Integrating contemplative practice into the undergraduate pursuit of finding and following an intuitive call

INTEGRATING CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE INTO THE UNDERGRADUATE
PURSUIT OF FINDING AND FOLLOWING AN INTUITIVE CALL

A DISSERTATION

submitted by

JAN M. WALL

In partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

As approved by the dissertation committee:
Dr. Anne Elezabeth Pluto, Chair, Professor, Humanities Division, Lesley University,

Cambridge, MA
Dr. Amy Rutstein-Riley, Assistant Professor, Social Sciences Division, Lesley University,

Cambridge, MA
Dr. Carroy U. Ferguson, Acting Dean, College of Public and Community Service, University

of MA, Boston, MA

LESLEY UNIVERSITY

November 2010

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

DISSERTATION APPROVAL FORM

Student's Name: Jan M. Wall

Dissertation Title: Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of
Finding and Following an Intuitive Call

School: Lesley University, School of Education

Degree for which Dissertation is submitted: Ph. D. Degree in Educational Studies

Approvals

In the judgment of the following signatories, this Dissertation meets the academic standards
that have been established for the Doctor of Philosophy degree.

Dissertation Committee Chair

Dissertation Committee Member
Dissertation Committee Member

Director of Ph. D. Program

Dean, School of Education

(signature)

(signature)

(signature)

(signature)

(signature)

(date)

(date)

(date)

(date)

(date)

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Appreciations

Many people have joined me on this journey to follow a call. Some have created
disorienting dilemmas, which, I now know, are invaluable to understanding the nature of
calls. However, most of the people in my life have been supportive and encouraging. On the
top of that list is my family - Neal, Willow, Jason, and my mom, Nellie - who embraced my
returning to school (again) knowing it meant fewer resources (time, money, energy) available
for them.

There are women who would be surprised to find themselves part of this
acknowledgment. The principles from the group "No Limits for Women Artists" have been
challenging my self-limiting beliefs since 1987. Annie, in Colorado, and Priscilla, in
Vermont, continue to inspire me and keep me honest; as do Betty, Mari, Beth, Cathy, Joan
(Jewall), Billie Jeanne, and Joanne.

Thank you Celia, Tracy, Nancy, and Laura - colleagues from my cohort group. It
would have been a very lonely experience without those dinners and Yankee swaps!

I offer special appreciation to my committee members. From the first day I walked
into Anne Pluto's office, talking about intuition and callings, I felt encouraged and
supported. She trusted me to make decisions, and mistakes. I am grateful for the time and
energy given my work by Amy Rutstein-Riley, Assistant Professor from Lesley University,
and Carroy Ferguson, Psychologist and Acting Dean, College of Public and Community
Service, University of Massachusetts, for providing expert advice.

Thanks to Gregg Levoy, author of Callings, Finding and Following and Authentic
Life, whose work inspired me to stay true to my passion, and who became a partner by
sharing his time and data with me.

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

And finally, I am so very grateful to KT. Through our meetings, travels to North
Carolina, laughter, deep sadness and incredible joy, KT and I shared this process. I am
inspired by her connection to family, her curiosity about life, her belief in inner guidance, her
critical thinking skills, her creative and fun nature, and her strength in moving through
challenges.

This work is dedicated Tommy H.

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Table of Contents

Abstract 7

Introduction 9

Transpersonal Psychology and Intuitive Calls 12

Background 15

Holistic Education 15

Your Brain on Intuition 19

Literature Review 32

Trends in Higher Education in the United States 34

Professional versus Liberal Studies 34

Corporatization of Higher Education 35

Undergraduate Education and Spirituality 38

The Undergraduate Quest for Meaning 43

Contemplative Practice in Education 45

Spiritually-based Contemplative Curriculum in Higher Education 46

Creating Consciousness Curriculum within Higher Education 48

Weaving Contemplative Practice into the Classroom 50

Methodology 55

Phenomenological Approach with a Case Study Outcome 56

Heuristic Research: Origin and Application 59

Phases of Heuristic Research 70

Limitations of Heuristic Research 76

Data 82

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Interviews 82

Written Data 83

Wall's Notations from Callings: Finding and Following and Authentic Life 83

Researcher 1: Wall's Data Analysis 84

Researcher 2: KT's Data Analysis 92

Analysis: Explication Phase of Heuristic Researcher 95

Literature Review Summary 96

Calls: A Phenomenological Perspective 97

Developmental Readiness of Undergraduates 98

Disorienting Dilemmas and Undergraduates 100

An Undergraduate's Experience: A Case Study 101

Research Limitations 103

Creative Synthesis Phase of Heuristic Research 105

Conclusion 1 06

Implications for Future Research 110

Summary 113

References 115

Appendixes 126

Appendix A: Internal Review Board Proposal 127

Appendix B: Informed Consent Form 129

Appendix C: Internal Review Board Approval 131

Appendix D: KT's Creative Synthesis 132

Appendix E: Wall's Creative Synthesis 134

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the integration of contemplative practice into
higher education. The intention of such integration would be to facilitate a students' ability
to hear and follow an intuitive call. Intuition was defined as an immediate, unmediated or
tacit way of knowing; calls or callings as inner directives towards meaningful life pursuits.
Intuition and calls were seen as overlapping and interchangeable terms. (When referring to
intuitive calls, calls will be italicized throughout.)

The literature review for this study explored relevant trends in higher education. One
trend involves academic shifts towards professional readiness, or marketable skills, away
from personal quests (such as following a call). Paradoxically, another trend suggests that
undergraduates, across all majors and disciplines, are specifically searching for ways to
incorporate personal quests into the college experience.

Heuristic research, a phenomenological approach, was applied to the experience of
intuitive calls. The study reviewed over 300 emails and letters related to calls; interviews
with an undergraduate about her experience with contemplative practice and of intuitive
calls; that student's journals; and finally phone interviews and face to face meetings with
Gregg Levoy, author of Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life. In addition to
the phenomenological study, a case study surfaced during data review.

The results of the investigation on contemplative practice, intuitive calls, and higher
education revealed two newly identified variables. The first variable involved students'
developmental readiness to follow an intuitive call; the second addressed the role of tension
or a disorienting dilemma in the motivation to follow an intuitive call.

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Also included are discussions regarding ways in which brain activity bridges
contemplative practice, intuitive calls, and disorienting dilemmas. This study, and
supporting literature, suggests that contemplative practice (which has been shown to impact
brain activity), along with developmental readiness and the presence of a disorienting
dilemma facilitate a student's ability to hear and follow an intuitive call.

Keywords: Calls, Contemplative Practice, Developmental Readiness, Disorienting Dilemma,
Heuristic Research, Intuition, Tacit Knowing, Undergraduates

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Introduction

I was one hundred miles away from any road or path traveling down the Amazon River in
Ecuador. As co-leader and one of the faculty members of a study away adventure with twenty
college students I was seated in the first of several hallowed out trees which served as canoes
taking us away from our base camp, to our individual family home stays. I would spend the
night with a family whose community members used to be known as the head-hunters of the
Amazon. It's the middle of the night, and because I was considered a guest, always an honor
in this community, the father of the family placed palm leaves on the ground for my bed. The
air was filled with the sounds of bats flying, dogs chewing on chicken bones, wild pigs
rustling in the bushes, and a gentle rain shower adding a constant melody to it all. In spite of
the sounds both inside and outside the hut (inside and outside my head), exhausted from days
of hiking and exploring, within moments I fell deeply asleep. Suddenly, I awoke to a sharp
sting on my left foot. The pain was considerable and my left leg went numb. However, in
that moment from some inner sense or way of knowing I knew everything would be fine. I
didn't speak Shuar, the native language, but in the morning the father, who happened to be the
son of a shaman, communicated that the sting was from a scorpion, and I was not in any real
danger. I trusted my inner guidance, and the wisdom in the face of this man. After spending
the day gardening and remaining present to the beauty of the jungle, I was taken by canoe
(navigated by an eight-year-old boy) to the group's base camp where another shaman looked
at the spot where I was stung. He sucked the poison out of my foot, smiled, and walked into
the jungle to retrieve a leaf. He chewed the leaf, smiled again, and applied the salve from the
leaf to my foot.

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

I begin with this story because I experience much of life, including how I learn,
through the lens of what might be called my intuitive, imaginative, or an inner way of
knowing. My interest in pursuing a doctorate also relates to the telling of this story.

In spring 2005, 1 asked undergraduate students in my class, A Holistic Approach to
Healing, to complete a personal holistic assessment questionnaire. The assessment asks
students to evaluate their emotional, physical, spiritual, mental, and environmental wellness.
It also asks how satisfied they feel in their current life situation. Only three out of thirty-three
students responded that they felt personally connected or grounded in their college experience.
The other thirty students wanted to talk about feeling unsettled - which we did.

Then, I told my students the story of my adventure in Ecuador, to capture their interest
and generate discussion about the possibilities of healing from different cultural perspectives.
As I told the scorpion story, I opened a passageway for some students to reveal that they
experience the world, including learning, through ways of knowing that they do not always
feel able, or encouraged, to discuss. They described ways of knowing similar to what I
described as the inner guidance I experienced in Ecuador.

This does not necessarily mean those experiencing such inner ways of knowing are
more intuitive. However, based on a theory by early twentieth century psychiatrist, Carl Jung,
those that strongly experience such inner ways of knowing, may experience situations first,
and primarily, through a noncognitive lens. Such noncognitive lenses include sensing,
intuiting, or feeling. The class discussion that followed was about the relief students felt in
being able to acknowledge, and have respected, unique ways of knowing.

10

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

I grew up believing that learning was about memorizing, about how well you could
use your logical, rational brain, and about how well you could manipulate the system. My
grades in school were very good, but I was haunted by the fact that I learned most
productively and with a greater sense of satisfaction when I allowed other parts of myself to
be engaged in the process of learning. I gave up talking with adults (such as the nuns whose
classes I sat in for nine years) about it because when I did, I was labeled eccentric, artsy, new
age - none of which felt very positive. And so at an early age I quickly learned to keep quiet
and adapt to the system. As a result, I felt alienated from what I perceived as the normal way
of being and learning.

When I was an undergraduate this quiet adaptation of my inner voice, gently but
powerfully surfaced. On a beautiful fall day, as I was standing outside one of the many brick
buildings at Keene State College, in 1981, 1 was struck by a sense, an inner pull, to major in
psychology. I went directly to my advisors office. I was excited to have settled on a major
that felt perfect for me. His response was "What will you do with that?" All the old
messages reinforcing my unique way of processing and making decisions came flooding
back. I saw my advisor as more of an authority on my life than my internal authority. I
declared my major, nutrition, and once again buried my inner voice.

I received an undergraduate and master's degree in human services and nutrition. I
entered the workforce. Throughout my first career in healthcare I was met with continued
resistance to my unique world view, to questions about treating the whole person instead of
the illness (this was the 1980s and the wellness movement was just starting to emerge). I was
labeled a "hippie". My contributions were respected as long as I played within the
conservative western approach to healthcare and didn't challenge those views. At the time,

11

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

the views of many in the western medical establishment included believing that the body is
separate from the mind, separate from the spirit, and separate from emotions. I could not
work within that philosophical model. It was at that point that I decided to pursue a second
graduate degree in transpersonal psychology.

Transpersonal Psychology and Intuitive Calls

Many experiences fall under the umbrella term "transpersonal". In general, a transpersonal
experience might be an event in which there is a connection, or sensation, not bound by
physical (sensing), cognitive (thinking) or emotional (feeling) experiences. A transpersonal
experience might be a connection to something greater than, or outside of, the personal self -
"trans" meaning beyond, and "persona" from Jung, referring to the masks or "persona" we
wear - in other words, beyond the personal. My initial doctoral areas of interest involved
two transpersonal experiences - contemplative practices (such as meditation) and intuition. I
was interested in how these experiences impacted the quality and outcome of learning for
undergraduates. My hypothesis being that contemplative practices allow us to go beyond the
senses, to connect to our inner nature, or intuitive way of knowing. This connection may
then allow greater access and encouragement to follow a path that matters, that path being a
true passion or calling.

The terms calls or callings will be italicized to distinguish them from other uses.
Calls are personal, inner ways of knowing or directives to move in a specific direction in life,
usually, but not always, associated with a career or vocation. "A call is only a monologue.
A return call, a response, creates a dialogue. . . and in Latin there is even a correspondence
between the words for listening and following" (Levoy, 1997, p. 2). I am particularly

12

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

interested in coupling the phenomenon of a call with the experience of undergraduate life. I
relied on Callings: Finding and Following and Authentic Life by Gregg Levoy to lead me on
a callings exploration. Passages from the book are embedded throughout this dissertation.

My research question addresses whether or not there are ways in which undergraduate
students have transpersonal experiences such as intuitive ways of knowing. Can these
students bridge head and heart? Can they bridge intellect and other ways of knowing? If so,
does the experience involve a calling? Can engaging in contemplative practice help bring
calls to the surface? Are there ways to help students discuss tacit ways of knowing as
described by Polyani (1966) as knowing without knowing how we know? The terms tacit
knowing and intuition are used interchangeably. They share orienting generalizations those
"broad, general themes [that] emerge, about which there is actually very little disagreement"
(Wilber, 2007, p. 23-24). The definition of tacit knowing includes the quality of immediate,
unmediated knowledge or unconscious way of perceiving/knowing used to describe intuition
(deLaszo, 1990; Birgerstam, 2002; Jung, 1971; Osho, 2001; Polyani, 1966; Schulz, 1998).

My initial bias was that all undergraduate students had personal calls ready to be
heard and followed if allowed to surface, and that one way to allow such calls to surface is
through contemplative practice. This bias shifted the more I explored the data. Other
assumptions and beliefs about higher education, intuition, and callings that I held prior to
analyzing data included: that in general higher education lacked a holistic focus; that
intuition is a natural human emotion or sense; that callings are connected to intuition; that
contemplative practices can influence access to intuition and therefore calls; and that
contemplative practices influence brain activity associated with intuition and therefore calls.

13

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

My literature review examines paradoxical trends in higher education - the shift
towards undergraduate curriculum focused on marketable skills, and the concurrent desire for
students to explore issues related to spirituality, passion, and callings. In the background
section I examine the ways in which brain activity is related to contemplative practices and
intuition. My work is supported by the current findings in brain studies on contemplative
practice, intuition, and how these may impact callings.

14

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Background

My research question is grounded in the field of holistic education and the research on ways
in which contemplative practices and intuition influence brain activity.

Holistic Education. Holistic education is defined in many ways. It can include a spiritual
dimension, it can revolve around religious doctrine, it might incorporate contemplative
practice, art, or other modes of expression into the curriculum, it could focus on self-
awareness, or it might combine any of these. The following fully captures the definition of
holistic education:

Holistic education seeks to develop growth in the intellectual, creative, spiritual,
social, physical and emotional potentials of the learner. It aims to create an
understanding of various contexts and perspectives which shape human experience,
and to promote critical thinking. To achieve this, it emphasizes interconnections,
integration between theory, practice, and empowerment of the learner, and addresses
different ways of knowing and discovering the world we live in. {Defining holistic
education, n.d.)

Ron Miller (1995) offers an explanation of the value of holistic education:

Just about every human civilization, with the exception of the Western materialist
worldview, has recognized that the unfolding of the cosmos, both within and beyond
direct human experience, is far deeper and more mysterious than is revealed by its
surface appearances. The emphasis in Western education on intellect is not, as we are
led to believe, the crowning pinnacle of human wisdom but a cultural prejudice. The
assertion that other ways of knowing are "anti-intellectual" is an attempt to protect

15

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

the materialist worldview from the deeper insights that are possible from a more
spiritual point of view. . . "Intellect", as it has come to be defined and applied in our
culture, is one-dimensional and limited, oriented to manipulation rather than insight;
and a social order based upon it often rewards those people who are most ruthless in
its application, (p. 65)

Holistic education means examining and moving beyond this "one-dimensional", "limited",
and "manipulative" learning style in education. This is what I believe students are asking
for. But many students are distracted from an inner voice, at the same time wanting to
explore it.

In asking questions about listening to an inner voice, it is essential to acknowledge
the increasing numbers of students (and others) being labeled with attention problems or
disorders. Is this trend due in part to the alarming amount of outside stimulus that we take in?
In Data Smog the author writes that "In 1971 the average American was targeted by at least
560 daily advertising messages. Twenty years later, that number had risen six fold, to 300
messages per day" (Shenk, 1997, p. 30); and it has been estimated that one weekday edition
of The New York Times contains more information than a person in the seventeenth century
would have experienced in a lifetime. As Shenk further states:

When it comes to information, it turns out that one can have too much of a good
thing. At a certain level of input, the law of diminishing returns takes effect; the glut
of information no longer adds to our quality of life, but instead begins to cultivate
stress, confusion, and even ignorance. Information overload threatens our ability to
educate ourselves, and leaves us vulnerable as consumers and less cohesive as a
society, (p. 15)

16

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

An antidote to this level of distraction is needed. Developing a contemplative
practice might be one remedy. Meditation has been found to lead to physiological coherence.
Physiological coherence happens when various body systems come into balance leading to a
reduction in stress and enhanced attention and cognitive ability (Hart, 2004). Physiological
coherence might also strengthen our connection with intuition, our inner attentive nature.
Decreasing stress, increasing attention, and engaging one's inner nature might result in more
meaningful learning along with more satisfying classroom experiences for educators and
students alike. As discussed in the analysis chapter, however, even if we reduce information
overload, our inner voice, or inner authority, is often silenced or marginalized by external
authorities such as family, peers, teachers, or the sociocultural environment.

Jung theorized that each of us primarily experiences life by thinking, intuiting,
feeling, or sensing. If this is true, then what happens when pedagogy ignores three-fourths of
our ways of knowing? Not only is learning stifled, but the resulting anxiety and frustration
might lead to some of the challenges currently seen in higher education today. These
challenges include increasing dropout rates, increases in psychological and physical
problems, and issues related to attention. Although this may not be the primary factor in
such situations, ignoring diverse ways of knowing might be a contributing factor worth
investigating.

As one of the keynote speakers for the Early Childhood Education Conference,
Framingham, MA, December 2006, 1 was reminded that the time has come for a holistic
approach to education. The theme of the Conference was "Reaching Hearts and Minds."
When I asked participants to point to where the mind is located, almost everyone in the room

17

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

pointed to his or her head. In other cultures, when asked this same question, people usually
point to their hearts. In other cultures the mind is not associated with the brain, or with the
body at all, but with the spirit or soul. In the summer of 2006, 1 visited a classroom in Bali
where every lesson was concerned with integration of body, mind and spirit. In Ecuador, I
asked questions about health and education, and it did not make sense to the Shuar, the
villagers we stayed with, to separate the body from the mind from the spirit. It does not
make sense to me. It might be time to distinguish between knowledge and wisdom, and
willingly acknowledge that distinction in our teaching. Holistic learning takes place when a
student is engaging all parts or "functions" or as Carl Rogers (1980) would describe it, is
"integrated and whole" (p. 1 5). Adrianna Kezar (2005) "challenges the notion of learning as
falsely representing the process in nonholistic ways" and she writes:

We need to embrace definitions of learning that embrace the growing diversity of
people within institutions such as higher education. I believe that using the term
wisdom, rather than learning, is important since learning has become associated with
value-free, rational knowledge developed through abstract reasoning. Wisdom
transcends various cultures and time periods and represents a broader definition. The
dictionary defines wisdom as judgment, discernment and insight (often a spiritual
orientation), reason (traditional notion of learning and knowledge), common sense
(often normative or values driven), understanding (often through empathy and
relationships), and perception (through experience and observation), (pp. 49-50)

The Literature Review discusses current trends in higher education, including ways in which
spirituality and contemplative practices are being integrated into higher education. The link

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

between contemplative practices, callings, intuition, brain functioning, and neuroplasticity
(changes in brain structure and functioning) became more clear to me.

Your Brain on Intuition

It's the last day of classes at Lesley College, Spring 2009. In one class, Holistic
Approaches to Healing, I ask, "What, if anything, has shifted for you this semester after
learning about various healing modalities and new ways of thinking about your own
thinking?" One of my students, Eileen , wearing her usual 1970s headband and Cheshire cat
smile, softly states, "I've learned to check in with myself about what's important to me. I'm
going to claim my vision and be the writer I know I am." She goes on to say how her parents
always thought of her sister as the artist, minimizing Eileen's desire to follow what she calls
her vision. She has declared her major, Creative Writing.

One purpose of this background information is to introduce intuition as it will be
applied to, and woven throughout, my heuristic research project. As noted, the larger project
explores the question of callings. Eileen received a calling, or personal invitation from her
inner voice when she "learned to check in with" herself. The belief that calls are heard
through an intuitive process is an essential theory in my work. I'm curious about the broad
question of how, or if, such guidance is experienced for traditional age college women; if so,
are there conditions that sharpen or deaden that inner voice.

