Humanity’s Curriculum
Excerpted from the book The Four Purposes of Life, by Dan Millman
If Earth is a school, what courses do we need to pass in order to graduate?
Some years ago, the answer came to me in the form of twelve core subjects — a specific curriculum hidden within (or behind) the activities of everyday life. These subjects include self-worth, discipline, well-being, money, mind, intuition, emotions, courage, self-knowledge, sexuality, love, and service, which I outline below in the catalog of “Required Courses.”
In this perfectly designed, fully integrated curriculum, all subjects are equally significant, and all are required. We may be tested in the area of health or money one day and encounter a pop quiz in courage the next. There are no grades, only pass or fail. A pass indicates progress; a fail provides an opportunity to learn and
do better the next time. (So there is no permanent failure, only the need to repeat the course and continue with that line of study.) Bear in mind that spiritual life begins on the ground, not up in the air — even Olympians start with the basics. As your skills improve in each of these areas, you’ll begin to experience the true meaning of success in the form of higher states of clarity, energy, and action.
Required Courses
As you read the following summary descriptions of some of the twelve core subjects in life’s curriculum, reflect on your current progress in each, as well as on what improvements are still possible on the path to self-mastery.
Foundations of Self-Worth: Getting Out of Your Own Way
Life provides certain opportunities and choices, yet we allow ourselves to receive, achieve, or enjoy such opportunities only to the extent that we believe ourselves deserving or worthy of them. A well-known parable advises, “Ask and you shall receive.” The question is, what are you willing to ask for and strive for? As Ramakrishna put it, “An ocean of bliss may rain down from the heavens, but if you hold up only a thimble, that is all you receive.” So if we operate on the belief that “beggars can’t be choosers,” then few options appear. Low self-worth is a primary cause of self-sabotage. Few of us consciously sabotage our relationships or finances, but we may wonder at times, “Why did I say that? Why did I do that?” This first course in the school of life helps us to shift from holding up only a thimble and saying, “Oh, I really couldn’t accept that” to opening our arms and saying, “Yes! Thank you!” Realizing your innate worth expands your horizons and opens you to a larger life.
Roots of Will: The Practice of Self-Discipline
Most of us know the value of regular exercise, good diet, kindness, relaxation, and breaking unhealthy habits. Our greatest single challenge in every area of self-improvement is transforming knowledge into action — turning what we know into what we actually do. While some of us act without thinking, too many of us think without acting. Willpower isn’t a mysterious force that descends on us from above; rather, it is an innate power within each of us, waiting to be applied. We do so every time we accomplish a task (like taking out the trash or doing the laundry, office work, or schoolwork) despite a lack of motivation. So this subject, which you face daily, calls you to reclaim your will by following through with your goals. As your skills and understanding improve, you better appreciate that your life will be shaped largely by what you do each day — whether or not you feel like doing it.
Well-Being: Approaches to Health and Vitality
Your body forms the foundation of your earthly existence and is the only possession you are guaranteed to keep for a lifetime. Its care and feeding are key to all else. An energized body enhances strength, mental acuity, healing, social interactions, and every other human capacity. While genetics plays a powerful role in health and longevity, you have wiggle room — it’s called lifestyle or daily choices. The previous two foundation courses in the school of life — self-worth and self-discipline — open the way to an energizing, healthful lifestyle. This course, over time and through your own experience, teaches the wisdom of regular, moderate exercise, a balanced diet, and sufficient rest — amplifying energy for all other courses in the school of life.
Money and Values: Establishing Stability and Sufficiency
Earning, spending, and saving money preoccupy many of us, who spend a good portion of each day working for more of it. But for those of us who have a religious or spiritual interest, money remains suspect — a topic of mixed feelings best expressed by the late boxing champion Joe Louis, who said, “I don’t really like money, but it calms my nerves.” We eventually learn that money is a form of energy that only makes us more of who we already are — it can bind us or free us, depending on how we manage it. This course cannot guide everyone to great wealth but rather shows the way to create sufficiency and stability, sometimes even leading to the deep satisfaction of philanthropy. As the Arabic proverb goes, “If you have much, give of your wealth; if you have little, give of your heart.”
Exploring the Mind: The Nature of Your Inner World
This subject in the core curriculum helps us to understand the illusory nature of our subjective mind. Lao-tzu advised, “As soon as you have a thought, laugh at it,” because reality is not what we think. We perceive the world through a window colored by beliefs, interpretations, and associations. We see things not as they are but as we are.
