Spiritual Grounding and Adult Education

Abstract

The author takes an autobiographical look at her practice as an adult educator who is concerned with spirituality. She begins with a discussion of three sources of inspiration for the spiritual life. The first case is the leaders of the Antigonish Movement, who were inspired by the Gospel to work at a local level to improve the lives of fishers and farmers. The second case is the Christian mystics, whose deep spiritual and prayer lives enabled them to challenge power and inequity. The third is the writing of Canadian naturalist Sharon Butala, who shares her spirituality of the land. The author then draws from these cases a set of principles and practices for adult education: the fluid use of language to be inclusive and open to the spirit, the practice of appreciative inquiry to inform research and teaching, and the cultivation of reflective practice to enable students to integrate the various aspects of their lives and work.