Guest guest Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 Whatever Happened to 'Heightened Consciousness'? in the Journal of Curriculum Studies Vol 31, no. 6 Winter, 1999 (pp. 625-633) Greg Nixon (formerly) Faculty Member Integrative Studies Prescott College Prescott, Arizona 86301 ABSTRACT I have been bold enough to present a paper which is not theoretically complex but is, instead, theoretically `back to basics'. I ask to where did the rhetoric go about heightened or expanded consciousness which was so predominant in the early 70s. To that end I look at the historical sources of this movement and what has happened since the early `reconceptualist' days. I suggest that expanded awareness became irrevocably linked to psychedelic self-indulgence and seen as selfish by the majority political wing of curriculum theorists. However, both these views are mistaken. Instead, it is non-reflective political stances which are egocentric. Finally, I suggest that context-expanding awareness cannot be a personal goal but a pleasant side effect of selfless service. Whatever Happened to `Heightened Consciousness'? The uses of a great professor are only partly to give us knowledge; his real purpose is to take his students beyond knowledge into the transcendental domain of the unknown, the future and the dream—to expand the limits of the human consciousness. (Loren Eiseley, in K. Heuer, ed. The Lost Notebooks of Loren Eiseley. Boston/Toronto: Little, Brown & Co., 118) Whatever happened to consciousness heightening as a curriculum objective? Did it disappear because, as an expression for the naïve optimism of the 60s counterculture, it became outdated or does it represent the losing ideology in a major confrontation in the annals of curriculum theory? The evidence seems to point to the latter case. In the 70s, the schools finally awoke to what had been going on in the 60s.(1) It was in the 60s, as all the world knows, that a youth movement emerged which expressed disenchantment with the material rewards offered by the establishment as an incentive to repress more vital instincts and participate in the social game of wealth building. Instead of playing the game and accepting socially defined roles, many youth fell into the nebulous counterculture movement through which they hoped to transcend daily, given consciousness. Whether through the use of psychedelics, meditation, prolonged rock jams, or all of the above, youth (and many who no longer fit this category) actively threw off their obligations and sought higher states of awareness. To the horror and disgust of the GI generation, Timothy Leary's call to " turn on, tune in, and drop out " spread rapidly, promoted by cult heroes from the rock 'n roll subculture and by the underground passing of many a joint or hashpipe. Note: The call was to " drop out, " not " man the barricades. " To be sure, much of the mass of the movement was illusory since many of those who appeared to be degenerate freaks to the straights were in fact no more than weekend hippies out to get high, engage in some free love, or just feel good vibes. Yet, despite their lack of commitment to overthrowing the establishment, many of them picked up counterculture values to do with tolerance for the lifestylesof others, openness to new experience, and an almost spiritual " sense sublime / Of something far more deeply interfused " (2) within the mundane reality of daily life. All of this was tied in with the meaning of " heightened consciousness " : It referred to awakening from the isolated and narcissistic ego trip of the war of all against all. This new mind expansion promised escape from the prison-house of self (and self versus other) to see the world as though for the first time. It was a powerful image, involving as much unlearning as learning. There were exemplars everywhere of those who seemed to have reached, at minimum, Maslowian self actualization or some sort of psychological peak experience. More intriguing yet were those who appeared to have broken on through to the other side, to the oceanic bliss of universal oneness: nirvana. And, of course, there were those who had shattered all contexts whatsoever and were ambiguously said to have blown their minds. For many, this was a consummation devoutly to be wished: If only the establishment would stop being so heavy! At length, elements of the counterculture became dissatisfied with merely dropping out and sought instead to drop back in and revolutionize the political system they felt to be imprisoning them. Heightened levels of awareness seemed both too esoteric and too boring for many of those who had expected instant gratification. The political activists were getting all the media attention so most of the new disaffected wanted to go where the action was. With real social issues to deal with like war, racism, sexism, and poverty, those who had previously awaited private awakening became drawn back into the social game with its zesty marches and mass confrontation. By the 70s, the radical political arm of the counterculture had absorbed some of the quiescent transcendentalism. The non-establishment quest for expanded levels of awareness became absorbed in the anti-establishment quest for expanded power. The remaining seekers of heightened reality stole quietly away to their ashrams or mountain/desert communes, or they grimly accepted establishment jobs and families. Mind expansion had never been among the specific goals of educators, including the progressives from earlier in the century.(3) Despite our present perception, there had been few attempts to suggest an educational institution which openly pursued expanded individual consciousness in the 60s. Experiments like A. S. Neill's Summerhill in England and Rochdale College in Toronto seem in retrospect more like invitations to anarchy than attempts to heighten consciousness. Carl Rogers(4) and others suggested " humanistic " education but such educational personal autonomy and authenticity were not widely attempted until the 70s when teachers at last were transformed into " facilitators " .(5) In any case, the humanistic connection with heightened consciousness remains unclear. The idea of expanded consciousness as an educational goal did enter the literary arena by the late 60s, as indicated by two titles from that period which perfectly represent the conflict of interpretation which was arising. The radical political awakening perspective is exhibited by Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner's Teaching as a Subversive Activity(6) while the transcendent personal awakening perspective is portrayed by George Leonard's remarkable Education and Ecstasy.(7) Like the earlier conflict between John Dewey's child centeredness and George Counts' social reconstructionism amongst the progressive scholars, this conflict between the personal and political versions of consciousness expansion was to play a major role in the agendas of curriculum theory for decades to come. It was in the 60s that curriculum theory as we now know it was essentially born. Among its foundational figures in this period were Dwayne Huebner,(8) James Macdonald,(9) and Philip Phenix,(10) each of whom became drawn into transcendental visions of curriculum in the next decade. It was also in the 70s that this model of personal transformation ran directly into the model of political transformation as Marxists and other radicals demanded that social revolution precede any revolutions of consciousness. They saw the call for awakened personal awareness as narrowly self-indulgent in its way as the me generation disco groovers which surrounded them. How could educationists use their privileged positions to seek expanded awareness for themselves or for their students when so many of the socially oppressed had no such opportunity? they asked with some justification. Philosophers of education and theorists of curriculum found themselves being to forced into one of two camps: Either they stood with those who dreamed of heightening personal awareness in an often metaphysical sense or they stood with those who took expanded consciousness to refer to waking up to the inequities and injustices rampant in the sociopolitical system. It seemed to be a choice between " heightened consciousness " or " consciousness raising " . The reconceptualist movement(11) which appeared at this time attempted to draw these disparate voices into a unified protest against the status quo. With some bravado, William Pinar edited the results of the 1973 University of Rochester's College of Education Conference into a book whose title betrayed the schizophrenic nature of curriculum theorizing from then on: Heightened Consciousness, Cultural Revolution and Curriculum Theory: The Proceedings of the Rochester Conference.(12) Here in one fell swoop, curriculum theorizing attempted to promote both heightened consciousness and cultural (read: political) revolution. Pinar has since drawn a telling portrait of the divisions the conference revealed.(13) Among those representing the political responsibility group, mostly Marxist, was Donald Bateman who directed a withering attack at humanist and, by implication, transcendentalist worldviews: Racism, sexism, classism—those deeply internalized social values—are at the root of our problems. They are deep in our psyches, and they cause our liberal reforms to fail because they treat the symptoms and not the causes. Even humanistic education ... tacitly accepts the class system with its racism, its gross commercialism, its male chauvinism, its institutionalized violence, its imperialistic wars—accepts them by failing to mention them, by pretending to be apolitical.(14) Such a strong statement was probably enough to make anyone feel ashamed for dreaming of a higher state of consciousness when there was so much injustice all around. This put the political wing on the moral high ground and indicated that the seekers of consciousness breakthroughs were irresponsibly indulgent. It was precisely against such declarations of moral (and intellectual) superiority that led another participant, William Pilder, to declare that all such social confrontations were externalizations—projections—of unresolved personal conflicts. Against the institutionalization of well-intentioned reforms, he could only recommend the inner journey in his presentation, " In the Stillness is the Dancing " : Here, then, is my despair as a professional: human survival cannot depend on social programs directed at present institutional structures. Personal consciousness development and subsequent cultural transformation cannot be programmed in a mechanistic fashion; a curriculum for consciousness development and cultural change is a blatant contradiction.