June 2001

The Blossoming of Totality
By Jane Bialosky

One morning at Heavenly Mountain Ideal Girls' School (HMIGS), the 10th grade American History students were working quietly on their individual assignments. One student was writing to the President, explaining how Consciousness-Based education would end school violence. She suddenly bubbled up, "Isn't this exciting! I'm writing to the President!" Another student chimed in, aglow with her insight, "Yes, we are all doing something important."

Ideal Girls' School students are indeed doing something important. They are growing rapidly in higher states of consciousness. During their twice-daily Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs, the girls are experiencing the home of all knowledge within themselves. As a result they are bold and confident in their academic classes, effortlessly expressing and applying the most profound principles.

Visiting educators are first struck by the students' obvious happiness and harmony. They then note the stellar academic achievement and top scores on standardized tests (average SAT scores, for example, are above the national average for the top private girls' schools) and conclude, this is indeed a remarkable school.

The "Ideal" in "Ideal Girls' School" also extends to the teachers. Head Teacher Sidney Gibson observes, "teaching at the HMIGS is a teacher's dream. The students enjoy their assignments and are easily engaged. We have lively discussions and every student willingly participates, contributing profound insights whatever the topic." For Mrs. Gibson teaching is deeply rewarding. This is in sharp contrast to the growing discontent of American teachers who are leaving the teaching profession in droves for more lucrative, satisfying, and yes, less dangerous, professions.

Middle school teacher Rose Phillips came to HMIGS from a charter school in Washington, D.C. "There is a big difference here," she explains, "The girls are like sponges; they want to learn; they want to think, they want to use their brains—they really do! They are focused. They are not daydreaming off in Timbuktu. The things I get out of them in an hour-it's incredible! It doesn't even feel like teaching. I finish the day with more energy than when I began. I feel such a deep level of inner peace and fulfillment." Her experience confirms the Vedic principle that the teacher gains more than the students. Teaching at a Vedic school like HMIGS promotes the teacher's own evolution.

Heavenly Mountain Ideal Girls' School is in the home of the Mother Divine program in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. This most sublime and nourishing atmosphere creates a heavenly life for students, teachers, and staff. A math teacher summed up the experience, "When I drive down the mountain each day after teaching at the Ideal Girls' School, I think to myself, 'This has been just about a perfect day.'"

If you would like to be a student or teacher, or join the staff at HMIGS, applications are now being accepted. Grades 7-12 day, 9-12 boarding. Call 1-888-IdealEd.

Jane Bialosky teaches American History at Heavenly Mountain Ideal Girls' School and is a member of the School's Strategic Planning Board.