This article discusses an experiential teaching method that uses secular activities that are simple, accessible, and analogous to religious practice in order to facilitate comparative religious study. These "analogous activities" -- for example, social rituals, stillness, yoga, a social media fast, singing, nonviolent communication, and…

Two Anishnabek kindergarten teachers discuss four principles of Indigenous pedagogies in a project with a university researcher that created a context for children to engage in activities to learn their Anishnabek language and culture, and create positive identities. The university researcher sent a rabbit puppet named Niichii (Friend), who was…

Nurses are expected to provide spiritual care to patients. Even though standards provided by accreditation organizations, national nursing organizations, and the national RN licensure examination outline the expectation that nurses are to offer spiritual care to patients, the provision of spiritual care is often limited owing to time constraints…

This article explores the history of the current reemergence of a contemplative orientation in education. While referencing an ancient history, it primarily examines the history of contemporary contemplative education through three significant stages, focusing on the third. The first was arguably initiated by the introduction of Buddhism to the…

Narrative learning is strongly allied with transformational learning and adult development (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007), given that it creates context for adult meaning making. Through the use of narrative writing, adult students have the opportunity to engage multiple aspects of learning. Many colleges and universities allow…

Long before empirical neurological research validated her insight, Montessori understood that healthy, full-term babies come equipped with a physiological passion for learning. Brain studies have confirmed that most of the brain's development and inner wiring occurs during the first 2 years of life. A newborn's neurons have sparse, weak…

The use of spirituality as a resource for clients within the counseling field is growing; however, the primary focus has been on individual therapy. The purpose of this article is to provide counseling practitioners, administrators, and researchers with an approach for incorporating spiritual psychoeducation into group work. The proposed model can…

The past decade has evidenced significant dialogue on faith-based campuses about the persistent gap between the increasing ethnic diversity of the student population and that of the faculty. While campus administrators and leaders acknowledge the need to address this concern through faculty development, there is a disturbing lack of successful…

A session that has a theme of outcomes of experiential programs in varied contexts is both exciting and pressing. The three studies in Session IV all addressed relevant issues to experiential programming and all the authors were faced with the empirical challenge of demonstrating how and/or if their programs achieve what they say they are going to…

Educating adults to tap into the wisdom of their inner life can happen in many contexts: (1) higher education classrooms; (2) workshop and retreat settings; and (3) psychotherapy settings. Adults can also facilitate the development of their inner life through various self-directed learning efforts, by learning from life experience, and through…

Personal and spiritual transformation is emerging as a great need. Numerous societal and health concerns are beginning to surface as spiritual issues in the eyes of many professionals. A better understanding of the relationship between psychosocial-biological issues and spirituality would enhance professional capabilities. Experiential skills and…

This paper explores different responses to "religious" questions raised within adventure therapy programs. Religious education contributes to adventure therapy by enabling an adequate handling of the issues raised within participants' consciousness by adventure experiences. The belief issues raised within adventure therapy can be divided…

This article describes two creative techniques utilized when working with clients. With the increased attention on issues of spirituality, multiculturalism, and creativity, the "Give Away Ceremony" and "Spiritual Symbolism" is demonstrated via a case study approach. Additionally, a brief history of the immersion of spirituality in the counseling…

This article reports an empirical research project that investigated the ways in which people's commitment to Christian faith content influenced their ways of learning. The project was set in a context of theories of adult experiential learning, and took the concept of the processes of internalization and externalization as its major focus. Within…

Adventure programs at Gordon College (Massachusetts), a small Christian liberal arts college, attempt to promote student growth through adventure, community, and solitude; help Christian students develop an experience-based understanding of Biblical teachings they grew up with; and provide opportunities for self-discovery and spiritual experience.…