SYNOPSIS OF ALICE PROJECT
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
- Logo
Awakening Special Universal Education Society
Alice Project School, Sarnath, UP 221007, India Phone 09973918773 mail v_giacomin@hotmail.com www.aliceproject.org
Synopsis of the Alice Project
Students
By
Valentino Giacomin
Theam Covered
Cognitive reframing/ reconstruction
Overview
Using a series of stories, techniques, meditation and yoga we want to stimulate the transpersonal intelligence of the students. This is to help them to cope with the traumatic experience of the global warming, the crisis of society and the present educational system, which affect their lives and their psyche. The alarming increase of violence in our society and at schools – teasing, bulling, and physical harassment – is the symptom of a serious deep social and psychological disease that we have to recognize first, and then try to cure. How to help the students who are carrying in their mind psychological scars caused by traumatic events (violence in their family, disturbing experiences, abuse victims, bullysm, natural disaster, loss of relatives…)?
The Alice Project View
By using metaphors to depict the stressful experiences of the students, we incorporate the wisdom of major religions followed by our students (Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam) and their ethics based on wisdom (seeing the mental and physical phenomena from a different perspective, a higher point of view) and the power of positive thinking that generates positive emotions such as love and positive response to others’ negative behavior (forgiveness). With scientific research (scientific account of perception) and psychological techniques we intend to realize a cognitive reframing of the traumatic experiences of the students. For example: the difference between a hero and a traitor depends on the point of view. If we change the point of view, a hero can turn into a villain and a villain into a hero. So the students are encouraged not look for a villain or a hero, an enemy or friend outside of themselves. “By watching your mind, you will find the whole universe!” This is our ecological paradigm. Once the students shift the focus of their attention (mindfulness) from the external phenomena to their inner world (internal phenomena such as thoughts, feeling, emotions, images) we invite them to watch the “inner show” without judgment. The target of this meditation is to help the students to understand the inner dualism inside their mind: I and other thoughts. (See below)
Meeting National Standards
This special program was developed in accord with the Indian National scheme, which promotes culture and values in education.
The Scheme of Assistance to the Agencies for Strengthening Culture and Values in Education started in 1988-89.
The Scheme has two aims:
a. Strengthening cultural and value education inputs in the school and non-formal education system.
b. Strengthening the in-service training of art, craft, of music and dance teachers.
Teaching According to the Alice Project Methodology
Curriculum Rationale
We do not directly focus students’ attention on any particular incident or fact, but we promote reflective processing with the final target of changing the perspective, the point of view. [Reference: V. Giacomin, Il Maestro di Alice, Ed. Publiprint, Trento, 1988, Follette,V., Ruzek,J, Abueg, F. Cognitive-behavioral therapies for trauma. Guilford Press: 1988. Beck, A.T. (1976). Cognitive therapy and emotional disorders New York: International University Press. Pynoos, R. & Eth, S. (1985). Witnessing Violence: The child interview, Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry. 25, 306-319. ]
The students are encouraged develop their own point of view by reasoning, discussion, practical experiences, meditation, drawing, songs, theater, scientific experiments and religious myths. They are encouraged to shift their minds from an old scientific western paradigm based on dualistic vision of the reality to a new paradigm based on a holistic and unitary perception of themselves and the world. This way of thinking is for instance common to Christianity, Sufism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. (5) The consequence is a new relationship with nature and society (ecology of mind, or deep ecology).
Assumption
The assumption of the Alice Project methodology is that suffering is caused by a wrong perception of the reality. If we want to end suffering we have to consider the chain of cognition:
Thought – images – ideas – emotions – physical reaction – language (speaking) – motivation – decision – re-action – result of action for oneself – result of action for others.
From a wrong or inadequate thought, come wrong ideas, painful physical reactions, harsh words, wrong motivation, wrong decisions, wrong reactions, wrong actions, and negative results for oneself and others.
According to Alice Project intuition and experience and cognitive therapy, it seems that all kinds of suffering are based on irrational or inadequate thoughts. We infer that also the pain caused by anger, hate and desire of revenge in our students is not only the direct result of an incident, but mainly the result of a wrong pattern of thinking. The students’ memories are filled with poisonous thoughts. Whenever those vicious thoughts arise, the cognitive chain becomes pathological. At the end, the result is pathological: suffering.