My intention here is first to present cultural and historical perceptions of intuition,
pointing out shared properties throughout diverse ways of knowing. Next, using those
universal qualities, I will operationalize intuition, providing a context in which to understand
its meaning in my work. Third, I'll explore the possible role of contemplative practice, such

1 Name and identifying characteristics have been changed.

19

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

as meditation, in helping access intuitive messages. Finally, I'll provide a basic, broad
overview of brain activity and changes relevant to contemplative practice and intuition.

Bridging intuition and contemplative practice might enhance the process of meaning
making and the ability for college students to hear their personal call. Karen a 21 -year-old
graduating senior states, "I am most balanced when I have one foot in my inner world and
one foot in the outer world." She goes on to say that when she is too much in the outer
world, which she states, for her, means thinking too much, she becomes self-critical and
unsure. "I start to think I'm not as smart as I am. I've learned that becoming mindful of the
present moment brings me back into that place of balance."

What Karen means by "becoming mindful" or Eileen when she speaks of "claiming
her vision" and how they capture those ways of being, and knowing, will be explored in my
research.

What is intuition? There are probably as many responses to this question as there
are individuals. Karen, a student enrolled in my Holistic Approaches to Healing class,
describes it as "a sense of fluidity with the moment." Following is a discussion of some of
the classic ways that intuition has been described.

Carl Jung, a twentieth century psychologist, provided the building blocks of
humanistic psychology. He presented the first westernized idea of intuition, and he related it
with what he defined as the other three psychological functions: thinking, sensing, and
feeling. He wrote:

(L. intueri, to look at or into). I regard intuition as a basic psychological/w«crio«

(q.v.). It is the function that mediates perception in an unconscious way. Everything,

20

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

whether outer or inner objects or their relationships, can be the focus of this
perception. The peculiarity of intuition is that it is neither sense perception, nor
feeling, nor intellectual inference, although it may also appear in these forms. In
intuition a content presents itself whole and complete, without our being able to
explain or discover how this content came into existence. Intuition is a kind of
instinctive apprehension, no matter of what contents. (Jung, 1971, p. 453)
Osho (2001) was a spiritual leader and philosopher from India. He became known
also as Zorba the Buddha because of his controversial ideas (which some say included lavish
spending and a cult-like sexual lifestyle) coupled with spirituality. The accusations have
never been confirmed and his inspirational teachings brought many important, thought-
provoking eastern philosophies and practices to the world. He provides a more mystical
philosophy for intuition:

Intellect is involved with the known and the unknown, not with the unknowable. And
intuition works with the unknowable, with that which cannot be known. It is not just
a question of time before it will be known - unknowability is its intrinsic quality.
(Osho, 2001, p. x-xi)
Raju, another Indian philosopher, whose work focuses on the cultural differences in intuition,
generalizes intuition as:

. . . immediate or unmediated knowledge. Etymologically, it means "looking into",
that is, it is knowledge obtained not by looking outside one's self - whatever the word
self means, and its meaning may not be discussed for the present - but by looking
inside one's self. (Raju, 1952, 187)

21

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Mona Lisa Schultz, a neuropsychiatrist working in the United States, characterizes intuition
as immediacy of knowledge (nonanalytic, nonrational, a gestalt way of knowing), and
preverbal. She links intuition with emotion: "Intuitive insights involve emotion. They're
hard to describe in words, or more accurately, they reveal themselves first as a gestalt, as
hunches that are difficult to put words to" (Schultz, 1998, p. 10).

What do these different perspectives on intuition have in common? Their "orienting
generalizations", are those "broad, general themes [that] emerge, about which there is
actually very little disagreement" (Wilber, 2007, p. 23-24). They all include the quality of
immediate, unmediated knowledge or an unconscious way of perceiving/knowing. These
qualities operationalize intuition as an immediate way of knowing something without being
able to describe where the information, message, or call came from. When I asked Elaine to
describe what happens when she "checks in", she states, "If I'm honest with myself I just
know something is meant to be listened to because it is clear. It feels different in my body.
It's unmistakable. I can't describe it any other way." Part of the challenge in taking on a
topic such as this is that it is often difficult to describe with words. Part of the fascination is
in sorting though the language to describe such moments. Levoy (1997) writes:

We need to teach ourselves to sit quietly and listen, just listen, long enough to leave a
decent indentation on the couch. If all our moments are filled with words and
thoughts, with noise however joyous, then when it comes time to convey our deepest
intuitions, when live demands guidance from within, we'll be speechless... We're
after something that lies beneath the noise, something literally unthinkable, something
that is not so much communication as it is communion - a felt language, a silence
filled not with emptiness but with presence, (p. 27-28)

22

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Brain Function and Intuition. According to Geyer (2009), "The brain is the
functional filter for our inner and outer worlds." The brain coordinates and communicates
both with our mind and with the world around us using a vast system of neural networks.
When Karen, the student mentioned earlier, is "thinking too much" she is engaging the left
hemisphere of the brain (Bain, 2006; Brizendine, 2006; Jossey-Bass reader on the brain and
learning, 2008; Kail, 2000; Meissner & Pirot, 1983; Nisbett, 2003). What happens in
Karen's brain when she is being "mindful of the present moment" is less well understood.
But, researchers using electroencephalographic measures (EEG) and functional magnetic
resonance imaging (fMRI) see what happens in the brain when we engage in contemplative
practices such as mindfulness, a type of meditation (Aftanas, 2005; Cahn & Polich, 2006;
Luders, et al, 2009; Lutz, et al, 2004; Wallace, 2007). They also see brain activity during
intuitive processing (Volz & von Cramer, 2006).

The brain is much more complex than could be discussed in detail in this paper;
however an overview provides the foundation for understanding the brain's potential role in
the intuitive process. Brain physiology (several hormonal actions) and anatomy (Figure 1)
relevant to a discussion on intuition include, but are not be limited to the frontal lobe, the
temporal lobe which houses the amygdala (along with other areas which will not be reviewed
here), the corpus callosum (surrounded by the cingulated cortex), and the brain stem.

Brain Structure and Intuition. First, I address specific brain components and the
unique function of each. Then, I examine the new research that indicates that these areas of
the brain communicate with each other. They can rewire to take up functions of a weak or
nonfunctioning part, and can rewire and produce new cells at any age. This is a shift from a

23

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

theory of brain localizationism and rigidity to one of neuroplasticity for which Doidge (2007)
provides an in depth research review. Contemplative practices may involve changes in the
brain which may impact intuition (or inner ways of knowing) and callings.

£ i n g a I s t » £ a r 1 a i

Pa r iatsl

Lit*

Source: http://www.nida.nih.gov/ResearchReports
Figure 1

Left/Right Hemisphere Functions. The brain is divided into halves. Each half, or
hemisphere, of the brain has distinctly different functions. The left hemisphere processes in a
more rational manner, concerned with details and words over images. Using whole pictures
or images, the right hemisphere processes nonrational thoughts and behaviors. Connecting
the two hemispheres is the corpus callosum. Surrounded by the cingulated cortex, the corpus
callosum is the largest white matter structure in the brain. Suggested gender differences are
found within these areas (Bain, 2006; Brizendine, 2006):

The traditional male brain is 1 percent larger than the traditional female brain but
has fewer connections between the cells. The traditional female brain may be smaller
but it has more connections between brain cells. The corpus callosum, which
connects the two hemispheres, is bigger in women. These basic structural differences

24

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

may explain some of the differences between men and women in how they see the
world, what they pay attention to, how they remember events, and how they get in
touch with their intuition. (Schulz, 2005, p. 21)

To better understand how a brain differentiates a thought from intuition, imagine your
brain as a highway with toll booths controlling data and messages received. One major toll
booth is your frontal lobe; how it functions can make all the difference in contemplative
practices and intuitive calls may be experienced.

Frontal Lobe (The Toll Both). The frontal lobe is that part of the brain used when
judging, evaluating, or analyzing. It is also where self-judgment, guilt, and shame are
processed. The primary functions of this part of the brain include: goal setting, assessing
strengths and weaknesses, planning and/or directing activities, initiating and/or inhibiting
behaviors, monitoring current activities, evaluating results, and processing thoughts. A
thought first stops at the frontal lobe. It is where you, the driver, ask directions and analyze
whether or not you're heading in the right direction. An intuitive message doesn't need to
stop at the toll booth (frontal lobe). Intuition has an Easy-Pass - the ability to by-pass the
frontal lobe, going directly to its destination (temporal lobe).

During a workshop at the Cape Cod Institute, Schultz (2007) categorized intuition as
an emotion due to the way it is processed throughout the body. The frontal lobe can help us
deal with emotions with the right amount of intensity, keeping us from being too
overwhelmed, driving us over the edge. People with low functioning frontal lobes are like
toll booths without operators, and have what Schulz calls "emotional incontinence" and often

25

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

lack strong filters for thoughts, emotions, or actions. She herself says her frontal lobe is
hanging on by a thread, which is one explanation for her high degree of intuition. She
explained, "When we get an intuitive hit we almost always engage our frontal lobe and try to
make rational sense out of it. Once you commit to your frontal lobe [or get too involved in a
discussion with the toll booth operator], your left hemisphere kicks in, shuts down the right
hemisphere and therefore the intuitive process" (Schulz, 2007). Learning to "push aside our
frontal lobes," as we do unconsciously when dreaming, allows the intuitive message to be
heard and brought to our full attention. Unlike dreaming, this involves discernment, being
able to tell the difference between a thought and an intuitive message or call.

As mentioned, different areas of the brain are activated by a thought versus an
emotion or intuitive message. Learning to differentiate the two is a skill which can be
developed or strengthened. A thought, which stops at the frontal lobe/toll booth, interacts
with the operator (asking questions, judging, etc.). It is experientially different from
intuition. The frontal lobe can process thoughts about it, but those thoughts are different than
the message. If you question the reality of that message or over-rationalize it, you are
ignoring the intuitive message and could needlessly pay a high toll (physically,
psychologically, and spiritually).

Temporal Lobe - Limbic System. The temporal lobe has the general function of
processing emotions. Like the frontal lobe it is divided into right and left hemispheres; each
side having specific functions. The temporal lobe is the destination for an intuitive message;
and the amygdala is an important part of the temporal lobe in the intuitive process. This
importance turned out to be an interesting consideration in the analysis of my data.

26

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Amygdala. The amygdala processes body memories and emotional events, including
intuition (Volz & von Cramon, 2006). If the emotion or intuitive message is allowed to reach
its destination unblocked, we can use it to our advantage. If the emotion or intuitive message
is unresolved, a physiological stress response is initiated, sending hormones (including the
neurotoxin Cortisol) through the brain stem to various parts of the body. An increase in
Cortisol can lead to physical illnesses or body symptoms, as well as mental and spiritual
dilemmas (Aftanas, 2005; Kabat-Zinn, et al, 1992; Viadero, 2004).

The amygdala is also where we process issues related to trust, such as our ability to
trust intuitive messages or calls. This includes trusting our ability to bridge that part of us
that consciously constructs information and makes rational judgments with that part which
functions more intuitively because:

. . . rationality without intuition results in linearly well-arranged fragments, whereas
rationality in the service of intuition contributes to deeper perspicuity. I also consider
it probable that intuition without rationality can lead to unexpected precipices.
(Birgerstam, 2002, p. 432)
This is what my student, Karen, means when she speaks of becoming balanced, allowing
herself to trust her inner (mindful) self with her outer (thinking) self.

Hormones and Brain Function. "Hormones can determine what the brain is
interested in doing" (Brizendine, 2006, p. xvii). Some female hormones play a role in
activating various areas of the brain including those hormones associated with the intuitive
process. Lieberman (2000) suggests a correlation between hormones, brain functioning, and
the intuitive process. This does not imply that male hormones don't also play some role in

27

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

this process, but my research will focus on college women's experiences of intuition and
callings.

Estrogen levels are highest premenstrually and during menopause. Progesterone,
which has an antianxiety effect, decreases during perimenopause. Some women experience
increased anxiety and depression during these times. The right temporal lobe is associated
with these emotions including intuition which becomes more active when estrogen is high
(Schultz, 2005, p.31-32). An increase in estrogen and a decrease in progesterone may
contribute to women's intuition.

Gut feelings are not just free-floating emotional states but actual physical sensations
that convey meaning to certain areas in the brain. Some of this increased gut feeling
may have to do with the number of cells available in a woman's brain to track body
sensations. After puberty, they increase. The estrogen increase means that girls feel
gut sensations and physical pain more than boys do. . . . Therefore, the relationship
between a woman's gut feelings and her intuitive hunches is grounded in biology.
(Brizendine, 2006, p. 120)

Denying Intuition

When an emotion, including intuition, is denied, a series of neurological events is
generated, cascading from the brain through the brain stem into the rest of the body (Lupien,
et al, 2009; Schulz, 2007; Stowel, Hedges, Ghambaryan, Key, & Bloch, 2009). Depending
on what is being silenced, differing symptoms, illnesses, or negative outcomes will result.
This is not new information when it comes to emotions in general. We know that deep
shame, repressed anger, unresolved guilt, or other stressful issues not dealt with will end up

28

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

presenting in the body as ulcers, headaches, backaches, or other physical symptoms. How
intuition fits into this picture, the ways in which the brain and body process intuition is a
relatively new field of study. Schulz (2007) states, "just like emotions that don't get
acknowledged and end up as body symptoms, if you don't pay attention to intuition it will
come out as body symptoms."

Strengthening Intuition

The brain is wired to deal with "such universal human activities as seeing, hearing,
and walking, which develop with minimal prompting and are shared by all humanity, even
those rare people who have been raised outside a culture." Doidge (2007) then goes on to
describe signature activities which "require training and cultural experiences and lead to the
development of a new, specially wired brain" (p. 291). For example, meditation is a
signature activity.

Contemplative practices such as meditation create positive effects in overall well
being (Aftanas, 2005; Bishop, 2002; Kabat-Zinn et al. 1992; Majumdar, et al. 2002). Cahn &
Polich (2006) define meditation as "practices that self-regulate the body and mind, thereby
affecting mental events by engaging in a specific attentional set" (p. 180). These authors also
state that "measurements of the brain response to meditative practice is based on the premise
that different conscious states are accompanied by different neurophysiological states and on
reports that meditation practice induces distinct states and traits on consciousness (Cahn &
Polich, 2006, p. 181). They go on to discuss the differences between states which may refer
to a momentary change in awareness, versus traits which have more long-term implications.
Using electroencephalographic and neuroimaging techniques, these authors present an

29

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

overview of many meditative techniques including Zen, Transcendental Meditation, yoga,
and mindfulness. It is not the intention of my project to focus on any one contemplative or
meditative practice, but to begin to determine how such practices impact brain physiology
and anatomy as those changes relate to intuitive calls.

Research into contemplative practice's influence on the brain are well documented
(Aftanas, 2005; Cahn & Polich, 2006; Davidson, et al, 2003; Kabat-Zinn, 1992; Luders, et
al, 2009; Lutz et al, 2004; Travis & Arenander, 2006). Neuroplasticity is the process
whereby brain cells can change and increase neural connectivity. "Mindful awareness is a
form of experience that seems to promote neural plasticity" (Siegel, 2007, p. 31).
Neuoplasticity is found to be heightened in long-term meditators, with different brain areas
influenced depending on the type of meditation (Cahn & Polich, 2002).

Many contemplative practices appear to impact areas of the brain related to the
process of intuition (Luders, et al. 2009; Malhi, 2007). Using functional magnetic resonance
imaging (fMRI) researchers are able to see areas of the brain most active during intuitive
experiences (Volz & von Cramon, 2006), which are the same areas influenced by some
contemplative practices.

Doidge (2007) writes about Jordon Grafman who identified four kinds of
neuroplasticity: map expansion, sensory reassignment, compensatory masquerade, and mirror
region takeover. Meditation may lead to map expansion as it is the type of neuroplasticity
"which occurs largely at the boundaries between brain areas as a result of daily activity" (p.
276). The three other kinds of neuroplasticity relate to deprivation in normal input (sensory
reassignment), diversity in the brain ability to do a task (compensatory masquerade), and
what happens when an area of the brain fails and its counterpart takes over (mirror region

30

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

takeover). By introducing a signature activity such as a contemplative practice into a
student's daily activity, an expansion of the part of the brain used to access intuition,
callings, and meaning-making may be enhanced.

This chapter focused on and made connections among three topics. The first topic is
intuition which I've operationalized as an immediate, unmediated way of knowing. The
second topic is the discussion of the bridge between contemplative practice, intuition and
callings. And finally, I examined how contemplative practices can lead to neuroplasticity,
including those brain changes that may be influential to the intuitive process.

These three topics were further explored as I investigated the question of callings for
undergraduates. Author Gregg Levoy perfectly explains why this topic matters to me. He
said to me, "I'm a lone cry in the wilderness - hired by colleges from time to time to let
students hear about the rest of the story, about the passion in work. Students are asking for
permission to talk to that place inside." I often hear students, like Karen and Elaine, talk
about that inner voice or vision. I am interested in that "place inside," what it means, and
how to bring it to the surface for the young women, like Karen and Elaine, that I have the
pleasure of teaching.

31

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Literature Review

The landscape of higher education is constantly shifting. Often these shifts correspond to
social, political, or sociocultural issues on campuses across the country. This literature
review examines current, yet paradoxical trends that have been unfolding in higher education
over the past several decades. These trends will be explored as they relate to my research
interest; the ways in which students explore questions of personal meaning making or receive
guidance to discover unique calls during their undergraduate experience.

The first shift in higher education that will be addressed involves the increase in
professional studies major over liberal arts majors. Goyette and Mullen (2006) suggest,
"Training in the liberal arts is believed to strengthen a student's character and to develop
qualities such as reason, judgment, and a sense of social obligation" (p. 498). The issue
about this increasing shift towards professional studies is woven into, and sometimes
complicated by, the larger issue of the corporatization of colleges and universities
(Aronowitz, 2000), sometimes referred to as the learning-to-earn model of higher education
(Nash, 1978). The paradoxical trend finds undergraduates increasingly interested in areas
related to spirituality, meaning-making, and personal growth (Doe, 2005; Holland, 2006;
Lindholm, 2006/2007; Lindhold, Goldberg & Calderone, 2006; Swartz, 2007; Subbiondo,
2005). However, the literature indicates that this more personal pursuit is increasingly
complicated as the approaches and perspectives of what is considered spiritual or meaning-
making have begun to categorically overlap and expand (Forbes, 2004).

The trend towards corporatization of higher education is a movement away from
personal quests or self-reflection, while the other trend, making meaning of the
undergraduate experience is a trend towards the exploration of personal meaning, quests, and

32

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

self-reflection. Questions on the direction that higher education will take revolve around the
question of purpose. What is the purpose of higher education? How will that be decided, and
by whom? As Holland (2006) writes:

It is probably not by chance that an increasingly urgent call for contemplative
practices in health and educational settings is occurring at the same time that these
settings are being overwhelmed by bureaucratic and policy demands that often drain
them of their creative, formative, and healing purposes, (p. 1843)

First I'll review the literature on the shifts within higher education itself: professional
or practical studies positioning over liberal studies in undergraduate majors; and, the larger
more ubiquitous take-over by the corporate model in colleges and universities across the
United States. Then I'll review developmental theories questioning the readiness of college
students to be making career or vocational choices. I include this review on developmental
readiness as it comes up often and is an important consideration for traditional students.
Next, I'll bring in the literature on the increasing trend of college students' interest in
exploring issues related to spirituality, meaning-making, purpose, or callings during their
undergraduate experience. How contemplative practices are currently being integrated into
higher education also will be addressed. Finally, I'll review some of the perceived obstacles
with the concurrent trends of higher education towards corporatization while students are
actively pursuing issues related to meaning-making, spirituality, and personal quests.

33

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Trends in Higher Education in the United States

The review of literature on trends in higher education in the United States revealed two
significant paths stretching head for higher education. The first path is the shift from liberal
studies to professional or practical studies. The second path is the trend towards
corporatization of higher education in the United States. Both are important for discussion;
each has a different message. Both trends will be addressed in this literature review with an
emphasis on the more ubiquitous issue of corporatization of higher education.

Professional versus liberal studies. "One of the most important changes in
American higher education over the last 30 years has been the gradual shrinking of the old
arts and sciences core of undergraduate education to the expansion of occupational and
professional programs" (Brint, Riddle, Turk-Bicakci, & Levy, 2005, p. 151).
Acknowledging the movement towards increasingly professional over liberal studies in
higher education in the United States, some authors (Freeland, 2004; Raelin, 2007) offer a
third option. Instead of boxing the intention or purpose of higher education into either
professional or liberal studies these authors recommend combining the two by blending
theory and practice. Freeland (2004) calls for "practice-oriented education" (p. 141). He
reports that the trend towards training as the focus in higher education "began taking shape
amid the turbulence of the late 1960s and early 1970s" when "some educators recognized
that higher education had been permanently democratized and that many students - including
some of the most talented - had a legitimate interest in preparing themselves for the
workplace" (p. 141-142). The initial response was to "build bridges between liberal and
professional education" (Freeland, 2004, p. 142). Raelin (2007) also provides a historical

34

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

perspective to the current situation, noting what he calls the "most recognized trend in
college education... [as] the decline in liberal arts" (p. 57) and suggests "reflective practice"
(p. 61) as an option to the either/or choice of training or learning.

