The social gospel has been around for as long as Jesus, but Walter Rauschenbusch catapulted it into the nation's consciousness in the 19th century, advocating that the kingdom of God was breaking open in the present through social action. Our own age has seen the growth of social justice movements, social justice education, as well as novel movements like Occupy Wall Street. In a broad sense, social justice is about building a fair and equitable society in which all members can share in the goods of life, that is, the development of human community.

The way social justice has developed in Christianity reflects a particular understanding of God and world. In this respect, it is rooted in natural law and the common good, ideas grounded in Aristotelian and Thomistic philosophies. God creates a good creation and the law of the good is imprinted on every human heart.

While the aims of social justice are noble, I wonder if they are realistic. Is it possible to change or transform the structure of systems? After decades of committed social justice work, we are still grappling with the same problems. In some areas, the problems have worsened.

For all that is right about social justice, there is something deeply amiss. Somehow, we feel that by making social justice a primary object of concern, things will eventually get better. What I want to suggest here is that, unless we assume a different viewpoint, things will get worse. While social justice reflects the values of the Gospel, on a much more fundamental level, I think the term "social justice" is somewhat contrived.

A deep disconnect

The problem with social justice is that we have made it a human work when in fact social justice is, in a sense, a definition of nature itself. Social justice cannot exist as an independent phenomenon because it is the underlying principle of all phenomena. By highlighting social justice as a particular area of concern, we unwittingly confess our deep disconnect from nature.

Pope Francis hones in on our alienation from nature in his encyclical Laudato Si' when he calls for a radical renewal of interdependence among the Earth community. Essentially, we have developed a way of human life that opposes nature. Activist Charles Eisenstein writes: "We have defined ourselves as other than what we are, as discrete subjects separate from each other and separate from the world around us."

While modern science has revealed new information about the human person, from cosmology to neuroscience and cognitive psychology, we still think of ourselves as rational, concrete subjects, individual in nature and unrelated to one another, except by chance, accident or good-fortune. This understanding is a particularly Western one with philosophical roots that date back to the ancient Greeks. Christianity adopted Greek philosophical principles in its development of theology.

Stepping back and surveying the historical landscape, I would suggest that religion and, in particular, the monotheistic religions with their ancient philosophies and static cosmologies, lie at the core of social injustice. This would require much more than a column to expound, but for now I am proposing that old philosophical principles that support staunch theological doctrines undergird social injustice. If justice is a principle of nature, then we need a new type of religion consonant with nature, one that elucidates the justice of nature itself. Anything else will not work. As Albert Einstein quipped, you cannot solve a problem with the same conditions that created it.

Peter Wohlleben's book, The Hidden Life of Trees, is a good example of nature's social justice. Wohlleben, a forester by training, describes how he found a tree cut down centuries ago and yet was still alive. How was this possible since without leaves, a tree is unable to perform photosynthesis, which is how it converts sunlight into sugar for sustenance? The ancient tree was clearly receiving nutrients in some other way for hundreds of years. What scientists have found, Wohlleben writes, is that neighboring trees help each other through their root systemseither directly, by intertwining their roots, or indirectly, by growing fungal networks around the roots that serve as a sort of extended nervous system connecting separate trees.

Wohlleben pondered this astonishing sociality of trees and wondered about what makes strong human communities and societies. Why are trees such social beings? Why do they share food with their own species and sometimes even go so far as to nourish their competitors? The reasons are the same as for human communities: there are advantages to working together.

American forest ecologist Suzanne Simard found that primeval forests, that is, "natural" forests undisturbed by humans as opposed to "plantation" forests managed for commercial benefit, have a layer of fungus called mycelium under the top soil that connects individual trees with each other. This layer forms a kind of dense "social" network, that Nature magazine dubbed the "wood wide web," which trees use to exchange nutrients and food, to "support" those sick or weak and to "inform" each other of threats.

The hidden communal life of trees is reflective of nature's wholeness. What we can say, broadly speaking, is that nature is a communion of subjects functioning on shared principles, which include mutual cooperation, sympathy and synergy. In distinction to the natural world, humans have become individual consumers, self-absorbed individuals who relate to one another as foreign objects. Nature works along lines of cooperation and organization, while humans work individually, according to principles of competition and power. Nature is like a weaver, constantly threading together the myriad layers of energy fields, whereas humans are like individual atoms bumping into one another. Biological nature lives in synchrony with the cosmos, whereas humans have come to live acosmically.

Refocusing God and world

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin realized that the gap between science and religion lies at the core of our systemic dysfunction. Religion has become fossilized, while science has discovered a radically new universe than what the ancients knew. Nature reveals a luminous thread of justice coursing throughout its systems, while religion sputters around on a circular road, like moss in a stagnant pond.

Teilhard struggled to redefine Christianity as a religion of evolution. Despite the long history of the universe, evolution continues in a direction of increasing complexity, suggesting a force in nature that resists entropy and empowers newness. He named this principle of wholeness in nature as Omega and identified Omega with God. God is not found through opposition to matter (anti-matter) or independent of matter (extra-matter) but through matter (trans-matter)."

We take hold of God in the finite; he is sensed as "rising" or "emerging" from the depths, born not in the heart of matter but as the heart of matter. Teilhard believed that without creation, something would be absolutely lacking to God, considered in the fullness not of his being but of his act of union. He proposed that union with God "must be effected by passing through and emerging from matter." While God is in the world and the world is in God, God is more than the world. God is the absolute whole of unlimited possibilities; hence, God is the world's future.

Teilhard was concerned with the evolution of justice. Rather than positing an idealism of the common good, he realized that the heart of matter is consciousness, which expresses itself in love-energy. God is entangled with nature in a way that divine consciousness raises unconscious matter to new levels of consciousness and thus to new levels of love.

Our task is to wake up to the truth of our reality (and by "truth" Teilhard means that which makes life cohere and renders it fecund). This waking up requires interiority and centeredness. Hence the first step toward justice is focusing the mind on higher-ordered levels of love. Life in evolution requires living inward and moving outward; that is, living from an inner unified space of conscious awareness whereby we see the divine light shining through every aspect of our world. Life in evolution means that we are moving not just individually but collectively because we are unfinished and God is doing new things.

Faith in the world

To participate in the world's becoming, we must have faith in one another and faith in the world. Teilhard said that a common faith among all world religions must include faith in humanity, faith in the world and faith in the future as our common bond. As early as 1916 he wrote: "There is a communion with God, and a communion with earth, and a communion with God through earth." The human being must be seen as "an element destined to complete himself cosmically in a higher consciousness in process of formation." What constitutes the "good" is everything that brings "growth of consciousness to the world." A new morality of growth is one that will foster and catalyze evolutionary change, a growth into a new formation of being, a deepening of what we are together in which care for another humanizes us.

In Teilhard's view, religion should empower the evolutionary process by inspiring us to take responsibility for the Earth and for the future and the evolutionary process itself. In this respect, religion must be primarilyon the level of human consciousnessand human action,rather thanin institutions orbelief systems, except insofar as these manifest and give direction to the former. A rightly understood faith in the future, and the idea of a possible awakening of a higher state of consciousness, are both seen as necessary for preserving in human beings the taste for action.

Teilhard's vision of a new religion of the Earth means that a spirituality for the individual alone is no longer enough. In his view, the West "has not yet found its formula of faith" that answers the needs of the present. Religions need to recalibrate their vital centers with the cosmos. We need to find a way to harness the mystical currents of the established religious traditions and refocus them on gathering the human community into a common spiritual center so that cooperation and working together for the future may be enkindled. We are responsible for the future.

Teilhard spoke of an ethics oriented toward the future, which means nurturing the values that gather us in, bond us together, create a global consciousness and a cosmic heart. These values are not fixed; rather they must be continuously discovered and discerned. The future is our reality; it is our common good. Integral to this emerging future is the development of personhood and self-actualization. Justice is the work of humanization and personalization and therefore it is mutual in nature. We can only build the world together if are becoming persons together.

We need practices formed around principles of future becoming, emerging communities, faith in persons, faith in the world. The continuous forming and reforming of community is fundamental to future wholeness. In Teilhard's view we must try everything and let go of those things which prevent communal growth and development.

Human flourishing is relational, unitive and communal and thus our most natural state of existence. Any other type of life deviates from nature and alienates us from the future. How to weave social justice into the fabric of our lives is equivalent to asking, "How do we live community on a daily basis?" Community requires persons in relationship and integral to community is the continuous evolution from individual to person, from partial selves to more integral selves.

The arrival of the future

We humans have done a fine job of destroying nature and ourselves in the process. However, by attending to modern science and aligning core religious beliefs with what we now know about nature, we have an opportunity to wake up to our reality and turn in a new direction. But such turning will require a radical revolution in religion and culture. Quite honestly, we are neither prepared for such a revolution nor do we want one. And that is why, despite all our social justice programs and social justice majors, things will not change because justice is not the goal; rather, it is the starting point, the root reality of nature itself.