It is important to help the students to understand that even psychological suffering is caused by a wrong perception of inner reality. In other words, we suffer because we are ignorant. We do not know how inner phenomena exist.
Philosophical Remedy
Cognitive behavior therapy (Albert Ellis, Aaron T. Beck) suggests recognizing distorted thinking and learning and suggest substituting it with more realistic ideas. The invalid, depressive thoughts are rejected and replaced by more accurate ones.
Alice Project approach develops this further: Valentino Giacomin, the founder of the project, writes in the Synopsis of Alice Project (Alice Project, 2005, Introduction):
“To heal the wounds of traumatized children we should not only work on a specific incident and the resulting invalid thoughts, but we should help the children to recognize the real root of all suffering. The traumatic experience of the killing and the resulting suffering is only a secondary cause of suffering. In other words, it is itself the result of a pre-existing negative cognitive chain of thoughts.
Victims and perpetrators are both results of a pathological cognitive chain, deriving from an invalid thought, and an inaccurate way of thinking. The Bible calls it “original sin” or the beginning of the valley of sorrow (6).
What is the mythological (symbolic) beginning of this hell on earth? We can find it in the creation myths of almost all religions: dualistic thought (the tree of good and bad in the Eden). The dualistic vision of the world is the cause of the “original sin” or ignorance: perceiving the world as separate and independent from God (according to Hinduism), from ourselves, perceiving ourselves as separate and independent from others, while we are not. We need to shift from the old dualistic paradigm (mechanical vision) to a new one, which states that we are interdependent: we are one, the Whole, the Totality. If we do not realize this and perceive ourselves within the limited boundary of our ego-mind, identifying ourselves with the thought of an “I”, it would be as if the ocean identified itself with a small wave. From this wrong vision comes what we call the existential suffering. This is the suffering which precedes all other sufferings, included the pains of our students and their parents.”
1. Scientific approach
By using a scientific explanation we help the students to understand that their perception of the world is usually inadequate. The two fundamental mistakes are:
a. We perceive what is not due to the inaccuracy of knowledge built though our senses.
b. We perceive the phenomena as existing in a wrong place (out there). (See Dzog Chen, Mahamudra teachings)
The Scientific Account of Perception
“The objects reflect the light from the sun in all directions. Some of this light from a particular, unique point on the object will fall all over the corneas of the eyes and the combined cornea/lens system of the eyes will divert the light to two points, one on each retina. The pattern of points of light on each retina forms an image. The overall effect is to encode position data on a stream of photons and to transfer this encoding onto a pattern on the retina. The patterns on the retina are the only optical images found perception, prior to the retinas light is arranged as a fog of photons going in all directions.
The resolved data from the retina is sent to the brain though the optic nerve in the visual cortex where some areas have relatively more specialized functions (modeling of the motion, adding color…). The resulting single image that the subjects report as their experience is called a ‘percept’.”
So, What we actually see is not an external object, but its reflex, an image built by our brain. What we perceive is only the final result of the brain activity. We could say that the brain perceives itself! (Indirect Realism opposed to Direct Realism- John Locke, E. Kant).
The original sin of perception and the target of the course
If the students do not recognize the difference between ‘percept’ and external phenomena, they will make the mistake of believing that their thoughts and mental images are the material reality (naïve realism). This is, of course, a wrong thought. The wrong thought will be the origin of the invalid chain of cognition, simply known as ignorance. How can we get rid of this original sin?
2. Long-term objectives of cognitive reframing
At the end of the course, the students should recognize the inadequacy of their old way of thinking. By discovering that the external world is absolutely empty of their mental images and thoughts they can develop new perspectives. In other words, they cannot find the content of the mind (ideas, concepts, thoughts) outside the mind itself, i.e. in the external world. Usually, we do not know this, because we do neither know how the mind is working nor the mechanism of projection. All our knowledge is based on this wrong perception of the world, unknowing that the perceived world we see is merely a mental creation. During the course, we will help the students to reframe their knowledge, after “demolishing” the old wrong view that believes in the existence of an independent world “out there”.
Finally the students are trained to watch themselves, their thoughts, emotions, and see the world from a different perspective: from within.
