Higher Education has a problem. OK, not just HigherEd, but that is the area I have great visibility into.

We focus heavily on teaching what others have thought about the subject, their interpretation, and their boundaries and limitations. Unfortunately, these boundaries and limitations often become a student’s ceiling, restricting their growth and independent thought.

We teach many different schools of ethics, yet I do not see an increase in ethical behaviour in the public domain or human interactions.

Similarly, too many theories revolve around some form of conflict rather than balance and harmony. Although theories simplify and help us understand reality, they can also create confusion or even cause a student to become depressed, withdrawn, agitated, radicalized, or alienated from their family or society.

Some academic programs are more susceptible to this malady than others. Others are immune to it because they teach knowledge and skills that have been validated over thousands of years, such as acupuncture. In these fields, the mastery that students can achieve is closely tied to their responsiveness to their intuition.  

Understanding the thoughts and ideas of our predecessors can greatly benefit students by validating their intellectual position and growth. However, it may inhibit their discernment and decision-making abilities, conditioning them to sift through a long list of options when circumstances call for prompt action. Without a solid framework to evaluate which choices are most relevant, effective, truthful, and comprehensive, they may struggle to act decisively.

Seen in this light, HigherEd can cause students to drift away from their inner voice, as evidenced by their inability to intuit, sense, see, or feel the merit of the facts, theories, ideologies, skills, attitudes, etc. they are exposed to. This could explain why individuals with higher levels of education are prone to arrogance, leading them to defend and enforce beliefs or practices that are not necessarily in the best interest of others.

Schools encourage intellectual humility to help address this disconnect from the student’s inner voice. However, if the knowledge a student acquires compels them to construct arguments that impose on or enslave others, intellectual humility is either misguided or fundamentally lacking. 

What’s missing from our HigherEd is the vertical perspective; our connection to the Source, the underlying code or blueprint that governs the behaviour of the Universe. A wise woman I have met once stated, “The heart is the boss of the intellect. The heart needs to tell the brain what to do.”

Your intellect should report to the Source, which transcends individual consciousness. That’s the proper relationship that we don’t teach. As a result, our lives are out of alignment with the nature of being.

To align what and how we teach, we need academic administrators and faculty who can recognize this universal blueprint within themselves. Unfortunately, too many are rooted in the various shades of moral relativism. This worldview is then passed on to the highly impressionable students.

At the same time, we need new schools that would be run by administrators and educators whose guiding principle is the heart (of love) rather than mere intellect and who have embraced Higher Consciousness. A heart-centred model of education is the key to nurturing graduates who are not only moral and ethical but also principled leaders. They will harness their knowledge to contribute positively to the greater good.