-- *Mar*Below is a *complete, structured educational course* designed explicitly on the philosophical lines you advocate. This is not a conventional environmental studies course; it is an *experiential, emotionally grounded, anti-reductionist curriculum* meant to *restore sensing, belonging, and meaning* through direct relationship with free and healthy nature. ------------------------------ *Course Title**Emotional Expansionism & Ecological Intelligence: Learning with Living Nature* ------------------------------ *Course Level*
Undergraduate / Postgraduate / Lifelong Learning (Adaptable for Universities, Ashrams, Ecological Institutes, and Community Learning Centers) ------------------------------ *Course Philosophy* This course is founded on the premise that: - *Understanding expands through emotional and sensory participation*, not abstraction alone. - Humans are *organs of the Earth*, not external observers. - Mathematics, technology, and economics must *serve life*, not dominate it. - Education must reconnect learners to *free, untampered nature* to restore purpose. This course rejects purely classroom-based learning and emphasizes *direct biospheric engagement*. ------------------------------ *Course Duration* *One Academic Year (Two Semesters)* or *Six-Month Intensive Immersion* ------------------------------ *Core Learning Outcomes* By the end of the course, students will: 1. Develop *ecological emotional intelligence*. 2. Recover and refine the *five macro-senses* (Panchangams). 3. Understand the *limitations of Cartesian reductionism*. 4. Experience Earth as a *living macro-body (Gaia/Bhoodevi)*. 5. Critically evaluate *technology, economics, and education* from a life-centered perspective. 6. Practice *ethical restraint and ecological humility*. 7. Design practical interventions that protect *free nature*. ------------------------------ *Course Structure**Module 1: Emotional Expansion & the Living Earth* *Duration:* 4 weeks Themes - Emotional intelligence as ecological intelligence - Ageing as expansion, not decline - Earth as macro-body Practices - Silent forest sitting (daily) - Emotional journaling through sensing (no analysis) - Smell-mapping and sound-mapping of landscapes Readings - Upanishads (selected) - Arne Naess (Deep Ecology) - Y.M. Sarma (Selected essays) ------------------------------ *Module 2: The Five Senses as Languages of Nature* *Duration:* 5 weeks Themes - Panchangams as epistemological tools - Smell, sound, and touch as primary communication modes - Invisible spectrum of reality (beyond vision) Practices - Blindfolded nature walks - Night-sky listening sessions - Seasonal taste awareness (local, wild foods) Assessment - Sensory portfolio (non-verbal allowed) - No written exams ------------------------------ *Module 3: Beyond Cartesianism – Limits of Mathematical Reductionism* *Duration:* 4 weeks Themes - Cartesian dualism and its consequences - Mathematics as servant vs master - When abstraction becomes violence Practices - Comparing lived experience vs numerical data - Mapping ecological harm ignored by metrics Readings - Descartes (excerpts) - Gregory Bateson - Fritjof Capra ------------------------------ *Module 4: Technology, Economics & the Myth of Profit* *Duration:* 5 weeks Themes - The “economic man” and ecological destruction - False notions of profit and growth - Mechanization of life Practices - Life-cycle analysis of a common machine - Field visits to polluted vs protected sites - Community dialogues with affected populations Project - “Profit vs Life” case study (story, art, or essay) ------------------------------ *Module 5: Free Nature Parks & Untampered Spaces* *Duration:* 4 weeks Themes - Importance of untouched nature - Universities as guardians of silence - Learning without interference Practices - Design a Free Nature Park within or near campus - No-construction ecological mapping - Silence retreats Output - Park proposal grounded in *non-intervention* ------------------------------ *Module 6: Language, Meaning & Expanding Definitions* *Duration:* 3 weeks Themes - Language beyond words - Nature as a living sentence - Definitions as evolving processes Practices - Writing without nouns - Sound-based storytelling - Multi-species dialogue exercises ------------------------------ *Module 7: Ethics of Belonging & Ecological Responsibility* *Duration:* 3 weeks Themes - Moral responsibility as emotional resonance - From ownership to participation - Rights of rivers, forests, and soils Practices - Ethical silence (no opinions for a week) - Guardianship pledges - Drafting Earth-centered ethics charters ------------------------------ *Module 8: Integration & Living Practice* *Duration:* 6 weeks Capstone Project Students must demonstrate *expanded understanding*, not information mastery. Options: - Create a Free Nature Park - Develop a nature-based education program - Produce a sensory-based thesis (audio, visual, or experiential) - Write a manifesto for life-centered education ------------------------------ *Assessment Model (Non-Reductionist)* Component Weight Sensory engagement 30% Emotional reflection 25% Ecological responsibility 25% Integrative project 20% ❌ No timed exams ❌ No grading curves ✔ Continuous qualitative feedback ------------------------------ *Faculty Requirements* Teachers must: - Spend at least *30% of teaching time outdoors* - Maintain personal ecological practices - Function as *facilitators*, not authorities ------------------------------ *Institutional Requirement* Every institution offering this course must maintain: - A *Free Nature Park* with zero human modification - A *technology-free zone* - Protected silence hours ------------------------------ *Closing Vision* This course does not aim to produce environmental specialists. It aims to cultivate *humans who remember they are Earth*. *Education must once again teach us how to belong before it teaches us how to control.* ------------------------------ If you wish, I can: - Convert this into a *formal university syllabus*, - Align it with *UGC / UNESCO sustainability frameworks*, - Create *teacher training modules*, or - Design a *pilot program proposal* for a real campus. Just tell me. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CACDCHC%2BftqmAUyWP-J9_6u1pqQ2bAr0V1ige_Q%3DC8kjhWLMVqA%40mail.gmail.com.