The students are encouraged to understand that the dualistic vision of the external word which is the cause of ecological disaster is transferred into our mind (I and my emotions; I and the thought of others). As we separate in the external word the sun from the moon, the Earth from other planets, one continent from other continents, in the same way we separate the inner phenomena. We separate the I-thought from other thoughts. We think that the I is something which exists apart from other functions of the mind. We try to help the students to discover the consequences of this way of thinking. Is there in our mind an independent thought called I? If we believe there is such an independent thought, then what is the result? We do not need to study many books to answer to this question. We have just to look at our mind, right now. Are we happy? Is our mind relaxed? Is there always peace? Can we control our mind or our mind, our thoughts our emotions are carrying us where they want, without any power from our side? Is there happiness in our mind or we feel confused, worried, anxious and unsatisfied? Why are we suffering from inner conflicts, negative emotions like jealousy, anger, pride, attachment? If this is the result of our way of thinking about our I, then we have to think that, may be, something is wrong there.
What is wrong? May be we do not have a right understanding about what is going on in our mind, about the nature of our I-thought. In other words, we are victim of our ignorance, our wrong views. As we mentioned before, from wrong views wrong emotions come and, finally, wrong actions. Who is looking at the thought? Is the I looking at the thought? (“ I look at!”). If it is the I, then what is this I? What is made of? From where does it come? Why is it so important? Is the I a thought or something different? If it is a thought, then what is a thought? Is the I real? If so, this mean that our thoughts are real. What is the difference between the I-thought and the thoughts of others? If they are both thoughts, why do we think one is more important then other? If both are a product of the mind.
3. Curriculum and general objectives
3.1 Helping the students to heal their destructive emotions developing an Intrapersonal Intelligence (7) and reframing (cognitive restructuring) the vision (Newton vision) of themselves and the world, through a dialectic process of thesis, antithesis and synthesis, based on a new western scientific paradigm (concept of Unity) and holistic vision of oriental religions.
a) I think I am this. (thesis – position – affirmation)
b) I am not what I think I am. (antithesis – opposition – negation)
c) My identity is beyond thoughts. (synthesis – reconciliation – reaffirmation – transcendence)
3.2 To present the value of incorporating the parents and adults into the student’s support system
4. Didactic program – First year course
Theoretical, anthropological and philosophical approach, following the traditional culture of Indian students (8) Specific objectives – step-by-step – topics of the course
I. Didactic Unit
Outside and inside – thoughts and emotions
a) Outside: Analysis external reality
- Is our ‘outside’ and ‘inside’ separate or united?
- What elements are outside? (Trees, houses, sky, clouds…)
- What is our body doing at this moment? (Are we sitting? are we writing?)
- What are we doing? (We are looking, we are listening, and we are touching)
b) Analysis Sensation and Perceptions
- Sight- hearing- taste- smell- touch
- Inside: Thoughts
- What lies inside us? (Heart, lungs,…)
Following our breath, we go ‘inside’.
- What do we find?
The ‘house’ of thoughts, emotions, memories…
Fast thoughts, obsessive thoughts, pleasant thoughts, thoughts that hurt us,
pleasant emotions, unpleasant emotions… - Where do they come from?
- Where do they end?
- What are they made of?
- What do we do when we don’t like them?
- And when we like them?
- If we observe our thoughts without judging them, we realize they originate through perceptions, and are generally followed by an emotion. Thoughts and emotions are energy. Our mind is like a lake: only when it is free from thoughts and emotions, the ‘water’ is still, and we are able to perceive elements –and phenomena- as they really are. However, when we throw a stone –thought or emotion- into the lake, or when the wind blows on the surface, the ‘water’ is agitated. The images of elements and phenomena it reflects are then confused and no longer clear.
- Still lake = silence of the mind.
- Our human mind can also be compared to a mirror: when it is clean, we can see the image it reflects clearly. Our mind is, however, generally like a dirty mirror: if we want to see the images it reflects, we need to clean it. We need to purify our mind from its filters.