(15) Though Pilder's view of the necessity for the inner quest before political engagement is clear, he does not believe that such an inner journey to heightened consciousness could ever become a workable curriculum objective. At this time, many stood with him on the inner journey aspect but still believed in the potential for the curriculum to become personally transformative. Paul Klohr, for one, listed nine " reconceptualist articles of faith, " including the recognition of the resources of " preconscious realms of experience " and " personal liberty and the attainment of higher levels of consciousness. " (16) Pinar himself early on opposed premature political activism and, instead, suggested " the design and evaluation of experimental curricula which will attempt to explore the inner life, hence to underscore and possibly aid in an ontological shift from outer to inner. " (17) After this, the walls came crashing down. Pilder was proven prophetic because politically oriented scholarship presented much more to get angry over or pontificate about and provided a much clearer program of action. It filled the bookshelves and journals while the call to consciousness did not. The call to work collectively for individual self-realization or higher states of consciousness became irrevocably associated with the 60s and drug abuse. As the culture veered away from such countercultural activities, so did all educational thinking. Speaking for the mainstream, respected curriculum historians Daniel and Laurel Tanner castigated the reconceptualization because, in their view, " it favors mystical illumination ('heightened consciousness') over reason and is therefore not curriculum knowledge but a promiscuous enthusiasm for whatever advertises itself as counter to our culture. " (18) The whole consciousness approach was fast becoming tainted. To stay competitive and play the game of academic advancement—not to mention to retain the respect of their peers—scholars previously committed to individual expansion of consciousness soon found other things about which to write. There was so little to say about experiences which were so unpredictable and rarely visible to others and which may be experienced as only a quiet aesthetic moment. As to actual transcendence, no curricularists dared write anymore of preparing the way for mystical experiences of no-self. Referring to the theme of the Rochester Conference, " heightened consciousness and cultural revolution, " Pinar wrote in 1988 that such terms " make one wince today, " a statement he repeated in Understanding Curriculum in 1995.(19) In the latter book, the chapter titles clearly indicate what Pinar considers to be the present state of the field. These include chapters 5: Understanding Curriculum as Political text, 6: Understanding Curriculum as Racial text, 7: Understanding Curriculum as Gender text, 9: Understanding Curriculum as Poststructuralist, Deconstructed, Postmodern text, 10: Understanding Curriculum as Autobiographical/Biographical text, 12: Understanding Curriculum as Theological text, and 14: Understanding Curriculum as International text. Nowhere to be found, however, is any chapter specifically focusing on heightened consciousness. Clearly, curriculum theory has become " issue-oriented " and the political agenda has largely taken the field. Even the autobiography and deconstructive " texts " are somewhat justified in terms of political engagement. Part of the problem is terminology. The sheer vertical imagery of " heightened consciousness " points only up and leaves one with little grip on old Terra Firma. Theorists began to resist the celestially oriented, psychedelically suggestive notion of seeking " height. " As the Tanners noted above, the entire idea seems to smack of 60s-era altered states—and we are living through times of excessive paranoia with regard to " drugs. " We have now [1998] reached the point where newspapers tell of one middle school girl being suspended for sharing Midol® tablets and another for offering a cough drop containing zinc and yet another for having ibuprofen in her locker. Now an attorney-general, Joycelyn Elders, has been fired for merely suggesting that the decriminalization of drugs might be investigated. The fear of experience is so deep that the selling of compressed nitrous oxide capsules can be declared illegal even in the decadent French Quarter of New Orleans (despite no suggestion of side effects or after effects in such small doses).(20) The whole view of 60s mind expansion is also tainted in public memory by its unjustified association with the me generation of the 70s. Rather unexpectedly, the slick disco crowd emerged—a marketer's dream—and took the values of free love and the quest for experience in new directions entirely. The 70s disco ducks reinterpreted the quest to seek higher levels of awareness as the hedonistic urge for unbridled physical pleasure. This change is symbolized by the change of the drug of choice from psychedelics to stimulants.(21) Experience was still being sought but not heightened consciousness. This heavy beat, laser light, mirror-ball phantasmagoria has come to be the image many have of altered states of consciousness. It's interesting to note that my place of employment [at the time of writing], the State University of New York at Geneseo, declared the 97/98 college term as " The Year of the Sixties, " corny as it sounds. Judging by the antics that went on it seems clear that the era is regarded from this perspective as one of noble political engagement or excessive self-indulgence. The youth of the time, it seems, were either carrying banners in protest marches or they were destroying their minds by wallowing in sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll. Nowhere was there mention of the more subtle and less public activity associated with " dropping out " and " tuning in " to context shattering, consciousness expanding levels of transcendent awareness. This whole sense of transcendence is much more than a carryover from the 60s, however. There has probably been a felt sense of worlds unrealized since the first shamans went on their spirit journeys and returned to tell their tales. Even this sense of " beyond " has been dismissed by the public as an illusion deriving from the desire to escape from reality with all its problems. The Zen writer D. T. Suzuki, however, has made it clear that transcendence is not an escape: " To 'transcend' suggests 'going beyond,' 'being away from,' that is, a separation, a dualism. I have, however, no desire to hint that the 'something' stands away from the world in which we find ourselves. " (22) It is bitterly ironic that actual moves made toward transcendent awareness have come to be seen as politically or personally self-centered. The first obstacle encountered by anyone seeking an awakened mind is the image of one's own self. Whether using psychedelics or techniques of meditation, this ego-self must be faced, accepted, and passed through. This is not an easy thing to do and those who felt the need to cling to their old ideas of selfhood often had horrifying LSD experiences when that mirror of identity on which they depended seemed to lose its reality. Meditators who cannot get passed this barrier soon suffer unbearable agitation and must give up. The very experience of satori is sometimes described as one of " no-self. " (23) Those who are one day politically naïve and the next come to see the fabricated moral structure of the greater part of society may suddenly feel the need to strike back against these perceived lies and injustices. In its sincerity, this is indeed " fighting the good fight. " The problem here is that too often these white knights of radicalism have never encountered their own moral ambiguity and the prevarications by which they themselves live. In fact, one of their motivations for striking out against the perceived conspiracies of the power elite may be to protect their self-concept: By projecting their fear and anger onto externalized agents of oppression, they may postpone indefinitely critical self encounters which might make them feel diminished. This stance is as egocentric on the Left as on the Right. In any case, by breaking through the contexts of one's socially constructed egocentric defenses, political engagement may follow as a necessary consequence. " To awaken can be painful, for it opens us to a poignant awareness of the pervasive waste of life around us and in us. " (24) Thus seeking consciousness from within expanded contexts is never selfish, but is, instead, the way out of selfishness. How far can consciousness expand? What levels might it reach? The extreme edge of awakening seems to be full blown mystical experience, beyond explanation or language of any sort, beyond even socially created contexts of consciousness (and probably well beyond the argument of this paper). This is the experience which has been described by various traditions as satori, nirvana, moksha, or oceanic bliss. " Surely, " I can hear the protests now, " to seek such bliss for oneself and ignore the plight of those less privileged is the height of selfish irresponsibility! " Without protesting in return that expanded awareness knows no privilege and without calling up distant Buddhist traditions of the bodhisattva, we can find a spokesperson who is both a mystic and a respected philosopher. Franklin Merrell-Wolff who died not long ago was a contemporary American who underwent the profound awakening and wrote about it in clear, empirical terms. For him, transforming oneself was only possible by forgetting oneself and working to transform the world: [T]he seeking of this Attainment is not simply for the sake of one's own individual Redemption but for the sake of the Redemption of humanity as a whole and, in addition, of all creatures whatsoever, however humble they may be. He who forgets his own Attainment and his own Redemption in seeking for the Attainment and Redemption of all creatures, is following the Path which is most certain to involve that very Attainment and Redemption for himself. The motive should always be the good of all creatures, not one's own private good.(25) It seems clear as light that expanded consciousness is a very good thing both for one's own existence, for the society in which one lives, and likely for the world itself. Such enlightened awareness need not attain to the contextless levels suggestedby Suzuki and Merrell-Wolff above, but might begin with something as simple as guided self-reflection—perhaps autobiographical writing and sharing—and the encouragement to undertake empathic feeling and relentless critical thinking. Aligning oneself immovably with a political stance—whether that stance be called Marxist, Christian conservative, or critical postmodern—only hardens the ego in an us-against-them posture. The way of self-forgetting, on the other hand, is the way of service, mind expanding precisely because the other becomes a presence in consciousness, rather than a vague threat kept unconscious. Notwithstanding, the purpose of this paper has not been to make anyone wince by suggesting a return to a curricular directive of heightened or even expanded consciousness. Since such decontextualized awareness is perennial and everpresent, it need not be promoted or sought as an objective. Its eventual return need only be awaited. Curriculum theorists in the meantime, I would suggest, should avoid shutting out such hopeful potentials. Notes 1. I myself was suspended from high school in 1967 after returning from Expo `67 in Montreal until I cut my hair above the collar and dressed " more responsibly. " In 1971, that same high school with the same principal began its liberalization policies which allowed students to dress as they pleased and to take their high school through individualized contracts.