Often thought of as the public form of reflection that can be characterized as the
process of inquiry that seeks to uncover and make explicit what one has planned,
observed, or achieved in practice, such as what might be made available through
internship-type experiences, (p. 61)

Corporatization of higher education. Simply moving towards professional studies
does not in itself mean the university is becoming corporate. As will be reviewed herein, one
option for undergraduate programs is towards blending professional and liberal studies
without corporatization of the college or university. However, this does not appear to be the
direction higher education is moving in.

In fact, as corporations gained more political power and started handing out larger
amounts of funding to colleges and universities, the business (or learn-to-earn) model began
to take over academia. As Cohen notes, there was a "shift of power from faculty to
administration" with business and corporations beginning to exert pressure in defining the
direction, or purpose, of colleges and universities (1998, p. 150-164). This trend continued
throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first (Aronowitz, 2004; Brint, 2002) and
has had profound effects on the curricula and experience of faculty and students.

There is a movement in this country away from colleges and universities as learning
organizations (Bok, 2009) towards training facilities or knowledge factories (Aronowitz,
2000). This is more than simply a shift from liberal arts to professional studies. This is a

35

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

change from learning for pursuit of knowledge to learning as training to match the needs of
the job market (the learn-to-earn model).

In his review of four prominent books on the topic of the learn-to earn model in
higher education, Walter (2001) acknowledges that his primary interest is in adult education
but the trends he finds cross boundaries between traditional and non-traditional college
experiences. Three of the four books "address different aspects of the wider corporate
restructuring of the academic world to which the field of adult education belongs" (p. 71).
The fourth book, The Corrosion of Character by Richard Sennet, explores the negative
impact that moving the corporate model onto academia has had on faculty (p. 75). The other
three books include Aronowitz's Knowledge Factory, Turk's The Corporate Campus, and
Academic Capitalism by Slaughter & Leslie. These three titles share an agreement that
higher education has turned corporate. Each uses a slightly different lens to view this trend
but come to similar conclusions. Aronowitz focuses on how "universities have now shifted
to preparing students for the job market and research 'products' for sale in the knowledge
economy" (Walter, 2001, p. 72). Turk's primary interest is in the ways in which online and
commercialized distance learning have negatively impacted student and faculty satisfaction
on many levels (Walter, 2001, p. 73). And finally, Slaughter & Leslie "begin their work by
implicitly accepting the new corporate rules of the game and search mainly to understand
who wins and loses and why" (Walter, 2001, p. 73).

Historical perspectives leading to the restructuring of higher education can easily be
found (Andrews, 2006; Bnnt, Riddle, Turk-Bicakci, & Levy, 2005; Walters, 2001). Factors
cited include shifts in enrollment, tuition increases and decreased funding (forcing students to

36

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

focus more on earning to pay back loans), funding shifts from grants to loans, less autonomy
for faculty, more adjuncts filling larger classrooms, more funding going to research and
sciences, and academia looking more and more like corporate workplaces with business
leaders stepping into the boards of colleges and universities. These factors relate to shifts in
the economy, globalization, and increased technology woven into the texture of higher
education. Andrews (2005) suggests one option to help reverse the corporatization of higher
education is for faculty to take an active role in bringing the issue to the national level.
Examples of how to take an active role is to bring the discourse on the learn-to-earn model in
higher education to local and national conferences, and/or advance research on the long term
outcome for students and faculty on the corporatization of colleges and universities.

Again, the question is not whether or not higher education is moving towards a
corporate learn-to-earn model, but how and with what outcomes. How will this trend impact
already marginalized groups? This missing piece to a developing puzzle highlights ways in
which "gender, class, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disabilities are almost no where to
be found... [That if] the commercialization of higher education will soon come to pass then
we can safely predict that marginalization of women and minorities in academia will
intensify" (Walter, 2001, p. 76).

In exploring whether or not "social background predicts college destination" Goyette
& Mallen (2006, p. 498) acknowledged the choice that curriculum and majors have on
students, but were interested in how students made those choices. Is learning-to-earn a factor
in making such choices? These authors "have grounds to suspect a positive relationship
between social background and selection of arts and sciences fields" (Goyette & Mallen,

37

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

2006, p. 503). This may further address what Walter (2001) calls into question about
widening the gap between specific groups and fields of study as the shift towards training
continues.

Undergraduate education and spirituality. Addressing a discourse on the
corporatization of higher education and the place spirituality, or pursuing a personal quest,
might have for undergraduates are the following findings as cited by Brint, Riddle, Turk-
Bicakci, & Levy (2005):

. . . findings of sharp declines in self-reported gains among American college students
in the 1 990s as compared to college students in the late 1 960s in awareness of
different philosophies and cultures; in understanding and appreciation of science,
literature and the arts; and in personal development when compared to American
college students from the late 1960s (Kuh, 1999). (p. 152)

Bok (2006) noting that many students enter college without a clear career sense states
that these same students change majors several times as undergraduates (p. 286). There
seems to be some agreement that traditional age undergraduates are at a point in their lives
when some uncertainty about future careers goals is mixed with a desire to pursue a career
that matters to them. The definitive study indicating the desire for undergraduates to more
actively pursue meaning, purpose, or spirituality is the work undertaken at the University of
California's HERI, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. Their 2004
findings are most significant to this literature review. The preface to the study, The Spiritual
Life of College Students: A National Study of College Students ' Search for Meaning and

38

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Purpose, reports that they surveyed "1 12,232 entering first-year students attending 236
diverse colleges across the country" (Higher Education Research Institute, 2004). Others
(Becker, 2009; McFarland, 2006; Subbiondo, 2005) find similar results to the HERI study:
Four in five indicate "having an interest in spirituality" and "believing in the
sacredness of life," and nearly two-thirds say that "my spirituality is a source of joy."
Many are also actively engaged in a spiritual quest, with nearly half reporting that
they consider it "essential" or "very important" to seek opportunities to help them
grow spiritually. Moreover, three-fourths of the students say that they are "searching
for meaning/purpose in life," and similar numbers report that they have discussions
about "the meaning of life with friends." (p. 4)
This quest for meaning or spirituality does not appear to be limited to specific types of
schools or majors. For example, Lindholm, Goldberg & Calderone (2006) focused on law
aspirants and how they "negotiate issues of meaning and purpose through spiritual
questioning" (p. 510) successfully outlining the confusion and "elusive task for scholars" (p.
51 1) of defining spirituality. They compare this group with students across all majors.
"Ultimately, it is the resolution of internal insights coupled with one's subjectivity in the
world that represents the core feature of spiritual quest" (p. 513).

Although students across all majors seem interested in such quests, Lindolm,
Goldberg & Calderone (2006) found:

Women in the professional career aspirant group appeared to be more inclined toward
spiritual questing than men. This is consistent with our expectations and findings
from Astin, Astin, Lindholm, and Bryant's 2005 research on a broader sample of

39

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

respondents to the 2004 CIRP/CSBV Freshman Survey that included students who
aspired to pursue a wide range of careers, (p. 521)

Bryant (2006) raised the question about terminology used in various studies
suggesting confusion develops when surveying topics such as spirituality and religion. In
spite of some terminology differences, her findings match those of the HERI study (2004) in
finding a desire for undergraduates to explore issues related to spirituality, meaning-making,
and individual purpose.

The challenge in reviewing the literature about purpose and meaning-making in the
undergraduate experience is to navigate the confusing network of terms and concepts
involved. However the concepts have common threads. Some of the terms used to discuss
this purpose and meaning-making in the literature include holistic (Forbes & Martin, 2004;
Miller, 1995), spiritual (Becker, 2009; Lindholdm, Goldberg, & Calderone, 2006;
Subbiondo, 2005), religious (Becker, 2009; McFarland, 2006), contemplative practices
(Deckro, et al, 2006; Holland, 2006; Zajonc, 2003), individuation (Dirkx, 2006), or meaning-
making (Ignelzi, 2000; Schwartz, 2007).

Developmental theories of Jack Mezirow (2000), William Perry (1999), and Robert
Kegan (1980) consistently came up in the literature on meaning-making for undergraduates.
Ignelzi (2000) referring to all three theorists states that "meaning-making, the process of how
individuals make sense of knowledge, experience, and the self, must be considered in
designing college curricula environments supportive of leaning and development" (p. 5). He
refers to Perry's claim that what we do as humans is to organize meaning. He also describes
what he calls "orders of consciousness" as a system of meaning-making. He claims that

40

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

theorists on development agree that there is a disconnect between the development stage of
most college students and their ability to pursue meaning. He suggests "a central goal of
higher education should be the achievement of self-authorship" (p. 13) which would enable
students to develop the capacity to make meaning during college. A form of self-authorship
comes from a student's ability to reflect. Grossman (2008) refers to Kegan's Object-Subject
Theory and ways in which inspiring reflection can build on the idea of meaning-making.
Grossman's article clarifies types of reflection and the impact on development and meaning-
making. Four types of reflection are noted: content-based reflection, metacognitive
reflection, self-authorship reflection, and transformative/intensive reflection. Content-based
reflection involves blending theory and practice (for example internships). Metacognitive
reflection requires students reflect on their own thinking, while self-authorship reflection and
transformative/intensive reflection require the student distances themselves from their
situation or thoughts and reflects critically. The latter two types of reflection heighten the
student's self-authorship and meaning-making potential.

Schwartz (2007) blends meaning-making with the quest for spirituality stating,
"Meaning-making provides ways of giving expression to the things we know intuitively" (p.
4). She relates this intuitive knowing to a spiritual experience. She discusses trends that
may, in her opinion, negatively influence meaning-making such as technology, economic
uncertainties, and consumer exploitation with increased debt. She also notes that these
young adults are "living in an increasingly religiously variegated world. The young adult
population is seeking a spiritual home and sense of belonging in a world that now offers a
smorgasbord of choices" (p. 7). In Schwartz' interview with Sharon Daloz Parks, a college

41

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

administrator, chaplain, and instructor, the call to mentor students through such choices is
heard.

Several terms come up in the literature referring to Robert Kegan's theories.
Grabinski (2005) uses Kegan's term "holding environments" to define the undergraduate
experience as a time when students can be supported during developmental changes. He then
goes on to stretch the term to include the importance of supporting environments throughout
the lifespan to include the social, psychological, and physical nature of the environment.
These holding environments have three main functions: holding, letting go, and maintaining
(p. 81-82). Holding refers to the ability to work with a student during the sometimes
frustration and anxiety of developmental shifts; letting go is allowing the learner to move
beyond their limited perceptions; and, maintaining refers to the community that provides a
stable environment throughout developmental shifts. Colleges and universities can, and
should, be such holding environments.

The ways to frame what is being sought in such holding environments is still in
question. Forbes (2004) analyzed the literature of K-13 programs that claim to be holistic.
Of the 72 schools that met that claim, he found that they self-identified in one of two ways.
First there are schools that focus on self-actualization, with either a spiritual or religious
theme, where self-actualization or aiming for fully-functioning persons is the goal. The
second category of schools aligns with issues related to social justice and freedom. Forbes
(2004) found the following: common phrases such as experiential learning and community
were used in a variety of ways; purpose of education were expressed in similar ways; there
seemed to be a set of core values from school to school; and, all fell within a spectrum of
what the authors felt were holistic qualities. Although this analysis only included grades K

42

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

through 13, it is a good place to look at the landscape as it begins to expand into higher
education.

The undergraduate quest for meaning. This section is a review of the current
practices of holistic higher education including colleges and universities which have
instituted secular spiritual or contemplative practices into their students' experiences. Zajonc
(2003) writes:

Today we find ourselves at the onset of a "controversy" concerning the place of
spirituality in our now mature secular college and university system that is similar to
that of the thirteenth century. I feel the implications of the current interest in
spirituality in higher education may prove to be of comparable significance for the
future of liberal education, (p. 51)
He goes on to state:

One of the most interesting initiatives has been the Academic Program of the Center
for Contemplative Mind in Society. Over the last six years they have worked closely
with the American Council on Learned Societies (ACLS) to grant 100 "contemplative
fellowships" to full-time faculty to support the development of courses at over eighty
institutions ranging from poetry and contemplation at West Point, to contemplating
the cosmos at UC Santa Cruz, and contemplative practice and health at the University
of Arkansas, (p. 53)

Three pedagogical models for holistic education revealed through the literature
review include: 1) the development of specific courses on contemplative practices or

43

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

exploration of purpose, 2) the integration of approaches to strengthen individual meaning-
making or spirituality, and 3) the development of extracurricular activities, such as
meditation groups, supporting wholistic education.

Where contemplative practices have been made their way onto undergraduate
campuses, the reported results have been positive. Contemplative practice is broadly defined
as:

... a third way of knowing that complements the rational and the sensory. The
contemplative mind is open and activated through a wide range of approaches - from
pondering to poetry to meditation - that are designed to quiet and shift the habitual
chatter of the mind to cultivate a capacity for deepened awareness, concentration, and
insight. (Hart, 2004, p. 28)
Meditation, prayer, or religious language can be found in definitions of contemplative
practice. Contemplation comes from the Latin root templum (from the Greek temnein: to cut
or divide), to separate something from its environment or usual state. There are many
definitions of contemplation ranging from the mundane to the mystical or religious. I
suggest that activities other than meditation or prayer need to be included in this definition,
such as art making, dancing, or simply being in nature.

The positive impact of contemplative practice, such as meditation, on relieving stress
is well documented (Aftanas, 2005; Davidson et al., 2003; Kabat-Zinn et al, 1992).
Contemplative practice directly impacts the brain and therefore learning and development at
every stage of life including that which takes place for undergraduate students.

The human brain is divided into two distinct hemispheres. The left hemisphere
processes logic and details - where western higher education primarily teaches to and from.

44

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

The right side processes abstract concepts - creativity, emotions, and intuition function
(Schulz, 1998; Volz & Cramon, 2006). Contemplative practice impacts two areas of the
brain most significantly: the prefrontal lobe, where attention is facilitated, and the right
hemisphere where creativity, emotions, and intuition are processed (Aftanas, 2005; Davidson
et al, 2003; Deckro et al, 2002; Douglas, 2006; Sarath, 2006).

Contemplative practice in education. Contemplative practice is usually framed
around concepts such as religion, spirituality, or meditation. Spirituality and holistic are
terms used inconsistently throughout the literature on holistic education. One conference
paper presents an attempt to find "kinds of holistic schools by identifying individual schools
within (an) original matrix and looking for differences between those schools" (Forbes,
2004). They found two general categories of schools referring to themselves as holistic: the
first focusing on social development, the second on self-knowledge. This second category
can further be divided into faith-based or religion-based (which might be referred to as
spiritual) and those without attachment to god, faith, or religion (but is still referred to as
spiritual by some). My interest is with the latter - schools that focus on self-knowledge.

I prefer the word wholistic or whole-person instead of holistic to make it clear that I
am not referring to a holy, spiritual or religious experience in the usual sense. The terms
wholistic and whole-person education are meant to be all inclusive, no matter the spiritual or
religious perspective. However to minimize confusion, provide consistency, and honor the
integrity of other's work I will use holistic to mean the secular spiritual interpretation.

Several movements towards holistic pedagogy include: studying the effects of stress
reduction in college students (Deckro et al, 2002), exploring learning enhancement through

45

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

multiple intelligences (Ozdemire, Gaiineysu, & Tekkaya, 2006), applying transformational
learning through expressive ways of knowing (Davis-Manigualte, 2006), addressing
consciousness and the future of higher education (Sarath, 2006), and the immersion of
Transcendental Meditation within higher education (Orme- Johnson, Alexander, & Hawkins,
2005; Travis & Alerander, 2006).

Three broad categories of holistic education in the United States can be defined: 1)
those based on a specific spiritual or contemplative practice, referred to as spiritually-based
and have built into the curriculum a specific doctrine or philosophy, such as with
Transcendental Meditation (Travis & Arenander, 2006); 2) those using contemplative
practice as a tool to decrease stress and/or enhance learning, such as with Mindfulness
meditation (Davison et al, 2003); and, 3) those weaving contemplative practices throughout
all coursework to create whole-person learning (Palmer, 2004). Following are specific
examples of each category of holistic education, how each works within the context of higher
education, and in what ways each of these expands and/or challenges conventional western
pedagogy.

Spiritually-based contemplative curriculum in higher education. Higher
education coupled with religious studies is not a new phenomenon. In fact, American
universities were originally headed by Protestant ministers and continued well into the
nineteenth century (Miller, 1995). Religious studies and spirituality might be viewed as two
realities: one primarily focused on a specific doctrine or truth, the other interested in purpose
or meaning-making, which sometimes, but not always, overlap. Both realities are the topic

46

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

of much discussion in the field of higher education today with the terms religious and
spiritual are often used interchangeably.

Subbiondo, in his article on spirituality in education, cites the work of Alexander and
Helen Astin who suggest that:

A movement is emerging in higher education in which academics find themselves
actively searching for meaning and trying to discover ways to make their lives and
their institutions more whole. This quest reflects a growing concern with recovering
spirituality in American society more generally. (Subbiondo, 2005, p. 19)
This includes orientations considered more religious or western (Doe, 2005) but also more
eastern traditions such as Transcendental Meditation.

Transcendental Meditation (TM) was introduced in the late 1950s by Maharishi
Mahesh Yogi. It "involves turning the attention away from outer phenomena and
physiological processes toward more silent states of the mind, which serve as the
backdrop for mental activity" (Travis & Arenander, 2006, p. 1523). As with other types of
contemplative practices, TM has been found to have positive physiological and psychological
effects on those who practice it regularly. Foundational to this type of holistic education is
the specific contemplative practice and a spiritual doctrine that is build into the university
itself. At the Maharishi University of Management all students are encouraged to develop
this one style of contemplation. This is not to imply that it is better or worse as a way of
integrating contemplative practice into higher education, it simply represents a model for
doing so. As a model for educating students in the world of business it certainly challenges
the analytical environment of most western businesses, because learning to manage stress

47

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

enhances one's ability to more successfully navigate the corporate world (Orme- Johnson,
2005).

Creating consciousness curriculum within higher education. Within this category
are studies that introduce courses in meditation as a separate component within a college or
university setting. Sarath (2006) describes integrating third person education (conventional
western approach) with first-person or "creativity and consciousness studies" using
meditation as a way to access consciousness and create a more meaningful experience for
students. He stresses the importance of exploring consciousness and learning:

I would argue that the study of consciousness is a foundational educational topic
whose study, particularly from an integral perspective, can bring profound meaning to
the educational enterprise, and that its contentious nature can be harnessed as a rich
connection to a wide range of educational terrain. . . heightened self-awareness poses
extraordinary educational ramifications, for it not only suggests enhanced capacities
for introspection but also external creative activity and achievement, (p. 1 822)
Sarath goes on to suggest that a way to integrate meditation practice into education:

. . . would be for the institute to assume the role of meditation center. In other words,
meditation would be taught by faculty with corresponding expertise, and coursework
dealing with tradition-specific theoretical knowledge about consciousness and its
development would also be offered, (p. 1831)

Understanding that this approach may not work in all situations, specifically citing
public colleges and universities in this category, or be appropriate from a sociocultural
perspective for all students/faculty, Sarath outlines solutions for providing information,

48

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

community resources, and organizations for students to access. At the University of
Michigan, where Sarath teaches, he has designed a successful program consisting of courses
in creativity and consciousness, along with contemplative practice. He notes that:

Even though the focus of meditation may appear to be a temporary retreat from daily
activities, which is sometimes misunderstood as an escape from life, the underlying
purpose of meditation is for one to be able to engage in life with more passion,
creativity, and dynamism, (p. 1828)
Sarath uses student testimonials to show the impact of meditation on their lives. These
include "feel as though a weight has been lifted off my shoulders," "happier," "more calm
and my mind is more clear to make better decisions," "has enriched my experience," and able
to "absorb more of their content and meaning" (Sarath, 2006, p. 1828).

Holland (2006) also studied the impact of introducing an experimental course in
mindfulness at two distinctly different higher education settings (a metropolitan university in
Little Rock, Arkansas, and a school for applied sciences in Bad Gleichenberg, Austria).
Students were given specific readings about this form of contemplative practice, kept
personal journals of their meditation experiences, and were encouraged to discuss the
materials and their personal experiences in the classroom. The specific purpose of the course
was to promote the practice. Holland emphasizes that some teachers have difficulty in two
ways: giving up the role of expert which is essential when integrating contemplative practice
into the classroom, and the paradox of asking students to do nothing in an educational
environment that stresses the importance of doing. He found that "The course at the
University of Arkansas at Little Rock has resulted in growing demand for contemplative
educational experiences on campus" which has resulted in his creating a Mindfulness-Based

49

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Campus-Community Health Program. He does not relate the outcome of the Austria project
except to say that it provided an opportunity which didn't exist for those students before. He
concludes by acknowledging some resistance to including such contemplative practices in
higher education, and encourages educators to "address such resistance by developing
meaningful and valid assessment approaches for contemplative curriculum in order to
confirm its relevance and its place in the academy" (Holland, 2006, p. 1859).