II. Didactic Unit
a) Mind and body theories
b) The functions of mind: (Hindu psychology)
- Thinking
- Knowing
- Feeling
- Planning
- Volition
c) Six Power of Mind ( Hindu psychology)
- Vedana Sakti (power of perception or knowing though the senses: sense knowledge)
- Smarana Sakti (power of memory; it grasps, it holds, it retains)
- Bhavana Sakti (power of imagination)
- Manisha Sakti (power of judgment, ascertainment, logical reasoning, comparing,
contrasting, drawing inferences, discussion, conclusion)
- Ichha Sakti and Sanklpa Sakti (power of will or volition)
- Dharana Sakti (power to hold)
d) The mental process of thinking which allows beings to model the world
- Abstract thinking
- Critical thinking
- Lateral thinking
- Memory
- Picture thinking
- Sushupti Avastha (deep sleep- non dualistic-bliss)
III. Didactic Unit Inside – Emotions
- What are the most common emotions? (Joy, happiness, fear, anger, jealousy, sadness)
- Can we recognize them?
- How do we express them?
- What are our emotional reactions? (We can try to follow the inverse path)
- What can we do of our emotions? (We can talk about them, draw them, color them,
and dramatize them)
- When we are aware, are we able to see them as they originate?
- If we are aware, we observe them without judging.
IV. Didactic Unit
Know yourself. Who am I?
- Emotions, as well as thoughts, are part of us, but we are not our emotions and our thoughts. - What happens if we refuse our thoughts and emotions? How do we feel?
V. Didactic Unit
Awareness
- What does awareness mean?
- Awareness means living here, now. Generally, we either live projected in the future,
or we are trapped in the memory of what’s past.
Awareness is an important seed to cultivate in our mind’s garden.
- Are we aware –for instance- when we are eating or when we are walking?
- We could choose some moments of our day to practice our awareness and observe:
What are we doing? What are we thinking about? How are we feeling?
- Are we aware that we exist in relation with the ‘Whole’?
VI. Didactic Unit
Interdependence and relationships
- How can we demonstrate that we exist in relation with the ‘Whole’?
- Are we separated from other elements?
- What links us? (Air, light, etc.)
- Where does ‘my’ air start and where does ‘yours’ end?
Is the air we breathe separate from the air the trees in the garden breathe?
- Where is the border of our body? Can we find it? Could we live zipped in a plastic bag?
How big would that need to be?
- Are the borders between countries ‘real’? Can we actually find them physically?
- Where do they come from then? Can they be removed?
- What do borders and separations lead to?
- Let’s look at –for example- a map of Africa: countries are shaped like geometrical figures.
Sometimes we raise ‘walls’ between others and ourselves and we fail to communicate with
them. What happens then? It leads only to suffering and problems.
- If we only exist in relation with the ‘Whole’, what happens when we negate a part of it, such
as obsessive thoughts and unpleasant emotions?
- Can we be at peace with ourselves, if we attack a part of us?
- How can we reach that peace then?
VII. Didactic Unit
Active Listening (Gordon)
- Firstly, we should listen to ourselves, and observe without judging.
Only after we can accept what is happening within us.
- ‘Distancing’ process = we set a distance between ourselves and our thoughts or emotions.
We are not ‘inside’ them, but we observe them from ‘outside’.
- The universe is one and indivisible. We are all linked to other elements as in a long chain.
- If a part is sick, the entire body suffers. We take care of the sick part and don’t remove it!
- How can we repair the chain, if it breaks?
If we kill an animal we should at least try to save another one.
- We are not separate islands, but we depend upon all other elements.
- Look at a tree. What does it need to survive?
- Story of a chapatti or of a glass of milk
- If we understand the interdependence between all elements,
we don’t pollute the environment, but we respect it – as we are part of it.
- Education to ecology
- Every one of our actions leads to a result.
5. Didactic program – Second year course
I. Didactic Unit Cause and effect
- If we plant carrots in our field, we will get carrots, not potatoes!
- A small seed can be the beginning of a very big plant.
- A small cause can have a great effect.
- A small action can cause a big result. A tiny match can set on fire a centuries-old forest.
- Causes can be visible or hidden.
- The result can be immediate, in the short term, or in the long term.
- Not only actions, but even thoughts are like rocks thrown into space that will –eventually-
return to the person that threw them. (Einstein)
- Thoughts, words and actions are like boomerangs that always come back.
- It is important to observe our motivation for undertaking a certain actions.
II. Didactic Unit Motivation
- Motivation gives a ‘charge’ to the action we are about to undertake.
- Different motivations lead to different ‘levels’ of an action.