(back) 2. William Wordsworth, " Lines: Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye During a Tour, July 13, 1798. " L. 95-6.(back) 3. Though it could be argued that Plato called specifically for heightened consciousness for his philosopher-kings in The Republic or that such was the goal of education in the gnostic/alchemical tradition. Certainly many Eastern religions developed educational techniques to bring about the awakening from illusion.(back) 4. E.g.: Carl R. Rogers, Freedom to Learn. Columbus, OH: Merrill, 1969.(back) 5. Even then, the influence and ubiquity of humanistic education and open schools have been grossly exaggerated (as was the progressive education before that). Most schools seemed to fall into an uncertain somnolence, drifting without guidelines between permissiveness and tradition.(back) 6. Neil Postman & Charles Weingartner, Teaching as a Subversive Activity. New York: Delacorte Press, 1969.(back) 7. George B. Leonard, Education and Ecstasy. New York: Delacorte Press, 1968.(back) 8. E.g.: Dwayne E. Huebner, " Curriculum as Concern for Man's Temporality. " Theory into Practice, 6(4), 1967, 172-179. [Reprinted in W. Pinar (ed.), Curriculum Theorizing: The Reconceptualists (237-249). Berkeley: McCutchan, 1975.](back) 9. E.g.: James G. Macdonald, " An Image of Man: The Learner Himself. " In R. Doll (ed.), Individualizing Instruction (29-49). Washington, DC: ASCD, 1964.(back) 10. Philip E. Phenix, Realms of Meaning: A Philosophy of the Curriculum for General Education. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964.(back) 11. William F. Pinar, (ed.), Curriculum Theorizing: The Reconceptualists. Berkeley: McCutchan, 1975. The best elucidation of " The Reconceptualization " is in the recent magisterial tome: William F. Pinar, William M. Reynolds, Patrick Slattery, & Peter Taubman, Understanding Curriculum. New York: Peter Lang, 1995. (See, especially, chapter 4, " The Reconceptualization of the Field 1970-1979 " .)(back) 12. William F. Pinar (ed.), Heightened Consciousness, Cultural Revolution and Curriculum Theory: The Proceedings of the Rochester Conference. Berkeley: McCutchan, 1974. (back) 13. Pinar et al. Understanding Curriculum, 218-226.(back) 14. Donald R. Bateman, " The Politics of Curriculum. " In W. Pinar (ed), Heightened Consciousness, Cultural Revolution and Curriculum Theory: The Proceedings of the Rochester Conference (56-68). Berkeley: McCutchan, 1974, 66. [Also in Pinar et al., 222](back) 15. William J. Pilder, " In the Stillness is the Dancing. " In W. Pinar (ed), Heightened Consciousness, Cultural Revolution and Curriculum Theory: The Proceedings of the Rochester Conference (117-129). Berkeley: McCutchan, 1974, 125-6. [Also in Pinar et al., 223] Pilder apparently left the field to become a Jungian analyst.(back) 16. Paul Klohr, " Curriculum Theory: The State of the Field. " Columbus: Ohio State University, College of Education, unpublished manuscript. In Pinar et al., 224.(back) 17. William F. Pinar, " An Introduction. " In W. F. Pinar (ed.), Heightened Consciousness, Cultural Revolution and Curriculum Theory: The Proceedings of the Rochester Conference (1-15). Berkeley: McCutchan, 1974, 15.(back) 18. Daniel and Laurel Tanner, " Emancipation from Research: The Reconceptualist Prescription. " Educational Researcher, 8 (6). June, 1979. 8-12.(back) 19. William F. Pinar, " Introduction. " In W. Pinar (ed.), Contemporary Curriculum Discourses (1-13). Scottsdale: Gorsuch Scarisbrick, 3. [Repeated in Pinar et al., 219.](back) 20. This, despite well-documented research by Ronald K. Siegel (Intoxication. E. P. Dutton, 1989) showing that almost all sentient creatures seek altered states or intoxication on occasion. Still, there are no research programs planned to develop a safe, nonaddictive disinhibitor or stimulant. Research is underway to find pain suppressants that avoid the undesired (by doctors!) side effect of euphoria. All research on LSD and other psychedelics has been illegal since the late 60s in spite of protests by experts in the field who state that psychedelics may have potentially healing benefits in such areas as addiction therapy and mental illness. And despite the fact that a majority of Americans use some sort of " drug " for pleasure.(back) 21. Psychedelics—LSD, mescaline and such—tend toward visionary experience, allowing for soul- quakes or self-transcendence (to the bliss or horror of the experiencer). They are not known to have any physical after-effects. Stimulants on the other hand—speed, cocaine, etc.—simply crank up the nervous system into " emergency alert " so reality is experienced as extravagantly intensified. The nervous system and organs of the body eventually pay the price for this artificial adrenaline.(back) 22. Daisetz T. Suzuki, " The Awakening of a New Consciousness in Zen. " In J. Campbell (ed.), Man and Transformation: Papers from the Eranos Yearbooks (179-202). Bollingen Series XXX · 5. Princeton University Press, 1964. First published in Eranos-Jahrbücher XXIII, 1954. 179.(back) 23. Suzuki, previously cited.(back) 24. George Leonard & Michael Murphy, The Life We Are Given. New York: Putnam, 1995, 202.(back) 25. Franklin Merrell-Wolff, Experience and Philosophy: A Personal Record of Transformation and a Discussion of Transcendental Consciousness. Albany: SUNY Press, 1994, x. ..b b.b. nixon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 - Pretty sophomorish, right? " LOL ROFLMAO!!! " Jesus Christ! A monkey in a cheap suit! To beat the band! God help me, Sweet Mary! -- In Nisargadatta , " .b bobji baba " <Roberibus111 wrote: > > Whatever Happened to 'Heightened Consciousness'? > > > in the > > Journal of Curriculum Studies > > Vol 31, no. 6 > > Winter, 1999 > > (pp. 625-633) > > > Greg Nixon > > (formerly) Faculty Member > > Integrative Studies > > Prescott College > > Prescott, Arizona 86301 > ABSTRACT > > > I have been bold enough to present a paper which is not theoretically > complex but is, instead, theoretically `back to basics'. I ask to > where did the rhetoric go about heightened or expanded consciousness > which was so predominant in the early 70s. To that end I look at the > historical sources of this movement and what has happened since the > early `reconceptualist' days. I suggest that expanded awareness became > irrevocably linked to psychedelic self-indulgence and seen as selfish > by the majority political wing of curriculum theorists. However, both > these views are mistaken. Instead, it is non-reflective political > stances which are egocentric. Finally, I suggest that > context-expanding awareness cannot be a personal goal but a pleasant > side effect of selfless service. > > Whatever Happened to `Heightened Consciousness'? > > > > The uses of a great professor are only partly to give us > knowledge; his real purpose is to take his students beyond knowledge > into the transcendental domain of the unknown, the future and the > dream—to expand the limits of the human consciousness. (Loren Eiseley, > in K. Heuer, ed. The Lost Notebooks of Loren Eiseley. Boston/Toronto: > Little, Brown & Co., 118) > > Whatever happened to consciousness heightening as a curriculum > objective? Did it disappear because, as an expression for the naïve > optimism of the 60s counterculture, it became outdated or does it > represent the losing ideology in a major confrontation in the annals > of curriculum theory? The evidence seems to point to the latter case. > > In the 70s, the schools finally awoke to what had been going on in the > 60s.(1) It was in the 60s, as all the world knows, that a youth > movement emerged which expressed disenchantment with the material > rewards offered by the establishment as an incentive to repress more > vital instincts and participate in the social game of wealth building. > Instead of playing the game and accepting socially defined roles, many > youth fell into the nebulous counterculture movement through which > they hoped to transcend daily, given consciousness. Whether through > the use of psychedelics, meditation, prolonged rock jams, or all of > the above, youth (and many who no longer fit this category) actively > threw off their obligations and sought higher states of awareness. To > the horror and disgust of the GI generation, Timothy Leary's call to > " turn on, tune in, and drop out " spread rapidly, promoted by cult > heroes from the rock 'n roll subculture and by the underground passing > of many a joint or hashpipe. Note: The call was to " drop out, " not > " man the barricades. " > > To be sure, much of the mass of the movement was illusory since many > of those who appeared to be degenerate freaks to the straights were in > fact no more than weekend hippies out to get high, engage in some free > love, or just feel good vibes. Yet, despite their lack of commitment > to overthrowing the establishment, many of them picked up > counterculture values to do with tolerance for the lifestylesof > others, openness to new experience, and an almost spiritual " sense > sublime / Of something far more deeply interfused " (2) within the > mundane reality of daily life. All of this was tied in with the > meaning of " heightened consciousness " : It referred to awakening from > the isolated and narcissistic ego trip of the war of all against all. > This new mind expansion promised escape from the prison-house of self > (and self versus other) to see the world as though for the first time. > > It was a powerful image, involving as much unlearning as learning. > There were exemplars everywhere of those who seemed to have reached, > at minimum, Maslowian self actualization or some sort of psychological > peak experience. More intriguing yet were those who appeared to have > broken on through to the other side, to the oceanic bliss of universal > oneness: nirvana. And, of course, there were those who had shattered > all contexts whatsoever and were ambiguously said to have blown their > minds. For many, this was a consummation devoutly to be wished: If > only the establishment would stop being so heavy! > > At length, elements of the counterculture became dissatisfied with > merely dropping out and sought instead to drop back in and > revolutionize the political system they felt to be imprisoning them. > Heightened levels of awareness seemed both too esoteric and too boring > for many of those who had expected instant gratification. The > political activists were getting all the media attention so most of > the new disaffected wanted to go where the action was. With real > social issues to deal with like war, racism, sexism, and poverty, > those who had previously awaited private awakening became drawn back > into the social game with its zesty marches and mass confrontation. > > By the 70s, the radical political arm of the counterculture had > absorbed some of the quiescent transcendentalism. The > non-establishment quest for expanded levels of awareness became > absorbed in the anti-establishment quest for expanded power. The > remaining seekers of heightened reality stole quietly away to their > ashrams or mountain/desert communes, or they grimly accepted > establishment jobs and families. > > Mind expansion had never been among the specific goals of educators, > including the progressives from earlier in the century.