Weaving contemplative practice into the classroom. Tobin Hart (2004) proposes
using the classroom as an opportunity to reach the contemplative mind. He suggests
focusing on how we know because that is as important as what we know. He references
studies which demonstrate how contemplative practice impacts physiology (physiological
coherence, ability to focus, stress reduction, etc.) and suggests various ways to weave
contemplation into every classroom including:

• Not Doing: Starting each class with a brief relaxation exercise to help reduce stress.

• Mindfulness Meditation: Getting students to focus on present moment awareness;
bringing them more fully into the classroom.

• Deep Listening: Read a meaningful passage and ask students to share what the
experience was like. This helps students relate course materials to their own lives.

• Pondering: Pose and invite questions that encourage students to look deep within
themselves, again bridging the gap between the course materials and the student's
real life experiences.

• A Wisdom Walk: Using guided imagery to help bring students access inner knowing.

• Body Focusing: Clearing a space for students to more fully engage in the moment.

50

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

• Concentrated Language: Using poetry to open the contemplative mind and bridge the
inner and outer experience.

• Freely Writing: Writing without judgment or concern helps to bring to the surface
what needs to be addressed before a student can be fully present for learning in the
moment.

The benefits coupled with each activity are not exclusive to one practice. Most of these
activities will lead students to experience universal consequences of contemplative practices:
stress reduction, becoming more present to the moment, connecting inner and outer realities,
and enhanced learning. As Hart (2004) states, "Long dormant in education, the natural
capacity for contemplation balances and enriches the analytic. It has the potential to enhance
performance, character, and depth of the student's experience" (p. 38).

Reviewing some of the trends towards integration of contemplative practices in
higher education brings up a couple of fundamental question: What is the purpose of higher
education, and whose interests are being served in our current educational environment?
Since the United States is a diverse community of individuals, ethnic heritages,
economic interests, and religious and ideological positions - many of which are often
in conflict - how is it actually decided which facts and skills, which beliefs and
values, are the essential ones to be perpetuated through schooling? Who makes these
decisions, and why? Whose interests are served, and whose are not? (Miller, 1995,
p. 2)
And:

The fundamental mission of higher education should be to play a leading role,
perhaps the leading role, in the development of general culture. This mission falls on

51

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

colleges and universities because, for historical reasons, they have been endowed
with the intellectual and physical resources to occupy the space. . . . As I have already
suggested, this implies that colleges and universities must become public spheres,
available to the larger community as well as to the community of scholars. They must
be centers of learning, but also sites of discovery, not only in the natural sciences but
also in the social sciences and the humanities. (Aronowitz, 2000, p. 172-173)

In his article on meditation, consciousness, and the future of higher education, Sarath
(2006, p. 1838) raises similar questions including:

• What does it mean to be educated in today's world?

• What is the role of the modern university in preparing students to not only enter the
workforce but also to thrive within and contribute to a world increasingly
characterized by change, unpredictability, and a complex network of environmental
and social challenges?

• What is the place of inner fulfillment, spirituality, self-knowledge, and emotional and
interpersonal development in the educational process?

These questions, and those surrounding larger cultural issues, are essential if a paradigm of
holistic education is to be realized. Are we striving to develop a stronger work force,
individual development, or both? I believe the focus on research and job training is rooted in
fear and tends to separate us as individuals; while the focus on creating a universal human
force is motivated by a desire to acknowledge our universal connection. Holistic education
would acknowledge the common problems we share (global warming, poverty, human rights
issues, etc.), provide learning environments that embrace the whole person and different

52

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

ways of knowing, and encourage integration of contemplative practices (meditation, art,
dance, connecting to nature) into higher education, where many of the next generation of
world caretakers are searching for answers and direction. The answer to these questions and
concerns are best summarized below:

Throughout the ages sages have warned us that we can't see what is true even when it
is presented to us because that which is true isn't what we expect or want to hear.
The traditional western symbol for this is choosing Barabbas; choosing what is
familiar or most like us over what is true or sacred. This is as true in educational
matters as it is in religious ones. Modern education is so obviously failing to solve
the world's problems, is so rightly criticized for not meeting societies' aspirations,
and is so clearly unable to prepare people for the fundamental challenges of living.
To solve these problems, we seem to need educational insights that marry the most
profound learning possible with the everyday; the subtle with the mundane. . . .
(Forbes, 1997, p. 1)

There are many discussions about meditation, religion, spirituality, and a quest for
meaning that all share the common goal of creating a pedagogy of wholeness. Colleges and
universities are meant to provide environments where the biggest questions can be asked and
explored. If we are heading towards knowledge factories as Aronowitz (2000) suggests, then
more than ever educators must find ways to engage in holistic approaches which include the
integration of contemplative practices in the broadest sense of the concept; or, as Tobin Hart
suggests to design approaches "designed to quiet and shift the habitual chatter of the mind to
cultivate a capacity for deepened awareness, concentration, and insight" (Hart, 2004, p. 27).

53

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

However higher education appears to be moving in the other direction. As such,
Askeland and Payne (2006) coined the term edutainment, "because education has become a
market product, it is expected to produce events and happenings as if it were
entertainment. .. Edutainment does not promote reflection and contemplation" (p. 171).

54

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Methodology

I chose heuristic research, a phenomenological methodology, to explore the phenomenon of
calls. Heuristic research invites the researcher to focus on a theme or subject that resurfaces
throughout her life. For me, that theme was finding what deeply matters in life, a calling.
"Callings keep surfacing until we deal with them" (Levoy, 1997, p. 9).

Heuristic research doesn't only suggest deep self-exploration on the part of the
researcher, it requires it. "Locate our research question within ourselves" was the advice
given Etherington, who stated it felt like an "exhilarating and terrifying experience" (2004, p.
19). The concept of deep personal reflection both thrilled and concerned me. I was thrilled
to be immersed in a phenomenon which has captured my attention much of my adult life; but
I was concerned because it is deeply personal. My resistance revolves around questions of
validity. As Levoy (1997) writes:

Remember, though, that resistance is also a good omen. It means you're close to
something important, something vital for your soul's work here, something worthy of
you. "If it feels safe, it's probably not the right path," Mark Gerzon says in Coming
into Our Own, "but if it scares you it probably is." (p. 197)

I was attentive to questions of validity raised by such personal research, so I have set
high standards in terms of process, bracketing, boundaries, data collection and analysis.
Although a call is personal, I believe there is a collective interest with honoring a call. Berg
(2007) supports the idea of some phenomenon being collective since "logic behind this has to
do with the fact that few human behaviors [including our response to or denial of calls} are
unique, idiosyncratic, and spontaneous" (p. 296). There may be billions of humans, but we

55

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

share core experiences as evidenced through common stories and myths. Levoy (1997)

writes:

. . . Willa Cather remarks that "there are only two or three human stories, and they go
on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before." She
doesn't say what those two or three stories are, but nearly twenty years into my career
as a journalist writing about human stories, and after a lifetime of living my own, I
began wondering what stories, deep down, she was referring to - love alienation,
death and rebirth? (p. 137)

Phenomenological Approach with a Case Study Outcome

My initial intention was to apply heuristic research to my project, which I did, but while
analyzing the data, a case study emerged. The case study explores one student, KT, and her
experience with the phenomenon of calls as an undergraduate. Berg (2007) states that a case
study can focus "on a single phenomenon. . . to uncover the manifest interaction of significant
factors characteristic of the phenomenon. . . " (p. 284). He also writes that unlike
phenomenological methodology which "attempts to uncover or capture the telos (essence) of
an account" (p. 304), a case study calls for the researcher to specifically look for detailed
themes within the data. To develop this case study I was able to review and triangulate KT's
interviews, journals, and her independent approach and analysis of the data. Additional data
include more than 300 emails and letters sent to Levoy from readers of his book or
participants in his workshops, interviews I conducted with Levoy, his presentation/workshop
materials, and my notations from his book, Callings.

56

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

My research question explored the undergraduate experience because that was a time
in my own life when I denied one of my strongest intuitive calls. I chose KT as a participant
because of her strong critical thinking skills, her curiosity about life, and her interest in
intuitive ways of knowing. I chose not to include other undergraduate students in order to
maintain, as much as possible, the integrity of the heuristic process. Many of my own
notations in the Callings book, referred directly to my undergraduate years and the constant
pull between inner and outer messages.

Berg (2007) describes three types (intrinsic, instrumental, collective) and three design
models (exploratory, explanatory, descriptive) for case studies. Based on these
classifications I define my case study as intrinsic-exploratory. Intrinsic because the study
was "undertaken when a researcher wants to better understand a particular case" such as my
wanting to understand KT's experience exploring a call as an undergraduate. Exploratory
because it includes "fieldwork and data collection. . . before designing a research question. . . "
and has an "organizational framework designed prior to beginning the research" (p. 291-
292). I include fieldwork and data collection and had the framework of the heuristic research
model in place prior to my research.

My research question relates to ways in which undergraduate students experience
tacit or intuitive ways of knowing - a question bridging head and heart, intellect and other
ways of knowing - and how contemplative practice may bridge the two and help carry a call
into being. The terms tacit knowing and intuition are used interchangeably. They share
orienting generalizations those, "broad, general themes [that] emerge, about which there is

57

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

actually very little disagreement" (Wilber, 2007, p. 23-24). Tacit knowing includes the same
definition given to intuition by psychologists and philosophers from many sociocultural
perspectives. They include the quality of immediate, unmediated knowledge or unconscious
way of perceiving/knowing (Birgerstam, 2002; deLaszo, 1990; Jung, 1971; Osho, 2001;
Polyam, 1966; Schulz, 1998).

Focusing on an unconventional research interest, at least from a western perspective, I
considered grounding my work in conventional methodology, such as a mixed methods
study, using quantitative data from hundreds of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator tests (which
scores how individuals experience the world through thinking, sensing, feeling, and
intuiting). I have easy access to these. From "Intuition, Imagination, and Creativity," a
course I taught at Lesley College, I have dozens of student essays on intuition. That would
give me concrete data, as well as dozens of stories. But I did not feel satisfied with this
approach.

"Maybe I'll design my research around case studies of how college students connect
head and heart to find a major or vocation that really matters to them." This question, too,
lacked personal meaning. I was proceeding based on what would be acceptable, working on
others, not what was calling to me. Calling being the optimal word!

I speak of a call as a big intuitive message, much like in those indigenous cultures
where big dreams are seen as different than ordinary dreams (Jung, 1964); both providing
messages from a deep place within the dreamer, however big dreams being transformative,
life changing. Calls can be big intuitive messages, providing a sign or direction to go in a
particular situation. Husserl (1999) refers to the distinction between a sign that simply

58

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

indicates something without necessarily implying any meaning, and a sign that carries with it
something deeper (p. 183). A call carries with it something deep - a big intuitive message.
The nature of intuition is more fully discussed in the Introduction section.

Heuristic Research: Origin and Application

Echoing my own thoughts, Glesne writes, "I wanted to do research with and not on
others" (2006, p. 2). Heuristic research provides such a lens. Heuristic research is an
offspring of Edmond Husserl's phenomenology (Husserl, 2008). The process of heuristic
research was developed by Clark Moustakas as a way to make meaning of the phenomena of
loneliness. I see it as a way to make meaning of the phenomenon of calls.

"The phenomenological process. ..does not involve a researcher who is striving to be
objectivistic, distanced or detached. Instead the researcher is fully involved, interested and
open to what may appear. Researcher subjectivity is prized and intersubjectivity is
embraced" (Hussrel, 2008, p. 3). Husserl became "fully involved" in the question of internal
stability, "a means to achieve the inner harmony [he] longed for" (Sanchez, 2007, p. 377).
Moustakas longed to understand the phenomenon of essence of loneliness. It is the essence,
or telos, of callings that I became fully involved in.

To provide the background for why I chose heuristic research, I discuss my discovery
of this methodology, followed by an examination of the works of William Perry, Michael
Polanyi, Abraham Maslow, and Eugene Gendlin who influenced Moustakas. Then I provide
an overview of heuristic research's six phases (initial engagement, immersion, incubation,

59

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

illumination, explication, creative synthesis). Finally, I discuss some of the limitations of
heuristic research.

For over twenty years I grounded myself intellectually, doing well by all outside
accounts, but I was dancing around, never with, what really mattered to me. As with the
following story by Levoy (1997), I put up a good fight but the power of a call eventually won
out.

I once saw an eagle drop like a stone into the blue-green water of a bay in the Sea of
Cortez. For the better part of minute, he thrashed around violently on the surface,
rising a little and then, it seemed, being yanked back down, sometimes nearly
underwater. Finally he rose, clapping his wings loudly against the water, and lifted
out a fish almost as large as himself, carrying it off to a cliffside nest. . . Whatever lives
beneath the surface will usually put up a fight to stay there, and this goes for some of
the wildlife we're likely to encounter in diving into our own pasts, (p. 175)
I participated in groups that played on the surface, often breaking just beneath the surface
when discussing questions such as passion in work, creativity, authenticity, and calls. "From
what rests on the surface one is led into the depths" writes Husserl (Welton, 1999, p. ix). I
went below the surface, discovered a passion for understanding bigger questions about
consciousness and intuitive ways of knowing, honored that passion, returned to school to
study transpersonal psychology, and found a path that allowed my inner voice to quiet down
for a while. A calling doesn't need much down time, and it never stops speaking up.
"Callings keep surfacing until we deal with them" (Levoy, 1997, p. 34).

60

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

A recent wakeup call came when I was considering my doctoral work. I could do a
project that would be neat and clean, giving me interesting data and analysis. I could simply
use all the Myers-Briggs scores, papers, surveys, and student records that I had available to
me. I could satisfy the requirements of the external world, while remaining unsatisfied
within, however as Levoy (1997) writes, "most people settle. . . by giving up on themselves
and choosing approval rather than authenticity. . . What happens then, says Maslow, is that our
center or gravity is in 'them' and not ourselves (p. 195)."

After reading an article on intuitive inquiry, by Rosemarie Anderson (2002), my
curiosity about alternative research methods and methodologies surfaced. I called Anderson.
We spoke of her work and that of Moustakas. I was drawn to his story and the process of
heuristic research.

In heuristic research each researcher has a theme or question asking to be witnessed
and explored. For Moustakas this theme was loneliness. His relationship with loneliness
coupled with his interest in tacit knowing, meaning making, psychology, and phenomenology
led to the development of heuristic research. Moustakas (1990) writes:

Unlike phenomenological studies in which the researcher need not have had the
experience (e.g., giving birth through artificial insemination), the heuristic researcher
has undergone the experience in a vital, intense, and full way. . . Heuristic inquiry is a
process that begins with a question or problem which the researcher seeks to
illuminate or answer. The question is one that has been a personal challenge and
puzzlement in the search to understand one's self and the world in which one lives.
The heuristic process is autobiographic, yet with virtually every question that matters
personally there is also a social - and perhaps universal - significance, (p. 27)

61

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

In heuristic research, the researcher first acknowledges her story, such as the nature of
a call. She then engages in the six previously mentioned phases of the process. These
phases allow her to view the story, question or theme from different perspectives. New ideas
and knowledge about the question may evolve as clusters of meaning surface.

"The root meaning of heuristic comes from the Greek word heuriskein, meaning to
discover or to find" (Moustakas, 1994, p. 17). It is linked with the term eureka which the
mathematician Archimedes coined after instantaneously realizing the nature of buoyancy. A
eureka discovery is often referred to as an insight. Heuristic research draws upon intellect
coupled with insightful discoveries.

Abraham Maslow, Eugene Gendlin, Michael Polanyi and William Perry were
influential to Moustakas' development of the methodology he called heuristic research. In
addition, the philosophy of Edmund Husserl, founder of phenomenology, will be woven
throughout this paper, much like his ideas are woven throughout the ideas of Polanyi, Perry,
and Moustakas.

The scope of this paper does not allow for indepth discussions of these individuals'
work. However, my intention is to bring into the paper the key ingredient each contributed to
Moustakas' development of heuristic research.

Edmund Husserl. Husserl, known as the founder of phenomenology, was
considered by some to be an internalist due to his belief that "mental states depend for their

62

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

content upon nothing external to the person whose states they are" (Zahavi, 2004, p. 42).
Moustakas' interest in the internal state of loneliness drew him to Husserl's work.

Husserl considered the following important to address in doing research: the process
of epoche, or bracketing one's personal judgments and perspectives; reduction in order to see
anew an object or experience after acknowledging the impact of perspective and
interpretation; and, reflexivity or the process of reflecting on the personal impact this new
meaning has on the researcher. According to Husserl, the researcher "slides between striving
for reductive focus and reflexive self-awareness; between bracketing pre-understandings and
exploiting them as source of insight" (Finlay, 2008, p. 1). Finlay goes on to describe that for
Husserl the process of reduction allows the researcher to undergo personal transformations,
to view a question or experience from a new angle.

The "phenomenological attitude" involves a radical transformation in our approach
where we strive to suspend presuppositions and go beyond the natural attitude of
taken-for-grated understanding. It involves the researcher engaging a certain sense of
wonder and openness to the world while, at the same time, reflexively restraining pre-
understandings. Most phenomenologists would agree that this stance - or perhaps
more accurately process - is one of the more (if not the most) significant dimensions
of phenomenological research, [italics in the original] (Finlay, 2008, p. 2)
As discussed below, in the phases of heuristic research, it is important to suspend or bracket
presuppositions and reflect on the new understanding of the phenomena being studied. This
is integral for entering into a "new way of being" (Finlay, 2008, p. 6).

63

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Husserl was also interested in the relationship of language to describe an experience
compared to the actual experience. For example, is my relationship with the word water
different than my experience of it? I might describe it as wet while my experience and
associations with it might include vast, green, refreshing, freezing, fear, joy, boats, fish, etc.
If I were studying water I would want to bracket my experience and pre-assumptions because
they are not necessarily true of all experiences of water or for the true nature of water. These
preassumptions, according to Husserl, are entirely internal. This process of reduction
removes what is perceived, leaving only what is required to view the experience or object at
its core truth or being. Using reduction and reflexivity, a researcher views the experience,
i.e., of water, in a new way. This new way may enable new ideas, meaning, or knowledge to
be discovered. It was the exploration of these relationships that opened the door of
phenomenology to Husserl (Welton, 1999).

In order to make meaning of the experience of calls, I considered some Husserlian
concepts. These concepts have become common considerations for qualitative research in
general. First, the researchers must bracket personal perspectives, judgments and beliefs, in
my case about calls. For me these include my belief that calls exist for everyone, and that
they come to us from a deep inner voice or intuitive way of knowing. I believe they are
uniquely personal but universal at the same time, and if ignored, they pursue us and resurface
again and again. Through the heuristic research process, reduction and reflexivity are
repeated until they can't be, or until one can "suspend the natural attitude, including the
distinction between objective and subjective" (Roubach, 2004, p. 196). In other words, the
researcher is continually breaking down assumptions and reflecting on this process until all

64

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

subjective influences are acknowledged and uncoupled from the core, objective nature of the
experience being studied.

Abraham Maslow. Maslow created a schema of human experiences ranging from
basic physiological needs (i.e., food, oxygen) through a series of physical needs (i.e., shelter),
each increasingly less physical, eventually leading to emotional and psychological self-
actualization. He believed that we all strive to move past and through the basic needs, to feel
safe, to feel part of community, to ultimately arrive at becoming "fully human, everything
that person can become" (Maslow, 1999, p. 169).

The ingredient Maslow added to heuristic research is the innate need to move from
acquiring basic needs towards becoming "fully human" which includes the desire for self-
actualization. During the initial engagement phase of heuristic research, desire to understand
more fully the nature of a recurring emotional or psychological question is acknowledged.
We "discover an intense interest, a passionate concern that calls out to the researcher, one
that holds important social meanings and personal, compelling implications" (Moustakas,
1990, p. 27). This moves us beyond acquiring our basic physical, external needs to an
interest in an inner world where calls reside and speak out to be heard. But, as Levoy writes,
"If we don't listen, the callings go unnoticed, and we are the worse for it. Our lives become
absurd - ab-surdus meaning to be absolutely deaf (p. 18).

Michael Polanyi. Polanyi is best known for his work as a chemist and
mathematician. He viewed complete objectivity as a delusion, and a false ideal (Polanyi,
1962, p. 18). After reading several of his texts, including Tacit Knowing, Personal

65

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy, and Knowing and Being: Essays by
Michael Polanyi, I do not presume to grasp his theories in chemistry and mathematics.
However, I fully understand and appreciate his intention to "show that complete objectivity
as usually attributed to the exact sciences is a delusion and is in fact a false ideal" (Polanyi,
1 962, p. 1 8). Polyani (1 969) wrote extensively about tacit knowing:

In science the element has been called intuition. The purpose of this paper is to
indicate that the structure of scientific intuition is the same as that of perception.
Intuition, thus defined, is not more mysterious than perception — but not less
mysterious either. . . " (p. 11 8)

Tacit knowing is experienced when we know something even though we cannot tell
how we arrived at that knowing; explicit knowing is when we can easily reconstruct and
explain something. Turning from his work as a chemist to that of a philosopher, Polanyi
"reconsider(ed) human knowledge by starting from the fact that we can know more than we
can tell. This fact seems obvious enough; but it is not easy to say exactly what it means"
(Polaym, 1966, p. 4).

