As I note in my personal statement in Appendix A, I support efforts to integrate
spirituality and contemplative practices into higher education programs and institutions
because I believe that the spiritual dimension of human beings is real and valid and in
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need of cultivation. Also, I believe that a holistic approach to education is more likely to
develop in students a wider range of human talents and interests than a conventional
cognitive oriented approach, and more likely to support the development of personally
and socially beneficial values. Many people feel alienated and a lack of a sense of shared
purpose, and the world we live in is rife with conflict, because collectively our emotional
intelligence and spiritual awareness are still at a somewhat rudimentary level. Developing
intellectual and practical/professional skills alone will not solve our societal and personal
problems. In fact, a well-developed intellect possessed by an otherwise emotionally or
spiritually unbalanced person can wreak havoc: it takes intelligence to design an atom
bomb or to develop in a laboratory genetically modified crops that harm life and pollute
the natural environment; it takes wisdom to choose a worthwhile vocation, and to
understand and live in accordance with the unseen laws and forces that govern existence.
I believe that the research findings presented in this paper support a number of my beliefs
and perspectives, and I hope that they prove compelling to the reader. I also hope that the
findings make the case that we all would, on a practical level, be better served by a more
holistic approach to higher education, no matter how seemingly impractical some people
may consider this.