(3) Despite our > present perception, there had been few attempts to suggest an > educational institution which openly pursued expanded individual > consciousness in the 60s. Experiments like A. S. Neill's Summerhill in > England and Rochdale College in Toronto seem in retrospect more like > invitations to anarchy than attempts to heighten consciousness. Carl > Rogers(4) and others suggested " humanistic " education but such > educational personal autonomy and authenticity were not widely > attempted until the 70s when teachers at last were transformed into > " facilitators " .(5) In any case, the humanistic connection with > heightened consciousness remains unclear. > > The idea of expanded consciousness as an educational goal did enter > the literary arena by the late 60s, as indicated by two titles from > that period which perfectly represent the conflict of interpretation > which was arising. The radical political awakening perspective is > exhibited by Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner's Teaching as a > Subversive Activity(6) while the transcendent personal awakening > perspective is portrayed by George Leonard's remarkable Education and > Ecstasy.(7) Like the earlier conflict between John Dewey's child > centeredness and George Counts' social reconstructionism amongst the > progressive scholars, this conflict between the personal and political > versions of consciousness expansion was to play a major role in the > agendas of curriculum theory for decades to come. > > It was in the 60s that curriculum theory as we now know it was > essentially born. Among its foundational figures in this period were > Dwayne Huebner,(8) James Macdonald,(9) and Philip Phenix,(10) each of > whom became drawn into transcendental visions of curriculum in the > next decade. It was also in the 70s that this model of personal > transformation ran directly into the model of political transformation > as Marxists and other radicals demanded that social revolution precede > any revolutions of consciousness. They saw the call for awakened > personal awareness as narrowly self-indulgent in its way as the me > generation disco groovers which surrounded them. How could > educationists use their privileged positions to seek expanded > awareness for themselves or for their students when so many of the > socially oppressed had no such opportunity? they asked with some > justification. > > Philosophers of education and theorists of curriculum found themselves > being to forced into one of two camps: Either they stood with those > who dreamed of heightening personal awareness in an often metaphysical > sense or they stood with those who took expanded consciousness to > refer to waking up to the inequities and injustices rampant in the > sociopolitical system. It seemed to be a choice between " heightened > consciousness " or " consciousness raising " . The reconceptualist > movement(11) which appeared at this time attempted to draw these > disparate voices into a unified protest against the status quo. With > some bravado, William Pinar edited the results of the 1973 University > of Rochester's College of Education Conference into a book whose title > betrayed the schizophrenic nature of curriculum theorizing from then > on: Heightened Consciousness, Cultural Revolution and Curriculum > Theory: The Proceedings of the Rochester Conference.(12) Here in one > fell swoop, curriculum theorizing attempted to promote both heightened > consciousness and cultural (read: political) revolution. > > Pinar has since drawn a telling portrait of the divisions the > conference revealed.(13) Among those representing the political > responsibility group, mostly Marxist, was Donald Bateman who directed > a withering attack at humanist and, by implication, transcendentalist > worldviews: > > Racism, sexism, classism—those deeply internalized social > values—are at the root of our problems. They are deep in our psyches, > and they cause our liberal reforms to fail because they treat the > symptoms and not the causes. Even humanistic education ... tacitly > accepts the class system with its racism, its gross commercialism, its > male chauvinism, its institutionalized violence, its imperialistic > wars—accepts them by failing to mention them, by pretending to be > apolitical.(14) > > Such a strong statement was probably enough to make anyone feel > ashamed for dreaming of a higher state of consciousness when there was > so much injustice all around. This put the political wing on the moral > high ground and indicated that the seekers of consciousness > breakthroughs were irresponsibly indulgent. > > It was precisely against such declarations of moral (and intellectual) > superiority that led another participant, William Pilder, to declare > that all such social confrontations were > externalizations—projections—of unresolved personal conflicts. Against > the institutionalization of well-intentioned reforms, he could only > recommend the inner journey in his presentation, " In the Stillness is > the Dancing " : > > Here, then, is my despair as a professional: human survival > cannot depend on social programs directed at present institutional > structures. Personal consciousness development and subsequent cultural > transformation cannot be programmed in a mechanistic fashion; a > curriculum for consciousness development and cultural change is a > blatant contradiction.(15) > > Though Pilder's view of the necessity for the inner quest before > political engagement is clear, he does not believe that such an inner > journey to heightened consciousness could ever become a workable > curriculum objective. > > At this time, many stood with him on the inner journey aspect but > still believed in the potential for the curriculum to become > personally transformative. Paul Klohr, for one, listed nine > " reconceptualist articles of faith, " including the recognition of the > resources of " preconscious realms of experience " and " personal liberty > and the attainment of higher levels of consciousness. " (16) Pinar > himself early on opposed premature political activism and, instead, > suggested " the design and evaluation of experimental curricula which > will attempt to explore the inner life, hence to underscore and > possibly aid in an ontological shift from outer to inner. " (17) > > After this, the walls came crashing down. Pilder was proven prophetic > because politically oriented scholarship presented much more to get > angry over or pontificate about and provided a much clearer program of > action. It filled the bookshelves and journals while the call to > consciousness did not. The call to work collectively for individual > self-realization or higher states of consciousness became irrevocably > associated with the 60s and drug abuse. As the culture veered away > from such countercultural activities, so did all educational thinking. > Speaking for the mainstream, respected curriculum historians Daniel > and Laurel Tanner castigated the reconceptualization because, in their > view, " it favors mystical illumination ('heightened consciousness') > over reason and is therefore not curriculum knowledge but a > promiscuous enthusiasm for whatever advertises itself as counter to > our culture. " (18) The whole consciousness approach was fast becoming > tainted. > > To stay competitive and play the game of academic advancement—not to > mention to retain the respect of their peers—scholars previously > committed to individual expansion of consciousness soon found other > things about which to write. There was so little to say about > experiences which were so unpredictable and rarely visible to others > and which may be experienced as only a quiet aesthetic moment. As to > actual transcendence, no curricularists dared write anymore of > preparing the way for mystical experiences of no-self. > > Referring to the theme of the Rochester Conference, " heightened > consciousness and cultural revolution, " Pinar wrote in 1988 that such > terms " make one wince today, " a statement he repeated in Understanding > Curriculum in 1995.(19) In the latter book, the chapter titles clearly > indicate what Pinar considers to be the present state of the field. > These include chapters 5: Understanding Curriculum as Political text, > 6: Understanding Curriculum as Racial text, 7: Understanding > Curriculum as Gender text, 9: Understanding Curriculum as > Poststructuralist, Deconstructed, Postmodern text, 10: Understanding > Curriculum as Autobiographical/Biographical text, 12: Understanding > Curriculum as Theological text, and 14: Understanding Curriculum as > International text. Nowhere to be found, however, is any chapter > specifically focusing on heightened consciousness. Clearly, curriculum > theory has become " issue-oriented " and the political agenda has > largely taken the field. Even the autobiography and deconstructive > " texts " are somewhat justified in terms of political engagement. > > Part of the problem is terminology. The sheer vertical imagery of > " heightened consciousness " points only up and leaves one with little > grip on old Terra Firma. Theorists began to resist the celestially > oriented, psychedelically suggestive notion of seeking " height. " As > the Tanners noted above, the entire idea seems to smack of 60s-era > altered states—and we are living through times of excessive paranoia > with regard to " drugs. " We have now [1998] reached the point where > newspapers tell of one middle school girl being suspended for sharing > Midol® tablets and another for offering a cough drop containing zinc > and yet another for having ibuprofen in her locker. Now an > attorney-general, Joycelyn Elders, has been fired for merely > suggesting that the decriminalization of drugs might be investigated. > The fear of experience is so deep that the selling of compressed > nitrous oxide capsules can be declared illegal even in the decadent > French Quarter of New Orleans (despite no suggestion of side effects > or after effects in such small doses).