We have here reached our main conclusions. Tacit knowing is shown to account (1)
for a valid knowledge of a problem, (2) for the scientist's capacity to pursue it, guided
by his sense of approaching its solution, and (3) for a valid anticipation of the yet
indeterminate implications of the discovery arrived at in the end. (Polanyi, 1966, p.
24)

Barbara McClintock, Nobel Prize winner, provides an example of using intellect
coupled with tacit knowing. McClintock was immersed in the field of genetics. Using corn as

66

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

her subject she would "have a feeling for every individual plant" (Keller, 1983, p. 198). At
times she would get frustrated, return to sit under giant eucalyptus trees to meditate and wait.
"When she felt she was ready, she returned to the microscope, and the chromosomes were
now to be seen, not only by her, but, thereafter, by others as well" (Keller, 1983, p. 148).

She didn't know quite what she did as she sat under those trees. She remembered she
"let the tears roll a little," but mainly, "I must have done this very intense, subconscious
thinking. And suddenly I knew everything was going to be just fine." It was. In five days,
she had solved the problem she had been working (Keller, 1983, p. 115).

This "very intense subconscious thinking" is tacit knowledge, an intuitive message.
McClintock may not have been able to describe how she knew what she knew, nonetheless it
led to a Nobel Prize in medicine, work that "would eventually change the face of genetics,
but few could then perceive the extent of the transformation that was in store" (Keller, 1983,
p.l 12). McClintock was open to hearing inner guidance. She listened. I also believe as
McClintock does that, "We're after something that lies beneath all that noise, something
literally unthinkable, something that is not so much communication as communion - a felt
language, a silence filled not with emptiness but with presence" (Levoy, 1997, p. 28).
Eugene Gendlin also considered the presence of a felt language, or felt sense, essential to
wellness and making meaning of our experiences.

Eugene Gendlin. Gendlin (1962/1981), a psychologist, worked closely with
colleague Carl Rogers. Rogers is well known for his person-centered approach to
psychotherapy (Kirschenbaum & Jourdan, 2005). Together Gendlin and Rogers studied
videotaped therapy sessions and found that clients who connected an emotional feeling with

67

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

a physical sense were more likely to have successful therapeutic outcomes. For example, if a
client states she senses a tightening in her chest (an inner felt sense) when describing an
emotional issue, she was more able to deal with the therapeutic issue. From their findings,
Gendlin developed a technique called Focusing. Bringing awareness to, or Focusing on, the
physical feeling (i.e., the tightening in the chest) creates an opening for the emotion to be
imaginatively moved outside the body through visualization (Klagsbrun, 2006). During my
initial interview with Levoy, he said:

Here's the really important question - where do you feel alive and where do you feel
dead in the course of a week? It's much easier to connect with the alive or dead
feeling. We all know it. We aren't able to talk about the inner authority or intuitive
self, but we all know when we feel alive or dead inside.
This is similar to the felt sense which Gendlin refers to when Focusing. Logical and literal
interpretations of emotional or mental issues are similarly set aside during the creative
synthesis process in heuristic research. We are asked to connect with our inner authority,
where we feel most alive.

William Perry. William Perry's research on undergraduate students included how
they position themselves within the college experience and learn to think for themselves. He
developed a nine stage scheme ranging from Position 1, or Basic Duality, to the highest
position, Position 9, at which point students engage in critical thinking and make decisions
based on internal versus external drives (Perry, 1999). His research suggested that in order
for college students to make meaning out of their undergraduate experience, they need to be

68

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

in one of the upper developmental positions. They must be able to make a special type of
personal commitment:

We have called it a personal commitment in a relative world. By this we mean to
distinguish it from commitments which have been taken for granted to the extent that
they have never been questioned, never compared to alternatives which could be
"thinkable" to the self. (p. 38)
These personal commitments enable the student to make meaning of the experience. Like
Perry, Moustakas was interested in how individuals make meaning of experiences and what it
takes to honor inner, along with external, authority. Like me, Perry drew upon the
undergraduate experience, specifically how to strengthen a connection to an inner voice,
engage in personal commitment, and learn to follow its authority.

An unexpected, but compelling argument developed during the data review, or
illumination, phase of my work. This argument relates to Perry's work on developmental
readiness of college students to hear and step into a call, a question Levoy talked about in my
first interview with him. Levoy said that listening to a call was not undergraduate students'
forte, that they were not in a time of strong inner direction, but were more likely to listen to
the voice of reason (or their teachers, parents), and that the deck is stacked against
undergraduate students easily responding to a call. Levoy also addressed the question of
whether or not a call needs an environment of tension or conflict to strengthen its voice.
Mezirow's disorienting dilemma came to mind at this point. Maybe "friction is a
fundamental property of nature and nothing grows without it" (Levoy, 1997, p. 8). In the

69

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

illumination chapter I address the coupling of developmental readiness and the questionable
need for internal friction for calls to be followed.

Phases of Heuristic Research

Initial engagement. "During the initial engagement, the investigator reaches inward
for tacit awareness and knowledge, permits intuition to run freely, and elucidates the context
from which the question takes form and significance" (Moustakas, 1990, p. 27). This was
both the easiest and hardest phase for me. It was easy in that the question, or the idea of a
call, had been a constant whisper in my mind for as long as I can remember. It was hard
because it felt self-indulgent and too vulnerable to focus on something so personal.
Moustakas, however, held that a compelling personal question would inherently hold social
relevance, highlighting the universal quality of the individual experience. I believe this to be
true, as evidenced by stories about authenticity and calls I hear from my students, the stories
voiced through the hundreds of emails and letters received by Levoy and shared with me
from Callings readers. As Levoy said, "I began to realize that beneath the stories of our lives
are other stories, other lives, and great archetypal armatures on which all our individual
stories are hung" (1997, p. 137).

In order to provide more depth to the exploration of intuition and calls, and to
examine the universality of the phenomenon, I invited a college student to parallel the
immersion process with me. KT, a twenty year old, graduating senior, describes herself as
"very intuitive" (in fact she scored as high as one can on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator),

70

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

she is academically strong, socially well connected, and has a supportive network of friends
and family.

Lesley University's Internal Review Board approved student involvement in this
research (Appendix C). She was involved from start to finish; her involvement included
interviews, journaling, data collection, meetings with Levoy in North Carolina, data analysis,
and a creative synthesis to end the project.

Immersion. According to Moustakas (1990), the immersion phase is just what it
implies, total immersion in the question or theme of interest:

The immersion process enables the researcher to come to be on intimate terms with
the question - to live it and grow in knowledge and understanding it.... Virtually
anything connected with the question becomes raw material for immersion, for
staying with it, and for maintaining a sustained focus and

concentration... spontaneous self-dialogue and self-searching, pursuing intuitive clues
or hunches, and drawing from mystery and sources of energy and knowledge within
the tacit dimension, (p. 28).

During the immersion phase of my project (January through April 2009), I collected
the following data: an initial phone interview with Gregg Levoy; five interviews with KT; a
trip to North Carolina to meet Gregg Levoy; reading Levoy' s book for the sixth time (noting
dates and situations when I'm pulled to particular passages); xeroxing 305 pieces of
correspondence sent to Levoy from his readers; and, collecting KT's journals. At this phase,

71

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

my intention was not to categorize, make sense, or process any of the data unearthed in the
immersion phase but simply to collect it before moving onto the incubation phase.

The question of developmental readiness coupled with a disorienting dilemma
became important considerations as I began reviewing the data. A significant disorienting
dilemma for KT did in fact become part of the discussions and considerations of the nature of
calls. The issues of developmental readiness and disorienting dilemmas will be further
discussed in the Explication section.

Incubation. "Incubation is the process in which the researcher retreats from the
intense, concentrated focus on the question" (Moustakas, 1990 p. 28). I see this phase, also
referred to as indwelling, as similar to the Buddhist process of letting go, allowing time for
the planted seed, the question or theme, to be nourished.

I was anxious about my ability to really let go of data and my relationship with the
process, but I did put it all aside from May 2009 through December 2009. This process
allows "the inner workings of the tacit dimensions and intuition to continue to clarify and
extend understanding on levels outside the immediate awareness" (Moustakas, 1990, p. 29).
Polanyi's work with the concept of tacit knowing is evident in this phase - what is outside
our immediate awareness is allowed to incubate. Through incubation a new way of looking
at a phenomenon might emerge. "We're after something the lies beneath all that noise,
something literally unthinkable, something that is not so much communication as it is
communion - a felt language, a silence filled not with emptiness but with presence" (Levoy,
1997, p. 28).

72

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

After a period of incubation, such presence can be seen in the experiences described
earlier - that of McClintock's discovery of chromosomes. She may have gone through
several heuristic phases - immersion (into the field of genetics), to incubation (meditation
under the eucalyptus trees), to illumination (discovery of new knowledge).

We need to teach ourselves to sit quietly and listen, just listen, long enough to leave a
decent indentation on the couch. If all our moments are filled with words and
thoughts, with noise however joyous, then when it comes time to convey our deepest
intuitions, when our lives demand guidance from within, we'll be speechless.
(Levoy, 1997, p. 27)

Illumination. "The illumination process has been continually recognized in creative
discoveries from the earliest thinkers on science. . . " (Moustakas, 1990. p. 30). During this
phase the heuristic researcher, much like those doing most phenomenological studies, begins
to search for "clusters of meanings" (Creswell, 1998, p. 55). Moustakas refers to this as a
time when the researcher becomes aware of patterns or qualities that are important to the
question or theme, bringing a new and unexpected meaning to the experience of focus,
whether that focus is on loneliness, tacit knowing, or calls.

Glesne (2006) refers to the work of Wolcott who "discusses description, analysis, and
interpretation as three means of data transformation, or of moving from organization to
meaning" (p. 164-165). Glesne elaborates on each of these steps in manipulation of data in
the following way:

73

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

• Description means careful review of the data as it was collected without preconceived
notions of what is there. It is a fishing expedition. You don't really know what's in
the water until you cast your net, and wait!

• Analysis begins by creating clusters of meaningful categories, like organizing the fish
according to identifying factors (size, type, where they were found, time of day
caught, etc.).

• Interpretation entails making meaning of what was caught through the previous steps,
and possibly reclustering and then reinterpreting the data.

Glesne notes that the type of analysis completed will ultimately depend on what is collected
and the purpose of the study, but these three basic steps will provide a way to begin sorting
through data. These steps are embedded in the heuristic research; description during the
immersion phase, analysis during the illumination phase, and interpretation or meaning
making during the explication phase.

During this phase I transcribed taped interviews and reviewed all the data (KT and
Levoy interviews, KT's journals, Levoy's letters and workshop materials), and I
acknowledged preconceived notions while remaining open to unforeseen clusters of
concepts. I reviewed all the data five times. Initially I just read through the materials
without making notations, categorizing, or highlighting.

The second time through the data I grouped ideas and concepts as they emerged. The
broadest categories included data sources such as emails/letters, journals interviews, and
workshop feedback. I then categorized these by total numbers in each category, response by
gender, response by self-identified college students, and response by self-identified career
changers (primarily individuals reporting mid-life career changes). Several other

74

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

subcategories were acknowledged, such as geographical location, but not identified as
important in final analysis.

In the third review of data, I highlighted specific recurring themes, or clusters, within
each of the broader categories noted above. These more specific clusters included how often
the following concepts presented: listening, being in crisis, developmental readiness, inner
knowing or intuition, and contemplative practice.

Then, I looked for topics within each theme. For example, within the theme of
intuition I found references to an inner voice, a familiar sense of knowing, inner intelligence,
and having a gut feeling. In the final review of the data, I created sub-groups of these final
topics. It was unproductive to go deeper with the phenomenological portion. I did, however,
create a case study from a subset consisting of KT's data.

Explication. The explication phase, typically referred to as the analysis section in
dissertations, involves fully explaining what has been discovered in the previous phases, "to
fully examine what has awakened in consciousness, in order to understand the various layers
of meaning. ... In explication a more complete apprehension of the key ingredients is
discovered" (Moustakas, 1990, p. 30-31). Moustakas frames this phase as the point at which
the pieces come together to form a more complete picture of what has been discovered. I
moved beyond the various parts, or data, to explain the phenomenon in terms of the meaning
that has surfaced. Moustakas reminds us that "meanings are inherent in a particular world
view, an individual life, and the connections between self, other, and the world" (1990, p. 30),
and personal perspectives are noted within the analysis. Final analysis of this data can be
found in the Explication section.

75

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Creative synthesis. The final phase in heuristic research is an artifact (for example a
poem, story, or drawing) for synthesizing the researcher's experience. The importance, as
mentioned above, is in using various ways of knowing to explain or show what has been
discovered.

The researcher in entering this process is thoroughly familiar with all the data in its
major constituents, qualities, and themes and in the explication of the meanings and
details of the experience as a whole. The creative synthesis can only be achieved
through tacit and intuitive powers. Once the researcher has mastered knowledge of
the material that illuminates and explicates the question, the researcher is challenged
to put the components and core themes into a creative synthesis. (Moustakas, 1990,
p. 31)
Again, shifting from logical data collection and review to what Barbara McClintock called a
"very intense, subconscious thing" (Keller, 1983, p. 112) happens several times in the
heuristic research process including during this final phase. It is possible that ideas or
discoveries not unearthed in other phases will surface here.

Limitations of Heuristic Research

Heuristic research is not without its limitations and critics. Concerns range from
validity of a process that uses the researcher as the primary subject, to whether or not
Moustakas himself followed what he stated as his intention (Sela-Smith, 2002). As a
reminder, heuristic research revolves around specific phenomena, data, and analysis of
intense interest to the researcher. According to Sela-Smith (2002), Moustakas did not follow
his own protocol because he included interviews of others experiencing loneliness, the focus

76

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

of his research. Her critique was that the process became diluted when Moustakas spoke of
the universality of an individual's question or experience. After speaking with Sela-Smith, I
understand her methodological shift and approach but believe heuristic research as
Moustakas laid it out works well for my proposed research question.

That question relates to college students, integrating tacit knowing with intellect, the
possible role of contemplative practice in such integration, and whether or not that
integration helps accessing meaningful life direction or calls. Because I am not an
undergraduate student, and I felt it important to include the undergraduate perspective, I
invited KT to be a co-researcher. Sela-Smith might argue that KT's influence would shift
some of the focus from me and therefore dilute the pure intention of heuristic research. I
disagree. KT's insight and willingness to share her experiences were invaluable, adding
coherence and an important voice to the data.

Other concerns, generally found in qualitative research, may seem exaggerated in
heuristic research: for example, subjectivity and its relationship to validity. Due to the nature
of the self as subject in heuristic research subjectivity becomes transparent, a welcome
partner in the process. Discussing self as subject in research, Glesne writes:

Some feel lost in the sifting sands of postmodern perspectives, their footing undone.
Others see new possibilities take form - the need, for example, to explore self as
researcher in relationship to research participants; to create interdisciplinary
composites; to seriously take on the lenses of other ways of looking at the world,
whether these ways be a spirit trance or astrophysics; and to create new forms of

77

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

representing what is learned, forms that reveal emotions and feelings. (Glesne, 2006,
p. 18-19)
"Objective reality can never be captured" (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005, p. 5), all qualitative
research is reflexive. When doing any research the question of reflexivity, or subjectivity,
must be addressed. Reflexivity is woven into every fiber of heuristic research and was an
important element in my work.

For those who have taken the 'reflexive turn' in qualitative research. . . the
implications are always present, of working on the edges of, and constantly having to
engage with, dominant understandings of what constitutes 'proper' research.
(Ribbins & Edwards, 1998, p. 4)

Glesne (2006) defines four categories of participation in research: observer, observer
as participant, participant as observer, or full participant (p. 50). Heuristic researchers fall
under the category of full participant and, "Doing so is not as easy as first perceived because
the researcher must manage two, sometimes conflicting, roles" (p. 50). "In a sense, you
conduct two research projects at the same time: one into your topic and the other into your
self and, paraphrasing Reason (1994), the ground on which you stand" (Glesne, 2006, p.
126).

There was the danger of overlooking or avoiding important data due to my
relationship with KT or my relationship with the research focus. If the question is one with
strong emotional concerns, "you must be able to distinguish the line between your passion to
understand some phenomenon and your over involvement in very personal issues that need
resolution" (Glesne, 2006, p. 23). The important distinction between doing research on a

78

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

personal interest versus a personal emotional issue is significant. The latter holds much at
stake for the researcher, the former is an act of discovery without direction or particular
outcomes being sought. I feel confident that the research was conducted purely from a sense
of interest and curiosity. Although the phenomenon of callings has been an intimate theme
in my life, the heuristic research process actually freed me from its constant companionship
in my thoughts.

Familiarity with the theme was another possible concern. The issue of being overly
familiar with the topic could bring "preformed assumptions about what is going on" (Glesne,
2006, p. 31). This is often referred to as conducting backyard research. Again, given the
personal nature of heuristic research, it would be impossible not to use what is familiar. It is
what the researcher does not know about the familiar theme, what is beneath the recurring
concept, that creates the stage for good research.

To address some of these limiting factors of heuristic research, I thought it important
to bracket and reflect on personal ideas and feelings - which I have done throughout this
process. According to Kim Etherington (2004), reflexivity is:

... an ability to notice our responses to the world around us, other people and events,
and to use that knowledge to inform our actions, communications and understanding.
To be reflexive we need to be aware of our personal responses and to be able to make
choices about how to use them. We also need to be aware of the personal, social and
cultural contexts in which we live and work and to understand how these impact on
the ways we interpret our world, (p. 19)

79

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

To further address limitations suggested of qualitative research Patton (2002)
suggests triangulation.

Triangulated reflexive inquiry provides a framework for sorting through these issues

during analysis and report writing - and then including in the report how these

reflections informed your findings, (p. 495)
Triangulation helps reduce bias related to just one data source. I triangulated data from KT's
interviews and journals with data from Levoy's letters and interviews. Data triangulation
allowed two unexpected significant considerations - developmental readiness and
disorienting dilemmas - to become elements in the callings discourse.

Examples can be found of how other researchers (Telles, 2000; Turner, Gibson,
Bennetts, & Hunt, 2008; Watford, 2008) handled perceived limitations of heuristic research.
Watford (2008) describes being influenced by how others might view her work:
What else did I learn? I learned that I can courageously and heuristically explore my
experiences and that I do have something to contribute. Yet after years of struggling
to reach this academic plateau, my fear of being judged as unscientific and
unscholarly, and not receiving my master's degree, did influence the final product,
(p. 352)
She does not describe how her thesis was changed by her uncertainty, just that she questions
whether or not she was "overpreoccupied with rigor to the extent that I forgot my own
subjectivity in deciding what was research and what wasn't?" (p. 353). I question whether or
not she dealt with the possible limitations of subjectivity by minimizing it.

80

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Turner et.al. (2008) studied the impact of clinical psychotherapy training on two
trainee therapists. Much like my work, students were invited to explore personal change by
engaging in the heuristic research phases. Turner et al. dealt with the question of primary
researcher distraction previously described by Sela-Smith. Sela-Smith (2002) criticized
inclusion of co-researchers in the heuristic research process as moving outside the intent of
heuristic research's primary purpose. That primary purpose is the exploration of the
researcher's personal question. Turner et al. (2008) suggest diminishing such distraction by
avoiding contact between co-researchers while data is being collected (p. 175). I could not
avoid contact with KT as she was providing ongoing interviews regarding her current
experiences with contemplative practice, inner ways of knowing, and her sense of calls.

Telles (2002) used a combination of research methodologies, including heuristic
research. This author does not cite any possible limitations in the heuristic process, but does
weave it into a "biocolage of qualitative methods" and states her decision to use these
methods to allow subjectivity to surface (Telles, 2002, p. 251).

These three examples of heuristic research in practice show variation in the ways
researchers have used the process, woven the process into other qualitative models, and dealt
with its limitations. Making note of its limitations, and acknowledging their potential impact
on my research, strengthened my resolve to proceed with rigor while honoring the intention
of heuristic research.

81

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Data

Data was collected from January 2009 through April 2010. Data included interviews,
journals, and correspondence. Interviews were between myself and my co-researcher KT, or
myself and Gregg Levoy author of Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life.
Additional interviews were conducted with the three of us - KT, Gregg Levoy, and myself. I
also reviewed my notations throughout the Callings book, many referring to my own
undergraduate experience and calls.

Interviews

Glesne (2006) describes three types of interviews: structured, open, and depth probing.
Structured interviews have "specific questions", open interviews require the interviewer be
"prepared to develop new questions to follow unexpected leads" and depth-probing
interviews to:

pursue all points of interest with variant expressions that mean 'tell me more' and
'explain'. The intent of such interviewing is to capture the unseen that was, is, will
be, or should be; how respondents think or feel about something; and how they
account for something. Such a broad-scale approach is directed to understanding
phenomena in their fullest possible complexity. The elaborates responses you her
provide the affective and cognitive underpinnings of our respondents' perceptions,
(p. 104)
I interviewed KT formally and informally, using open and depth-probing formats. Formal
interviews included four audio taped interviews in 2009 (February 1 6, March 6, April 7, and
May 4). There are 1 1 hours of interviews resulting in 35 transcribed pages. In addition,

82

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

there were a total of six hours of informal interviews with KT in 2010 (January 24, February
3, February 26, and May 4). Two informal telephone interviews were conducted in 2009
with Levoy (February 9 and 26). In person meetings were ducted in North Carolina (March
11 through 13).

