Question: Should we include the issue of the perception of reality in the basic course of integral education?

Answer: I wouldn’t teach this topic in the first course because it is a very complex issue. It should be taught very carefully, so that it wouldn’t seem like mysticism, new age or like all the other philosophies, or like some sublime ideas.

The material in teaching the perception of reality should be based on serious scientific research, that show that first and foremost, it is science, it is physics, and that it stems from studying this world and not from some ancient sources and made-up conclusions. This means that we are not talking about something that simply seems that way to us, but that is based on scientific data. Then we can already put together a certain picture of our world perception, of our feelings, our impressions, the processing of this internal information, how we communicate with the world, what the mechanism called “I am—a man” means, and what I do see.

I repeat, not every person can perceive this correctly. I fear that this issue may turn into an obstacle and that it may evoke rejection or may lead to numbness, as a result of which a person will detach himself and afterward will not perceive or understand you any more because you would not be speaking on the same level from which you spoke about the explanations of the problems in life that were presented coherently. In this case, it is impossible to bring the explanation down to the level of a person’s ordinary perception.

This issue should be part of the teachers’ training and then again not in the sense that they should teach this material, but only for their general development.
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From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 5/22/12

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