(20) > > The whole view of 60s mind expansion is also tainted in public memory > by its unjustified association with the me generation of the 70s. > Rather unexpectedly, the slick disco crowd emerged—a marketer's > dream—and took the values of free love and the quest for experience in > new directions entirely. The 70s disco ducks reinterpreted the quest > to seek higher levels of awareness as the hedonistic urge for > unbridled physical pleasure. This change is symbolized by the change > of the drug of choice from psychedelics to stimulants.(21) Experience > was still being sought but not heightened consciousness. This heavy > beat, laser light, mirror-ball phantasmagoria has come to be the image > many have of altered states of consciousness. > > It's interesting to note that my place of employment [at the time of > writing], the State University of New York at Geneseo, declared the > 97/98 college term as " The Year of the Sixties, " corny as it sounds. > Judging by the antics that went on it seems clear that the era is > regarded from this perspective as one of noble political engagement or > excessive self-indulgence. The youth of the time, it seems, were > either carrying banners in protest marches or they were destroying > their minds by wallowing in sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll. Nowhere was > there mention of the more subtle and less public activity associated > with " dropping out " and " tuning in " to context shattering, > consciousness expanding levels of transcendent awareness. > > This whole sense of transcendence is much more than a carryover from > the 60s, however. There has probably been a felt sense of worlds > unrealized since the first shamans went on their spirit journeys and > returned to tell their tales. Even this sense of " beyond " has been > dismissed by the public as an illusion deriving from the desire to > escape from reality with all its problems. The Zen writer D. T. > Suzuki, however, has made it clear that transcendence is not an > escape: " To 'transcend' suggests 'going beyond,' 'being away from,' > that is, a separation, a dualism. I have, however, no desire to hint > that the 'something' stands away from the world in which we find > ourselves. " (22) > > It is bitterly ironic that actual moves made toward transcendent > awareness have come to be seen as politically or personally > self-centered. The first obstacle encountered by anyone seeking an > awakened mind is the image of one's own self. Whether using > psychedelics or techniques of meditation, this ego-self must be faced, > accepted, and passed through. This is not an easy thing to do and > those who felt the need to cling to their old ideas of selfhood often > had horrifying LSD experiences when that mirror of identity on which > they depended seemed to lose its reality. Meditators who cannot get > passed this barrier soon suffer unbearable agitation and must give up. > The very experience of satori is sometimes described as one of > " no-self. " (23) > > Those who are one day politically naïve and the next come to see the > fabricated moral structure of the greater part of society may suddenly > feel the need to strike back against these perceived lies and > injustices. In its sincerity, this is indeed " fighting the good > fight. " The problem here is that too often these white knights of > radicalism have never encountered their own moral ambiguity and the > prevarications by which they themselves live. In fact, one of their > motivations for striking out against the perceived conspiracies of the > power elite may be to protect their self-concept: By projecting their > fear and anger onto externalized agents of oppression, they may > postpone indefinitely critical self encounters which might make them > feel diminished. This stance is as egocentric on the Left as on the Right. > > In any case, by breaking through the contexts of one's socially > constructed egocentric defenses, political engagement may follow as a > necessary consequence. " To awaken can be painful, for it opens us to a > poignant awareness of the pervasive waste of life around us and in > us. " (24) Thus seeking consciousness from within expanded contexts is > never selfish, but is, instead, the way out of selfishness. > > How far can consciousness expand? What levels might it reach? The > extreme edge of awakening seems to be full blown mystical experience, > beyond explanation or language of any sort, beyond even socially > created contexts of consciousness (and probably well beyond the > argument of this paper). This is the experience which has been > described by various traditions as satori, nirvana, moksha, or oceanic > bliss. " Surely, " I can hear the protests now, " to seek such bliss for > oneself and ignore the plight of those less privileged is the height > of selfish irresponsibility! " > > Without protesting in return that expanded awareness knows no > privilege and without calling up distant Buddhist traditions of the > bodhisattva, we can find a spokesperson who is both a mystic and a > respected philosopher. Franklin Merrell-Wolff who died not long ago > was a contemporary American who underwent the profound awakening and > wrote about it in clear, empirical terms. For him, transforming > oneself was only possible by forgetting oneself and working to > transform the world: > > [T]he seeking of this Attainment is not simply for the sake of > one's own individual Redemption but for the sake of the Redemption of > humanity as a whole and, in addition, of all creatures whatsoever, > however humble they may be. He who forgets his own Attainment and his > own Redemption in seeking for the Attainment and Redemption of all > creatures, is following the Path which is most certain to involve that > very Attainment and Redemption for himself. The motive should always > be the good of all creatures, not one's own private good.(25) > > It seems clear as light that expanded consciousness is a very good > thing both for one's own existence, for the society in which one > lives, and likely for the world itself. Such enlightened awareness > need not attain to the contextless levels suggestedby Suzuki and > Merrell-Wolff above, but might begin with something as simple as > guided self-reflection—perhaps autobiographical writing and > sharing—and the encouragement to undertake empathic feeling and > relentless critical thinking. > > Aligning oneself immovably with a political stance—whether that stance > be called Marxist, Christian conservative, or critical postmodern—only > hardens the ego in an us-against-them posture. The way of > self-forgetting, on the other hand, is the way of service, mind > expanding precisely because the other becomes a presence in > consciousness, rather than a vague threat kept unconscious. > Notwithstanding, the purpose of this paper has not been to make anyone > wince by suggesting a return to a curricular directive of heightened > or even expanded consciousness. Since such decontextualized awareness > is perennial and everpresent, it need not be promoted or sought as an > objective. Its eventual return need only be awaited. Curriculum > theorists in the meantime, I would suggest, should avoid shutting out > such hopeful potentials. > > Notes > > 1. I myself was suspended from high school in 1967 after returning > from Expo `67 in Montreal until I cut my hair above the collar and > dressed " more responsibly. " In 1971, that same high school with the > same principal began its liberalization policies which allowed > students to dress as they pleased and to take their high school > through individualized contracts.(back) > > 2. William Wordsworth, " Lines: Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern > Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye During a Tour, July 13, > 1798. " L. 95-6.(back) > > 3. Though it could be argued that Plato called specifically for > heightened consciousness for his philosopher-kings in The Republic or > that such was the goal of education in the gnostic/alchemical > tradition. Certainly many Eastern religions developed educational > techniques to bring about the awakening from illusion.(back) > > 4. E.g.: Carl R. Rogers, Freedom to Learn. Columbus, OH: Merrill, > 1969.(back) > > 5. Even then, the influence and ubiquity of humanistic education and > open schools have been grossly exaggerated (as was the progressive > education before that). Most schools seemed to fall into an uncertain > somnolence, drifting without guidelines between permissiveness and > tradition.(back) > > 6. Neil Postman & Charles Weingartner, Teaching as a Subversive > Activity. New York: Delacorte Press, 1969.(back) > > 7. George B. Leonard, Education and Ecstasy. New York: Delacorte > Press, 1968.(back) > > 8. E.g.: Dwayne E. Huebner, " Curriculum as Concern for Man's > Temporality. " Theory into Practice, 6(4), 1967, 172-179. [Reprinted in > W. Pinar (ed.), Curriculum Theorizing: The Reconceptualists (237-249). > Berkeley: McCutchan, 1975.](back) > > 9. E.g.: James G. Macdonald, " An Image of Man: The Learner Himself. " > In R. Doll (ed.), Individualizing Instruction (29-49). Washington, DC: > ASCD, 1964.(back) > > 10. Philip E. Phenix, Realms of Meaning: A Philosophy of the > Curriculum for General Education. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964.(back) > > 11. William F. Pinar, (ed.), Curriculum Theorizing: The > Reconceptualists. Berkeley: McCutchan, 1975. The best elucidation of > " The Reconceptualization " is in the recent magisterial tome: William > F. Pinar, William M. Reynolds, Patrick Slattery, & Peter Taubman, > Understanding Curriculum. New York: Peter Lang, 1995. (See, > especially, chapter 4, " The Reconceptualization of the Field > 1970-1979 " .)(back) > > 12. William F. Pinar (ed.), Heightened Consciousness, Cultural > Revolution and Curriculum Theory: The Proceedings of the Rochester > Conference. Berkeley: McCutchan, 1974. (back) > > 13. Pinar et al. Understanding Curriculum, 218-226.(back) > > 14. Donald R. Bateman, " The Politics of Curriculum. " In W. Pinar (ed), > Heightened Consciousness, Cultural Revolution and Curriculum Theory: > The Proceedings of the Rochester Conference (56-68). Berkeley: > McCutchan, 1974, 66. [Also in Pinar et al., 222](back) > > 15. William J. Pilder, " In the Stillness is the Dancing. " In W. Pinar > (ed), Heightened Consciousness, Cultural Revolution and Curriculum > Theory: The Proceedings of the Rochester Conference (117-129). > Berkeley: McCutchan, 1974, 125-6. [Also in Pinar et al., 223] Pilder > apparently left the field to become a Jungian analyst.(back) > > 16. Paul Klohr, " Curriculum Theory: The State of the Field. " Columbus: > Ohio State University, College of Education, unpublished manuscript. > In Pinar et al., 224.(back) > > 17. William F. Pinar, " An Introduction. " In W. F. Pinar (ed.), > Heightened Consciousness, Cultural Revolution and Curriculum Theory: > The Proceedings of the Rochester Conference (1-15). Berkeley: > McCutchan, 1974, 15.(back) > > 18. Daniel and Laurel Tanner, " Emancipation from Research: The > Reconceptualist Prescription. " Educational Researcher, 8 (6). June, > 1979. 