We are not to work toward justice; rather the justice of nature requires us to evolve toward authentic personhood. Physicist Carlo Rovelli writes, "a living organism is a system that continually reforms itself in order to remain itself." Our human self has a capacity for new relationships, new wholes and new communities, an inner capacity for unlimited growth which is the making of the world. When this growth is thwarted or stunted, the development of the world ceases.

Rovelli also states: "The search for knowledge is not nourished by certainty; it is nourished by a radical distrust in certainty." Religions rely on certainty of beliefs, but the unknown future is our most assured reality and the principle of our deepest belonging together.

The evolution of justice is the continuous arrival of the future. We have to think differently about ourselves if we are to evolve toward a different type of self; and we need a religious revolution to nurture this new self-discovery. Religion must begin with evolution. This is our Genesis story and the ground of a new creation. Without a planetary religion open to future becoming, we are headed for disaster. Be assured, however, that nature will do quite well without us.

[Ilia Delio, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Washington, D.C., is the Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair in Theology at Villanova University. She is the author of 16 books, includingMaking All Things New: Catholicity, Cosmology and Consciousness(Orbis Books, 2015), and the general editor of the seriesCatholicity in an Evolving Universe.]

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Evolution and social justice, nature itself - Global Sisters Report (blog)

August 28, 2017

CLIFFORD GOLDSTEIN

In my last online column, Bias in Science! Say It Aint So! (Aug. 11, 2017), a commenter chided me for ignoring the progress that science, despite its bumbles, stumbles, and missteps, always makes toward the truth. When I used the obvious corruption of science in regard to the deleterious health effects of smoking, my critic said that this was actually a good example of science eventually correcting itself and getting closer to truth.

Fair enough.

He then cited other examples of science progressing toward truth, including, he said, our origins.

Origins?

You have no idea how funny I find that. Funny, but sad, too.

How far has science progressed toward the truth about our origins?

Well, for starters it has progressed to where it claims that the universe arose from nothing. None other than the worlds most famous living scientist, Stephen Hawking, has assured us that because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself out of nothing. No doubt that a great deal of mathematics and cosmogony involved here float beyond my petty reach, but doesnt Einsteins Theory of General Relativity teach that gravity is mass bending space and time? So how did mass bend space and time when there was nothingno mass, no space, no timeto begin with?

Just a minor detail, Im sure.

Anyway, science, progressing toward the truth, declares that gravity (mass bending space and time) turned nothing (no mass, no space, no time) into mass, space, and time, what is commonly known as the universe. Then, billions of years later, some of this mass (created from nothing by gravity) congealed and cooled into a lump of matter, our earth.

Then, through laws of physics and chemistry (also created by gravity out of nothing) organic molecules arose either in the famous pre-biotic soup, or in thermal vents, in shale, in clay, or in (some argue) molten rock 1,000 degrees Centigrade. Whatever their origins, according to another famous scientist, Richard Dawkins, one of these molecules by chance became a replicator. This means that it had the extraordinary property of being able to make copies of itself. Dawkins concedes that the conversion of this single molecule into a replicator was exceedingly improbable, but given enough time it was, he assured us, bound to happen. Perhaps, then, a potato chip, more organic than a single molecule, will eventually start replicating itself, too; that is, given enough time.

Scientists remain baffled at how consciousness works, or how brain matter translates whats outside of it into qualia, images, thoughts, and rationality.

Were told by those who are progressing toward the truth about our origins that, next, this replicator molecule (still fermenting in the primeval soup, or in the thermal vent, or in the molten rocks 1,000 degrees Centigrade) copied itself again and again until some became living cells filled with DNA, RNA, and the other amazingly complex stuff of a single cell. And this spontaneous generation happened through the laws of physics and chemistry alone, though no one has ever seen the laws of physics and chemistry alone spontaneously generate molecules into anything close to life; scientists cant even do it in tightly-controlled labs.

Then, billions of years later, now through random mutation and natural selection, these living cells evolved into beaucoup de living entities, including dinosaurs, some weighing about 70 tons. (From a microscopic replicator molecule to 140,000 pound Brontosaurs; what a trek that much have been!) However, something knocked off the dinosaurs, and the theory du jour is that a giant asteroid, filling the air with dust and dirt, did them in. Others hypothesize that volcanic activity caused their demise; and, finally, some blame it on, yes, good old climate change.

Whatever killed off the dinosaurs paved the way for new life to arise, everything from peach trees (though I still wonder, in an evolutionary model what came first, the peach or the peach pit?) to human beings with conscious rational minds, a transition about as likely as organic molecules spontaneously generating into life.

In another online column, The Neo-Darwinian Inquisition (Jul. 21, 2017), I mentioned that an atheist philosopher, Thomas Nagel, disputed the idea that carbon-based matter, even as complicated as human neurons, could on its own evolve into conscious, rational, and loving beings. In response, a commentator railed against Nagels position, arguing that Nagel obviously hadnt read much in evolutionary neurobiology.

Evolutionary neurobiology?

You have no idea how funny I found that, too.

I mean, we have living and breathing bona fide rational conscious human beings to study every day; we scan brains, map brains, dissect brains, and scrutinize them in devices worth millions of dollars. We watch neurons fire and even peer into their guts. Yet with all this here and now and immediately before us, scientists remain baffled at how consciousness works, or how brain matter translates whats outside of it into qualia, images, thoughts, rationality, and the ability to make and to appreciate music. Human consciousness persists as perhaps the greatest physical (or is it only physical?) mystery before us.

Yet what? This commentator claimed that if only poor Thomas Nagel had read some scholarly papers, written by conscious beings speculating about what might have happened millions of years ago, with things that do not exist now but that, nevertheless, supposedly caused carbon-based, non-conscious matter to become thinking and loving human beings; if only he had done so, then Thomas Nagel wouldnt have challenged evolutions ability to explain the origin of human thought and consciousness. I found that funny because scientists dont know what consciousness is, much less how it works, even with it before them in flesh and blood and grey matter. Yet according to this comment, evolutionary biology has answers to how it arose millions of years ago.

But I digress. Back to the issue: What does science teach about origins? It teaches that because of gravitydinosaurs, peach trees, rational human beings, everythingcame from nothing, with no forethought or planning.

Any wonder, then, I find the notion that science is progressing toward the truth about origins funny, but sad, too?

Clifford Goldstein is editor of the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide. His latest book, Baptizing the Devil: Evolution and the Seduction of Christianity, will be released by Pacific Press in September 2017.

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Cliff's Edge - Science and Progress Toward the Truth - Adventist Review

Big Think has an interesting article, The Basis of the Universe May Not Be Energy or Matter but Information. The author, Philip Perry, writes:

There are lots of theories on what are the basis of the universe is. Some physicists say its subatomic particles. Others believe its energy or even space-time. One of the more radical theories suggests that information is the most basic element of the cosmos. Although this line of thinking emanates from the mid-20th century, it seems to be enjoying a bit of a Renaissance among a sliver of prominent scientists today.

Consider that if we knew the exact composition of the universe and all of its properties and had enough energy and know-how to draw upon, theoretically,we could break the universe down into ones and zeroes and using that information,reconstruct it from the bottom up. Its the information, purveyors1of this view say, locked inside any singular component that allows us to manipulate matter any way we choose

Perry discusses various approaches to information theory (e.g. Shannon information), and he brings up eminent theoretical physicist John Archibald Wheeler:

[Wheeler] in his later years was a strong proponent of information theory. Another unsung paragon of science, Wheeler was a veteran of the Manhattan Project, coined the terms black hole and wormhole, helped work out the S-matrix with Neils Bohr, and collaborated with Einstein on aunified theory of physics.

Wheeler said the universe had three parts: First, Everything is Particles, second, Everything is Fields, and third, Everything is information.1In the 1980s, he began exploring possible connections betweeninformation theory and quantum mechanics. It was during this period he coined the phrase It from bit. The idea is that the universe emanates from the information inherent within it. Each it or particle is a bit. It from bit.

In 1989, Wheeler produced a paper to the Santa Fe institute, where he announced every it every particle, every field of force, even the space-time continuum itself derives its function, its meaning, its very existence entirely even if in some contexts indirectly from the apparatus-elicited answers to yes-or-no questions, binary choices, bits.

In the materialist-dominated world of modern science, it is natural to infer that matter (or fields that move matter) is the fundamental reality. But careful consideration of nature, and particularly biology, suggests that information is the basic reality, of which matter is a medium in which information is manifest.

