Larger Conversations

I have to really appreciate the discipline of school and work, as well as the wonderful conversations I have been having through the portal. I am also learning the value of being able to see myself as part of a larger conversation. Sometimes, engaging in these larger conversations is a way of letting go of attachment to one's own opinions and sense of self.
   I also have a better sense recently of what most engages me in education, namely the sense of an expanding consciousness. Christopher Basche (2008) has written about a kind of collective classroom which extends across many years, and which captures the growing momentum of an engaged kind of learning. I think this corresponds to the notion that karma does not disappear; rather, it tends to remain and take on many forms in the future. This is why, even though I may not benefit too much from taking courses, I am at least able to appreciate the experience of contributing to a larger community that extends beyond myself.
   Taking courses is also different from other communities I have been in, where I have made poor decisions or judgments and had to pay the consequences for those decisions. In engaging in a room where everyone is equal, I have a chance to enjoy the give and take process without having so many decisions to make on behalf of others. I believe that for this reason the ideal classroom experience blends leadership with a respectful dialogue, and it is also a training ground for making decisions in a bigger life arena.

Bache, C. (2008) The Living Classroom: Teaching and Collective Consciousness (SUNY Pr, 2008)