Example: when we decide to rescue a person who is in danger, we may do so because of different motivations: because of fear of accusations or fear of others’ opinions, because of a desire for fame, because the person in danger is a human being just like us)
III. Didactic Unit Subjectivity of perception and becoming
- Are others really as we perceive them?
- Are our perceptions right?
- We do no perceive the subtle change in phenomena.
- We cannot see grass or plants growing.
- We cannot see people getting old. People do not become old suddenly.
- Everything changes. Nothing stands still.
- If we do not realize this, then attachment, desire and anger will result.
Story of Master Lin and the train
The passengers do not develop attachment to the coach where they stay on their trip as they know that everything is impermanent and changing. For now this is my seat, but only for a short time. It would be silly if I developed attachment to it and I suffered when Ieaving!
Eraclites : “You cannot bathe twice in the same river!”
- What do we put between others and us? Many filters
- What could act as a filter?
Emotions, the education we received, religion, tradition, expectations, projections,…
IV. Didactic Unit Relativity of time and space.
- The time of a child and the time of an adult
- Time and sickness
- Time and pleasant situations
- Experience beyond time (ecstasies, concentration, absorption, etc.)
V. Didactic Unit Where do phenomena exist? Where are the qualities?
- Where do phenomena exist?
- Outside or inside us?
- What happens when we look at someone?
- How do we perceive him or her?
- United to or separated from us?
- Are our perceptions the same as others?
- Let’s take –for instance- a lemon ice cream. Why everybody doesn’t like it?
- Where is the ‘goodness’ of ice cream?
- Where do different tastes come from?
- Let’s look at a friend. We will all see him in different ways:
One fact but different opinions. Where do they come from?
- When we form opinions, it’s as if we were putting on labels.
Where do these labels come from?
- Can we change them?
- What happens if we identify with them?
- Where should we work if we want to change our friend, outside or inside us?
An ancient Indian saying asks “If you are to walk on a road full of stones, would it be easier to cover it with a carpet, or to wear sandals?”
VI. Didactic Unit Different states of consciousness
Instinctive – reasoning – intuitive – non dualistic (blissful state sat-chit-ananda)
- The three Avasthas (state of mind according to Yoga)
Jagrat Avastha (waking state), Svapna Avastha (dreaming state)
- The cause of mental suffering: Avidya (ignorance-wrong perception of the world)
- Thoughts are movements of the mind (Vritti: waves of thoughts)
- Thoughts like a mind’s wave
- The principal wave: the I-thought
- Ignorance: identification with the I-thought (I believe to be is a thought!)
- The cause of happiness: Absence of Ignorance Vidya (wisdom;
Vritti – the wave thought – is absorbed into the Nature of the Mind: Brahman – Laya)
- I am not my thoughts
- Knowledge of self
- The psychodynamic laws (Assagioli – psycosinthesis) (9)
- Thought and picture of the world (Bohm – Philosophy of perception)
- “The world is the projection of the mind” (Giacomin – I the Creator)
- From polluted mind (thoughts) comes a polluted world.
- If we “control” our thoughts, we can “control” the world.
Didactic program – Techniques
Yoga
- Antar Mouna, Chidakasha, Trataka Meditation
Meditation of the five letters: fivefold Buddhist teachings
Vision is mind
Mind is empty
Emptiness is Clear Light
ClearLight is Unity
Unity is Bliss
Walking Meditation
Transforming negative thoughts, emotions and energies into positive (through Breathing meditation – Ton Len).
Techniques for attention, memory and concentration
Visualization
Art therapy
Kaleidoscopes (to help the students appreciate how everyday objects are refracted and changed through the lens. Our agitated mind (thought and emotions) is similar to a kaleidoscope which the perception of our inner and external world).
Songs
Stories, fables, cartoons-books of Alice Project (see Appendix)
Discussion (hermeneutic method)
Awareness
Silence
7. One-day lesson
- If possible, start with a spiritual song or Saint Francis prayer.
- Motivation: Start analyzing your motivation: why am I here?
What do I want to achieve? Why?
- If necessary, apply the “Out of the door technique” (9) (See Appendix)
- One minute concentration (Trataka meditation)
- Five minutes Antar Mouna meditation
- Story related to the topic the teacher want to explain.
- Discussion about the story using the hermeneutic method (Socrates)
- One minute silence
- Feed back: What did you remember? What will you keep with you today?