The centrality of information to the natural world, and particularly to the biological world, has been the guiding thesis of the intelligent design movement. My colleagues Bill Dembski and Stephen Meyer in particular have written extensively on the importance of information theory in understanding nature. We in the ID movement are merely continuing a line of research that goes back quite a way into the past.

What we call information is best defined as limitation of outcomes in nature. Information is the limitation of particular configurations and functions of matter. Low information systems are chaotic, displaying a multitude of states and relationships (think of the uncountable configurations of water molecules in the ocean). High information systems, such as living things, have a restricted ensemble of states and functions. Living things are kept alive by homeostasis, which is the remarkable tendency for life to maintain a constant internal physiological environment. Understanding and maintaining homeostasis is, for example, essential to the practice of medicine, in which disease and injury may be understood as derangements of homeostasis.

The traditional hylemorphic understanding of nature as developed by scholastic philosophers who were the precursors to the Scientific Revolution stressed the centrality of information (as limitation) in a rather dramatic (and I think quite accurate) way. In the hylemorphic understanding, matter and form are manifestations of a more fundamental reality, which is potency and act. Potency is the range of possibilities inherent to a thing. Act is the actuality of the thing, as it really is. That is, act (form) is what makes something actual, and not just possible. Using modern terminology, information (form) is what makes nature real.

In nature, form is reflected in the intelligibility of a thing. Final cause, which is teleology, is the goal toward which natural change is directed, and in nature (unlike artifacts) formal and final causes are usually the same. The growth of an acorn into an oak tree has a formal cause which is all that can be known about the oak tree its structure, function, etc. and has a final cause which is identical to its formal cause. The form of the oak tree is also what makes the oak tree actual, and not just potential.

Formal and final causes are thus limitations in particular states and functions a thing can have. In that sense, formal and final causes reflect the information inherent in a thing. This is reflected in the word itself in-form-ation.

Information then, understood classically as formal and final cause, is not merely the basis for nature, it is what makes nature actual, rather than just potential, and this actuality is just what is intelligible about nature. The actuality and intelligibility of nature is what is most basic to it, and it is information that confers actuality and intelligibility to the natural world.

Perry closes with a reflection on the source of natures information:

If the nature of reality is in fact reducible to information itself, that implies a conscious mind on the receiving end, to interpret and comprehend it. Wheeler himself believed in a participatory universe, where consciousness holds a central role. Some scientists argue that the cosmos seems to have specific properties which allow it to create and sustain life. Perhaps what it desires most is an audience captivated in awe as it whirls in prodigious splendor.

Perry came close to acknowledging a designer of nature, but one suspects that the materialist/atheist ideological correctness that plagues science dissuaded him from drawing the obvious conclusion. The centrality of information to nature implies a mind on the receiving end form is after all just that which is intelligible about a thing but even more importantly, information presupposes a mind on the creating end.

Forms can exist in minds and in things, but the existence of formal and final causes in nature presupposes a mind that directs natural processes to actual intelligible ends. As Thomas Aquinas wrote in his Fifth Way, just as we infer an archer when we see an aimed arrow fly through the air, it is reasonable to infer a mind that aims natures processes according to regularities and physical laws.

Information, understood as formal and final cause, is what makes nature real. And information presupposes a designer.

Read more:
Is Information the Basis for the Universe? - Discovery Institute

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Can you really have an out of body experience on command? Absolutely. While this is something that will take some time to practice and get good at, there are many methods to having out of body experiences or spiritual experiences on command using only your consciousness and physical body.

There is also a purpose to these experiences; they arent simply to trip out (although if you wish to do that its up to you). These experiences can help you dissolve fears, move past trauma, expand your consciousness and much more. I personally dont feel inspired to do anything other than explore and expand myself when I engage in experiences like this.

Many of the stories you hear of out of body experiences happen through dreams, near death experiences, from thestate between sleep andawake, and when people experiment with psychedelics like magic mushrooms, DMT or ayahuasca. But we are capable of having out-of-body experiences with just our thoughts, breath and consciousness.

I say CAN BE helpful because they have that ability, but it doesnt mean we always use it. We may want to explore a past trauma, and meditation or OBEs could help us do that, but if we dont use them for this purpose or do the work afterwards they wont be helpful. Likewise with any substance like ayahuasca, mushrooms or DMT. They dont do the work for you and dont save you. You still have to do the work afterwards and its for this exact reason that most people who experiment with these substances or experiences still dont make shifts in their lives because its still work. And its the work that we often arent willing to do that stops us from moving forward.

Your intention for wanting tohave these experiences is important. Sometimes when we think about psychedelics or having out of body experiences we are seeking atrippy-like experience out of curiosity. And thats totally fine. Curiosity can be how we explore and learn things. But while it may be fun to play a couple times,I generally say it isnt the best motivation for wanting to have these experiences. I typically tend to encourage people to reflect on a deeper sense of exploration and growthwithin ourselves when it comes to exploring our consciousness, which is a big part of what we do in CEs Explorer Lounge you can check out here.

The reason why I believe focusing on having a trippy experience is not ideal isbecause I have seen many people get lost in the need to just experiencing something trippy. Not only that, but it can often become an escape from thechallenges we face. Which is why I feel society utilizes cannabis, alcohol, TV and food addictively.

DMT, mushrooms, Ayahuasca and so forthwereinitially put on this planetwhen we had difficult times exploring our consciousness and external tools assisted us in doing that. Today, a resurgence of these substances is taking place as peoples curiosity to explore is once again popular. After all, there is a shift in consciousness taking place.

However, I do not believe we still need these substances today in order to have these types of consciousness based experiences. While I thinkthey can be helpful for some of us who are in difficult situations like drug addiction or have serious trauma from war or violent experiences,I feel we are all very equipped within ourselves to explore without them, and Im personally inspired to encourage that.

Ultimately its not as much about any substance or experience as it is about what the end goal helps us to see more about ourselves. They tell us to look within to find answers and move past our challenges. So many experiences in life are all pushing us to do that exact same thing, look within. Our core teaching here at Collective Evolution is change starts within. All for the reason that its at the core of how we will create a profound shift in our lives and on this planet. So what can we take from this?

If we know the core truth is about us looking within, why not just begin looking there right now?

I was in California, attending Wim Hofs retreat in Beverly Hills. It was day two and we were doing a breathing exercise that was about focusing on energy in our body and learning how to control and use it.

At the Wim Hof retreat in California.

There was a focus on utilizing it to activate our pinealgland in such a way that may or may not release a little bit of DMT in your brain, allowing us to have some form of experience that would be beyond the physical.I would like to say at this point that this is certainly not the core message of Wims work, nor is it something that I think the method is truly for. Its simply something that you can use in order to obtain this result. These forms of breathing exercises are not new either, they have been used by yogis and gurus for many years to attain differentstates of consciousness.

There were about 60 of us, we were in a beautiful room with 15 foot ceilings and the sun was shining in through the side windows. I was laying flat on my back on a yoga mat patiently waiting for the exercise to start. This would not be the first time I was going to have an out of body experience,but it would be the first I would attempt on command. My previous experiencescame from dream-states, meditation or simply.. happening.

We began with Wims standard method of breathing. Heavy breaths in and out of the mouth. Stomach, chest, head, out. After about 8 minutes of this, I went into my breath holds (as part of his method) and I began to focus energy from around the base of my spine and brought it up my back, into my brain and pinged my pineal gland with it.

Recommended: If you want to join our members area of conscious explorers and support CE at the same time, check out our Explorers Lounge.

As I brought the energy up into my pineal gland I felt what I had felt in the past with these types of experiences.Ringing and vibrations in my body and mind starting to increase. With my eyes closed, I began to see the room. I could feel my essence slowly leaving my body up straight into the air. It moved slowly and peacefully. It wasnt a fast jolt or uncontrollable in a sense, it was very light.

The pineal gland.

As Idrifted upwards more and more I eventually made it to the ceiling and rested there. What happened next was what you might experience indeep meditation which is havingall of your thoughts emotionsset aside and you begin to feel like a massive, massive, massive presence that is so far beyond your physical body that you no longer identify with being a physical body. You begin to realize you are a vast consciousness that is pure unconditional love and pure potential.

From this state of being you have the ability to utilize your awareness to look at your life, situations, the planet or whatever it may be from a completely non-judgmental and unconditionally loving way so as to deeply understand why thingshappen. You gain clarity and awareness as tohow you may move forward with something from this space. These experiences help us to get a glimpse at what is beyond the stories and the drama of our minds.This is VERY powerful in clearing our fears, worries, and traumas.

Back to my experience here. As I continued to feel immense at the top of the ceiling, I could see all of the bodies in the room having their own experience. I felt connected to them, the building, and everything around us. The difference between myself and everything else drifted away, and I was simply an essence or consciousness observing. This, is precisely how I know experientially that consciousness does not originate in the mind but is our existence. Mainstream science has not caught up to this understanding yet but its getting close, and that is very inspiring.