8-12.(back) > > 19. William F. Pinar, " Introduction. " In W. Pinar (ed.), Contemporary > Curriculum Discourses (1-13). Scottsdale: Gorsuch Scarisbrick, 3. > [Repeated in Pinar et al., 219.](back) > > 20. This, despite well-documented research by Ronald K. Siegel > (Intoxication. E. P. Dutton, 1989) showing that almost all sentient > creatures seek altered states or intoxication on occasion. Still, > there are no research programs planned to develop a safe, nonaddictive > disinhibitor or stimulant. Research is underway to find pain > suppressants that avoid the undesired (by doctors!) side effect of > euphoria. All research on LSD and other psychedelics has been illegal > since the late 60s in spite of protests by experts in the field who > state that psychedelics may have potentially healing benefits in such > areas as addiction therapy and mental illness. And despite the fact > that a majority of Americans use some sort of " drug " for pleasure.(back) > > 21. Psychedelics—LSD, mescaline and such—tend toward visionary > experience, allowing for soul- quakes or self-transcendence (to the > bliss or horror of the experiencer). They are not known to have any > physical after-effects. Stimulants on the other hand—speed, cocaine, > etc.—simply crank up the nervous system into " emergency alert " so > reality is experienced as extravagantly intensified. The nervous > system and organs of the body eventually pay the price for this > artificial adrenaline.(back) > > 22. Daisetz T. Suzuki, " The Awakening of a New Consciousness in Zen. " > In J. Campbell (ed.), Man and Transformation: Papers from the Eranos > Yearbooks (179-202). Bollingen Series XXX · 5. Princeton University > Press, 1964. First published in Eranos-Jahrbücher XXIII, 1954. 179.(back) > > 23. Suzuki, previously cited.(back) > > 24. George Leonard & Michael Murphy, The Life We Are Given. New York: > Putnam, 1995, 202.(back) > > 25. Franklin Merrell-Wolff, Experience and Philosophy: A Personal > Record of Transformation and a Discussion of Transcendental > Consciousness. Albany: SUNY Press, 1994, x. > > > .b b.b. nixon > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 Nisargadatta , " skywhilds " <skywords wrote: > > - > > > Pretty sophomorish, right? > > " LOL > > ROFLMAO!!! " > > > > Jesus Christ! > > A monkey in a cheap suit! > > To beat the band! > > > God help me, Sweet Mary! :-) OK freshman. oops... well! she's an elementary school gradyouate she'' have you know! so watch out mr. sophomore or she'll really get pissed off and swing her purse at you. that's Ok there only loose change in there like the loose stuff in her head that invokes another girl's help. sweet and laughable. LOL! ..b b.b. ******************************nnb************************************* > -- In Nisargadatta , " .b bobji baba " <Roberibus111@> > wrote: > > > > Whatever Happened to 'Heightened Consciousness'? > > > > > > in the > > > > Journal of Curriculum Studies > > > > Vol 31, no. 6 > > > > Winter, 1999 > > > > (pp. 625-633) > > > > > > Greg Nixon > > > > (formerly) Faculty Member > > > > Integrative Studies > > > > Prescott College > > > > Prescott, Arizona 86301 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ABSTRACT > > > > > > I have been bold enough to present a paper which is not theoretically > > complex but is, instead, theoretically `back to basics'. I ask to > > where did the rhetoric go about heightened or expanded consciousness > > which was so predominant in the early 70s. To that end I look at the > > historical sources of this movement and what has happened since the > > early `reconceptualist' days. I suggest that expanded awareness became > > irrevocably linked to psychedelic self-indulgence and seen as selfish > > by the majority political wing of curriculum theorists. However, both > > these views are mistaken. Instead, it is non-reflective political > > stances which are egocentric. Finally, I suggest that > > context-expanding awareness cannot be a personal goal but a pleasant > > side effect of selfless service. > > > > Whatever Happened to `Heightened Consciousness'? > > > > > > > > The uses of a great professor are only partly to give us > > knowledge; his real purpose is to take his students beyond knowledge > > into the transcendental domain of the unknown, the future and the > > dream—to expand the limits of the human consciousness. (Loren Eiseley, > > in K. Heuer, ed. The Lost Notebooks of Loren Eiseley. Boston/Toronto: > > Little, Brown & Co., 118) > > > > Whatever happened to consciousness heightening as a curriculum > > objective? Did it disappear because, as an expression for the naïve > > optimism of the 60s counterculture, it became outdated or does it > > represent the losing ideology in a major confrontation in the annals > > of curriculum theory? The evidence seems to point to the latter case. > > > > In the 70s, the schools finally awoke to what had been going on in the > > 60s.(1) It was in the 60s, as all the world knows, that a youth > > movement emerged which expressed disenchantment with the material > > rewards offered by the establishment as an incentive to repress more > > vital instincts and participate in the social game of wealth building. > > Instead of playing the game and accepting socially defined roles, many > > youth fell into the nebulous counterculture movement through which > > they hoped to transcend daily, given consciousness. Whether through > > the use of psychedelics, meditation, prolonged rock jams, or all of > > the above, youth (and many who no longer fit this category) actively > > threw off their obligations and sought higher states of awareness. To > > the horror and disgust of the GI generation, Timothy Leary's call to > > " turn on, tune in, and drop out " spread rapidly, promoted by cult > > heroes from the rock 'n roll subculture and by the underground passing > > of many a joint or hashpipe. Note: The call was to " drop out, " not > > " man the barricades. " > > > > To be sure, much of the mass of the movement was illusory since many > > of those who appeared to be degenerate freaks to the straights were in > > fact no more than weekend hippies out to get high, engage in some free > > love, or just feel good vibes. Yet, despite their lack of commitment > > to overthrowing the establishment, many of them picked up > > counterculture values to do with tolerance for the lifestylesof > > others, openness to new experience, and an almost spiritual " sense > > sublime / Of something far more deeply interfused " (2) within the > > mundane reality of daily life. All of this was tied in with the > > meaning of " heightened consciousness " : It referred to awakening from > > the isolated and narcissistic ego trip of the war of all against all. > > This new mind expansion promised escape from the prison-house of self > > (and self versus other) to see the world as though for the first time. > > > > It was a powerful image, involving as much unlearning as learning. > > There were exemplars everywhere of those who seemed to have reached, > > at minimum, Maslowian self actualization or some sort of psychological > > peak experience. More intriguing yet were those who appeared to have > > broken on through to the other side, to the oceanic bliss of universal > > oneness: nirvana. And, of course, there were those who had shattered > > all contexts whatsoever and were ambiguously said to have blown their > > minds. For many, this was a consummation devoutly to be wished: If > > only the establishment would stop being so heavy! > > > > At length, elements of the counterculture became dissatisfied with > > merely dropping out and sought instead to drop back in and > > revolutionize the political system they felt to be imprisoning them. > > Heightened levels of awareness seemed both too esoteric and too boring > > for many of those who had expected instant gratification. The > > political activists were getting all the media attention so most of > > the new disaffected wanted to go where the action was. With real > > social issues to deal with like war, racism, sexism, and poverty, > > those who had previously awaited private awakening became drawn back > > into the social game with its zesty marches and mass confrontation. > > > > By the 70s, the radical political arm of the counterculture had > > absorbed some of the quiescent transcendentalism. The > > non-establishment quest for expanded levels of awareness became > > absorbed in the anti-establishment quest for expanded power. The > > remaining seekers of heightened reality stole quietly away to their > > ashrams or mountain/desert communes, or they grimly accepted > > establishment jobs and families. > > > > Mind expansion had never been among the specific goals of educators, > > including the progressives from earlier in the century.(3) Despite our > > present perception, there had been few attempts to suggest an > > educational institution which openly pursued expanded individual > > consciousness in the 60s. Experiments like A. S. Neill's Summerhill in > > England and Rochdale College in Toronto seem in retrospect more like > > invitations to anarchy than attempts to heighten consciousness. Carl > > Rogers(4) and others suggested " humanistic " education but such > > educational personal autonomy and authenticity were not widely > > attempted until the 70s when teachers at last were transformed into > > " facilitators " .(5) In any case, the humanistic connection with > > heightened consciousness remains unclear. > > > > The idea of expanded consciousness as an educational goal did enter > > the literary arena by the late 60s, as indicated by two titles from > > that period which perfectly represent the conflict of interpretation > > which was arising. The radical political awakening perspective is > > exhibited by Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner's Teaching as a > > Subversive Activity(6) while the transcendent personal awakening > > perspective is portrayed by George Leonard's remarkable Education and > > Ecstasy.