Valuing the Future: Education for Spiritual Development.

The Brahma Kumaris (BK) Spiritual University, headquartered in London, works toward helping others understand the role of spirituality in daily life and in creating a better world. In the early 1990s, a BK research project in 128 countries found that people's ideal vision of the future emphasized a return of the importance of values. In response, BK published a guide book that offered a universal approach to 12 spiritual values. BK was given general consultative status with the Economic Social Council of the United Nations and has been working with a UN agency to develop activities that promote incorporation of values in school curricula and to establish a program encouraging the spiritual development of young women. Another dimension of BK's work involves the practice of reflection and self-evaluation. Very much a part of experiential learning, the reflection process promotes a form of active learning that transforms and opens the door for spiritual awakening and consciousness. Outdoor experiences, in particular, awaken feelings of the sacred and allow young people to become aware of spirituality in their own lives. Spirituality begins with an enquiry into the unique workings of one's own self. Life skills related to communication and interaction with others are developed through knowing the self and learning to move thoughts and feelings in a positive direction. With positive spiritual development comes emotional stability and enhancement of mental abilities. Education must return to the position of enabling each individual's spiritual potential to be released. (SV)