This paper is often cited throughout the literature. It is a highly recommended one, especially concerning its elaborate pedagogical section, and its focus on children.
Hart defines contemplation as: "a third way of knowing that complements the rational and the sensory." (p. 1). The contemplative mind is accessed by means of different approaches including pondering, poetry, and meditation. These are designed to: "quiet and shift the habitual chatter of the mind to cultivate a capacity for deepened awareness, concentration, and insight." (p.1). The common denominator of these practices is: "a distinct nonlinear consciousness that invites an inner opening of awareness." (p. 1). This opening leads to a transformation of our sense of self and our perception of the world. Hart points to the broad diversity of contemplative practices and describes the way in which contemplative knowing has been elbowed outside of schools. He suggests that: "opening the contemplative mind in schools is not a religious issue but a practical epistemic question. It is about how we know, not about what knowledge we are giving others." (p.2) It "simply includes the natural human capacity for knowing through silence, looking inward, pondering deeply, beholding, witnessing the contents of our consciousness, and so forth. These approaches cultivate an inner technology of knowing and thereby a technology of learning and pedagogy without any imposition of religious doctrine whatsoever." (p. 2). For Hart we would be cheating our students if we exclude contemplation from the curriculum given an account of their contribution to well-being, concentration and learning. (p. 2)