- Promise: “Today I will…”
- Dedication of the good energy for the happiness of the entire universe.
“Since we are interdependent and related each other, my happiness will be others’ happiness. The sorrow of others will be my sorrow. May I work always for the happiness of the entire Universe! May I be an instrument of peace and love!”
8. Evaluation
- Preliminary assessment of the personality, memory, moral values, socialization of the students (before starting the program) by the clinical psychologist of the school, Prof. Dr Sharma
- Day by day assessment through interaction with the students (conversation, discussion, questions and answers)
- Psychological evaluation at the end of the course
Final Notes
Note (1) What is the Alice Project?
Final report of the Garrison Institute, after a conference on Contemplative Meditation, New York, 5/6 April 2005
“Unlike the religious identification of parochial schools, Buddhist and Hindu practices inform educational pedagogy in a variety of non-sectarian schools. For example, the Alice Project in India is an educational research program that addresses the widespread obstacle of students’ lack of attention and concentration in the classroom. Twenty years ago, Co-directors Valentino Giacomin and Luigina De Biasi worked with the Tibetan and Hindu philosophy of mindfulness to develop a non-sectarian methodology based on the concept of Unity – unity of the internal world (mind and its relation to body) and external world (scholastics). The Alice Project recognizes that learning is not readily attainable or sustainable if a child’s mind is not present. Therefore, the project integrates a special program curriculum, including extensive written materials, into the government mandated academic curriculum. Within this special program, attention training is understood as cultivating not only awareness of mind and focused attention but emotional intelligence as well. Commenting on his understanding of emotional intelligence, Giacomin recognizes that “emotions are the result of thoughts, and our target is to go back to the source of the thoughts themselves and analyze their nature, not their content. Alice Project teachers model the use of meditation, guided visualizations, self-inquiry, discussion, breath and yoga practices, moral stories, and various mental and physical exercises to help students develop knowledge, wisdom and deeper concentration — all of which help bridge the dualism between the inner world and academic experience. Through the Alice Project, teachers and students awaken to the nature of mind and perceptions. This awakening plays an essential role in developing sustainable education and a culture of peace since a peaceful mind with wisdom will naturally foster tolerance of diversity and inspire universal responsibility for community as well as the environment. In Giacomin’s words, “Self-knowledge and awareness are a prerequisite for mental equilibrium and happiness. Only from this basis can compassion and wisdom rise”
Note (2)
Recent school violence and its impact on children and adolescents has prompted parents, teachers, social workers, counselors, administrators, and policy makers to learn more about complicated grief and Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) in children and adolescents. It is now accepted that children can, and do experience, all the reactions of PTSD following both violent and nonviolent incidents (Pynoos & Nader, 1988; Dykman, McPhearson, & Ackerman, et al., (1997). Although violence occupies the focus of concern today, it is important that we do not minimize those exposed to traumatic events not of an assaultive nature. Considerable research is available documenting the existence of PTSD following incidents such as industrial fires (March, Amaya-Jackson, Costanzo, Terry, & The Hamlet Fire Consortium, 1993), road traffic accidents (DiGallo, Barry, & Parry-Jones, 1997), environmental tragedies such as hurricanes (Shaw, 1995), and chemically dependent adolescents (Deykin & Buka, 1997). Schwarz and Kowalski (1991) discovered and later suggested that emotional reactions during a disaster can link the event and formation of malignant memories to PTSD. Children who are neither victims nor witnesses, but are related to the victim as a family member, a peer, a friend going to the same school, or who are living in the same community as the victim can, in fact, be exposed to PTSD by this “relationship”. Freud believed that trauma was not the result of an incident itself but an interaction between an external event and an individual’s intra-psychic organizing tendencies (Piers, 1996). Schwarz & Kowalski (1991), Shaw (1995), and others strongly suggest that “perceived” relatedness and personal vulnerability could leave one exposed to PTSD. When conducting a history, it is critical to consider that exposure as a surviving victim, a witness, or as a non-witness related to a victim, demands that we conduct a further assessment for PTSD because exposure alone can induce trauma. (Quotation from : Intervention with Traumatized Children ,William Steele M.A., MSW Melvyn C. Raider, Ph.D., MSW, L.M.F.T. Skillman Center for Children College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs Occasional Paper Series 2000 No. 1 August 2000)
Note (3)
In these classes are 45 chakma students who came from Arunachal Pradesh (North India). They are refugees, a persecuted religious minority from Bangladesh. They are living and studying – free of cost – at the Alice Project School. In this way, we want to avoid the risk of a division among the students’ community (“You are in the special program!” “You are following the special class!”). We want to make students and parent to understand that the project is part of the Governmental curriculum and as so, it is implemented in all the junior high schools lasses (from standard 6 to standard 10). We, also, want to convey to the students a message of positive thinking about the whole project: “You are lucky since you are participating to this very exclusive and selective program which is unique in Alice Project Schools. This is a program to develop the power of mind and heart in order to become a real hero!”