After what could have been 10 or so minutes, I slowly came back down into my physical body and began to integrate back into it. I opened my eyes and began to feel the desire to go outside and enjoy the sunlight. I felt slightly emotional at this point as I had gottena glimpse of the difference between feeling fully clear outside of my body vs feeling certain emotional pains and mind stories that were in my physical body. This right here, is where the magic is. This is how we see more clearly what it is that we are being challenged by and have a reference point to compare what letting it go feels like.

When you are in meditation, you are able to re-tune into these types of higher states of consciousness and be an observer looking back at the challenges you face at any moment in your life. With detachment from them you can ask yourself how you created or co-created the experience you are having and what lesson is in it for you. How does it serve you? How can you move forward with action and so forth? You can see the greater workings and perfection that comes with these experiences to help you move beyond them.

So thats pretty well it! Utilize and explore these experiences with clear intentions of evolving yourself and you will have the best results in not only creating these experiences but attaining more peace in your life. Have fun and keep exploring!

Once again, feel free to check out our Explorers Lounge if you want to support CEs work and explore your consciousness deeply at the same time.

Your life path number can tell you A LOT about you.

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How I Induced An Out Of Body Experience Without Substances - Collective Evolution

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When it comes to the origins of life, or what we believe to be reality, there is no shortage of theories. Despite how unanswerable this question may seem, theories will always emerge attempting to accountfor the many unknowns we have yet to understand and discover. One thing is for certain, however: Despite the fact that we still have much to learn, weve come a long way inunderstanding the true nature of our reality.

The Big Bang theory implies that everything in existence resulted from a single event that launched the creation of the entire universe and that everything in existence today was once part of whats referred to as the singularity, a single, infinitely dense point.

This of course begs the question, if the Big Bang created the universe, who or what created the Big Bang? And who or what created whatever created that?

At any rate, it remainsthe most popular theory behind theorigin of the universe, born of theobservation that other galaxies are moving away from our own at tremendous speeds, in all directions, as if being propelled by a very powerful force.

Big Bang believers suggest that this event occurred approximately 15 billion years ago, from some ancient, unknown type of energy.

National Geographic explains that, according to this theory, in the instanta trillion-trillionth of a secondafter the big bang, the universe expanded with incomprehensible speed from its pebble-size origin to astronomical scope. Expansion has apparently continued, but much more slowly, over the ensuing billions of years.

Theorigins of this theory stem from Georges Lemaitre, a Belgian priest who proposedthat the universe camefrom a single primordial atom. After Edwin Hubbles observation that galaxies are hurtling away from us, the theory gained more traction.

That being said, its just a theory, yet many accept it as fact.The truthis, we simply dont know, and can only make educated guesses. Several major questions remain unanswered, the most popular one illustrated in the image below.

The book Gravitation by Wheeler, Thorne, and Meisner is one of the more foundational books in physics, as it explains the origins of thistheory. Many novicephysics students have to read this book in their studies. On page 719, you find the current and most accepted model of the known universe, according to the standard model, which is a drawing of a guy blowing up a balloon with pennies glued to it. The balloon represents the universe expanding as it is being blown up and the pennies glued to the balloon move away from each other as the universe expands.

Yet, according to Nassim Haramein,the Director of Research for the Resonance Project:

If, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, then why have we not heard about The Big Contraction?!

For every action there is an equal opposite reaction. is one of the most foundational and proven concepts in all of physics. Therefore, if the universe is expanding then the guy (or whatever he is), who is blowing up that balloon, has to have some huge lungs that are contracting to be able to blow it up. This a concept that Nassim Haramein began exploring when creating an alternative unified field theory to explain the universe.

He felt that there had to be something fundamental and universal that was contracting in order to cause the expansion of the universe, and that the current theory does not account for this. His work has led him to develop his unified field theory, which includes an explanation for the expansion of the universe. The thing that is contracting and allowing for the expansion of the universe is space itself, not just curving as Einstein suggested, but curling toward singularity at every point.

Below is a great talk given by him. After researching this topic myself, I believe non-material scienceis a fundamental key to discovering the origins of our universe. Most of physical reality is birthed from the non-physical, from empty space.

No point is more central than this, that empty space is not empty. It is the seat of the most violent physics.

John Archibald Wheeler

Space is actually not empty and its full of energy. The energy in space is not trivial, theres a lot of it, and we can actually calculate how much energy there is in that space and that reality might actually come out of it, that everything we see is actually emerging from that space.

Nassim Haramein

Below is an excellent talk discussing this.

Another factor that supports the Big Bang theory, in a sense, is Quantum Entanglement, a phenomenon that Einstein thought was so spooky that it could not be valid. It suggests two things, either that the space between physical objects isnt actually empty space as our senses perceive it to be, or that information is travelling faster than the speed of light, or, better yet, instantaneously, with no time involved. It implies that everything is connected, that if there was a Big Bang, it happened when all physical matter was one, and then exploded out into little pieces that spread throughout the cosmos. The tricky part to understand is that all those little pieces, those planets, those stars, and all the intelligent life that has most certainly formed, is still all connected in some way we have yet to understand.

Quantum entanglement was recently achieved in space.

Again, there are always new theories emerging. For example, a group of Canadian academics published a study in the journalPhysics Letters B which postulatesthat the Big Bang singularity can be resolved by their new model, in which the universe has no beginning or end.

The theory suggests that the universe is filled with a quantum fluid, which is itself filled with gravitons.

As far as we can see, since different points in the universe never actually converged in the past, it did not have a beginning.It lasted forever. It will also not have an end. . . . In other words, there is no singularity. The universe could have lasted forever. It could have gone through cycles of being small and big. Or it could have been created much earlier.

Study co-authorSaurya Das, University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

Pretty hard to wrap your head around, isnt it?

Whats even more interesting is that this theory dates back thousands of years. Famous Greek philosopher Aristotle believed that the universe exists eternally, that its something thats been around forever. The question of whether the universe hasa beginning was also explored byGerman philosopher Immanuel Kant.

This topic has been debated and theorized aboutthroughout the ages, and if we lookeven further back through time, there is always a source, a creator, or a God.

That being said, God and religion have, in my opinion, been used to manipulate the human race in several different ways, for multiple reasons. That is not to say there is no validity behind God and religion, but rather that its a very deep discussion, perhaps worthy for another article. For now, you can check out this one:

Retired American Bishop Explains How The Church Invented Hell & What Religion Is Really Used For

Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking explains:

The expansion of the universe was one of the most important intellectual discoveries of the 20th century, or of any century. It transformed the debate about whether the universe had a beginning. If galaxies are moving apart now, they must have been closer together in the past. If their speed had been constant, they would all have been on top of one another about 15 billion years ago. Was this the beginning of the universe? Many scientists were still unhappy with the universe having a beginning because it seemed to imply that physics broke down. One would have to invoke an outside agency, which for convenience, one can call God, to determine how the universe began. They therefore advanced theories in which the universe was expanding at the present time, but didnt have a beginning. One was the Steady State theory, proposed by Bondi, Gold, and Hoyle in 1948.

The expansion of the universe from the Big Bang to the present. Digital illustration.

Theres a good reason why so many scientists are gathering to emphasize that matter is not the only reality, and that consciousness could play a huge role in the creation of matter itself.

Almost all of the founding members of quantum mechanics have emphasized, multiple times, that, as Max Planck (the originator of quantum theory) said,I regard matter as derivate from consciousness, everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.

In 2010, one of the most respected scientists in the world, Robert Lanza, published a book titledBiocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are theKeys to Understanding The True Nature of the Universe.

An expert in regenerative medicine and the scientific director of Advanced Cell Technology Company, Lanza is also very interested in quantum mechanics and astrophysics, an interest thatledhim on a path to developing his theory of biocentrism: the theory that life and consciousness are fundamental to understanding the nature of our reality, and that consciousness comes prior to the creation of the material universe.

There are many examples.

Does this mean that the catalyst for the Big Bang was a conscious observer? Or was that big pile of matter simply, itself in some way, conscious? What comes first, consciousness or physical material reality? Is there even a physical material reality, or is it, as some new physics implies, a complete illusion? Are we living in a holographic universe?

Is there a source from which we all come? Are there worlds about whichwe are unaware? If there is a soul, what about the world it residesin? A number of observations within the fields of neuroscience and quantum mechanics suggest that consciousness is actually not even a product of the body, that it exists somewhere else, separate from the body. If this is true, does that world or place that we cannot fully perceive play any role inthe creation of our own world?

What about other dimensions? What about multiple universes? If there are multiple universes, does that mean each universe was created by a Big Bang? Or was there one giant Big Bang that created multiple universes with multiple Big Bangs?

