The first Living Wisdom™ School was founded in 1972 in California, and now there are six Living Wisdom Schools worldwide. Living Wisdom School™ is based on the Education for Life philosophy described by J. Donald Walters in his book, Education for Life: Preparing Children to Meet Life’s Challenges. This is a holistic, educational approach which balances mind and heart, and body and spirit.
The roots of the Education for Life system lie in the philosophy of Paramhansa Yogananda, author of the book, Autobiography of a Yogi. Yogananda emphasized the unity of all religions and their common purpose in helping people experience joy, love and peace. It is not dogmatic, but expansive and focused on the student’s own inner joy and peace. In an Education for Life classroom students learn to develop properly their will power and to value feeling, as well as to expand their intellectual development. It emphasizes experiential learning and practical skills for living such as concentration, self-awareness, self-discipline, and compassion. Children learn to work with emotions and moods, to nuture an inner life, to love the world of ideas, to ask questions and to be original thinkers.
In his book, Education for Life, J. Donald Walters says,” Primarily it is a system of education that will prepare children for meeting life’s challenges, not only to fit them for employment or for intellectual pursuits. It is also a way to see the whole of life, beyond years spent in school, as education.”
