08/03/2020
It’s a Friday afternoon at Beach Channel High School in Queens, New York. There are eleven sections of the course Interpersonal Communication in session and each one of these classes has a sign on the door “Do Not Enter Guided Fantasy in Session.” The students in these classes are taking time to explore their own inner worlds; taking time to discover their inner most dreams and aspirations; and taking time to relax into the power of their own personal potential. The ideas and experiences of this book will give you an opportunity to do the same.
“These are the best years of your life.” Do you find that hard to believe? I know when I was a teenager I thought anyone who said that to me was crazy. Yet, these are some of the most dynamic years of your life. You are developing at a greater and faster pace than at any other time in your life other than when you were an infant. You have the ability to process and retain more information now than you ever will, and you are in the throes of establishing yourself as an individual who is creating a future of your own design.
The role of any educational system is to provide you with the information and experiences you will need to enable you make the choices that give you a sense of self and purpose in your life. Despite the focus on academic achievement (as measured by standardized testing), there is still work to be done to help you make a connection with what you are learning. Are you equipped to explore what is truly important to you? Do you know how to find what will make you feel fulfilled? Are you learning the skills that you need to succeed in your mission? If you have asked yourself these questions once, twice or maybe even daily, then you will enjoy the ideas, stories, examples, demonstrations and exercises outlined in this book.
If you are a teenager on a quest you might have found this book on your own; or, maybe, you are a parent who had an “ah-ha” moment and seized this book as a tool to assist you in finding “the missing link” in your child’s education. Perhaps you are a teacher looking for an opportunity to try some new techniques in the classroom.
Anyone can use the exercises and techniques outlined in this book independently or as part of a group to unlock inner knowing, intuition and capacity to connect with what is important to succeed in life. The skills presented in Awareness High School provide support that you can use throughout your entire life.
Many of the techniques have been adapted from some of the great teachers of the human potential movement, mind dynamics, health and well being, and communications. Some of these techniques were originally developed for adults, to help them discover their innate power and potential. Well, it’s about time that they were made available to young people, like yourself. Awareness High School makes these techniques available to teenagers at the point in life when it is natural to explore identity and what can be done to impact the world. Each chapter contains a lesson about a different strategy you can use for your best advantage. Many of the techniques can be used to assist you in any course of study you are now pursuing, or in the development of a future vision. The techniques can be used to achieve greater results in many domains.