The list of questions can continue into eternity, but I truly believe that the truth about the origins of what we call reality lies within non-material science, and examining aspects of reality we have a difficult time perceiving.

The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence.

Nikola Tesla

This requires science to completely change, and take something verging ona spiritual perspective. Because, as Harameinhimself says,looking for consciousness in the brain is like looking in the radio for the announcer.

My point is,we just dont know. And constantly perceiving our world from a materialistic, physical perspectivewill not allow us to establish a proper explanation of the origins of reality.

If we do indeed live in a spiritual universe, were clearly missing a lot with regards to our consideration about how the universe began. Perhaps its origins are in the non-physical worlds, or worlds, while in this body, we are unable to perceive.

Ill leave you with a great quote to ponder on, its from R.C. Henry, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University wrote in a 2005 publication for the journalNature:

According to [pioneering physicist] Sir James Jeans: the stream of knowledge is heading towards a non-mechanical reality; the Universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine. Mind no longer appears to be an accidental intruder into the realm of matter we ought rather hail it as the creator and governor of the realm of matter. . . .The Universe is immaterial mental and spiritual. Live, and enjoy.

Your life path number can tell you A LOT about you.

With the ancient science of Numerology you can find out accurate and revealing information just from your name and birth date.

Get your free numerology reading and learn more about how you can use numerology in your life to find out more about your path and journey. Get Your free reading.

Continued here:
If The Big Bang Started The Universe, What, or Who, Started the Big Bang? What About The Multi-Verse? - Collective Evolution

Distance education or distance learning is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school.[1][2] Traditionally this usually involved correspondence courses wherein the student corresponded with the school via post. Today it involves online education. Courses that are conducted (51 percent or more)[3] are either hybrid,[4]blended[5] or 100% whole instruction. Massive open online courses (MOOCs), offering large-scale interactive participation and open access through the World Wide Web or other network technologies, are recent developments in distance education.[1] A number of other terms (distributed learning, e-learning, online learning, etc.) are used roughly synonymously with distance education.

One of the earliest attempts was advertised in 1728 in the Boston Gazette for "Caleb Philipps, Teacher of the new method of Short Hand," who sought students who wanted to learn through weekly mailed lessons.[6]

The first distance education course in the modern sense was provided by Sir Isaac Pitman in the 1840s, who taught a system of shorthand by mailing texts transcribed into shorthand on postcards and receiving transcriptions from his students in return for correction. The element of student feedback was a crucial innovation of Pitman's system.[7] This scheme was made possible by the introduction of uniform postage rates across England in 1840.[8]

This early beginning proved extremely successful, and the Phonographic Correspondence Society was founded three years later to establish these courses on a more formal basis. The Society paved the way for the later formation of Sir Isaac Pitman Colleges across the country.[9]

The first correspondence school in the United States was the Society to Encourage Studies at Home, founded in 1873.

The University of London was the first university to offer distance learning degrees, establishing its External Programme in 1858. The background to this innovation lay in the fact that the institution (later known as University College London) was non-denominational and, given the intense religious rivalries at the time, there was an outcry against the "godless" university. The issue soon boiled down to which institutions had degree-granting powers and which institutions did not.[10]

The compromise solution that emerged in 1836 was that the sole authority to conduct the examinations leading to degrees would be given to a new officially recognized entity called the "University of London", which would act as examining body for the University of London colleges, originally University College London and King's College London, and award their students University of London degrees. As Sheldon Rothblatt states, "thus arose in nearly archetypal form the famous English distinction between teaching and examining, here embodied in separate institutions."[10] With the state giving examining powers to a separate entity, the groundwork was laid for the creation of a programme within the new university that would both administer examinations and award qualifications to students taking instruction at another institution or pursuing a course of self-directed study.

Referred to as "People's University" by Charles Dickens because it provided access to higher education to students from less affluent backgrounds, the External Programme was chartered by Queen Victoria in 1858, making the University of London the first university to offer distance learning degrees to students.[11][12] Enrollment increased steadily during the late 19th century, and its example was widely copied elsewhere.[13] This program is now known as the University of London International Programme and includes Postgraduate, Undergraduate and Diploma degrees created by colleges such as the London School of Economics, Royal Holloway and Goldsmiths.[12]

In the United States, William Rainey Harper, first president of the University of Chicago, developed the concept of extended education, whereby the research university had satellite colleges of education in the wider community. In 1892 he also encouraged the concept of correspondence school courses to further promote education, an idea that was put into practice by Columbia University.[14][15] Enrollment in the largest private for-profit school based in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the International Correspondence Schools grew explosively in the 1890s. Founded in 1888 to provide training for immigrant coal miners aiming to become state mine inspectors or foremen, it enrolled 2500 new students in 1894 and matriculated 72,000 new students in 1895. By 1906 total enrollments reached 900,000. The growth was due to sending out complete textbooks instead of single lessons, and the use of 1200 aggressive in-person salesmen.[16][17] There was a stark contrast in pedagogy:

The regular technical school or college aims to educate a man broadly; our aim, on the contrary, is to educate him only along some particular line. The college demands that a student shall have certain educational qualifications to enter it, and that all students study for approximately the same length of time, and when they have finished their courses they are supposed to be qualified to enter any one of a number of branches in some particular profession. We, on the contrary, are aiming to make our courses fit the particular needs of the student who takes them.[18]

Education was a high priority in the Progressive Era, as American high schools and colleges expanded greatly. For men who were older or were too busy with family responsibilities, night schools were opened, such as the YMCA school in Boston that became Northeastern University. Outside the big cities, private correspondence schools offered a flexible, narrowly focused solution.[19] Large corporations systematized their training programs for new employees. The National Association of Corporation Schools grew from 37 in 1913 to 146 in 1920. Starting in the 1880s, private schools opened across the country which offered specialized technical training to anyone who enrolled, not just the employees of one company. Starting in Milwaukee in 1907, public schools began opening free vocational programs.[20]

Only a third of the American population lived in cities of 100,000 or more population In 1920; to reach the rest, correspondence techniques had to be adopted. Australia with its vast distances was especially active; the University of Queensland established its Department of Correspondence Studies in 1911.[21] In South Africa, the University of South Africa, formerly an examining and certification body, started to present distance education tuition in 1946. The International Conference for Correspondence Education held its first meeting in 1938.[22] The goal was to provide individualized education for students, at low cost, by using a pedagogy of testing, recording, classification, and differentiation.[23][24]

The Open University in the United Kingdom was founded by the then serving Labour Party government under the prime minister, Harold Wilson, based on the vision of Michael Young. Planning commenced in 1965 under the Minister of State for Education, Jennie Lee, who established a model for the OU as one of widening access to the highest standards of scholarship in higher education, and set up a planning committee consisting of university vice-chancellors, educationalists and television broadcasters, chaired by Sir Peter Venables. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Assistant Director of Engineering at the time, James Redmond, had obtained most of his qualifications at night school, and his natural enthusiasm for the project did much to overcome the technical difficulties of using television to broadcast teaching programmes.

The Open University revolutionized the scope of the correspondence program and helped to create a respectable learning alternative to the traditional form of education. It has been at the forefront of developing new technologies to improve the distance learning service[25] as well as undertaking research in other disciplines. Walter Perry was appointed the OU's first vice-chancellor in January 1969, and its foundation secretary was Anastasios Christodoulou. The election of the new Conservative Party government under the prime minister, Edward Heath, in 1970 led to budget cuts under Chancellor of the Exchequer Iain Macleod (who had earlier called the idea of an Open University "blithering nonsense").[26] However, the OU accepted its first 25,000 students in 1971, adopting a radical open admissions policy. At the time, the total student population of conventional universities in the United Kingdom was around 130,000.

Athabasca University, Canada's Open University, was created in 1970 and followed a similar, though independently developed, pattern.[27] The Open University inspired the creation of Spain's National University of Distance Education (1972)[28] and Germany's FernUniversitt in Hagen (1974).[29] There are now many similar institutions around the world, often with the name "Open University" (in English or in the local language).

Most open universities use distance education technologies as delivery methods, though some require attendance at local study centres or at regional "summer schools". Some open universities have grown to become mega-universities,[30] a term coined to denote institutions with more than 100,000 students.

Although the expansion of the Internet blurs the boundaries, distance education technologies are divided into two modes of delivery: synchronous learning and asynchronous learning.