(7) Like the earlier conflict between John Dewey's child > > centeredness and George Counts' social reconstructionism amongst the > > progressive scholars, this conflict between the personal and political > > versions of consciousness expansion was to play a major role in the > > agendas of curriculum theory for decades to come. > > > > It was in the 60s that curriculum theory as we now know it was > > essentially born. Among its foundational figures in this period were > > Dwayne Huebner,(8) James Macdonald,(9) and Philip Phenix,(10) each of > > whom became drawn into transcendental visions of curriculum in the > > next decade. It was also in the 70s that this model of personal > > transformation ran directly into the model of political transformation > > as Marxists and other radicals demanded that social revolution precede > > any revolutions of consciousness. They saw the call for awakened > > personal awareness as narrowly self-indulgent in its way as the me > > generation disco groovers which surrounded them. How could > > educationists use their privileged positions to seek expanded > > awareness for themselves or for their students when so many of the > > socially oppressed had no such opportunity? they asked with some > > justification. > > > > Philosophers of education and theorists of curriculum found themselves > > being to forced into one of two camps: Either they stood with those > > who dreamed of heightening personal awareness in an often metaphysical > > sense or they stood with those who took expanded consciousness to > > refer to waking up to the inequities and injustices rampant in the > > sociopolitical system. It seemed to be a choice between " heightened > > consciousness " or " consciousness raising " . The reconceptualist > > movement(11) which appeared at this time attempted to draw these > > disparate voices into a unified protest against the status quo. With > > some bravado, William Pinar edited the results of the 1973 University > > of Rochester's College of Education Conference into a book whose title > > betrayed the schizophrenic nature of curriculum theorizing from then > > on: Heightened Consciousness, Cultural Revolution and Curriculum > > Theory: The Proceedings of the Rochester Conference.(12) Here in one > > fell swoop, curriculum theorizing attempted to promote both heightened > > consciousness and cultural (read: political) revolution. > > > > Pinar has since drawn a telling portrait of the divisions the > > conference revealed.(13) Among those representing the political > > responsibility group, mostly Marxist, was Donald Bateman who directed > > a withering attack at humanist and, by implication, transcendentalist > > worldviews: > > > > Racism, sexism, classism—those deeply internalized social > > values—are at the root of our problems. They are deep in our psyches, > > and they cause our liberal reforms to fail because they treat the > > symptoms and not the causes. Even humanistic education ... tacitly > > accepts the class system with its racism, its gross commercialism, its > > male chauvinism, its institutionalized violence, its imperialistic > > wars—accepts them by failing to mention them, by pretending to be > > apolitical.(14) > > > > Such a strong statement was probably enough to make anyone feel > > ashamed for dreaming of a higher state of consciousness when there was > > so much injustice all around. This put the political wing on the moral > > high ground and indicated that the seekers of consciousness > > breakthroughs were irresponsibly indulgent. > > > > It was precisely against such declarations of moral (and intellectual) > > superiority that led another participant, William Pilder, to declare > > that all such social confrontations were > > externalizations—projections—of unresolved personal conflicts. Against > > the institutionalization of well-intentioned reforms, he could only > > recommend the inner journey in his presentation, " In the Stillness is > > the Dancing " : > > > > Here, then, is my despair as a professional: human survival > > cannot depend on social programs directed at present institutional > > structures. Personal consciousness development and subsequent cultural > > transformation cannot be programmed in a mechanistic fashion; a > > curriculum for consciousness development and cultural change is a > > blatant contradiction.(15) > > > > Though Pilder's view of the necessity for the inner quest before > > political engagement is clear, he does not believe that such an inner > > journey to heightened consciousness could ever become a workable > > curriculum objective. > > > > At this time, many stood with him on the inner journey aspect but > > still believed in the potential for the curriculum to become > > personally transformative. Paul Klohr, for one, listed nine > > " reconceptualist articles of faith, " including the recognition of the > > resources of " preconscious realms of experience " and " personal liberty > > and the attainment of higher levels of consciousness. " (16) Pinar > > himself early on opposed premature political activism and, instead, > > suggested " the design and evaluation of experimental curricula which > > will attempt to explore the inner life, hence to underscore and > > possibly aid in an ontological shift from outer to inner. " (17) > > > > After this, the walls came crashing down. Pilder was proven prophetic > > because politically oriented scholarship presented much more to get > > angry over or pontificate about and provided a much clearer program of > > action. It filled the bookshelves and journals while the call to > > consciousness did not. The call to work collectively for individual > > self-realization or higher states of consciousness became irrevocably > > associated with the 60s and drug abuse. As the culture veered away > > from such countercultural activities, so did all educational thinking. > > Speaking for the mainstream, respected curriculum historians Daniel > > and Laurel Tanner castigated the reconceptualization because, in their > > view, " it favors mystical illumination ('heightened consciousness') > > over reason and is therefore not curriculum knowledge but a > > promiscuous enthusiasm for whatever advertises itself as counter to > > our culture. " (18) The whole consciousness approach was fast becoming > > tainted. > > > > To stay competitive and play the game of academic advancement—not to > > mention to retain the respect of their peers—scholars previously > > committed to individual expansion of consciousness soon found other > > things about which to write. There was so little to say about > > experiences which were so unpredictable and rarely visible to others > > and which may be experienced as only a quiet aesthetic moment. As to > > actual transcendence, no curricularists dared write anymore of > > preparing the way for mystical experiences of no-self. > > > > Referring to the theme of the Rochester Conference, " heightened > > consciousness and cultural revolution, " Pinar wrote in 1988 that such > > terms " make one wince today, " a statement he repeated in Understanding > > Curriculum in 1995.(19) In the latter book, the chapter titles clearly > > indicate what Pinar considers to be the present state of the field. > > These include chapters 5: Understanding Curriculum as Political text, > > 6: Understanding Curriculum as Racial text, 7: Understanding > > Curriculum as Gender text, 9: Understanding Curriculum as > > Poststructuralist, Deconstructed, Postmodern text, 10: Understanding > > Curriculum as Autobiographical/Biographical text, 12: Understanding > > Curriculum as Theological text, and 14: Understanding Curriculum as > > International text. Nowhere to be found, however, is any chapter > > specifically focusing on heightened consciousness. Clearly, curriculum > > theory has become " issue-oriented " and the political agenda has > > largely taken the field. Even the autobiography and deconstructive > > " texts " are somewhat justified in terms of political engagement. > > > > Part of the problem is terminology. The sheer vertical imagery of > > " heightened consciousness " points only up and leaves one with little > > grip on old Terra Firma. Theorists began to resist the celestially > > oriented, psychedelically suggestive notion of seeking " height. " As > > the Tanners noted above, the entire idea seems to smack of 60s-era > > altered states—and we are living through times of excessive paranoia > > with regard to " drugs. " We have now [1998] reached the point where > > newspapers tell of one middle school girl being suspended for sharing > > Midol® tablets and another for offering a cough drop containing zinc > > and yet another for having ibuprofen in her locker. Now an > > attorney-general, Joycelyn Elders, has been fired for merely > > suggesting that the decriminalization of drugs might be investigated. > > The fear of experience is so deep that the selling of compressed > > nitrous oxide capsules can be declared illegal even in the decadent > > French Quarter of New Orleans (despite no suggestion of side effects > > or after effects in such small doses).(20) > > > > The whole view of 60s mind expansion is also tainted in public memory > > by its unjustified association with the me generation of the 70s. > > Rather unexpectedly, the slick disco crowd emerged—a marketer's > > dream—and took the values of free love and the quest for experience in > > new directions entirely. The 70s disco ducks reinterpreted the quest > > to seek higher levels of awareness as the hedonistic urge for > > unbridled physical pleasure. This change is symbolized by the change > > of the drug of choice from psychedelics to stimulants.(21) Experience > > was still being sought but not heightened consciousness. This heavy > > beat, laser light, mirror-ball phantasmagoria has come to be the image > > many have of altered states of consciousness. > > > > It's interesting to note that my place of employment [at the time of > > writing], the State University of New York at Geneseo, declared the > > 97/98 college term as " The Year of the Sixties, " corny as it sounds. > > Judging by the antics that went on it seems clear that the era is > > regarded from this perspective as one of noble political engagement or > > excessive self-indulgence. The youth of the time, it seems, were > > either carrying banners in protest marches or they were destroying > > their minds by wallowing in sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll. Nowhere was > > there mention of the more subtle and less public activity associated > > with " dropping out " and " tuning in " to context shattering, > > consciousness expanding levels of transcendent awareness. > > > > This whole sense of transcendence is much more than a carryover from > > the 60s, however. There has probably been a felt sense of worlds > > unrealized since the first shamans went on their spirit journeys and > > returned to tell their tales. Even this sense of " beyond " has been > > dismissed by the public as an illusion deriving from the desire to > > escape from reality with all its problems. The Zen writer D. T. > > Suzuki, however, has made it clear that transcendence is not an > > escape: " To 'transcend' suggests 'going beyond,' 'being away from,' > > that is, a separation, a dualism. I have, however, no desire to hint > > that the 'something' stands away from the world in which we find > > ourselves. " (22) > > > > It is bitterly ironic that actual moves made toward transcendent > > awareness have come to be seen as politically or personally > > self-centered. The first obstacle encountered by anyone seeking an > > awakened mind is the image of one's own self. Whether using > > psychedelics or techniques of meditation, this ego-self must be faced, > > accepted, and passed through. This is not an easy thing to do and > > those who felt the need to cling to their old ideas of selfhood often > > had horrifying LSD experiences when that mirror