by Motavenda Melchizedek
When I look back over my own history of experiences, I find it hard to see a strong relationship between personal success and education, though I sense the potential lays buried there somewhere. And, I believe my experience is one shared by many others in our society. We must begin this discussion by considering the components of individual success. In America today, we measure success largely based on money and material acquisitions above other things. Professional status is also considered a sign of success as is the appearance of family cohesion. But, much is left out of the equation and this feeds the social ills we see rapidly growing when we look toward the collective outpicturing of society at large.
The truer definition of personal success is contingent on the nature of the soul of the individual and the proper pairing of their dreams and destiny with the education and tools that will empower them to reach the destiny they desire from deep within. Ironically, for many, this process is cut short very early in life through the very processes of socialization and education. As Albert Einstein (1879-1955) said, “It is in fact, nothing short of a miracle that modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry.” I certainly felt the danger as a child.
Our current public educational system does not seem to take personal empowerment into consideration in its designs. Curriculums can end up undermining the sense of self and subjugating students into curtailed and broken visionaries who do not bring forth their brilliance or their powerful gifts and skills which they would naturally share with the world if they were not stopped in their tracks somewhere early along the road. It is their human nature to bring about a more holistic place for us all to inhabit, but instead, so many children seem to feel despair. It is time to ask ourselves, “What on earth are we doing with these powerful resources?”
Inside of a capitalistic paradigm the definitions of success can be suffocating and debilitating to those not driven by, or wanting to be driven by, the motivating forces that conspire to elevate capitalism to the top of the heap. We must expand our sense of what is worthwhile here. We cannot co-create a healthy world for us all to inhabit if we do not make room for the voices and unfoldment of everyone.
Educational venues are rapidly evolving within the public domain and this is opening up great new possibilities for people to access knowledge beyond the parameters that have bound us. Access to technology allows us to soar through cyberspace down unending avenues in search of information, education and higher knowledge. People feel the power to reach in the directions that compel them and the enormity of the hunger and the feasting taking place is quite a sight to behold.
I think we can all agree that reading, writing and arithmetic are fundamentally useful areas of knowledge in which basic aptitude essential to elementary functioning in most pursuits in everyday life reside. So, these studies seem to be worthwhile basics to hand to children with confidence. But, what next?
Examination of the current consensus definition of personal success and its marriage to education reveals a need to expand our definition of “success.” Rather than breakdown the individual to make them compliant and complicit, perhaps we should enable them to unfold more fully. We should encourage intuition and contemplation and discernment. We should help children grow and believe in their intuition. As the famed philosopher Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) observed so astutely, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
I cannot remember much of anything about my early life education beyond the sense that I had to remain split-off and detached from the experience in order to preserve my soul and my relationship to myself and to my knowing. This is an experience I have heard many others say they had too. Oftentimes, it has been artists and revolutionary types who felt something was terribly wrong with the system of education and they saw it as a place that was frightening and highly disempowering for them.
I have recently returned to school after a twenty year hiatus. I am existing again within the realms of public education and from this vantage point I can see that there are things I am learning now that can potentially help me to further my own personal success. I have a better understanding of what that entails and I have a new strength that allows me to stay true to my own vision.
But there are many things untaught in basic public educational arenas that could be greatly beneficial to many students. Thinking deeply is one thing that everyone benefits from being capable of doing. Listening to others and having respect for different viewpoints is another valuable tool that lends itself to greater personal success. Being able to articulate one’s views, insights and understandings is another fundamental key to success in life.
I have never quite found my way to exist fully empowered in this society. This is in large part due to the constraints of what is believed to be possible here and also because this culture is so strongly built upon the masses conceding to participate inside of structures that are inherently flawed and intolerant of deep soul level clarity and expression. I feel that the children of today will not accept such a fate. There is a growing awareness that we must find our way to honor the souls of all children and learn new ways to exist capable of empowering them to achieve true success in life. As so poignantly stated by the great philosopher and educator John Dewey (1859-1952), "Anyone who has begun to think, places some portion of the world in jeopardy." Given the state our world today, this would must be seen as a good thing to encourage.