In synchronous learning, all participants are "present" at the same time. In this regard, it resembles traditional classroom teaching methods despite the participants being located remotely. It requires a timetable to be organized. Web conferencing, videoconferencing, educational television, instructional television are examples of synchronous technology, as are direct-broadcast satellite (DBS), internet radio, live streaming, telephone, and web-based VoIP.[31] Web conferencing software helps to facilitate meetings in distance learning courses and usually contain additional interaction tools such as text chat, polls, hand raising, emoticons etc. These tools also support asynchronous participation by students being able to listen to recordings of synchronous sessions. Immersive environments (notably SecondLife) have also been used to enhance participant presence in distance education courses. Another form of synchronous learning that has been entering the classroom over the last couple of years is the use of robot proxies[32] including those that allow sick students to attend classes.[33]

Some universities have been starting to use robot proxies to enable more engaging synchronous hybrid classes where both remote and in person students can be present and interact using telerobotics devices such as the Kubi Telepresence robot stand that looks around and the Double Robot that roams around. With these telepresence robots, the remote students have a seat at the table or desk instead of being on a screen on the wall.[34][35]

In asynchronous learning, participants access course materials flexibly on their own schedules. Students are not required to be together at the same time. Mail correspondence, which is the oldest form of distance education, is an asynchronous delivery technology, as are message board forums, e-mail, video and audio recordings, print materials, voicemail, and fax.[31]

The two methods can be combined. Many courses offered by both open universities and an increasing number of campus based institutions use periodic sessions of residential or day teaching to supplement the sessions delivered at a distance.[36] This type of mixed distance and campus based education has recently come to be called "blended learning" or less often "hybrid learning". Many open universities uses a blend of technologies and a blend of learning modalities (face-to-face, distance, and hybrid) all under the rubric of "distance learning".

Distance learning can also use interactive radio instruction (IRI), interactive audio instruction (IAI), online virtual worlds, digital games, webinars, and webcasts, all of which are referred to as e-Learning.[36]

The rapid spread of film in the 1920s and radio in the 1930s led to proposals to use it for distance education.[38] By 1938, at least 200 city school systems, 25 state boards of education, and many colleges and universities broadcast educational programs for the public schools.[39] One line of thought was to use radio as a master teacher.

Experts in given fields broadcast lessons for pupils within the many schoolrooms of the public school system, asking questions, suggesting readings, making assignments, and conducting tests. This mechanizes education and leaves the local teacher only the tasks of preparing for the broadcast and keeping order in the classroom.[40]

A typical setup came in Kentucky in 1948 when John Wilkinson Taylor, president of the University of Louisville, teamed up with NBC to use radio as a medium for distance education, The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission endorsed the project and predicted that the "college-by-radio" would put "American education 25years ahead". The University was owned by the city, and local residents would pay the low tuition rates, receive their study materials in the mail, and listen by radio to live classroom discussions that were held on campus.[41]

Charles Wedemeyer of the University of WisconsinMadison also promoted new methods. From 1964 to 1968, the Carnegie Foundation funded Wedemeyer's Articulated Instructional Media Project (AIM) which brought in a variety of communications technologies aimed at providing learning to an off-campus population. The radio courses faded away in the 1950s.[42] Many efforts to use television along the same lines proved unsuccessful, despite heavy funding by the Ford Foundation.[43][44][45]

From 1970 to 1972 the Coordinating Commission for Higher Education in California funded Project Outreach to study the potential of telecourses. The study included the University of California, California State University and the community colleges. This study led to coordinated instructional systems legislation allowing the use of public funds for non-classroom instruction and paved the way for the emergence of telecourses as the precursor to the online courses and programs of today. The Coast Community Colleges, The Dallas County Community College District, and Miami Dade Community College led the way. The Adult Learning Service of PBS came into being and the wrapped series, and individually produced telecourse for credit became a significant part of the history of distance education and online learning.

The widespread use of computers and the internet have made distance learning easier and faster, and today virtual schools and virtual universities deliver full curricula online.[46] The capacity of Internet to support voice, video, text and immersion teaching methods made earlier distinct forms of telephone, videoconferencing, radio, television, and text based education somewhat redundant. However, many of the techniques developed and lessons learned with earlier media are used in Internet delivery.

The first new and fully online university was founded in 1994 as the Open University of Catalonia, headquartered in Barcelona, Spain. in 1999 Jones International University was launched as the first fully online university accredited by a regional accrediting association in the US.[47]

Between 2000 and 2008, enrollment in distance education courses increased rapidly in almost every country in both developed and developing countries.[48] Many private, public, non-profit and for-profit institutions worldwide now offer distance education courses from the most basic instruction through to the highest levels of degree and doctoral programs. New York University, for example, offers online degrees in engineering and management-related fields through NYU Tandon Online. Levels of accreditation vary: widely respected universities such as Stanford University and Harvard now deliver online coursesbut other online schools receive little outside oversight, and some are actually fraudulent, i.e., diploma mills. In the US, the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) specializes in the accreditation of distance education institutions.[49]

In the United States in 2011, it was found that a third of all the students enrolled in postsecondary education had taken an accredited online course in a postsecondary institution.[50] Even though growth rates are slowing, enrollment for online courses has been seen to increase with the advance in technology. The majority of public and private colleges now offer full academic programs online.[50] These include, but are not limited to, training programs in the mental health,[51]occupational therapy,[52][53]family therapy,[54]art therapy,[55]physical therapy,[53] and rehabilitation counseling[56] fields. Even engineering courses that require the manipulation and control of machines and robots[57] that are technically more challenging to learn remotely are subject to distance learning through the internet.

Distance education has a long history, but its popularity and use has grown exponentially as more advanced technology has become available. By 2008, online learning programs were available in the United States in 44 states at the K-12 level.[58]

Internet forums, online discussion group and online learning community can contribute to an efficacious distance education experience. Research shows that socialization plays an important role in some forms of distance education.[59]

E-courses are also a viable option for distance learning. There are many available that cover a broad range of topics.

Distance education can be delivered in a paced format similar to traditional campus based models in which learners commence and complete a course at the same time. Paced delivery is currently the most common mode of distance education delivery. Alternatively, some institutions offer self-paced programs that allow for continuous enrollment and the length of time to complete the course is set by the learner's time, skill and commitment levels. Paced courses may be offered in either synchronus mode, but self-paced courses are almost always offered asynchronously. Each delivery model offers both advantages and disadvantages for students, teachers and institutions.

Kaplan and Haenlein classify distance education into four groups along the dimensions Time dependency and Number of participants: 1) MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses): Open-access online course (i.e., without specific participation restrictions) that allows for unlimited (massive) participation; 2) SPOCs (Small Private Online Courses): Online course that only offers a limited number of places and therefore requires some form of formal enrollment; 3) SMOCs (Synchronous Massive Online Courses): Open-access online course that allows for unlimited participation but requires students to be "present" at the same time (synchronously); 4) SSOCs (Synchronous Private Online Courses): Online course that only offers a limited number of places and requires students to be "present" at the same time (synchronously).[1]

Paced models are a familiar mode as they are used almost exclusively in campus based schools. Institutes that offer both distance and campus programs usually use paced models as teacher workload, student semester planning, tuition deadlines, exam schedules and other administrative details can be synchronized with campus delivery. Student familiarity and the pressure of deadlines encourages students to readily adapt to and usually succeed in paced models. However, student freedom is sacrificed as a common pace is often too fast for some students and too slow for others. In addition life events, professional or family responsibilities can interfere with a students capability to complete tasks to an external schedule. Finally, paced models allows students to readily form communities of inquiry[60] and to engage in collaborative work.

Self-paced courses maximize student freedom, as not only can students commence studies on any date, but they can complete a course in as little time as a few weeks or up to a year or longer. Students often enroll in self-paced study when they are under pressure to complete programs, have not been able to complete a scheduled course, need additional courses or have pressure which precludes regular study for any length of time. The self-paced nature of the programming, though is an unfamiliar model for many students and can lead to excessive procrastination resulting in course incompletion. Assessment of learning can also be challenging as exams can be written on any day, making it possible for students to share examination questions with resulting loss of academic integrity. Finally, it is extremely challenging to organize collaborative work activities, though some schools[61] are developing cooperative models based upon networked and connectivist pedagogies,[62] for use in self-paced programs.

