Idealism And Spirit

SUN., DEC. 18, 1983, 5:50 AM
FARM, FRONT OF FIRE

You know, o son, that I am interested and involved in much of what you do, including, of course, your many teaching tasks. I am a teacher, and I would have you be a growing, improving representative of this educative profession here in the earth. So this morning hear My thoughts on the philosophy of idealism and its relationship to spirit, the essence of life.

When you describe idealism to a class you talk about a meeting of minds, so that, in effect, the mind of the teacher and that of each learner become one, and the knowledge that one has is available to the other. Even as you describe it thusly you realize that this is much more a matter of spirit than of mind. Spirit is that part of self that reaches out to others and that responds as others are reaching out.

This that We do together is quite an example of this “philosophy” in action. My Spirit reaches out to you (even awakens you without the alarm) and you are aware enough to recognize Me and to be receptive. Then your mind enters in, at the invitation of your spirit, offering your vocabulary, syntax, punctuation, and writing style as a means for My thoughts to become tangible Teachings that you and other might learn from. This could all be spoken of as a manifestation of mind, but why do so, say I, when spirit is such a viable concept.

Actually, because idealism is grounded in spirit, it involves the whole self in the teaching/learning process. The idealist teacher will touch students physically, knowing that as this is done in response to the guiding of spirit, it enhances learning. He will tell stories, he will show pictures, he will tell how he feels… actually sharing some of his life with the learners. Certainly having a class meet for a meal around a table is part of the idealist way of stimulating learning.

Now in order for an idealist teacher to function effectively there must be a supply of idealist learners. Learners must be open to the manifestation of self by the teacher and be willing to respond and give of self in return. When students are interested only in the factual material or in the techniques of some trade then an idealist teacher seems superfluous, even silly. Be aware of this. Just know that the “seduction process” simply does not work with some. Fortunately, in your field there will be relatively few learners who will not respond at all to idealist “tactics”… but just know that there will be a range of acceptance and good learning from this approach.

Some idealist learning can be planned, and some cannot. Some must arise rather spontaneously from interactions that “just happen” (apparently), but much good learning takes place only when plans have been made and preparations carried out so that the interactions are more possible. I hesitate (ever so slightly) to put more immediate tasks on you, but this time just after New Years should be used to plan your courses for this next term with experiences that shall make your idealist approaches more possible… and effective.