As I went back into the community center to pick up the last of my things after the concert, I could tangibly feel the beauty that the students created with their music. I stood for a moment in the now empty hall, and tried to imprint the feeling and vibration of this beautiful evening into my memory.

Last Friday night, Dec 7th, was our annual Living Wisdom School Christmas Concert, presenting the entire K-12 classes in an hour long program. I am so blessed to be working with such a talented group of young singers and instrumentalists. We have around 50 students, with a few hours each week to rehearse, and it is remarkable what these kids can do! We have the 21 high schoolers singing 4 part songs, including Handel’s Halleluiah Chorus this year, which is quite an undertaking! They rose to the challenge beautifully, and have learned to sing not only beautifully, but from a deeper place of inspiration than ever before.

Here is an excerpt from one of the pieces they did by themselves, without me conducting, entitled “Ave Verum Corpus” by Mozart. See if you can feel how beautifully they can present the music not only with sound, but with their feeling and channeling of inspiration.

There were many many singers who wanted to do solos, but of course there aren’t enough places to fit them all in! Here is “The Christmas Mystery,” written by Swami Kriyananda, featuring Balarama’s 2 – 3 grade class singing the first verse, a quartet of High School boys singing the second, and Sam, a second grader, beginning the fourth. (I’ve edited the recording for these highlights).

The auditorium was packed to capacity, and many felt the great blessings that these incredible kids shone forth through their music that night. My job is to keep them busy with the most inspired songs I can possibly find, and challenge them to feel as deeply as they can the Divine Presence within each one.

“Spiritual education” is still a new concept for most people. Many adults are only too familiar with the superficially related, but fundamentally different term of “religious education.”

The indoctrination and coercion embedded in this latter approach drove many people away from any form of religious practice. Their reaction has often resulted in an unwillingness to share any higher principles with today’s children.

We see the unfortunate consequences of this approach in the heartrending statistics on teenage drug use, sexuality, violence, and even suicide. In 1925 Paramhansa Yogananda wrote an article titled “The Balanced Life:”

Educational authorities deem it impossible to teach spiritual principles in public schools because they confuse them with the variety of conflicting forms of religious faiths.

But if they concentrate on the universal principles of peace, love, service, tolerance and faith that govern the spiritual life, and devise methods of practically growing such seeds in the fertile soil of the child’s mind, then the imaginary difficulty is dissolved.

It is the greatest mistake to ignore this problem just because it is seemingly difficult.

Here at Ananda we have tried to take these words to heart. Beginning in 1972 with the founding of our elementary school, we began evolving what has become known as “Education for Life.”

The basic principles of our approach, as outlined in the book by Swami Kriyananda, emphasize the need for helping children develop four main “Tools of Maturity:”

· The body
· Feelings
· Will
· Intellect

This simple approach has far-reaching consequences. In focusing on the body, children learn to recognize and release unwanted stress and also to recharge the body with energy whenever it is needed.

Through working with feelings comes the ability to redirect harmful emotions such as anger, jealousy, and greed into peace, contentment, and the willingness to share.

By developing the will, students learn not only how to manifest their goals, but to do so in harmony with the needs and feelings of others.

Finally, the intellect can be cultivated in conjunction with the other three tools to produce clear, creative, solution-minded thinking instead of fact-heavy ruminations or unproductive theorizing.

Imagine starting your adult life with these skills already intact!

There has now been a whole generation of young adults who have benefited from the Education for Life approach. You can see some of their biographies on our website.

Over the years we have added a high school in 1997 and a college in 2003, in addition to other elementary schools in Palo Alto, Sacramento, Portland, Seattle, Encinitas, and Assisi, Italy.

In all of these places it has become abundantly clear that spiritual education is not only possible, but urgently needed if we want to truly serve our children.

The Ananda Living Wisdom School began last Wednesday, with more than 70 students from preschool through college enrolled! As the music director for the school, they asked me to lead everyone in singing the school theme song, written by Swami Kriyananda, entitled “Sing in the Meadows.” The words and music speak beautifully to what we try to impart:

Sing in the meadows and ev’rywhere:
Sing out a blessing to ev’ryone!
Lift up your voices, Lift your hands on high.
Sing and the battle is won.

What is needed in any quest for success? The ability to raise your energy to meet challenges. What is needed to find true happiness? An expansion of awareness and sympathies - when we bless others, we in turn are blessed by the expansion of our own consciousness.

