From the soul’s perspective, learning is an interactive experience. Soul-based understanding merges all of the things we have learned in school, in business, in the home, and everywhere we have been with a higher awareness of our purpose and mission in life. Learning is personalized. It helps us to understand ourselves more as we integrate new ideas and skills.

TRADITIONAL EDUCATION  Our educational system operates quite differently. It tends to impose what to learn on the student. Rather than being interactive, such education is a largely passive experience, taking in information presented by knowledgeable instructors and completing required reading.  An educational program is composed of a collection of classes, many of which may be of little or no interest to the student, or it provides knowledge that will be of value to the student in the future. This set approach works well for learning logical concepts like reading and arithmetic, but it is severely lacking in many others. It lacks the flexibility to reach a deeper level of the self that yearns to learn and evolve in its own unique way.  The traditional approach generally doesn't provide the education required to realize the soul’s deeper purpose. It lacks recognition that many of our most valuable learning experiences occur outside of traditional classrooms. As an example, society values the education of a person who has book learning about the psychology of dying above one who has devoted ten or fifteen years to hospice care in situations with real life and death challenges, who has integrated the knowledge in ten books she read on the subject along the way.   TEACHING WITH SPIRIT   We met in 1976 and in 1981 married with a common interest in spirituality and holistic healing. After exploring the subject for many years, we began to teach classes in the early 1990’s. The subjects of our teachings are not generally available in traditional educational settings. And though Phillip was a special education teacher by profession, we had to learn new ways of teaching to meet the needs of our students and to align our teachings with the spiritual truths we were teaching. We were being drawn to participate in the creation of a new educational form. The most fundamental part of our teachings is learning to access the soul as one’s source of light and truth. The soul, then, provides the wisdom needed to heal the parts of oneself that have become disconnected from its truth, and to realize the one’s true divine purpose. Emphasis is placed on merging the lofty realms of spirit with the earthly realms of daily life. With this merging in mind, the soul has a place in all of the activities, including learning. LEARNING IN A UNIVERSITY WITHOUT WALLS In 1996, we had the good fortune to come into contact with the Association for the Integration of the Whole Person (AIWP), a nonprofit religious organization that is devoted to the integrated development of the body, emotions, mind, and spirit. AIWP also has an educational arm called UIL, the University for Integrated Learning, which offers non-traditional bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees based on recognizing the most valued learning experiences an individual has had throughout life.  Coming into contact with UIL helped us to put more pieces of the puzzle of merging education and spirituality. UIL recognizes all learning as a spiritual experience. UIL is a university without walls: it allows  the learner to take courses from any location, uses a wide variety of resources for education,  and flexibly integrates life learning the student feels applies to his or her degree. Whatever the subject of learning, the student finds the program as an opportunity to reach deeper, to learn more about ourselves and even the nature of our reality. UIL recognizes that each person learns differently. Through individualized programs, this kind of university brings out the best in each individual.  UIL also recognizes learning as a process, so its programs are process oriented, rather than a collection of classes. The learners then come to a deeper understanding of themselves as an integral aspect of their programs.   EVOLUTION OF OUR EDUCATIONAL APPROACH   Since we first started teaching classes in the early nineties, we have developed comprehensive Holistic Healing, Spiritual Counseling, and Reiki Certification Programs providing nearly 400 hours of learning. We have written manuals and books describing the subjects of our teachings, and learned interactive methods of teaching that maximize the potential of our students. Now we are introducing university degree programs based on UIL’s approach. In the process, we have learned some important things about educating, some of which we have detailed in our book The Heart and Soul of Teaching. As we continue to explore how to unite education and spirituality, we have come to recognize the following: ·     Each person’s perspective is honored. We are all teachers and we are all students. Teachers cannot and do not need to know everything about ·     everything. They need to recognize that they are learning along with their students. ·     Rather than teaching students to be submissive recipients of the teacher’s wisdom, empowering the learners is an important part of the teacher’s ·     role. This way each person learns to value his or her contribution and individual perspective. ·     Synchronously, all of our life experiences have contributed to creating the unique people we are today. We draw on these experiences in ·     unexpected ways as we realize our true purposes. Teachers have an opportunity to help learners to integrate the deeper meaning behind the ·     events of our lives. ·     It is the connection with the soul that allows us to grasp the larger picture of why we are here and how we can best use the unique gifts we have ·     come to share in this life. Teachers can help students learn with the assistance of the soul's vast perspective. ·     Only the student can determine what educational experience has value to him or her. Setting aside all personal agendas, the teacher can ·     encourage each student to discover the path to self-discovery and the creation of a positive, fulfilling future. AWAKENINGS INSTITUTE DEGREE PROGRAMS All of the above understanding has led us to offer degree program. Awakenings Institute now offers divinity degrees at the Bachelor, Masters and Doctorate levels.  Our degree programs can be taken from wherever you are located. You can specialize in holistic healing, energy healing, spiritual counseling or other holistic/spiritual modalities. For more information click here.

HOME-STUDY SPIRITUAL COUNSELOR CERTIFICATION PROGRAM:
In response to interest on how to learn more about Spiritual Kinesiology, EFT, Intuition, and Divine Purpose, we have created four independent study units. There are four 36-hour modules (EFT, Spiritual Kinesiology, Intuition Development, Life Purpose) for each area and a spiritual counselor program for those who choose to take all the units. Mentoring by us is also available with the independent study courses.

We have the details of the Home-Study Modules on our website at http://www.gettingthru.org/acertify.htm .

Easy Ordering: We now have available secure Online Credit Card Purchases for all our products and certification programs on our website, see http://www.gettingthru.org/horder.htm.

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SHARING

The genuine and permanent solution to the complex problems we face as a society and as a planet lies in shifting our consciousness and focusing on unconditional love and unity instead of hatred and separation. To assist in reaching this goal, we invite you to share this newsletter with your friends. We welcome all who want to join us in a life focused on joy, love and freedom. Surely, this will put the end to famine, war, devastation of the environment, hatred, and violence of all kinds as humanity unites in a common goal.

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ABOUT THE CREATORS OF SOUL NEWS

Drs.Phillip Mountrose and Jane Mountrose, the creators of this newsletter and the gettingthru.org website, are Ministers of Holistic Healing with Awakenings Institute. The Mountroses co-direct  Awakenings, a non-profit organization devoted to helping individuals to open to the full expression of their true divine selves in all aspects of their lives. Their holistic approach is the way of the future, integrating the body, emotions, mind, and spirit. 

Through Awakenings, the Mountroses conduct presentations, classes, certification courses, and seminars. They also offer individual counseling, in person or by phone, with individuals throughout the United States and in some foreign countries. Holistic Communications, the publishing branch of Awakenings, extends their reach worldwide with books, audio tapes, and video tapes, along with these newsletters. 

Awakenings is non-denominational and welcomes participation from all interested individuals with joy, love, and blessings. For more information about Awakenings' offerings, you can download the Awakenings E-catalog at www.gettingthru.org/acatalog.pdf.

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NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

If you missed any of the previous issues of this newsletter, they are all available on our Web site at
http://www.gettingthru.org/sarchive.htm.

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YOUR INPUT

We hope that you find this newsletter of value on your spiritual journey. We want to provide a forum for the expression of those who are focusing on soul awareness and unconditional love, so we are interested in having questions, as well as short inspirational poems, stories, articles and thoughts to share with our readers. We would also appreciate your comments and suggestions on the newsletter and the information we provide. Please send any of the above to soul@gettingthru.org, with your name, city and state, and phone number.

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Copyright 2005, Phillip and Jane Mountrose
joy@gettingthru.org