Written Data

I reviewed in excess of 300 emails and letters written to Levoy in response to his work with
Calling, as well as forty-eight pages of KT's personal journal. KT's journals focus on her
undergraduate experiences and that relationship to contemplative practice, intuition, and
callings. KT also provided her independently reviewed and written analysis of the data,
which is included in the data analysis chapter. Correspondence to Levoy ranged from
individuals changing careers, undergraduate students, people in the 20s to 70s, and from all
over the world.

Wall's Notations from Callings

I include some of my personal notations in Levoy' s Callings as they relate to my own
experience as an undergraduate. They include my writing parallel statements from his:
Some years ago, along a country road outside of Fresno, California, on a windy
spring day, a part of the invisible world was made, for a brief moment, visible to
me. . . And I saw that what is necessary to make substance or meaning out of any of it
is a receiver, somebody to receive. (1997, p. 1)
Such as:

83

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Thirty years ago, in 1981, outside a country classroom, on a warm spring day, a part
of the invisible world whispered to me. . . And I knew that what was necessary to make
meaning out of it was a receiver, me. . . Yet I refused to listen.

Or from Levoy (1997):

We thus have an impressive arsenal of defense mechanisms - denial, distraction,
repression, projection, procrastination - whose job descriptions are to prevent attack
by the superego. They do this by blinding us to the kind of impulses - and callings -
that trip the superego's alarms, and by misrepresenting the threat of those calls,
making them seem more costly and inopportune than they are, so that we'll avoid
them. (p. 194)

My notation:

Seemed the job description of my college advisor as well - to make my declaration of
psychology as a major seem very costly and inopportune; and I did avoid it. My
personal arsenal of defense mechanisms included denial of the most immense
magnitude which was necessary in order to repress a powerful call.

These two examples represent dozens of my notations; all in some way referring back to my
undergraduate experience in 1981.

Researcher 1: Wall's Data Analysis

I reviewed the data five times. First, without categorizing or attempting to make
meaning of the data. Next, I created broad categories for the types of data: emails and letters,

84

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

interviews, journal entries, or Levoy's presentation materials. Then read for repeating
themes or clusters of meaning. Three themes surfaced and are classified as intuition,
developmental readiness, and disorienting dilemmas which were then reviewed for ideas or
subthemes within each theme. Finally, KT's interview notes and journals were reviewed
separately for a case study. Table 1 (page 83) outlines heuristic research phases, purpose of
each, and outcome from each. Table 2 (page 84) indicates quantitative breakdown of data
into broad categories and themes.

85

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Table 1 : Heuristic Research Phases, Purposes, and Outcomes

PHASES

PURPOSE

OUTCOME

Initial Engagement

Determines theme to explore

Theme: Calls

Immersion

Data Collection

Levoy Correspondence

305 Emails/Letters

Levoy Interviews

Initial Phone

Informal Interviews in NC over 3 Days

KT Interviews

5 Formal Interviews (6 Hours)

35 Transcribed Pages

KT Journals

48 Pages

Jan's Notations from Callings:

Finding and Following an

Connections between notations and

Authentic Life

other data.

Quotes used to support findings and

Creative Synthesis

Incubation

Removes Researcher(s) from

Provided a new lens from which to

Immersion Phase

view and reflect on data.

Illumination

Search for Themes or Clusters of

Data Reviewed 5 times:

Meaning in Data

1) Reviewed without categorizing

2) Grouped into broad categories:

total numbers, gender, type of

data (emails, interviews, journals)

3) Pulled out Themes:

disorienting dilemmas,

developmental readiness

4) Reviewed for Subthemes:

no relevant subthemes surfaced

5) Reviewed for Case Study

Explication

Analysis of Data

New Variables Surfaced

Importance of Disorienting

Dilemmas and Developmental

Readiness in acknowledging and

following a Call.

Creative Synthesis

Finalize Process for Researcher(s)

Poems and a Collage

86

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Table 2: Data Categories and Themes

CATEGORIES-*-*-*

Emails and Letters

Interviews

Journals

GL Materials

Totals

N = 107

N = 15

N = 15

N = 2

N = 139

80 (W), 20 (M), 7(?)

15 (W), 10 (M), 0?

15(W)AIIKT

2(M) All GL

105 (W), 27 (M), 7 (?)

THEMES vU>U>U4^

Total W M ?

Total W M ?

Total W M ?

Total W M ?

Total W M ?

INTUITION

21 13 3 5

4 3 10

7 7 (KT)

10 1 (GL)

33 23 5 5

DEVELOPMENTAL READINESS

6 4 2

5 4 10

2 2 (KT)

13 10 1 2

DISORIENTING DILEMMA

80 63 17 2

6 3 3

6 6 (KT)

1 1(GL)

93 73 20

W- Women

M-Men

? - Gender Unknown

KT- Co-researcher

GL- Gregg Levoy

Data Categories

Intuition. There were 33 references to intuition (23 from women, 5 from men, 5
unknown). Intuition is referred to as the following:

• 'aha' moments

• an inner space

• liquid moments

• that place inside

87

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

• inner authority

• knowing things without knowing how

• inner connection

• nonverbal inner potential

• inner intelligence

• inner voice

• a calling.

There are 21 references to intuition from emails and letters from readers of Callings (13 from
women, 3 from men, 5 unknown). There are 4 references to intuition from interviews (3
from KT, 1 from Levoy). In addition, there are 7 from KT's journals, and 1 from Levoy's
presentation materials.

Developmental readiness. The work of William Perry on developmental readiness
became relevant at this point. Perry's work will be discussed in more detail in the analysis
chapter.

Three are 13 data references to developmental readiness (10 from women, 1 from
men, 2 unknown). References about developmental readiness included:

• whether or not undergraduate students are mature enough to follow a call

• is it too risky a time for emerging adults

• individuals might not be able to find true personality at age 17 or 18

88

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

• college students were just learning to listen to internal over external voices.

One reference is from an interview with Levoy that, "college age is not a time of strong inner
direction, they are not developmentally ready, it is not their forte, they are more likely to
listen to the voice of reason." Of these 13 responses, 6 came from emails or letters referring
to Callings (4 from women, none from men, 2 unknown), 5 are from interviews (4 from KT,
1 from Levoy), and 2 from KT's journals. None of the 6 undergraduates who wrote to Levoy
mentioned 'readiness' as a factor.

Disorienting dilemma. There are 93 references about conflict, tension,
disorientation, or life changing situations. Of these 73 are from women and 20 from men.
Of the total references: 80 are from emails or letters referring to Levoy's Callings (73 from
women, 17 from men, 2 unknown); 6 references are from interviews with either KT (3) or
Levoy (3); KT referred to a disorienting dilemma 6 times in her journals; and, Levoy made
one reference to the relationship between conflict and callings.

Of the total references (93) under the theme of disorienting dilemmas, I found 3
subthemes or clusters of concepts: health issues (20), being at a crossroad or transformative
place in life (42), and career challenges (6).

Two other references feel under the general theme of a disorienting dilemma, the first
was being a crime victim (which could be included under crossroads but wasn't defined in
that way), and the other disorienting dilemma was having an addiction (which could have
been included under health issues but was described in a very different manner than others
under that cluster).

89

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

The coupling of a disorienting dilemma with intuitive calls became an unexpected but
important relationship in the outcome of this research. This relationship will be discussed in
detail in the analysis chapter, but some examples are provided below.

Health issues (physical, emotional, mental) referenced independently and also
referred to in association with inner knowing or callings included those from individuals with
cancer, Lyme's disease, back pain, anthrax poisoning, mysterious physical symptoms,
general physical discomfort, and having a brush with death. The cluster of individuals who
referred to a crossroads or transformational place in life coupled with an inner knowing or
calls also made statements about needing to release a smothering soul, having days of
emotional turmoil, being enlivened yet frightened, feelings of holy terror, being in an intense
personal time, and needing to face fear of listening to a call. The need to face a fear in order
to listen to a call is referenced by 9 individuals, while feeling both enlivened yet frightened
by the prospect is mentioned by 5 others. In the initial interview with Levoy, he wondered
what level of crisis is needed to make the shift and follow a call, "There is something
beautiful and dangerous in that question."

KT speaks to the nature of crisis and "disparate structures" (Levoy, p. 8). In her
journals she writes about undergoing turbulence, shaken at her foundation (physically,
emotionally, and mentally). She notes how that turbulence numbed and distanced her from
the crisis she was going through, until only her "soul remained and provided the greatest gift
[she] could receive - a renewed sense of self, renewed spirituality, renewed passion." As
with individuals who responded to Levoy' s Callings, KT described that fear ultimately shook
the turbulence out of her.

90

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Growth happens when we receive the turbulence, the suffering, to eventually rise
through it and come out a different person. You just allow it. ... I believe it was not
only college that attributed to this balancing of my parts, but my brother's
diagnosis. . . .So for me, it was a calling to use that crisis as a reality check, for some
people just going to college will help them... .The crisis was part of my calling.
KT wrote about another issue that occurred during her first two years in college. "I had a big
dilemma; I remember freshman and sophomore years. I could not understand
transience. . . how could I share a moment with you and never see you again?" In our
interviews, she spoke about how this dilemma challenged her to move into areas that
frightened yet excited her - the beauty and danger Levoy mentioned. College is a time of
such exciting and potentially frightening questions, as are other times of transition as
evidenced by the 14 references found in the Levoy correspondence.

In my interview with Levoy he talked about being invited to give a talk at Virginia
Tech almost a year (almost to the day) after the killings there. He was told "don't pull any
punches - talk about mortality and how that impacts choosing a life path." This brings up the
question, "Do we need something as drastic as facing mortality to motivate us to follow what
matters to us?" This question relates to the third cluster of disorienting dilemmas about mid-
life changers.

Notably, there are references to feeling stuck in a job or becoming unexpectedly
unemployed from such jobs and now wanting to find meaningful work. According to Levoy
mid-life career changers (6 respondents self-identified as such) might be engaged in finding
meaningful work due to this same confrontation with reality and mortality (or aging). One

91

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

individual wrote that she was "very unhappy in [her] corporate job and could not stop the
nagging voice that told [her] there was more."

From the 300 plus pieces of correspondence reviewed, 6 were undergraduate students
who attended a workshop by Levoy. Each appreciated his message but none mention
disorienting dilemmas specifically. This may have been due to the fact that they attended the
workshop as part of a course with the assignment. They may not have been developmentally
ready to delve into the topic, or they may not have been called to do so.

Researcher 2: KT's Data Analysis

KT independently reviewed the data. Her only instructions were to read the material and
record anything she noted as important or recurring. In her analysis she wrote, "While
reading over the book Callings, journal entries, recordings, and letters sent to Gregg, I found
meaning in particular themes and patterns that thread throughout the information."
She begins by stating:

I immediately thought of the work of the Belgian physicist Ilya Prigogine who was
awarded the Nobel Prize for his theory of what he calls "dissipative structures, part of
which contends that friction is a fundamental property of nature and nothing grows
without it - not mountains, not pearls, not people. . . .we must therefore be willing to
get shaken up, to submit ourselves to the dark blossoming of chaos, in order to reap
the blessings of growth." The concept of friction has been profound throughout this
research experience. It began as an oppressive force that caused disorientation,
confusion, essentially being thrown off track into an unknown pit. It then

92

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

transformed into intensity, as though this friction slowly opened up new holes in
perception and therefore causing new feelings never before experienced (intense
ability to be in the moment). Once the intensity subsides the meaning begins to arise
and incubate from the experience. Closure is made via dreams, expectations, and new
shifts on the meaning of life. The person who re-enters the world post-friction is new
however they are reconnecting with a childhood essence that is more incandescent
and easier to access.
Then KT describes the patterns she found. These include themes around friction, intensity,
meaning making, connecting to essence, path verses outcome, callings from dreams, facing
mortality, and intuition or callings. She did not categorize nor include quantitative data. For
each pattern she included examples from our interviews or her journals, some of which I've
noted below.

Friction. "My thoughts are swimming around, going at such a fast pace, that I
become flighty-like in the external world." "But the problem is it's just like something
where you feel a loss of control." "So for me, maybe I needed something to really shake me
out of the depths and face a new reality."

Intensity. "I don't know, it's a real liveliness about myself and although that feeling
doesn't last really long, I believe it's happening for a reason." "I'm just feeling really
expressive where before I felt like I was taking in a lot, now the output is starting to tap in. I
think I've been waiting for that."

Meaning making. "There has been some change-like embracing change instead of
being of being afraid of it. I liked the security of knowing that something would last forever;

93

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

like if I'm going to be friends that this is for good, and I feel I have really overcome that." "I
feel that this has helped me embrace the changing parts of me."

Connecting to essence. "It's the same feeling I got when I was a child. I think of it
as grounding, maybe a witness is a good way to describe it." "I think this part of me is very
related to me following my calling in life."

Path versus outcome. "I feel like the calls are more, for me, about the path not the
outcome." "One of the biggest lessons I learned this semester is how to be open to
possibilities, and change, and being flexible in that sense."

Callings through dreams. "Dreams have been, for me, a very strong channel in my
life through which I have received many messages and callings."

Facing mortality. "I was surrendering to my own mortality."

Intuition and callings. "I noticed another time where I could see the difference of
my intuitive way of knowing versus a rational, logical way."

In heuristic research the process of data review is known as the illumination phase.
Throughout this process, two unexpected theories became relevant to my research question.
These theories are presented in the following chapter which represents the explication phase
in heuristic research.

94

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Analysis: Explication Phase of Heuristic Research

My research question explored a possible link between contemplative practice, intuition (tacit
knowing), and ways in which an undergraduate student find a call. A call is defined as a
meaningful, authentic vocation or life path. In addition, it is important to understand ways in
which contemplative practice, intuition, and calls impact brain activity. How the brain is
influenced by contemplative practices and intuitive calls is important as it relates to holistic
education - the pedagogical approach relevant to my research question. Holistic education
embraces whole person learning, the integration of various ways of learning and knowing.
Those ways involve all parts of ourselves - brain, body, mind, and spirit.

I set out to look at my own experience with the nature of calls. I chose the heuristic
research process to do so. The heuristic researcher focuses on a phenomenon of personal
interest. My personal interest is in the nature of calls for undergraduate students. As
mentioned, this was a time in my own life when an intuitive call was heightened, yet ignored.
I used a phenomenological approach, reviewing all my data "to uncover the manifest
interaction of significant factors characteristic of the phenomenon" (Berg, 2007, p. 287). I
also wanted to capture the experience for a current undergraduate. To capture such an
experience I invited KT, a graduating senior at Lesley College, to join me in the process.
This led to a case study of her experience.

I reviewed the literature on trends in higher education, contemplative practice
(including meditation and spirituality) in higher education, and the brain research related to
intuition and contemplative practice. None of the literature reviewed made connections
between these three branches of my question, but some showed ways in which any two might

95

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

connect. Those connections included research on contemplative practice and brain function,
intuition and brain function, or higher education and contemplative practice.

The findings from my literature review are woven together with the results from data
collected. The process became complicated by factoring in too many variables -
contemplative practice, calls, intuition, and ways in which brain functioning relates to these.
I was further interested in a specific life experience (being in college) at a time I believed
calls become heightened. Although the case study specifically related to both the literature
review (trends in higher education and brain research related to contemplative practice and
intuition), the data for the larger phenomenological study came from the general population
(which included some self-identified undergraduate students).

The findings are organized as follows: brief summary of literature review,
phenomenological presentation from all the data, a case study with a subset of data reviewed,
and finally some research limitations. In addition the terms intuition, inner voice, inner way
of knowing, tacit knowing, and calls or callings were used interchangeably. For the
remaining sections and chapters of this dissertation, I use intuitive calls to represent this
inner way of knowing "without knowing how one knows" (Polyani, 1966).

Findings

Literature review summary. The literature review suggests paradoxical trends in
higher education. Curriculum in higher education is moving in the direction of increased
training for careers and the job market, while at the same time students are requesting more
time to explore questions related to spirituality and personal growth.

96

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Calls: A phenomenological perspective. "Within the sociological tradition, the
most widely used means of data analysis is thematic analysis, a process that involves coding
and then segregating the data by codes into data clumps for further analysis an description"
(Glesne, 2006, p. 147). During the illumination phase of the heuristic research process two
"data clumps" or themes relevant to calls emerged. These themes are: developmental
readiness and calls, how intuitive calls surface in the midst of tension or disorienting
dilemmas. At the onset of this research, I believed that intuitive calls were always ready to
be followed. I also believed that the primary reason for not following calls was the challenge
to quiet external pressures, and that with contemplative practice as a tool, those external
pressures could be lessened. I was missing two important considerations: that there may be a
developmental readiness factor in being able to follow an intuitive call, and that the call may
become loudest during times of tension, stress, or some other disorienting dilemma.

As I reviewed trends in higher education, important ingredients in the nature of
intuitive calls and undergraduates surfaced. The literature suggests that colleges and
universities are increasingly pressured to focus on job readiness curriculum (Andrews, 2006;
Aronowitz, 2000; Bok, 2006) while studies indicate that three quarters of entering freshman,
across all majors, want to explore issues related to personal growth (Astin, 2004; Higher
Education Research Institute, 2004; Lindholm, 2006/2007; Lindholm, Goldberg &
Calderone, 2006). The need to explore issues related to personal growth and spirituality
might be classified as the type of tension or disorienting dilemma facilitating a call or
personal commitment to the surface. I believed that the statistics from the UCLA HERI
study (Higher Education Research Institute, 2004) supported my theory that the

97

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

undergraduate experience provided the perfect time to create discourse related to following
one's call. However, that belief was challenged during the review process of my own data.

My original perception required "what the Greek Skeptics called epoche, a
provisional suspension of judgment about the truth or falsity of, or the belief or disbelief in,
ideas until a better determination can be made" (Mezirow, 2000, p. 13). Bracketing my
assumptions and bias about holistic education, intuition, and contemplative practice
facilitated a shift in my thinking. Some of those assumptions noted previously include my
belief that intuitive knowing is easily available if contemplative practice was included in
higher education (through course options, as outside activities, woven throughout
curriculum). I also believed that encouraging students to trust that intuitive voice was always
in their best interest, not taking into consideration their developmental readiness. This led
me to what Mezirow (2000) refers to as "epochal, a sudden, dramatic, reorienting insight, or
incremental, involving a progressive series of transformations in related points of view that
culminate in a transformation in habit or mind" (p. 21).

As mentioned, two concepts surfaced as relevant to connecting contemplative
practice, intuition/tacit knowing, calls. These two concepts were Jack Mezirow' s
disorienting dilemma, and William Perry's developmental scheme which outlines phases of
developmental readiness for undergraduates. These concepts, coupled with relevant trends in
higher education mentioned, changed my perspective on the broad topic of undergraduates
and following an intuitive call.

Developmental readiness. The concept of developmental readiness was brought into
question during my research and supported by Perry's (1999) developmental scheme. Using

98

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

a Checklist of Educational Views (CLEV), he conducted research in the 1950s at Harvard
University to determine nine developmental positions that undergraduates can be classified
within. Each position relates to the student's self authorship or ability to critically analyze
and follow their best decision making, thinking, and unique ways of knowing. Most
undergraduate students' developmental readiness can be placed in positions three through
six. In this range a student may understand the concept of conflicting ideas or uncertainty
but relies on outer authority to sort out the uncertainty. In this range, students may be
starting to trust their inner authority or connect with a personal commitment. Perry explains:
The commitment we are talking about is of a special form. We have called it a
personal commitment in a relative world. By this we mean to distinguish it from
commitments which have been taken for granted to the extent that they have never
been questioned, never compared to alternatives which could be "thinkable" to the
self. . . .In religious life the distinction has long been familiar as the difference between
simple belief and faith. Belief may come from one's culture, one's parents, one's
habit; faith is an affirmation by the person. Faith can exist only after the realization
of the possibility of doubt. We shall have more to say about the realization of the
relation of religion to the intellectual and emotional growth of our students. We are
concerned now with their experience of commitment as we have defined it. . . .Our
students experience all such commitments as affirmations of themselves. Many of
our students use the terms of existential philosophy in describing them, though most
do so apologetically, knowing the ease with which the jargon can take over. The
feeling they describe is one of some decision, some choice among actions, values, or

99

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

meaning which comes from themselves and defines them as individuals. (Perry,
1999, p. 38-39)

In terms of my research, it might be that student positioned in the lower schematic
levels may not have the developmental readiness to follow their own inner authority or
develop and follow a personal commitment (intuitive call). Perry (1999) frames
developmental readiness around intellect, comparing a student's decision to take
responsibility for inner authority to "an ultimate spiritual choice" (p. 107). They may readily
accept the external authority (professors, parents, supervisors) and ignore or silence their own
best inner thinking and knowing. As can be seen from my personal experience, I readily
repressed a strong call as soon as someone of authority, my advisor, questioned it. KT on the
other hand seems to take the advice of an inner authority. It may have been that the
disorienting dilemma she was experiencing allowed her to challenge outer over inner
authority. From her writings, this seems true.