Music plays a crucial role in the school, and I am lucky enough to work with all the classes. In our high school choir we began work on Handel’s Halleluiah Chorus today, if you can believe it! There are about 22 enrolled from 7th – 12th grade, and yet last spring we were able to put on a production of The Sound of Music. Needless to say, there are many many talented students!

We work a great deal with the music of Swami Kriyananda in all the grades, not from a dogmatic “this is what we do” approach, but because the kids love to sing the songs, and it works! When the classes are done, the energy in the room has changed, and the kids have touched something deeper than just pretty melodies and interesting rhythms – they are able to feel the inspiration behind the songs, whether it be love, high energy, joy, or peace.

Recently, the parent of a first-grader told me how grateful she was for the culture of calm and compassion at our Living Wisdom School. She had just seen her son, on his way to fill his water bottle, turn to a classmate and ask if he can fill her water bottle too.

The mom attributed the servicefulness of her 7 year-old to the teachers, curriculum, and most of all, the spirit of Living Wisdom School. A major aim of the Education for Life curriculum is to help children understand that lasting happiness comes from compassion for others.

Children respond to this approach with enthusiasm, as they relax into becoming themselves. Sophia, a kindergartener who has attended Living Wisdom for pre-school and pre-K, says, “I want to go to this school forever and forever!”

Living Wisdom Schools are part of a network of schools united in their core philosophy, Education for Life. This is a system in which personal development is more important than the memorization of facts; where wisdom is valued over knowledge, and the education is aimed at the whole person, not merely the intellect.

Presently, there are several Living Wisdom Schools in the Education for Life network, located at Ananda Communities in Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; Palo Alto, Sacramento, and Nevada City, CA; and Assisi, Italy. There is also an affiliate Seaside Wisdom for Life School in Encinitas, CA.

The first Education for Life School began in the early 1970s at Ananda Village, with the express goal of bringing spirituality into education. Through many years of experience, teachers learned what worked and what didn’t, in helping children develop their deepest natures.

What does not work is being told what to do. Lectures and discussions can be intellectually stimulating, yet not realized in action. What does works is giving children real experiences and the chance to reflect on them.

Skills for Living

For example, a child had trouble sharing her materials and classroom equipment in one of the classes. The teacher put the children in pairs, and had partners share scissors for an art project. In advance, the children role-played, practicing phrases such as, “May I use the scissors now?” and, “I’ll work on coloring while you use the scissors.”

Of course, the teacher paired the student who had difficulty sharing, with a student who was able to be assertive if needed. As a result, the spirit of sharing increased in the entire classroom. This, in turn, helped the student who had trouble cooperating. Cooperation is not a separate class, but a way of doing every activity.

Skills for Living, as we call them, are taught in our schools, because students will be happier if they have them. These skills also contribute to success later in life. A recent poll taken by the International Association of Administrative Professionals found that only 9% of managers said they would hire someone who has strong technical expertise but weak interpersonal skills.

On the other hand, 67% of them said they would hire an applicant with strong “soft” skills, which include organization, verbal communication, teamwork and tact, but whose technical abilities were lacking.

Directional Relativity

In addition to universal values, Education for Life focuses on helping children gain control of their energy. Children cannot use their will power if they are unwilling or “shut down.” The teacher’s first goal is to awaken their enthusiasm.

Next, the teacher helps to focus the children’s attention. Finally, the child’s energy is ready to be directed to pursue a goal (learn about insects), or have an experience (express themselves through painting).

How a teacher motivates a child or class depends on how much energy is being expressed:

1. None or very little
2. Enough to get what one wants for one’s self
3. Enough to be directed toward selfless goals—the good of everyone, or learning for the joy of it

This principle is called Directional Relativity.

Directional Relativity is a unique contribution of Education for Life to educational theory. It depends on a holistic view of the student as a being with a body, will, feeling, and intellect.

Keeping a positive flow of energy going in the classroom is an important principle. This stands in stark contrast to the current trend in education, which breaks the learning down into simplistic steps that can be tested, but that often kill the joy of learning.

Joy in learning is a hallmark of all successful schools. In the best schools that nurture the whole child, students also learn how to find the joy within. As second-grader Dolby told his mother, “I wish every day was Monday…so I was going to school!”

Ananda Portland Living Wisdom School Mission Statement:

“To help children develop their unique potential, and give them the tools to make life choices that lead to lasting happiness.”

Susan Usha Dermond is author of Calm and Compassionate Children, A Handbook, and co-director of the Education for Life Foundation. The Foundation offers teacher training, books, including Education for Life by J. Donald Walters, and DVDs for parents and teachers.