherent in JOTU with both the Earth Charter and the Encyclical we, as a global society, need to adopt a new set of global-centric values that speak to the entire Earth community. JOTU's message is that we are all "star stuff" and therefore, interrelated and interdependent. Moreover, we are ALL on the same journey as One with the Universe. It is a shift in mindset from focusing on the needs, desires and wants of the "self" to those of "Self". Getting there will require being open to dialogue and therefore listening to each other and co-evolving new values that support the Earth Charter's guiding principles for nature, human rights, economic justice and a culture of peace.

Towards that end, the mission and vision statements of The Graduate Institute that underlie its degree and certificate programs are not only aligned with the tenets of the Earth Charter, integral ecology and the wisdom lying at the heart of the Encyclical, but also offer its students portals through which they can accept our challenge to assume the role of change agents thereby becoming ambassadors of a New Story. The Graduate Institute stands as a paragon of hope for a new and healthier global future.

“The Graduate Institute’s mission is to create learning communities in which graduate study enriches the spirit, promotes philosophic discovery, provides opportunities for interpersonal and organizational change and encourages the intellect through the exploration of contemporary ideas and ideologies... to promote personal transcendence and professional growth.…It is the spiritual, emotional and intellectual evolution of the species that gives rise to a promise of greatness and hope. …The Institute's programs, with their unique perspectives on intellectual, emotional, cultural and spiritual forces, exist to serve humanity as a continuum from which to find itself… provides the "distant sightedness" that focuses the body politic in its effort towards Cultural Revolution.”

Dr. James Trifone is the Academic Director for The Graduate Institute’s Master of Arts in Learning and Thinking Degree Program in Bethany, CT. learn.edu