Disorienting dilemmas. I present the concept of disorienting dilemmas in the
context of brain activity as it relates to contemplative practice as well as intuitive knowing.
As discussed in the background chapter, the frontal lobe of the brain is influenced by the type
of contemplative practice KT described. One of the responsibilities of the frontal lobe is to
judge and analyze thus potentially interfering with one's ability to process intuitive
messages. KT's journal writing is an example of relaxing the activity of the frontal lobe,
allowing her intuition to influence the right temporal lobe. Results from functional magnetic
resonant imaging (fMRI) suggest that the right temporal lobe is activated when an individual

100

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

is experiencing an intuitive message (Volz & Cramon, 2006). This is also the area of the
brain influenced by negative emotions. Therefore, the right temporal lobe is active during
disorienting dilemmas as well as intuitive calls. Some contemplative practices (for example,
KT's journal writing) quiet the judgmental frontal lobe allowing the right temporal lobe to be
more active. A less engaged frontal lobe, combined with a more active right temporal lobe
may allow the inner authority or intuitive call to be heard.

An undergraduate's experience with heuristic research: A case study. I separated
out and reviewed my interviews with KT along with her journal writings. I found some
similarities as well as differences from the review of the data as a whole. There were two
universal themes throughout the data. The first was the experience that stressful, tense, or
disorienting dilemmas were motivational in listening to intuitive knowledge or calls. The
second theme related to the developmental readiness of the individual in acknowledging and
following intuitive messages. KT's disorienting dilemmas were her brother's illness
(described as issues of transience or mortality by KT) and her conflict with the transient
nature of friendships during her first two years of college. KT stated that both these were
influential in strengthening her ability and choice to follow her inner voice.

There were unique ways in which KT described processing this inner voice. KT's
use of dreams to help her give voice to tension, or turbulence as she described it, did not
come through as a universal theme in the data as a whole. However, dreams have been used
in many cultures throughout time as ways to process deep unresolved issues (Jung, 1964).
KT also described journal writing as contemplative, a way to process and resolve such
turbulence.

101

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

KT referred to the importance of balance in being able to respond to intuitive calls.
She wrote about the balance of head and heart, of having one foot in the inner world and one
food in the outer world. She describes this balance as her "unchanging part" (Interview
March 6). Along with journal writing, she wrote about how poetry and acting had been
important ways in which she honors her inner world.

I learned from KT's interviews and journals that intuitive calls are a process. I had
always thought of calls as single moments in time. Witnessing KT's involvement in a deep
disorienting dilemma, and her speaking and writing about it, allowed a transformational shift
in how I viewed intuitive calls. KT's work suggested to me that an intuitive call may be
more easily followed when an individual is developmentally ready to resolve the tension
which often accompanies an inner call. Although the particulars of KT's experience were
unique to her, the nature of coupling a disorienting dilemma with shifts in a life direction
appears universal.

KT also referred to journal writing as a contemplative practice. The question can be
raised about whether or not such a practiced allowed her to process instead of repress the
feelings being raised by the "turbulence" in her life. She expressed that it did. Journal
writing may have quieted KT's judgmental frontal lobe, while the disorienting dilemmas she
experienced stimulated her right temporal lobe, allowing intuitive calls to be processed.

The greatest lesson I learned from KT's involvement in this study was the reminder
that following an intuitive call is a process. It is not a single life episode. She demonstrated
integrating a personal contemplative practice (such as journal writing) allows a dialogue
between the inner and outer worlds; and this dialogue creates a balance in one's life. For KT,
when this balance exists she listens to and follows what truly matters to her. She follows her

102

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

inner authority. KT has been an inspirational co-researcher. Witnessing her journey, I
wonder how my undergraduate experience, including the denial of a call, would have been
different? I wonder if I'd engaged in a contemplative practice, or other way of exploring my
intuitive nature, whether I might have followed my internal authority (to study psychology
and philosophy) over external pressures (to declare a major with 'good' job potential).

Research Limitations

Several limitations to this research should be discussed. First, the heuristic research process
is by nature very subjective. The researcher is focusing on a personal phenomenon of
interest. To counter this as much as possible steps were taken to bracket biases and to
triangulate the data.

Although of personal interest, the data suggests the universal nature of intuitive calls.
However, my data was gathered from individuals interested in the topic of calls. Individuals
whose data was used were selective versus random. In fact much of the data came from
individuals' corresponding to Gregg Levoy about his book, Callings: Finding and Following
an Authentic Life. Although my interest revolved around undergraduates and their
experience of finding and following a call, only 6 of the 300 plus individuals who wrote to
Levoy self-identified as college students. If my question focused on any type of
transformative experience, including entering college, the findings would not have changed,
but in so limiting it to a specific life experience, the outcome is diluted.

I purposely chose to work with only one student. Initially this decision was based on
my focus of the undergraduate experience which is thirty years past for me. I wanted a fresh
lens, and to see if that lens differed from mine of so many years ago. This limits my ability

103

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

to generalize the findings to all undergraduates. Inviting other students into the process
would have also taken away from the very nature of heuristic research which is to focus on
the self. However the hundreds of emails and letters to Levoy served to verify the universal
nature of calls, and to expand the lens allowing me to see the importance of developmental
readiness and disorienting dilemmas in following a call regardless of the disorienting
dilemma (crossroads in life including entering college).

The final limitation was in the case study, which examined the experience of an
undergraduate student at Lesley College. Lesley College attracts student interested in self-
reflection and personal growth. Although this is important to consider when reviewing the
results, studies cited (Astin, 2004; Higher Education Research Institute, 2004) suggest that
across all majors and disciplines undergraduate students want an opportunity to explore their
personal as well as intellectual potentials.

104

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Creative Synthesis Phase of Heuristic Research

Heuristic research concludes with a creative synthesis project. This synthesis is a creative
representation of the researchers' experience of the research process. Both KT and I took the
opportunity to finalize our research by independently engaging in this final phase of heuristic
research. I created a visual narrative, KT a metaphorical myth. It allowed us to express our
unique ways of finding closure and confirms the importance of a holistic pedagogy -
allowing individualism in the making meaning process. See Appendix D and E for
researchers' creative synthesis projects.

105

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Conclusion

Studies suggest that undergraduate students are interested in exploring issues such as
spirituality (HERI, 2004; Lindholm, Goldberg & Calderone, 2006), contemplative practice
integration into curriculum (Holland, 2006; Sabath, 2006), and that they are developmentally
ready, or approaching a readiness, to utilize an inner authority to follow a personal
commitment (Perry, 1999) or call. Incorporating contemplative practice and intuitive calls
into learning is foundational to holistic education. Contemplative practice and intuition
impact brain activity. Negative emotions or disorienting dilemmas also influence brain
activity. In considering ways of connecting undergraduates to their call, I feel it important to
acknowledge cognitive, or neurological, changes and activities. Ways in which
contemplative practice (for example, meditation, journal writing, yoga, being in nature,
praying), intuitive calls, and disorienting dilemmas interact in the brain point to an important
step in enhancing the undergraduate experience.

As noted above, existing studies suggest the need to incorporate spirituality and
contemplative practices into higher education; my research added another dimension.
Attention should be paid to the developmental readiness of college students and their ability
to trust themselves and engage in a sense of personal commitment or intuitive calls. The
work of William Perry might be used as a model for coupling the developmental readiness of
students to trust their own best ways of knowing while incorporating contemplative practice
into the undergraduate experience. In addition, disorienting dilemmas or stressful situations,
including the experience of being in college, can be important components in moving
through suggested developmental stages (Perry, 1999) towards greater self reliance and self
authorship. Observing the impact that these two components (incorporating contemplative

106

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

practice and addressing disorienting dilemmas) have on students' developmental readiness
and ability to follow intuitive calls, without compromising intellectual rigor, could create
greater satisfaction and outcomes for undergraduates.

A pedagogical shift towards holistic education is not without strong barriers. The
trend in higher education towards "knowledge factories" (Aronowitz, 2000) versus "learning
organizations" (Bok, 2006) is prevalent. As Raelin (2007) suggests, "Perhaps the most
recognized trend in college education in the United States has been the decline in the liberal
arts, which purportedly prepare students for more moral and civic participation in society" (p.
51). This author supports linking theory with practice to promote a more meaningful
undergraduate experience.

There is a difference between integration of theory and practice, or experiential
learning, and the learning-to-earn model of higher education. Experiential learning is meant
to help students explore issues of personal growth such as intuitive calls. According to
Goyette and Mullen (2006), "Training in the liberal arts is believed to strengthen a student's
character and to develop qualities such as reason, judgment, and a sense of social obligation"
(p. 498). Learning-to-earn strips curriculum of the personal and focuses on learning for the
sake of job creation, regardless of the personal commitment, or lack thereof, a student may
feel for the work.

The case study of KT's experience encapsulates the findings from the
phenomenological approach. KT's willingness to engage in the self exploration
demonstrated the power of integrating contemplative practice during a disorienting dilemma
of immense significance, and the experience allowed her to attend to what she describes as
her inner self (intuitive call). She suggests that this made all the difference in the meaning

107

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

she made of the experience and her own developmental growth. Witnessing KT's process
(through interviews, meetings, journals, traveling to North Carolina to meet Gregg Levoy)
solidified my belief in the importance of integrating contemplative practice (in coursework,
through extra curricula activities, or woven throughout curricula). Educators understand the
importance of strong cognitive engagement. However, focusing on just this one way of
constructing knowledge and learning may limit a students' potential.

Holistic education would engage all parts of the student - body, brain, mind, and
spirit. Brain studies show that the left temporal lobe is engaged when logic and reason is
engaged, but we often ignore the right temporal lobe where creativity and intuition function.
This right temporal lobe is also where disorienting dilemmas, or negative emotions, get
processed. As educators, we can encourage contemplative practices to quiet the judgmental
frontal lobe and help students address stressful, disorienting dilemmas in the classroom thus
activating the intuitive part of the brain. It may be that calls can then be heard, and as
students become more developmental sophisticated, followed.

I acknowledge the complicated picture this research has drawn, and delight in the
possibilities it presents. Complications include the semantic confusion around topics such as
intuitive calls and contemplative practices. Contemplative practices can include spirituality,
being in nature, meditation, journal writing, playing music, praying, writing poetry and any
number of any activities which access an individuals' inner ways of knowing. Ways of
knowing also become open to various interpretations when terms such as tacit knowing,
intuitive knowing, and somatic or embodied knowing, just to name a few, overlap. My
decision to include brain studies further complicated the picture, but in a discourse on higher
education and intuitive calls it was essential. Adding to this multifaceted study,

108

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

developmental readiness and disorienting dilemmas surfaced as key components. My
research started out exploring the influence of contemplative practice and intuition on calls,
but ended by looking at contemplative practice, developmental readiness, and disorienting
dilemmas - their influence on each other and on undergraduates' access to intuitive calls
hopefully leading to more meaningful experiences and outcomes.

Methodological limitations add to this complicated picture. These limitations are
fully described in the results chapter. They include the inherent subjective nature of heuristic
research, selected versus random data, and backyard (Lesley College student) case study
data. About subjectivity Glesne (2006) writes:

Monitoring subjectivity is not synonymous with controlling for subjectivity, in the
sense of trying to keep it out of your work. When monitoring your subjectivity, you
increase your awareness of the ways it might distort, but you also increase your
awareness of its virtuous capacity. You learn more about your own values, attitudes,
beliefs, interests, and needs. You learn that your subjectivity is the basis for the story
you are able to tell. It is the strength you build on. (p. 123).
In writing about random versus non-random research subject sampling, Berg (2007)
describes convenience samples which "relies on available subjects - those who are close at
hand or easily accessible" (p. 43). Berg goes on to caution the use of such sampling, but
acknowledges its value in some situations.

The final complicating factor, backyard research, must also be considered. Glesne
(2006) states that "many researchers are drawn to studying their own institution or agency, to
doing backyard research" (p. 31). She discourages this population as it presents problems
such as researcher role confusion, ethical and political dilemmas, and difficulties with closure

109

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

of the study. However, if these problems are addressed, Glesne believes "backyard research
can be extremely valuable" (p. 33).

Implications for Future Studies

The evidence seems clear that higher education is moving in a direction of increased career
building. What is less obvious is the impact this trend has on undergraduates' interest and
pursuit of personal questions. My research lends support to other studies that suggest the
importance of such pursuits. My interest is the integration of contemplative practices into
higher education. It takes the question of this integration one step further by looking at one
possible outcome of contemplative practices for undergraduates. That step is whether or not
such integration provides the environment to allow students to hear an intuitive call. The
missing variables in my work were twofold. First how developmentally ready a student is to
listen to their inner authority, and second that disorienting dilemmas might motivate a student
towards following that inner voice. Undergraduates are well positioned to hear that voice,
which might strengthen all aspects of the college experience. As noted in the Higher
Education Research Institute (2004) significant study:

Given the broad formative roles that colleges and universities play in our society,
higher education represents a critical focal point for responding to the question of
how we can balance the 'exterior' and 'interior' aspects of our lives more effectively.
(P- 2)

Before moving into the question of balancing our 'exterior' and 'interior' life aspects, we
need to understand what is meant by 'interior'. Terms such as interior lives, contemplative

110

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

practice, spirituality, intuition, calls, self authority, and inner authority become confusing.
The semantics involved can take away from the value of the research. Although each
researcher has the responsibility for operationalizing such concepts, inconsistencies in
terminology can dilute individual study outcomes. Therefore, I encourage research that will
minimize this diluting effect, because research into such topics as spirituality, contemplative
practice, and intuitive calls all have the same intention - finding ways to enrich and
strengthen the undergraduate experience. Fragmentation experienced from inconsistent
language minimizes the impact they might have collectively.

For a larger phenomenological mixed method study, I can imagine using Perry's
(1999) Checklist of Educational Views (CLEV), or similar tool, to determine developmental
readiness of students, coupled with a contemplative practice experiential component. The
CLEV could be given pre and post introduction of the contemplative practice. This may
provide information about contemplative practice and its role in shifting students towards
greater self-authorship and personal commitment {intuitive call). This would not address the
concept of a motivating disorienting dilemma, but that information might surface through the
CLEV as well, or a series of additional questions could be included to capture that
information.

The case study in my research was particularly relevant to the heuristic process.
Similar follow up case studies could be pulled from the larger phenomenological study. I
was able to use the single case study as a snapshot of the results found in the
phenomenological data, and that data supported the importance the case study findings.
Those findings contributed the missing variables to factor into my question - the importance

111

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

of developmental readiness and a motivating disorienting dilemma in order to hear and
follow an authentic, intuitive call.

112

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Summary

Complicating factors and study limitation do not detract from my findings. Those findings
include the importance of including the issues of developmental readiness and disorienting
dilemmas in the discourse on the undergraduate exploration of personal quests such as
spirituality and intuition calls. In fact, the Higher Education Research Institute (2004) study
supports the need for including self-exploration into the college experience. Of the 236
diverse schools, with 1 12,232 students responding, more than three quarters surveyed stated
they are looking for encouragement for such self exploration. Other studies indicate
successful outcomes where contemplative practice has been incorporated into a college or
university (Holland, 2006; Sarath, 2006; Subbiondo, 2005). Spirituality and contemplative
practice in higher education are used interchangeably in the literature. The many ways of
describing such practices should not interfere with a universal acceptance of its importance to
positive outcomes for our students.

This research was driven by a personal recurring life theme about calls. As an
undergraduate I heard and rejected a call. As is the nature of true calls, it resurfaced again
and again. This research is the result of my immersion in that call. I am dedicated to the
following of calls, to engaging students in practices which might allow them to develop
strong internal authorities. The stronger the internal authority, the more likely a call will be
followed. As to why this matters, Levoy (1997) writes:

Passion is a state of love, and hunger. It is also a state of enthusiasm, which means to
be possessed by a god or a goddess, by a Wild Thing. One could be possessed by the
god of poetry or the goddess of animals, the god of commerce or the goddess of home

113

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

and hearth. It we imagine that calls issue from the gods, then we are as close as we
ever get to them - the calls and the gods - when we are enthusiastic. We move
toward a kind of divine presence because, through our passions, we are utterly
present. We are utterly charged and focused. We are oblivious, we forget ourselves,
our troubles, our day-to-day living-on-Mulberry- Street lives. We hitch ourselves to
something bigger, (p. 66)

114

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

References

Aftanas, L. & Golosheikine, S. (2005). Impact of regular meditation practice on EEG activity

at rest and during evolved negative emotions. International Journal ofNeuroscience,

115, 893-899
Anderson, R. (2002). Intuitive inquiry: Interpreting objective and subjective data. ReVision:

Journal of Consciousness and Transformation, 22(4), 31-39.
Andrews, J. (2006). How can we resist corporatization. Academe, 92(3), 16-19.
Aronowitz, S. (2000). The knowledge factory: Dismantling the corporate university and

creating true higher education. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
Askeland, G. & Payne, M. (2006). The post-modern student: Piloting through

uncertainty. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 26(3/4) 167-179.
Astin, A. (2004). Why spirituality deserves a central place in liberal education. Liberal

Education, 90(2), 34-41.
Bain, M. (2006). The female brain. Newsweek, 148(5), 46-47.
Becker, A. (2009). Ethical considerations of teaching spirituality in the academy.

Nursing Ethics, 16(6), 676-706.
Berg, B. (2007). Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences. Boston, MA:

Pearson Education, Inc.
Birgerstam, P. (2002). Intuition - the way to meaningful knowledge. Studies in Higher

Education, 27(4), 431-444.
Bishop, S. (2002). What do we really know about mindfulness-based stress reduction?

Psychosomatic Medicine, 64, 71-84.
Bok, D. (2006). Our underachieving colleges. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

115

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Braud, W. & Anderson, R. (1998). Transpersonal research methods for the social sciences:

Honoring human experience. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Brint, S., Riddle, M., Turk-Bicakci, L., & Levy, C. (2005). From the liberal to the practical

arts in American colleges and universities: Organizational analysis and curricular

change. The Journal of Higher Education, 76(2), 151-180.
Brizendine, L. (2006). The female brain. New York, NY: Morgan Road Books.
Bryant, A. (2006). Gender differences in spiritual development during the college years. Sex

Roles, 55(11/12), 835-846.
Cahn, B. & Polich, J. (2006). Meditation states and traits: EEG, ERP, and neuroimaging

studies. Psychological Bulletin, 132(2), 180-211.
Cohen, A. (1998). The shaping of American higher education: Emergence and growth of the

contemporary system. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Creswell, J. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five

traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Davidson, R., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosendranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S., et

al. (2003). Alternations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness

meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine, 66, 564-570.
Davis-Maniaulte, J., Yorks, L., & Kasl, E. (2006). Expressive ways of knowing and

transformative learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 109,

27-36.
de Laszlo, V. E. (1990). The basic writings of CarlJung. (R.F.C. Hull, Trans.) Princeton, NJ:

Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1959)
Defining Holistic Education. Retrieved from http://cs.senecac.on.ca/-cabrown/introl.html.

116

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Denzin, N. (1989). Interpretive biography. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Denzin, N. & Lincoln, Y. (Eds.) (2005). The Sage handbook of qualitative research.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc
Dirkx, J. (2006). Engaging emotions in adult learning: A Jungian perspective on emotion and

transformative learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 109,

15-25. Retrieved from htpp://www.interscience. wiley.com.
Deckro, G., Ballinger, K., Hoyt, M, Wilcher, M, Dusek, J., Myers, P., et al. (2002. The

evaluation of a mind/body intervention to reduce psychology distress and perceived

stress in college students. Journal of American College Health, 50, 281-287.
Doe, W. (2005). My soulful college quest. Spirituality in Higher Education, 2(3), 1-5.
Doidge, N. (2007). The brain that changes itself. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
Douglas, F. (2006). Meditations on the brain. Scientific American Mind, 17, 42-43.
Etherington, K. (2004). Becoming a reflexive searcher: Using our selves in research.

Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Forbes,S. (2004, September). What holistic education claims about itself : An analysis of

holistic schools ' literature. Paper presented at the American Education Research

Association Annual Conference, San Diego, CA.
Forbes, S. H., & Martin, R. A. (2004). What holistic education claims about itself: An

analysis of holistic schools literature. Paper presented at the American Education

Research Association.
Freeland, R. (2004, October). The third way. The Atlantic Monthly, \A\-\A1 .
Gendlin, E. (1962). Experiencing and the creation of meaning. Chicago, IL: Free Press.
Gendlin, E. (1981). Focusing. New York, NY: Bantam Books.

117

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Geyer, G. (2006). Six facts about how the brain learns. Unpublished manuscript.

