Ki
What is the energy of the space?
The pandemic has surely sensitized us to the energy in our collective homes: the impact of our tempers and kindnesses, hopes and disappointments, frustrations and expressions of joy. Our homes have become crucibles, sensitizing us to Ki.
What is the energy of the space?
You are responsible for the energy of your environment: this is what it means to acknowledge “Ki”. Your presence is never neutral: it is either contributing to the collective energy, or draining it. Whatever your level of knowledge, wisdom, experience, or emotion, and whatever your age, you impact the energy of your environment. The intention of Ki as an educational experience is to recognize your impact, and take responsibility for it. It is also a powerful tool for building leadership skills.
What is the energy of the space?
So much of childhood puts children at a disadvantage: ignorance, inexperience, naiveté, dependency. Ki is an opportunity for empowerment nonetheless, as well as an antidote to focusing on yourself or shrinking into invisibility, both signs of crippling individualism. Ki is an invitation to a shared mindset and the possibility of balance between the personal and the collective.
“Ki” comes from the Japanese for aura, energy or vibe, but Buddhist priest Ryokyu Endo described it as:
“energy from the universe and the natural world that reflects our minds and actions. ”
Consider the complexities that emerge from that simple statement. To take responsibility for the collective energy in a space requires first, an ability to read it. It requires some sensitivity to how the space feels, and how everyone in it is feeling. It requires empathy and intuition. Second, it requires a goal, an end-state, a sense of what the room could feel like. Third, it requires the confidence and self-knowledge to know what to do about it: how to inject the right energy. Finally, it requires the will to act: to actually take responsibility for elevating the Ki. Underlying all of this is a choice to be that person who takes responsibility for the collective energy, the person who chooses collective energy over personal concern.
Consider: How might you encourage your students to each feel and take responsibility for the Ki of your classroom?
Could anything be more antithetical to the American ethos than taking responsibility for the collective energy of a space? Yet, there is something specifically individual about taking responsibility for Ki. It can’t be done by following the herd, or ceding responsibility to a leader, or simply amplifying someone else’s noise. This is the conversation that gets so muddled in the United States. Standing on your own two feet, exactly what is required to take responsibility for Ki, is instead understood as a mandate to take care only of yourself. This culture exalts independence as if this were an end in itself, instead of acknowledging that without common purpose, independence is mere isolation: a tree falling in the forest with no one to hear. Taking responsibility for Ki: this is the essence of leadership. Taking care of yourself: necessary no doubt, but in isolation just a recipe for irrelevance.
Master Endo continues:
“To not depend on any authorities; to purely feel Ki energy, as a body sensation; to stand alone on your own two feet — this is the meaning of ‘wander alone like a rhinoceros’. ”
Think independently and live a noble life in service to the whole, in other words, instead of the life of a herd animal dependent on the thoughts of others and the actions of the group. Why is it so important to learn this as a child? The instinct to fit in is strong, and the temptation to compromise or subvert what you believe or feel in the interest of acceptance can be overwhelming. To fight this, we would need a school culture of radical acceptance in which everyone is expected and encouraged to think independently. We would need a culture of iconoclasm.
Consider: As a teacher, you may be responsible for managing a classroom. How might you use the idea of Ki to help you do so?
What does Ki have to do with leadership? An article from Forbes magazine lays the foundation for this argument:
“Your IQ score pales in comparison with your EQ, MQ, and BQ scores when it comes to predicting your success and professional achievement . . . Research carried out by the Carnegie Institute of Technology shows that 85 percent of your financial success is due to skills in “human engineering,” your personality and ability to communicate, negotiate, and lead. Shockingly, only 15 percent is due to technical knowledge. ”
EQ: Emotional Intelligence. Empathy, but also understanding yourself.
MQ: Moral Intelligence. Goodness, but not intransigence or rigidity. No high horse here.
BQ: Body Intelligence. Grace, a combination of flexibility and strength.
These are all components of how you present yourself, move others, and modulate the energy around you. They are the tools for mastering Ki.
What is the energy of the space? What can you do to elevate it, and everyone around you? To know this and do this: this is the seed of leadership.
Consider: How might you enhance your own EQ, MQ and BQ, and help your students to do the same?
References
Endo, R. (2017, October 14). Just Walk Alone Like Nietzsche Part II. [Dharma Talk at Tao Sangha Tokyo Center]
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HN72CXcNzWgkCw625_mCREjAouAGZ_Yk94yIZw80Ubk/edit
Jensen, K. (2012, April 12). Intelligence Is Overrated: What You Really Need To Succeed. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/keldjensen/2012/04/12/intelligence-is-overrated-what-you-really-need-to-succeed/#70831971b6d2
Your thoughts on this journal post are highly valued, as I continue to build and refine my perspective on schools and the school environment. Please share your own experiences and perceptions of the school environment below!