The second strand is learning through experience – what at Findhorn we call Living Education. This is particularly strong in the longer courses such as the Findhorn Community Semester. Traditional education is primarily concerned with training the mind, and relatively little attention is paid to the body except in sports, dance and vocations requiring manual skills. Very little attention is usually given to emotional, spiritual and relationship education, and, where it is, it often takes the form of talking about the subject rather than becoming involved in it. Yet real learning in these areas, like learning a physical skill, can only be gained from experience – by doing it. Actually, a lot of learning on these levels does go on in the classroom, but it is generally unconscious, and often has unforeseen consequences. For instance, we may learn about relating to others through hierarchies, and that it’s not ok to feel, let alone express, our emotions.
And so we try at Findhorn to include learning through experience in various ways. Some of this goes on in the relatively informal classroom setting, where we seek to break down the teacher-student divide and learn together simply as people with varied knowledge and experience. We encourage students to work cooperatively, and to express and resolve their feelings about what is happening in the group; and we share deep issues of meaning and purpose which are as important as facts and skills. Such experiential learning is gradually gaining acceptance in mainstream education, and the College is supported by the pioneering work and staff of the Human Potential Research Group at the University of Surrey, begun more than 25 years ago by John Heron (1).
A lot of the Living Education at Findhorn, particularly in the longer courses, happens outside the classroom through the experience of living, working and studying as a group in this community. In many ways, learning here is a 24 hour-a-day, 7 day-a-week process. Emotional maturity and relationship skills are learned through living together as a group; through joining a community work department in the gardens, kitchens or home care; through eating communal meals and participating in community rotas such as cleaning up after meals; and through observation and participation in community meetings and events.
Physical skills and fitness may be developed through participation in community recreational groups – dance, yoga, tai chi, mountain walking, tennis or whatever else takes the student’s fancy. And the body is engaged in learning in other ways, such as games for developing trust and cooperation within the group, and brain gym for facilitating mental learning. Spiritual awareness is facilitated through group attunements and meditations; working consciously with the natural energies of the world around us; community rituals and celebrations; the opportunity to explore and reflect on a diversity of spiritual practices; and informal discussions with community members from a wide variety of spiritual traditions.
This experiential learning is supported by the classroom curriculum which provides a theoretical context, and helps understanding and integration. In some courses, students are encouraged to keep a personal journal in which they record and reflect on their time here – this may be written, but could also take the form of audio or video tapes, art work, music or some other medium that feels right to the individual.
Often students find this holistic learning a deeply transformative experience that helps to shape the rest of their lives. To quote from a few recent participants in the Findhorn Community Semester:
I feel that the learning was taken much more seriously because the classes were our lives rather than being a few hours a week.
Lily
Living in the community with the teachers helped me to approach them on a more comfortable level.
Sage
There were a ton of things I learned from the living education, the biggest was taking responsibility for myself. The community life really gave a context for what we were learning in the courses.
Nika
Through the living education I learned that everything I learned in class applied directly to living … There was less academic pressure than in traditional settings and that actually increased my academic yield. The living education was essential for my understanding and absorption of classroom material. I could not/would not have learnt a fraction of what I have without the living education.
Michal