The same brain that enables us to contemplate philosophy, solve math equations, and create poetry also generates a stream of static known as discursive thoughts, which seem to arise at random, bubbling up into our awareness. Such mental noise is a natural phenomenon, no more of a problem than the dreams that appear in the sleep state. Therefore, our schooling aims not to struggle with random thoughts but to transcend them in the present moment, where no thoughts exist, only awareness. Our mind’s liberation awaits not in some imagined future but here and now.
If Earth is a school, what courses do we need to pass in order to graduate?
Some years ago, the answer came to me in the form of twelve core subjects — a specific curriculum hidden within (or behind) the activities of everyday life. These subjects include self-worth, discipline, well-being, money, mind, intuition, emotions, courage, self-knowledge, sexuality, love, and service, which I outline below in the catalog of “Required Courses.”
Required Courses
As you read the following summary descriptions of some of the twelve core subjects in life’s curriculum, reflect on your current progress in each, as well as on what improvements are still possible on the path to self-mastery.
Foundations of Self-Worth: Getting Out of Your Own Way
Life provides certain opportunities and choices, yet we allow ourselves to receive, achieve, or enjoy such opportunities only to the extent that we believe ourselves deserving or worthy of them. A well-known parable advises, “Ask and you shall receive.” The question is, what are you willing to ask for and strive for? As Ramakrishna put it, “An ocean of bliss may rain down from the heavens, but if you hold up only a thimble, that is all you receive.” So if we operate on the belief that “beggars can’t be choosers,” then few options appear. Low self-worth is a primary cause of self-sabotage. Few of us consciously sabotage our relationships or finances, but we may wonder at times, “Why did I say that? Why did I do that?” This first course in the school of life helps us to shift from holding up only a thimble and saying, “Oh, I really couldn’t accept that” to opening our arms and saying, “Yes! Thank you!” Realizing your innate worth expands your horizons and opens you to a larger life.
Roots of Will: The Practice of Self-Discipline
Most of us know the value of regular exercise, good diet, kindness, relaxation, and breaking unhealthy habits. Our greatest single challenge in every area of self-improvement is transforming knowledge into action — turning what we know into what we actually do. While some of us act without thinking, too many of us think without acting. Willpower isn’t a mysterious force that descends on us from above; rather, it is an innate power within each of us, waiting to be applied. We do so every time we accomplish a task (like taking out the trash or doing the laundry, office work, or schoolwork) despite a lack of motivation. So this subject, which you face daily, calls you to reclaim your will by following through with your goals. As your skills and understanding improve, you better appreciate that your life will be shaped largely by what you do each day — whether or not you feel like doing it.
Well-Being: Approaches to Health and Vitality
Your body forms the foundation of your earthly existence and is the only possession you are guaranteed to keep for a lifetime. Its care and feeding are key to all else. An energized body enhances strength, mental acuity, healing, social interactions, and every other human capacity. While genetics plays a powerful role in health and longevity, you have wiggle room — it’s called lifestyle or daily choices. The previous two foundation courses in the school of life — self-worth and self-discipline — open the way to an energizing, healthful lifestyle. This course, over time and through your own experience, teaches the wisdom of regular, moderate exercise, a balanced diet, and sufficient rest — amplifying energy for all other courses in the school of life.
Money and Values: Establishing Stability and Sufficiency
Earning, spending, and saving money preoccupy many of us, who spend a good portion of each day working for more of it. But for those of us who have a religious or spiritual interest, money remains suspect — a topic of mixed feelings best expressed by the late boxing champion Joe Louis, who said, “I don’t really like money, but it calms my nerves.” We eventually learn that money is a form of energy that only makes us more of who we already are — it can bind us or free us, depending on how we manage it. This course cannot guide everyone to great wealth but rather shows the way to create sufficiency and stability, sometimes even leading to the deep satisfaction of philanthropy. As the Arabic proverb goes, “If you have much, give of your wealth; if you have little, give of your heart.”
Exploring the Mind: The Nature of Your Inner World
This subject in the core curriculum helps us to understand the illusory nature of our subjective mind. Lao-tzu advised, “As soon as you have a thought, laugh at it,” because reality is not what we think. We perceive the world through a window colored by beliefs, interpretations, and associations. We see things not as they are but as we are.
The same brain that enables us to contemplate philosophy, solve math equations, and create poetry also generates a stream of static known as discursive thoughts, which seem to arise at random, bubbling up into our awareness. Such mental noise is a natural phenomenon, no more of a problem than the dreams that appear in the sleep state. Therefore, our schooling aims not to struggle with random thoughts but to transcend them in the present moment, where no thoughts exist, only awareness. Our mind’s liberation awaits not in some imagined future but here and now.