Cambridge, MA: Brainergy - Optimal Learning: Optimal Living.
Glesne, C. (2006). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction. Boston, MA: Allyn

and Bacon.
Goleman, D. (2005). Emotional intelligence: why it can matter more than IQ. New York:

Bantam Books.
Goyette, K. & Mallen, A. (2006). Who studies the arts and sciences? Social background

and the choice and consequences of undergraduate education. The Journal of

Higher Education, 77(3), 497-538.
Grabinski, C. (2005). Environments for development. New Directions for Adult and

Continuing Education, 108, 79-89. Retrieved from

http://www.interscience.wiley.com.
Grossman, R. (2008). Structures for facilitating student reflection. College Teaching,

57(1), 15-22.
Hart, T. (2004). Opening the contemplative mind in the classroom. Journal of

Transformative Education, 2(1), 28-46.
Hayman, J., Kurpius, S., Befort, C, Nicpon, M., Hull-Blanks, E., Sollenberger, S., and

Huser, L. (2007). Spirituality among college freshmen: Relationships to self-esteem,

body image, and stress. Counseling and Values, 52, 55-70.
Higher Education Research Institute. (2004). The spiritual life of college students: A

national study of college student's search for meaning and purpose. Graduate

School of Education & Information Studies, University of California. Los Angeles:

CA.

118

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Holland, D. (2006). Contemplative education in unexpected places: Teaching mindfulness in

Arkansas and Austria. Teachers College Record, 108(9), 1842-1861.
Husserl, E. (2008). Logical Investigations. (Findlay, J.N., Trans.). Abintdon, Oxan: Routedge

(Original work published 1900/1901; first published in English 1970)
Husserl, E. (1999). Cartesian meditations: An introduction to phenomenology. (Cairns, D.,

Trans.). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers (Original work

published 1950)
Ignelzi, M. (2000). Meaning-making in the learning and teaching process. New Directions for

Teaching and Learning, 82, 5-14. Retrieved from http://www.wiley.com.

Jossey-Bass reader on the brain and learning. (2008). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-

Bass.
Jung, C. (1964). Man and his symbols. London: Dell Publishers.
Jung, C. (1971). Psychological types. (R.F.C. Hull, Trans.) Princeton, NJ: Princeton

University Press. (Original work published 1921)
Kabat-Zinn, J., Massion, A., Kristeller, J., Peterson, L., Fletcher, K., Pbert, L., et al. (1992).

Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of

anxiety disorders. American Journal oj Psychiatry, 149, 179-176.
Kail, R., Cavanaugh, J. (2000). Human development: A lifespan view. Belmont, CA:

Thomson Learning.
Kegan, R. (1980, January). Making meaning: The constructive-developmental approach to

persons and practice. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 373-380.
Keller, E. (1983). A feeling for the organism: The life and work of Barbara McClintock. New

York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, LLC.

119

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Kezar, A. (2005, Fall). What do we mean by learning in the context of higher education?

New Directions for Higher Education, 49-59. Retrieved from http:// www. wiley.com .
Kirschenbaum, H.& Jourdan, A. (2005). The current status of Carl Rogers and the person-
centered approach. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 42(1), 37-

51.
Klagsbrun, J. (2006, October). Focusing: An evidenced-based method for increasing

effectiveness in psychotherapy and coaching. Paper presented at the Massachusetts

School of Professional Psychology Workshop, Boston, MA
Kronman, A. (2007). Education's end: Why our colleges and universities have given up on

the meaning of life. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Levoy, G. (1997). Callings: Finding and following an authentic life. New York, NY: Three

Rivers Press.
Lieberman, M. E. (2000). Intuition: A social cognitive neuroscience approach. Psychological

Bulletin, 126(1), 109-138.
Lindholm, J. (2006). The interior lives of American college students: Preliminary finds from

a national study. In J.L. Heft (Ed.) Passing on the Faith: Transforming Traditions

for the Next Generation of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, (p. 75-102). New York,

NY: Fordham University Press.
Lindholm, J. (2007). Spirituality in the academy: Reintegrating our lives and the lives of our

students. Retrieved September 19, 2009 from Wiley InterScience:

http://www.interscience.wiley.com.
Lindholm, J., Goldberg, R., & Calderone, S. (2006). The spiritual questing of professional

career aspirants. Seattle Journal for Social Justice, 4(2), 509-560.

120

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Luders, E., Toga, A., Lepare, N., & Gaser, C. (2009). The underlying anatomical correlates

of long-term meditators: Larger hippocampal and frontal volumes of gray matter.

Neurolmage, 45(3), 612-61%.
Lupien, S., McEwen, B., Gunnar, M., & Heim, C. (2009). Effects of stress throughout the

lifespan on the brain, behaviour and cognition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(6),

434-445.
Lutz, A., Greischar, L., Rawlings, N., Ricard, M., & Davidson, R. (2004). Long-term

meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,

Retrieved from http://www. pnas.org/cgi/content/full/10 1/46/1 6369 .
Majumdar, M, Grossman, P., Dietz, B., Waschkowski, B., Kersig, S., & Walach, H. (2002).

Does mindfulness meditation contribute to health? Outcome evaluation of a German

sample. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 8(6), 719-730.
Malhi, I. (2007). The psychological and neurophysiological concomitants of mindfulness

forms of meditation. Acta Nearopsychiatrica, 19, 76-91.
Maslow, A. (1999). Towards a psychology of being. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons,

Inc.
McFarland, M. (2006, Fall). Other ways of knowing and liberal education. Liberal

Education, 60-62.
Meissner, J. & Pirot, M. (1983). Unbiasing the brain: The effects of meditation upon the

cerebral hemispheres. Social Behavior and Personality, 11(1), 65-76.
Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in

progress. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

121

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Miller, R. (1995). What are schools for? Holistic education in American culture.

Branton,VT: Holistic Education Press.
Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE

Publications.
Moustakas, C. (1990). Heuristic research: Design, methodology, and applications. Newbury

Park, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Nash, R. & Saurman, K. (1978, October). Learning to earn is not learning to live: Student

development educators as meaning makers. Personnel and Guidance Journal,

84-89.
Nisbett, R. E. (2003). The geography of thought: How Asians and Westerners think

differently and why? New York, NY: Free Press.
Orme- Johnson, D., Alexander, C, & Hawkins, M. (2005). Critique of the National Research

Council's Report on meditation. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, (17),

383-414.
Osho. (2001). Intuition, knowing beyond logic. New York, NY: St. Martins Griffin.
Ozdemire, P., Giineysu, S., & Tekkaya, C. (2006). Enhancing learning through multiple

intelligences. Journal of Biological Education, 40(2), 1A-1%.
Palmer, P. J. (2004). A hidden wholeness: The journey toward an undivided life. San

Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Patton, M. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE

Publications, Inc.
Perry, W. (1999). Forms of ethical and intellectual development in the college years: A

scheme. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

122

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Polanyi, M. (1962). Personal knowledge: Towards a post-critical philosophy . Chicago, IL:

The University of Chicago Press.
Polanyi, M. (1966). The tacit dimension. Garden City, NJ: Doubleday & Company, Inc.
Polanyi, M. (1969). Knowing and being. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
Raelin, J. (2007). The return of practice to higher education: Resolution of a paradox. The

Journal of General Education, 56(1), 57-77.
Raju, P. (1952). Intuition as a philosophical method in India. Philosophy East and West, 2(3),

187-207.
Ribbins, J. & Edwards, R. (Eds.). (1998). Feminist dilemmas in qualitative research: Public

knowledge and private lives. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
Rogers, C. (1980). A way of being. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Roubach, M. (2004). Meaning, phenomenology, and being. Inquiry, 47, 189-199.
Sanchez, C. (2007). Husserl's way to authentic being. Human Studies, 30, 377-393.
Sarath, E. (2006). Meditation, creativity, and consciousness: Charting future terrain within

higher education. Teachers College Record, 108(9), 1816-1841.
Schulz, M. L. (1998). Awakening intuition. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press.
Schulz, M. L. (2005). The new feminine brain: How women can develop their inner

strengths, genius, and intuition. New York, NY: Free Press.
Schulz, M. L. (2007). Your intuitive brain and medical intuition. Cape Cod, MA: Cape Cod

Institute.
Schwartz, L. (2007). The undergraduate quest for meaning, purpose, and faith: An

interview with Sharon Daloz Parks. The National Study of College Students '

Search for Meaning and Purpose. 4(1) 1-7.

123

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Sela-Smith, S. (2002). Heuristic research: A review and critique of Moustaka's method.

Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 42, 53-88.
Shenk, D. (1997). Data smog: Surviving the information glut. San Francisco, CA: Harper

Edge.
Siegel, D. (2010). Mindsight: The new science of personal transformation. New York, NY:

Bantam Books.
Stowell, J., Hedges, D., Ghambaryan, A., Key, C, & Bloch, G. (2009). Validation of the

Symptoms of Illness Checklist (SIC) as a tool for health psychology research.

Journal of Health Psychology, 14, 68-77.
Subbiondo, J. (2005). An approach to integral education: A case for spirituality in higher

education. ReVision, 28(2), 18-23.
Telles, J. (2000). Biographical connections: experiences as sources of legitimate knowledge

in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education,

13(3), 251-262.
Travis, F. & Arenander, A. (2006). Cross-sectional and longitudinal study of effects of

transcendental meditation practice on interhemispheric frontal asymmetry and frontal

coherence. International Journal of Neuroscience , 116, 1519-1538.
Turner, S., Gibson, N, Bennetts, C, & Hunt, C. (2008). Learning from experience:

examining the impact of client work upon two trainee therapists. Counseling and

Psychotherapy Research, 5(3), 174-181.
Viadero, D. (2004). Researchers explore ways to lower students stress. Education Week,

23(38), 8.

124

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Volz, K.,& Cramon, Y. (2006). What neuroscience can tell us about intuitive processes in the

context of perceptual discovery. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 75(12), 2077-

2087.
Wallace, B. (2007). Contemplative science: Where Buddhism and neuroscience converge.

New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
Walter, P. (2001). The restructuring of academia. Adult Education Quarterly. 52(1),

70-77.
Watford, M. (2008). Bereavement of spousal suicide: A reflective self-exploration.

Qualitative Inquiry, 14(3), 335-359.
Welton, D. (Ed.) (1999). The essential Husserl: Basic writings in transcendental

phenomenology. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Wilber, K. (2007). A brief history of everything. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Zahavi, D. (2004). Husserl's noema and the internalism and externalism debate. Inquiry,

(40), 42-66.
Zajonc, A. (2003). Spirituality in higher education: Overcoming the divide. Liberal

Education, 89(1), 50-59.

125

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Appendixes

126

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Appendix A: Internal Review Board Proposal

IRB use only:

XM XR

FR

CF Rev

App

NA #:

Chair Init

DF Init

Date:

2007-2008
Application for Review of Human Subjects Research

Date Submitted : March 25, 2009

Application for: (X) Exemption from IRB Review Expedited Review Full Review

Lead Researcher *: Name, Address, Phone, E-mail

Jan Wall, 3 Crescent Hill Ave., Arlington, MA 02474

781-646-4952

jwall2@lesley.edu

Faculty Supervisor* (only if student researcher): Name, Address, Phone, E-mail

Anne Pluto, Lesley College, 617-349-8948, apluto@lesley.edu
* Faculty Supervisor is the official Principal Investigator under Federal Regulations
Investigator(s) status - check all that apply:

Faculty Staff (X) Graduate student Undergraduate

Title of the Project: This is Your Brain on Intuition: Listen
Proposed Project Dates: Summer 2009

Type of Project: Faculty research (X) Thesis/Dissertation Independent Study

Other (please describe)

1 . 1 Briefly describe the purpose of the study: To explore the connection of the intellect with
the intuition, experientially and through existing research on relevant neuroscience
(right/left brain hemisphere activity), on learning and meaning-making for college
students.

1.2 Provide the number of adults, and the number and ages of minors: 1 Adults

1.3 Briefly describe the project design (e.g., experimental, ethnographic, etc.): Mix of
Phenomenological, Case Study, Heuristic Research

1.4 Indicate whether the study involves any of the following:

(X) Case Study Experimental intervention Task performance

Educational tests Standard psychological tests Survey or questionnaire

(X) Interviews Observations (X) Analysis of existing data

1.5 How will subjects be recruited? Only 1 subject — student in one of my previous classes
(Intuition, Imagination & Creativity) who scored exceptionally high on Meyers-Briggs
Type Indicator for Intuition, self-identifies as bridging various ways of knowing, and has
indicated strong interest in exploring her own meaning-making of the college experience
and my research topic. It is highly unlikely that she will be in other classes that I teach.

1.6 Do subjects risk any stress or harm by participating in this research? If so, why are they
necessary. How will they be assessed? What safeguards minimize the risks? [It is not
necessary to eliminate all risks, only to be clear and explicit about what the risks may be.
The IRB is alert to any tendency to suggest that risks are lower than they may actually be.]
No stress or harm by participating in this research.

127

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

1.7 Describe the data that will be collected:
Interviews with the student

Reflective journals by student and researcher

Also author of 'Calling: Finding an Authentic Life", Gregg Levoy, is willing to share
letters he has received front readers that may relate to this topic. All identifying markers
will be removed from the letters.

1.8 Describe the steps to be taken to respect subject's rights and expectations of privacy,
confidentiality and anonymity: The student's name will be changed, and several
identifying factors (age, major, year in school) will be changed as well.

1.9 Will subjects' identities or private information be revealed if this study be reported
through publication or public presentation? No

If this application is seeking an exemption from IRB Review, please check the policy in the
Faculty Handbook. Please see the worksheet on the criteria for an exemption. If you believe
that the proposed research qualifies for an exemption, you may end the application here and
submit these two pages to the Committee through the Associate Provost in the Provost's
Office. You will be notified whether your application for exemption has been approved. If it
is not approved, you will be asked to complete the remaining sections of this application.

128

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Appendix B: Informed Consent Form

Informed Consent Form

Study Title: This is Your Brain on Intuition - Listen Primary Researcher: Jan Wall

Description of Experiment:

The intention of this research is to explore the use of intuition as a way of knowing. Intuition is being
defined as one of the four psychological types identified by Carl Jung - the others being thinking,
sensing, and feeling. Both co-researchers will engage with the text, Callings, by Greg Levoy and
record their objective and subjective impressions in a daily journal and/or directly within the text*. At
the end of the study, July 6, 2009, the student (co-researcher) will share her journal with the primary
researcher. The student agrees to five to six interviews with the primary researcher to discuss her (the
student's) experiences of: (1) engaging with the text, (2) intuition as a way of knowing/learning (as an
undergraduate), (2) any shifts or changes noticed as a result of participating in this project, and (4)
whatever information seems important to the discussions.

Taped interviews will take place over a period of three months, at a mutually agreed upon time and
place. The co-researcher understands she is not required to share her journal or any other information
if she chooses not to. She also understands that she may withdraw from the project at any time without
any consequences to her. All data collected, including tapes from interviews, will be kept in a secure
location (researcher's office).

*Heuristic Research is being considered as methodological approach to this research. Engaging with a
text is one approach to the first phase of this research method.

In order to participate in this research study, it is necessary that you give your informed consent.
By signing this informed consent form you are indicating that you understand the nature of the research study
and your role in that research and that you agree to participate in the research. Please consider the following
points before signing:

• I understand that I am participating in a research project.

• I understand that my participation will be anonymous (that is, my name will not be linked with my
data) and that all information I provide will remain confidential. If for some reason I do not wish to
remain anonymous, I will specifically authorize the use of material that would identify me as a co-
researcher in this project.

• I understand that I will be provided with an explanation of the research in which I participated and be
given the name and telephone number of an individual to contact if I have questions about the research.
In addition, I understand that I may contact a member of Lesley University's Internal Review Board if
I have questions concerning my rights as a participant in this research.

• I understand that participation in research is not required, is voluntary, and that, after the research
project has begun, I may refuse to participate further without penalty.

• I understand that there is no known risk/harm involved than that encountered ordinarily in daily life or
during performance of routine physical or psychological examinations or tests.

• I understand that I if I have any questions or concerns about the research process, or my involvement
in it, I can contact any, or all, of the following:

o Anne E. Pluto, Ph.D., Supervising Faculty, Lesley University, 33Mellen Street, Cambridge,

MA 02138; aplutoftf)leslev.edu , 617-349-8948
o Gene Diaz, Ph.D., Co-Chair of Internal Review Board, Lesley University, 29 Everett Street,

Cambridge, MA 02138, gdiaz(g)lesley.edu , 617-349-8426
o William Stokes, Ed.D., Co-Chair of Internal Review Board, Lesley University, School of

Education, Cambridge, MA 02138, wstokes(S)lesley.edu , 617-349-8408
o Nathaniel Mays, Ph.D., Dean of Student Life and Academic Development, Lesley University,

23 Mellen Street, Cambridge, MA; nmays(g)lesley.edu , 617-349-8408

129

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

By signing this form I am stating that I am over 1 8 years of age, and that I understand the above information
and consent to participate in this study being conducted.

Signature:

(of Co-Researcher)
Print your First Name:

Today's Date:

Print your Last Name:

Signature:

(of Researcher)
Print your First Name:

Today's Date:

Print your Last Name:

130

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Appendix C: Internal Review Board Letter of Approval

ESLEY

UNIVERSITY

Institutional Review Board

May 4, 2009

29 Everett Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel 617 349 8408
Fax 617 349 8599
wstokes@lesley. edu

Office of the Provost

To: Jan Wall

From: Gene Diaz, Co-chair Lesley IRB CyAx— f*
RE: Application for Exemption: This is n,our Brain

) Intuition: Listen

IRB Number: 4808

This memo is written on behalf of the Lesley University IRB to inform you that your

application for exemption has been approved. Your project poses no more than minimal risk

to participants.

If at any point you decide to amend your project, e.g., modification in design or in the

selection of subjects, you will need to file an amendment with the IRB and suspend further

data collection until approval is renewed.

If you experience any unexpected "adverse events" during your project you must inform the

IRB as soon as possible, and suspend the project until the matter is resolved.

Your work qualifies for exemption under provision:

46.101 (b) (2) Research involving the use of ... survey procedures, interview procedures or observation of

public behavior, unless :

(i) information obtained is recorded in such a manner that human subjects can be identified, directly or
through identifiers linked to the subjects; and

(ii) any disclosure of the human subjects' responses outside the research could reasonably place the subjects

at risk of criminal or civil liability or be damaging to the subjects' financial standing, employ ability, or
reputation.

Date of IRB Approval: May 4, 2009

131

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Appendix D: KT's Creative Synthesis

KT

June 9, 2010

The Harvest of the Sting

The Harvest of the Sting

The cohesion that exists within a person is most often never thought about. This is not
to suggest that human existence is in perfect order and harmony-but that is not until a
shattering of existence takes place that one then discovers "ah yes there was a cohesion, a
connective thread, that enabled me to go about my day." One discovers that there was a
silent, unnoticed whole that could be flexible and relative to diversity in context as well as a
solid sameness that was conducive to relationships, meaning making, and the opportunity for
empathy. However, it is simply expected, even demanded by those who know not a testing of
this kind of existence. It is the platform from which self definition springs from, it is the
reality of everyday consciousness.

But what happens when there does spring a shattering? When the cohesion rips open
like a thin piece of skin and out spills the raw and slimy organs; a new vision of humanity
and immortality at once. What does one do as they spill over vulnerability and despair that
others either watch their step for or get stuck in. What does one do to reunite unity, albeit a
new form?
For me-I write poems.

Shedding

In the dim arena of matter-
Couches, lamps, tables
Lies a strip of the world

A room that carries weight

Pounds of flesh, bone, cries, laughs,

And stillness

Silence

Nothing

Past is pulled forth with pictures and binds the

Unity of a family

When his chest expands it ticks like a clock
And sweet nectar air releases into the void
I swallow the vitality and store it for later-
When I am by myself, peeling back another day

132

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Television

Glaring and deceptive it mirrors the defenses of sadness and hunger for humor.
The colors dance outward at silence, coughing, blinking in waiting time
I will come to you if you promise what I need. Ok, I'll stay here. I can feel the sweet
numbing and plunge so willingly I scare myself.

Sun

I feel soft and fluid

I swim outside and am brave as a warrior

Defeat the worry, stomp the weakness

I look in the mirror and greet a child, unsullied and milky

There is a full house today and the candle is dense and warm

All present and no conflict

From these eyes

Mentor

She steadies the nerves, anxieties, and sadness within me. A wise and gentle protector she
holds the space to where I need and even stretches it out when she knows I am ready. She
will glide over the ruble and even dance between it. We see saw through contradictions and
float on emptiness. I felt myself revived as the clearness of day entered the room. She helped
me to reshape, a beautiful kind of broken.

133

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

Appendix E: Wall's Creative Synthesis

I created a collage. The first image (p. 135) is of the entire collage. Subsequent images (pp.
136-139) show details.

134

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

By A Thread

135

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

By A Thread: Detail #1

136

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

By A Thread: Detail #2.

137

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

By A Thread: Detail #3

138

Integrating Contemplative Practice into the Undergraduate Pursuit of Finding and Following an Intuitive Call I Wall 2010

By A Thread: Detail #4

139