of identity on which > > they depended seemed to lose its reality. Meditators who cannot get > > passed this barrier soon suffer unbearable agitation and must give up. > > The very experience of satori is sometimes described as one of > > " no-self. " (23) > > > > Those who are one day politically naïve and the next come to see the > > fabricated moral structure of the greater part of society may suddenly > > feel the need to strike back against these perceived lies and > > injustices. In its sincerity, this is indeed " fighting the good > > fight. " The problem here is that too often these white knights of > > radicalism have never encountered their own moral ambiguity and the > > prevarications by which they themselves live. In fact, one of their > > motivations for striking out against the perceived conspiracies of the > > power elite may be to protect their self-concept: By projecting their > > fear and anger onto externalized agents of oppression, they may > > postpone indefinitely critical self encounters which might make them > > feel diminished. This stance is as egocentric on the Left as on the > Right. > > > > In any case, by breaking through the contexts of one's socially > > constructed egocentric defenses, political engagement may follow as a > > necessary consequence. " To awaken can be painful, for it opens us to a > > poignant awareness of the pervasive waste of life around us and in > > us. " (24) Thus seeking consciousness from within expanded contexts is > > never selfish, but is, instead, the way out of selfishness. > > > > How far can consciousness expand? What levels might it reach? The > > extreme edge of awakening seems to be full blown mystical experience, > > beyond explanation or language of any sort, beyond even socially > > created contexts of consciousness (and probably well beyond the > > argument of this paper). This is the experience which has been > > described by various traditions as satori, nirvana, moksha, or oceanic > > bliss. " Surely, " I can hear the protests now, " to seek such bliss for > > oneself and ignore the plight of those less privileged is the height > > of selfish irresponsibility! " > > > > Without protesting in return that expanded awareness knows no > > privilege and without calling up distant Buddhist traditions of the > > bodhisattva, we can find a spokesperson who is both a mystic and a > > respected philosopher. Franklin Merrell-Wolff who died not long ago > > was a contemporary American who underwent the profound awakening and > > wrote about it in clear, empirical terms. For him, transforming > > oneself was only possible by forgetting oneself and working to > > transform the world: > > > > [T]he seeking of this Attainment is not simply for the sake of > > one's own individual Redemption but for the sake of the Redemption of > > humanity as a whole and, in addition, of all creatures whatsoever, > > however humble they may be. He who forgets his own Attainment and his > > own Redemption in seeking for the Attainment and Redemption of all > > creatures, is following the Path which is most certain to involve that > > very Attainment and Redemption for himself. The motive should always > > be the good of all creatures, not one's own private good.(25) > > > > It seems clear as light that expanded consciousness is a very good > > thing both for one's own existence, for the society in which one > > lives, and likely for the world itself. Such enlightened awareness > > need not attain to the contextless levels suggestedby Suzuki and > > Merrell-Wolff above, but might begin with something as simple as > > guided self-reflection—perhaps autobiographical writing and > > sharing—and the encouragement to undertake empathic feeling and > > relentless critical thinking. > > > > Aligning oneself immovably with a political stance—whether that stance > > be called Marxist, Christian conservative, or critical postmodern—only > > hardens the ego in an us-against-them posture. The way of > > self-forgetting, on the other hand, is the way of service, mind > > expanding precisely because the other becomes a presence in > > consciousness, rather than a vague threat kept unconscious. > > Notwithstanding, the purpose of this paper has not been to make anyone > > wince by suggesting a return to a curricular directive of heightened > > or even expanded consciousness. Since such decontextualized awareness > > is perennial and everpresent, it need not be promoted or sought as an > > objective. Its eventual return need only be awaited. Curriculum > > theorists in the meantime, I would suggest, should avoid shutting out > > such hopeful potentials. > > > > Notes > > > > 1. I myself was suspended from high school in 1967 after returning > > from Expo `67 in Montreal until I cut my hair above the collar and > > dressed " more responsibly. " In 1971, that same high school with the > > same principal began its liberalization policies which allowed > > students to dress as they pleased and to take their high school > > through individualized contracts.(back) > > > > 2. William Wordsworth, " Lines: Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern > > Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye During a Tour, July 13, > > 1798. " L. 95-6.(back) > > > > 3. Though it could be argued that Plato called specifically for > > heightened consciousness for his philosopher-kings in The Republic or > > that such was the goal of education in the gnostic/alchemical > > tradition. Certainly many Eastern religions developed educational > > techniques to bring about the awakening from illusion.(back) > > > > 4. E.g.: Carl R. Rogers, Freedom to Learn. Columbus, OH: Merrill, > > 1969.(back) > > > > 5. Even then, the influence and ubiquity of humanistic education and > > open schools have been grossly exaggerated (as was the progressive > > education before that). Most schools seemed to fall into an uncertain > > somnolence, drifting without guidelines between permissiveness and > > tradition.(back) > > > > 6. Neil Postman & Charles Weingartner, Teaching as a Subversive > > Activity. New York: Delacorte Press, 1969.(back) > > > > 7. George B. Leonard, Education and Ecstasy. New York: Delacorte > > Press, 1968.(back) > > > > 8. E.g.: Dwayne E. Huebner, " Curriculum as Concern for Man's > > Temporality. " Theory into Practice, 6(4), 1967, 172-179. [Reprinted in > > W. Pinar (ed.), Curriculum Theorizing: The Reconceptualists (237-249). > > Berkeley: McCutchan, 1975.](back) > > > > 9. E.g.: James G. Macdonald, " An Image of Man: The Learner Himself. " > > In R. Doll (ed.), Individualizing Instruction (29-49). Washington, DC: > > ASCD, 1964.(back) > > > > 10. Philip E. Phenix, Realms of Meaning: A Philosophy of the > > Curriculum for General Education. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964.(back) > > > > 11. William F. Pinar, (ed.), Curriculum Theorizing: The > > Reconceptualists. Berkeley: McCutchan, 1975. The best elucidation of > > " The Reconceptualization " is in the recent magisterial tome: William > > F. Pinar, William M. Reynolds, Patrick Slattery, & Peter Taubman, > > Understanding Curriculum. New York: Peter Lang, 1995. (See, > > especially, chapter 4, " The Reconceptualization of the Field > > 1970-1979 " .)(back) > > > > 12. William F. Pinar (ed.), Heightened Consciousness, Cultural > > Revolution and Curriculum Theory: The Proceedings of the Rochester > > Conference. Berkeley: McCutchan, 1974. (back) > > > > 13. Pinar et al. Understanding Curriculum, 218-226.(back) > > > > 14. Donald R. Bateman, " The Politics of Curriculum. " In W. Pinar (ed), > > Heightened Consciousness, Cultural Revolution and Curriculum Theory: > > The Proceedings of the Rochester Conference (56-68). Berkeley: > > McCutchan, 1974, 66. [Also in Pinar et al., 222](back) > > > > 15. William J. Pilder, " In the Stillness is the Dancing. " In W. Pinar > > (ed), Heightened Consciousness, Cultural Revolution and Curriculum > > Theory: The Proceedings of the Rochester Conference (117-129). > > Berkeley: McCutchan, 1974, 125-6. [Also in Pinar et al., 223] Pilder > > apparently left the field to become a Jungian analyst.(back) > > > > 16. Paul Klohr, " Curriculum Theory: The State of the Field. " Columbus: > > Ohio State University, College of Education, unpublished manuscript. > > In Pinar et al., 224.(back) > > > > 17. William F. Pinar, " An Introduction. " In W. F. Pinar (ed.), > > Heightened Consciousness, Cultural Revolution and Curriculum Theory: > > The Proceedings of the Rochester Conference (1-15). Berkeley: > > McCutchan, 1974, 15.(back) > > > > 18. Daniel and Laurel Tanner, " Emancipation from Research: The > > Reconceptualist Prescription. " Educational Researcher, 8 (6). June, > > 1979. 8-12.(back) > > > > 19. William F. Pinar, " Introduction. " In W. Pinar (ed.), Contemporary > > Curriculum Discourses (1-13). Scottsdale: Gorsuch Scarisbrick, 3. > > [Repeated in Pinar et al., 219.](back) > > > > 20. This, despite well-documented research by Ronald K. Siegel > > (Intoxication. E. P. Dutton, 1989) showing that almost all sentient > > creatures seek altered states or intoxication on occasion. Still, > > there are no research programs planned to develop a safe, nonaddictive > > disinhibitor or stimulant. Research is underway to find pain > > suppressants that avoid the undesired (by doctors!) side effect of > > euphoria. All research on LSD and other psychedelics has been illegal > > since the late 60s in spite of protests by experts in the field who > > state that psychedelics may have potentially healing benefits in such > > areas as addiction therapy and mental illness. And despite the fact > > that a majority of Americans use some sort of " drug " for pleasure.(back) > > > > 21. Psychedelics—LSD, mescaline and such—tend toward visionary > > experience, allowing for soul- quakes or self-transcendence (to the > > bliss or horror of the experiencer). They are not known to have any > > physical after-effects. Stimulants on the other hand—speed, cocaine, > > etc.—simply crank up the nervous system into " emergency alert " so > > reality is experienced as extravagantly intensified. The nervous > > system and organs of the body eventually pay the price for this > > artificial adrenaline.(back) > > > > 22. Daisetz T. Suzuki, " The Awakening of a New Consciousness in Zen. " > > In J. Campbell (ed.), Man and Transformation: Papers from the Eranos > > Yearbooks (179-202). Bollingen Series XXX · 5. Princeton University > > Press, 1964. First published in Eranos-Jahrbücher XXIII, 1954. > 179.(back) > > > > 23. Suzuki, previously cited.(back) > > > > 24. George Leonard & Michael Murphy, The Life We Are Given. New York: > > Putnam, 1995, 202.(back) > > > > 25. Franklin Merrell-Wolff, Experience and Philosophy: A Personal > > Record of Transformation and a Discussion of Transcendental > > Consciousness. Albany: SUNY Press, 1994, x. > > > > > > .b b.b. nixon > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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