Snow is
still on the ground and the air is driven by an icy chill. Here in Berlin the grey gritted snow is piled
by the pavements and the roadsides. It
should be the time when the buds are appearing on the trees and the first flowers
bring colour chasing away the drab grey of winter. However, the trees are black in the wintery
light and the grass maintains its dull, muddy semblance of green. Perhaps it is fitting to be observing this
city for the first, brief time against a winter that does not want to release
its icy grip quite yet.
We take a
boat ride along the river and through the peaceful canal waters. Occasionally we pass groups of small children
all woollen-hatted and buttoned up against the cold, their enthusiastic waving
and smiling faces warm us. We ride the
bus along the road of recent history and we walk along the edge of the city’s
large, still dormant, park and through the modern shopping complex. Our friend shows us around and we stare
silently at the remains of the wall that, until quite recently, separated
families and friends with cruel threats of terror and death. Outwardly there appears to be much
prosperity; a city now raised from the appalling destruction of the Second
World War and the following decades of drab ideological fragmentation. Yet our friend talks of psychological
fragility, the legacy of individual and communal experiences of the suffering
and horror in this lifetime of conflict.
The collective consciousness of such violent suffering cannot be healed
by economic rebuilding alone.
On my return
I watch original film of the destruction of Berlin as the Second World War came
to a close and the building of the Wall some fifteen years later. Watching the scale of violence is horrifying
and it is possible to feel that the determination to kill is a strong as the
fear of being killed. Evidence of
humanity’s cruelty, arrogance and stupidity is all too clear.
The present
contains all of the past and the seed of the future; this is not a separate,
isolated moment. Consciousness is the
movement from the past, through the present into the future. As human beings we are constantly trapped in
this seemingly endless prison of thinking, which is dominated by conflict. This thinking is expressed in the predominant
world mind set of a militaristic/industrial system where ideologies,
structures, organisations and institutions are considered more important than
the Earth and its inhabitants. What has
happened to Berlin is stark evidence of this mind set. So how do we change this way of thinking,
because if we do not then we shall surely destroy all of humanity? We have
cleverly ensured that we have the capability of doing this, and we are
successfully destroying many other species of living beings.
It seems to
me that the answer to this lies in our approach to education. However, our current system of education is
of the same mind set, indeed it is the cornerstone of militaristic/industrial
thinking. Our friend, Manish Jain, in
his essay titled ‘McEducation’, describes this approach to education as ‘a devastating system of social control,
cultural genocide and modern servitude to a suicidal economy.’* However, if we look at education as an
exploration into living, with the essence of this being the developing
self-awareness of the individual within the clear understanding that the
individual is undivided from the world, then there is the possibility for the
emergence of a compassionate, balanced society.
An
interesting development in exploring self-awareness in an educational setting
is the growth of mindfulness in schools.
Last month I attended the Third International Mindfulness in Schools Conference
in London. The main speaker was Jon
Kabat-Zinn, and a large audience also heard from teachers and students who are
putting the Mindfulness in Schools programme into practice. Much was said about the technique of being
mindful, giving attention to the moment and becoming aware of one’s breathing. Emphasis was put on the effectiveness of
mindfulness in alleviating stress and anxiety, especially in relation to
exams. The practice of mindfulness was
discussed in term of training the mind to be watchful; aware of the process of
thinking and gaining the skill of being mindful.
Unfortunately,
I was left with the impression that mindfulness was being used essentially as a
technique to enable young people to more effectively fit in to the prevailing
mind set; a tool for coping with modern life and to help the individual perform
more successfully. And, although the
practice would undoubtedly have some effect on a few young people, it was a
very separate aspect of the school curriculum.
‘We have to alter the structure of our
society, its injustice, its appalling morality, the divisions it has created
between man and man, the wars, the utter lack of affection and love that is
destroying the world. If your meditation
is only a personal matter, a thing which you personally enjoy then it is not
meditation. Meditation implies a
complete radical change of mind and heart.’
J Krishnamurti
Interventions
in the present school system, even those as important as mindfulness, cannot
bring about the radical change that is necessary. First we have to question the predominant
world view for otherwise we are merely getting our children ready for
destruction and with the weapons we have at our disposal Berlin may well be the
last city capable of being re-established after a human conflict.
- An 18
minute talk by Manish can be seen here - http://youtu.be/qGfuY9ivnW8 and the full text of his essay can be
read here - http://www.criticalliteracyjournal.org/
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