Distance learning can expand access to education and training for both general populace and businesses since its flexible scheduling structure lessens the effects of the many time-constraints imposed by personal responsibilities and commitments.[63] Devolving some activities off-site alleviates institutional capacity constraints arising from the traditional demand on institutional buildings and infrastructure.[63] Furthermore, there is the potential for increased access to more experts in the field and to other students from diverse geographical, social, cultural, economic, and experiential backgrounds.[54] As the population at large becomes more involved in lifelong learning beyond the normal schooling age, institutions can benefit financially, and adult learning business courses may be particularly lucrative.[63] Distance education programs can act as a catalyst for institutional innovation[63] and are at least as effective as face-to-face learning programs,[51][52][64] especially if the instructor is knowledgeable and skilled.[55]

Distance education can also provide a broader method of communication within the realm of education. With the many tools and programs that technological advancements have to offer, communication appears to increase in distance education amongst students and their professors, as well as students and their classmates. The distance educational increase in communication, particularly communication amongst students and their classmates, is an improvement that has been made to provide distance education students with as many of the opportunities as possible as they would receive in in-person education. The improvement being made in distance education is growing in tandem with the constant technological advancements. Present-day online communication allows students to associate with accredited schools and programs throughout the world that are out of reach for in-person learning. By having the opportunity to be involved in global institutions via distance education, a diverse array of thought is presented to students through communication with their classmates. This is beneficial because students have the opportunity to "combine new opinions with their own, and develop a solid foundation for learning".[65] It has been shown through research that "as learners become aware of the variations in interpretation and construction of meaning among a range of people [they] construct an individual meaning", which can help students become knowledgeable of a wide array of viewpoints in education.[65] To increase the likelihood that students will build effective ties with one another during the course, instructors should use similar assignments for students across different locations to overcome the influence of co-location on relationship building.[66]

The high cost of education affects students in higher education, to which distance education may be an alternative in order to provide some relief.[64] Distance education has been a more cost-effective form of learning, and can sometimes save students a significant amount of money as opposed to traditional education. Distance education may be able to help to save students a considerable amount financially by removing the cost of transportation.[67] In addition, distance education may be able to save students from the economic burden of high-priced course textbooks. Many textbooks are now available as electronic textbooks, known as e-textbooks, which can offer digital textbooks for a reduced price in comparison to traditional textbooks. Also, the increasing improvements in technology have resulted in many school libraries having a partnership with digital publishers that offer course materials for free, which can help students significantly with educational costs.[67]

Within the class, students are able to learn in ways that traditional classrooms would not be able to provide. It is able to promote good learning experiences and therefore, allow students to obtain higher satisfaction with their online learning.[68] For example, students can review their lessons more than once according to their need. Students can then manipulate the coursework to fit their learning by focusing more on their weaker topics while breezing through concepts that they already have or can easily grasp.[68] When course design and the learning environment are at their optimal conditions, distance education can lead students to higher satisfaction with their learning experiences.[64] Studies have shown that high satisfaction correlates to increased learning. For those in a healthcare or mental health distance learning program, online-based interactions have the potential to foster deeper reflections and discussions of client issues[53] as well as a quicker response to client issues, since supervision happens on a regular basis and is not limited to a weekly supervision meeting.[56] This also may contribute to the students feeling a greater sense of support, since they have ongoing and regular access to their instructors and other students.[53][56]

Distance learning may enable students who are unable to attend a traditional school setting, due to disability or illness such as decreased mobility and immune system suppression, to get a good education.[69] Children who are sick or are unable to attend classes are able to attend them in "person" through the use of robot proxies. This helps the students have experiences of the classroom and social interaction that they are unable to receive at home or the hospital, while still keeping them in a safe learning environment. Over the last few years[when?] more students are entering safely back into the classroom thanks to the help of robots. An article from the New York Times, "A Swiveling Proxy Will Even Wear a Tutu", explains the positive impact of virtual learning in the classroom,[70] and another[71] that explains how even a simple, stationary telepresence robot can help.[72] Distance education may provide equal access regardless of socioeconomic status or income, area of residence, gender, race, age, or cost per student.[73] Applying universal design strategies to distance learning courses as they are being developed (rather than instituting accommodations for specific students on an as-needed basis) can increase the accessibility of such courses to students with a range of abilities, disabilities, learning styles, and native languages.[74] Distance education graduates, who would never have been associated with the school under a traditional system, may donate money to the school.[75]

Distance learning may also offer a final opportunity for adolescents that are no longer permitted in the general education population due to behavior disorders. Instead of these students having no other academic opportunities, they may continue their education from their homes and earn their diplomas, offering them another chance to be an integral part of society.

Barriers to effective distance education include obstacles such as domestic distractions and unreliable technology,[76] as well as students' program costs, adequate contact with teachers and support services, and a need for more experience.[77]

Some students attempt to participate in distance education without proper training with the tools needed to be successful in the program. Students must be provided with training opportunities (if needed) on each tool that is used throughout the program. The lack of advanced technology skills can lead to an unsuccessful experience. Schools have a responsibility to adopt a proactive policy for managing technology barriers.[78]

The results of a study of Washington state community college students showed that distance learning students tended to drop out more often than their traditional counterparts due to difficulties in language, time management, and study skills.[79]

Distance learning benefits may outweigh the disadvantages for students in such a technology-driven society; however before indulging into use of educational technology a few more disadvantages should be considered.[according to whom?] However, through the years, all of the obstacles have been overcome and the world environment for distance education continues to improve.[according to whom?]

Some[who?] say a negative to distance education is the lack of direct face-to-face social interaction, however as more people become used to personal and social interaction online (for example dating, chat rooms, shopping, or blogging). it is becoming easier for learners to both project themselves and socialize with others. This is an obstacle that has dissipated.

Not all courses required to complete a degree may be offered online. Health care profession programs in particular, require some sort of patient interaction through field work before a student may graduate.[80] Studies have also shown that students pursuing a medical professional graduate degree who are participating in distance education courses, favor face to face communication over professor-mediated chat rooms and/or independent studies. However, this is little correlation between student performance when comparing the previous different distance learning strategies.[52]

There is a theoretical problem about the application of traditional teaching methods to online courses because online courses may have no upper size limit. Daniel Barwick noted that there is no evidence that large class size is always worse or that small class size is always better, although a negative link has been established between certain types of instruction in large classes and learning outcomes; he argued that higher education has not made a sufficient effort to experiment with a variety of instructional methods to determine whether large class size is always negatively correlated with a reduction in learning outcomes.[81] Early proponents of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC)s saw them as just the type of experiment that Barwick had pointed out was lacking in higher education, although Barwick himself has never advocated for MOOCs.

There may also be institutional challenges. Distance learning is new enough that it may be a challenge to gain support for these programs in a traditional brick-and-mortar academic learning environment.[53] Furthermore, it may be more difficult for the instructor to organize and plan a distance learning program,[56] especially since many are new programs and their organizational needs are different from a traditional learning program.

Another benefit of distance education is one for developing countries. Judith Adler Hellman states, "In the face of the pressure on these countries to join the global information economy, distance education appears to provide the opportunity to train more people better and at lower cost."[82]

Even though there are advantages in advancing industrial countries, there are still negative sides to distance education. Hellman states, "These include its cost and capital intensiveness, time constraints and other pressures on instructors, the isolation of students from instructors and their peers, instructors enormous difficulty in adequately evaluating students they never meet face-to-face, and drop-out rates far higher than in classroom-based courses."[82]

A more complex challenge of distance education relates to cultural differences between student and teachers and among students. Distance programmes tend to be more diverse as they could go beyond the geographical borders of regions, countries, and continents, and cross the cultural borders that may exist with respect to race, gender, and religion. That requires a proper understanding and awareness of the norms, differences, preconceptions and potential conflicting issues.[83]

The modern use of electronic educational technology (also called e-learning) facilitates distance learning and independent learning by the extensive use of information and communications technology (ICT), replacing traditional content delivery by postal correspondence. Instruction can be synchronous and asynchronous online communication in an interactive learning environment or virtual communities, in lieu of a physical classroom. "The focus is shifted to the education transaction in the form of virtual community of learners sustainable across time."[84]

One of the most significant issues encountered in the mainstream correspondence model of distance education is transactional distance, which results from the lack of appropriate communication between learner and teacher. This gap has been observed to become wider if there is no communication between the learner and teacher and has direct implications over the learning process and future endeavors in distance education. Distance education providers began to introduce various strategies, techniques, and procedures to increase the amount of interaction between learner and teacher. These measures e.g. more frequent face-to-face tutorials, increased use of information and communication technologies including teleconferencing and the Internet, were designed to close the gap in transactional distance.[85]

Online credentials for learningare digital credentials that are offered in place of traditional paper credentials for a skill or educational achievement. Directly linked to the accelerated development of internet communication technologies, the development ofdigital badges,electronic passportsandmassive open online courses(MOOCs) have a very direct bearing on our understanding of learning, recognition and levels as they pose a direct challenge to the status quo. It is useful to distinguish between three forms of online credentials: Test-based credentials, online badges, and online certificates.[86]

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Distance education - Wikipedia

Thursday, August 31, 2017 at 6:03 a.m.

The University of California system has 10 campuses,150 academic disciplines, and 600 graduate degree programs.

An Orange County real estate broker wants to add tens of thousands of online courses to that list. And he wants to make them available to the public. For free. The Bernie Sanders-style proposal, officially submitted this week to the California Attorney General as a potential ballot initiative, is clearly a long shot.

But its author, Boyd Roberts of Laguna Beach, thinks people will be so enthused by the prospect of getting a world class education on their laptops for no cost that they'll come out in droves to help him get the measure on the November 2018 ballot.