Note (4)
Intrapersonal Intelligence (the knowledge of internal aspects of the self, such as knowledge of feeling, the range of emotional response, thinking process, self-reflection and sense of intuition about spiritual realities. This intelligence allows us to be conscious of our consciousness; that is to step back from ourselves and watch oursel;ves as an outside observer. It evolves our capacity to experience wholeness and unity, to discern patterns of connection with a larger order of things, to perceive higher state of consciousness.
Note (5)
Encounter at the Edge of the New Paradigm A Dialogue with E.F. Schumacher by Fritjof Capra
“After tea we moved to Schumacher’s study to begin our discussion in earnest. I opened it by presenting the basic theme of my new book [The Turning Point]. I began with the observation that our social institutions are unable to solve the major problems of our time because they adhere to the concepts of an outdated worldview, the mechanistic worldview of seventeenth-century science. The natural sciences, as well as the humanities and social sciences, have all modeled themselves after classical Newtonian physics, and the limitations of the Newtonian worldview are now manifest in the multiple aspects of global crisis. While the Newtonian model is still the dominant paradigm in our academic institutions and in society at large, I continued, physicists have gone far beyond it. I described the worldview I saw emerging from the new physics—its emphasis on interconnectedness, relationship, dynamic patterns, and continual change and transformation—and I expressed my belief that the other sciences would have to change their underlying philosophies accordingly in order to be consistent with this new vision of reality. Such radical change, I maintained, would also be the only way to really solve our urgent economic, social, and environmental problems.”
(From Enlightenment Magazine, 11/1997)
Note (6)
From the Genesis: To the woman he said: “I will intensify the pangs of your childbearing; in pain shall you bring forth children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall be your master.” To the man he said: “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, “Cursed be the ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, as you eat of the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, Until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; For you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return.”
Note (7)
References books: Giacomin V. The Wise RabbitI and II, Ed. Alice Project, 1997/1998. De Biasi L, Programma per Insegnanti, Ed. Onlus Progetto Alice, 2001
Note (8)
The thought produces ideas, images or mental pictures. Thoughts, ideas and images will produce physical -conditions and external actions that correspond to those thoughts, images and idea.
Every idea is potentially an action
A repetition of negative thoughts and ideas produces negative impact on the physical body and disturbs that could wound the organic tissue (ulcer, other diseases).
The thought stimulates emotions and feeling.
Thoughts are the creator of physical and psychic states. They are the creator of inner and external acts, because they can move the energy of feelings and organs.
The association of negative thoughts stimulates negative feelings and makes polluted the consciousness. This is the cause of pathological states and weakness of personality. On the contrary, a positive use of the thought and feeling produces a purification of consciousness and makes the personality stronger.
Not only the thought mould the consciousness, but, also, the unconscious (Assagioli).
Note (9)
“Out of the door technique”. We use it before starting a workshop. At the beginning, we ask all the participants to check their mind and see what is there. “What did you bring from your house, today?” “Is it something that you can easily leave or is it something that is stuck to your mind? In this case, I propose two solutions: you can write your problem and put the paper on a plate, or you can share your problem with others.” If the participants prefer to write about their problems, you collect all the papers on a plate, then we make a small ritual. “Here are my problems with the problems of my classmates. Now we will burn them! As you can see, the problems are transformed into fire. This symbolizes that everything has the same nature. The nature of our thoughts, good or bad, is like this fire: light, pure light. May all our thoughts become light for the world!”
When all the papers are burnt, we bring the ashes out of the door. “Now we bring out of this room the last traces of our thoughts, so that we are completely free to work here on peace and serenity!”