"The first thing it does is establish the right of the public to access publicly owned higher education," he says. "More specifically, it gives them the right to audit all publicly owned higher education online."

The measure would apply to Cal State University campuses and California Community Colleges, too. It would establish a two-tiered system for access to online courses: Anyone could audit a class online, but those who seek degrees would have to pay what amounts to a break-even price for the institution involved, Roberts says.

If voters approve the measure, it would amend the state's constitution. As such, it would take585,407 valid voter signatures to make the ballot. And that's if the Attorney General approves the proposal's language for signature gathering, a process that's usually without many glitches. Gathering that many signatures almost always requires a professional firm's help at the cost of $3 million or so, experts have estimated.

Roberts, who's also running for Congress as a Democrat against Republican U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, thinks a rare grassroots effort relying on volunteers could produce a breakthrough initiative.

"I think it would be very popular with students and parents," he says. "I visualize a social media campaign like the Ice Bucket Challenge of the Women's March. If it catches hold people can sign up their friends and ask them to get signatures."

The would-be politician says the effort could be cost neutral because it would attract new students to the online degree programs. Bonds would be issued to pay for initial infrastructure, he says. "I've got it set up to not impact the taxpayer at all," Roberts says. "Schools can't make it a profit center for the state and universities, either."

The measure would also encourage instructors to use "free, open-source books," Roberts says.

Russell Poulin, deputy director of research for online education nonprofit WicheCooperative for Educational Technologies, says the measure is a good idea but that it could be fraught with complications. Chief among them is the daunting volume of courses offered by public higher education institutions in the state. Many would be redundant, Poulin says.

"The way one professor teaches Shakespeare is different from the way another teaches it, so will we have a standard Shakespeare course," he asks.The University of Georgia has approached the problem by creating "an agreed upon core of general education courses available online."

However, if one or even a few Shakespeare courses are approved for online offerings over others, "you run into issues of academic freedom," Poulin says. In other words, would offering one class over another censor a professor? And disruptive students and trolls would have to be dealt with, especially if courses are open for free to the general public, he says.

Some courses, like theater classes, medical demonstrations or physical education, might not be amenable to online versions, Poulin says. And there are myriad of "long tail" classes with relatively obscure topics and low attendance that, while important to a student body, might not be worth the cost of online broadcasting, he argued.

"You'll have to figure out the economics of it," he says.

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Free Online University of California Education for All Aims for Ballot - L.A. Weekly

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "China Online Education Industry Report, 2016-2021" report has been added to Research and Markets' offering.

China's online education industry has expanded at a rate of around 20% in recent years, with the market worth of RMB150.7 billion in 2016, a year-on-year growth of 23%. Meanwhile, user scale also increased rapidly, reaching 89.27 million in the same period, a 21.9% rise from a year ago.

Propelled by favorable policies and capital inflows, the Chinese online education market and user scale will maintain a rapid growth rate, hitting an estimated RMB421.6 billion and 241.6 million in 2021, respectively.

China Online Education Industry Report, 2016-2021 highlights the following:

Key Topics Covered:

1 Overview of Online Education Industry

2 Development of China Education Industry

3 Development of China Online Education Industry

4 Market Segments in China Online Education Industry

5 Key Players

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/vs8xrw/china_online

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China Online Education Industry Report 2016-2021 - Research and Markets - Business Wire (press release)

Jordan Zabel jzabel@sekvoice.com

Education is a lifelong pursuit that radiates well outside the classroom, and takes on a plethora of vehicles. Whether it's in a formal academic setting or coming from years working the land, our minds are always learning and adapting to the challenges before us.

In our modern world, information is increasingly becoming more readily available every day. With the advent of the internet, and the ceaseless progression of technology that continues to produce more advanced personal computers and smartphones each year, our relationship to information is evolving. While there is certainly no shortage of escapist distractions on the world wide web, this is also an ever-growing number of opportunities for online education that people of all ages can benefit from.

When we learn something new, our brains grow new cells and builds new connections between neurotransmitters. This has proven physiological benefits for problem-solving and memory skills, as well core functions like advanced pattern recognition. Learning helps improve cognitive ability and memory function, which modern studies are repeatedly showing helps ward off debilitating mental conditions such as Alzheimers disease and dementia.

Perpetuating one's active and healthy mental state through their senior years is becoming easier to accomplish. Over the past decade, formal online learning has become more commonplace among adults. While senior citizens' use of the internet is perhaps less all-encompassing as younger adults, the rapid growth of technology, along with the inevitable effect of younger users aging, suggests that the majority of seniors will be using the internet for ever-widening purposes within just a few years. According to data gathered by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, the main uses of the internet by people over 60 are: Email, news, health information, product information, family research, and travel reservations. The increased availability of accredited online learning opportunities continues to grow rapidly, and could quickly become the primary use as more people become aware of its effectiveness.

Through are a number of tools to help assist older adults in revamping their academic pursuits. A number of universities across the country will waive or significantly reduce tuition for seniors for credit and non-credit courses. According to the American Council on Education, 60 percent of accredited degree-granting educational institutions in the U.S. offer tuition waivers for older adults. A number of states also offer scholarships to seniors. There are also organizations like the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), which is a non-profit that meets the needs of individuals 50 years of age and older who want to pursue their love of learning. The government offers tax deductions up to $10,000 in a lifetime for higher education purposes, providing even more incentive.

Kansas residents 60 and older can audit courses at state institutions on a space-available basis without paying tuition or fees. Many colleges and universities allow seniors to audit a course, which means that they can attend lectures but probably wont need to do homework or take exams. Auditing a course allows one to take advantage of the social and learning benefits without the stress associated with exams, essays and homework. The downside is that you usually dont receive a college credit for auditing a course, so if youre looking to earn a degree then this option wont be of much use.

In order to audit a course you usually have to contact the school directly and also receive permission from the professor. The registration process varies from school to school. The University of Kansas and Wichita State University, for example, both require senior auditors to apply for admission. Schools dont usually advertise that they do this, but its worth it to give them a call and ask about a course that interests you.

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Online education an opportunity for seniors - Sek Voice.com

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to the latest market study released by Technavio, the online higher education market in the US is expected to grow at a CAGR of almost 20% during the forecast period.

This research report titled Online Higher Education Market in the US 2017-2021 provides an in-depth analysis of the market in terms of revenue and emerging market trends. This market research report also includes up to date analysis and forecasts for various market segments and all geographical regions.

The online higher education market in the US is anticipated to witness rapid growth over the forecast period, owing to the robust ICT (information, communication, and technology) infrastructure, increased penetration of mobile devices, rising adoption of BYOD (bring your own devices), and surging demand for employability skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills. Several initiatives taken by universities and government in collaboration to promote online education in the US are also expected to boost the growth of online higher education over the forecast period.

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Technavios education research analysts categorize the online higher education market in the US into the following segment by subjects. They are:

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The top three revenue-generating segments of the online higher education market in the US are discussed below:

Commerce and management

Commerce and management accounted for the largest subject segment in the online higher education market in the US. The growth can be attributed to increasing enrollments for commerce and management roles in degree as well as non-degree courses for both graduate and undergraduate levels.

According to Jhansi Mary, a lead K-12 and higher education research analyst from Technavio, Opportunities from the banking sector, marketing sector, and people management roles tend to attract students, resulting in rising admissions in the bachelor's courses offered by universities in fields including finance, marketing, operations, and HRM. Students with limited financial backgrounds are also opting for non-degree management courses and certifications to apply for entry-level positions in fields such as marketing, sales, and others.

STEMS

STEM subjects accounted for the second largest subject segment in the online higher education market, owing to the increasing number of online enrollments in degree and non-degree courses offered by universities in different disciplines such as computer science, electronics and instrumentation, information technology, medical sciences, and health.

Increasing opportunities from the nursing and healthcare sectors have led to the surging online enrollments in courses offering bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in science-oriented subjects. Moreover, increasing emphasis by educators and parents on STEM education in schools develops an interest in them, which has resulted in the majority of students opting for STEM courses, thereby compelling the higher education institutes to offer degree courses in STEM education, adds Jhansi.

Arts

The online higher education market in the US by arts is expected to witness a considerable growth over the forecast period, owing to the increasing opportunities from the non-technical fields such as bachelor's and master's in literature, painting, visual communications, humanities, liberal arts, fashion, culinary skills, and others.

The growth can also be attributed to the promotion of arts by the US government. For instance, in 2014, Michelle Obama spoke in regarding the importance of arts in schools, in the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards held at the White House. As a part of the Reach Higher initiative, Michelle Obama hosted 150 students for Fashion Education Workshop, aiming to promote education and enable young fashion enthusiasts to pursue careers in the fashion industry.

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Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

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Online Higher Education Market in the US - Forecasts and Analysis by Technavio - Business Wire (press release)