Educating A New Art Of Self-Development

As pandemic-related stressors have spilled over into the 2022 academic year, educators are still addressing emotional well-being issues with students. According to a recent Forbes article, medical experts report that the pandemic has only intensified an already deteriorating situation ranging from hopelessness, sadness, and suicidal ideation that has been growing for years.

While many educational environments have set up Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs to address concerns, according to EdTech magazine, they are often insufficient to provide students with the non-cognitive skills necessary to process their emotions. As a result, institutions are now considering less traditional methods such as self-regulation spaces and meditation as add-on measures to provide holistic approaches to help students and teachers in the classroom.

Shai Tubali, a recognized figure in the field of self-development and self-empowerment, represents a practitioner taking the non-cognitive approach to a different level. Combining psychology, philosophy, Yogic traditions, and Eastern practices into processes of inner transformation, he has developed a technique and an associated app called the “Expansion Method.”

Tubali’s background as a prolific writer (23 books to date), researcher, and a recent Ph.D. from the University of Leeds, U.K., are funneled into his practice. His idea is to simplify the art of meditation, shortening the process of arriving at the center of emotional healing.

According to Tubali, many researchers bring their enthusiasm to universities, and the concept of higher consciousness is especially active in philosophy and psychology. These approaches are gaining momentum as new solutions drawn from Buddhism, and early Hindu studies are added to the mix. Improved solutions are the objective of higher education as mindsets expand inside traditional paths.

While just birthed as a method, his years of training and knowledge may have arrived at an alternative, more rapid approach to self-help that could find its place in various environments yet to be considered.

Below is a condensed version of an interview with Tubali that brings awareness to a non-traditional approach to handling emotional understanding and healing through a profound shift in consciousness.

Rod Berger: Describe the basis of your method and approach to growth and self-development.

Shai Tubali: The Expansion Method is a systematic and quick approach to expanding consciousness that is freeing to the individual. Often our mind is narrowly focused on specific thoughts and emotions, and we recognize our inner world as consisting of these emotions.

But there are vast regions that have remained unexplored within our minds because most of our mind consists of awareness that we never get to discover because we are so focused on a small circle of thought.

All meditation in the history of humanity has been busy trying to transmit this principle and to make it applicable. The idea is to shift the attention from those thoughts and emotions to wider regions, where we immediately experience bliss, happiness, contentment, and the complete dissolution of problem consciousness.

It can provide a healthier body because we feel as if we have breathing space. Yet what differentiates the Expansion Method from others is that the systematic nature of the practice happens more rapidly than ordinary meditations. So it is very accessible to beginners.

Berger: Are there applications you see this method being most beneficial for emotional healing?

Tubali: There is currently tremendous interest in psychology in treating post-traumatic disorders and other ailments using psychoactive substances. We tested the model with a researcher in brain science that tried the Expansion Method and found it closely resembled the results of psychoactive applications. The state of consciousness induced can enable someone to be in a broad state from which they can heal contracted and haunting memories.

The issue with psychoactive substances is that the tendency is to believe that the states of consciousness are outside, causing a sense of dependence on the external rather than developing the understanding that the power of consciousness lies within one’s innermost being.

The inner approach is a tremendous power, a true inner strength when you finally can release your suffering through the power of your consciousness.

Berger: Are there specific teachings or research you have leaned on in developing the Expansion Method?

Tubali: My research concentrated on the 20th century work of Jiddu Krishnamurti and his use of dialogue to apply to transformation and clarity of mind. Krishnamurti used to conduct his conversation in a very peculiar way that shocked and puzzled people by posing a question that your mind immediately tried to solve, causing your thoughts to rush toward the question and answer. Things like what is God, what is love, and what’s the meaning of life would be posed.

Then he would persistently negate any answer that may have arisen in the people’s minds until he would reject all the stored knowledge and past experiences. As a result, the participants reached a state in which their minds became blank. From this state of clarity, one gained insight into the question that belongs in reality and not to the conditioned mind.

Berger: Are you introducing technology approaches to your method that may help the idea reach a broader audience looking for accessibility?

Tubali: Yes. As a part of our current plans for the Expansion Method app, we are developing a prototype of conversational artificial intelligence (AI) expansion processes that will enable the listener to go through engaging meditative guidance. It will allow us to imitate the highly successful one-on-one work with an expansion coach.

This is done in collaboration with a world-leading expert in conversational AI. What is fascinating about this type of innovation is that it is novel to the field of guided meditations, which has thus far been mainly based on generalized recordings.

Tubali sees self-recognition as an evolution in life as one realizes the unused potential that has been missing all along. The expanded consciousness in his Expansion Method provides a selective means to address self-awareness that can lead to growth and understanding.

The education community searching for answers to emotional well-being may eventually turn its eye to alternative approaches, especially if they are systematized and quick to apply. According to Tubali, much is to be gained from the popular Einstein quote, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” It seems apropos not just for consciousness expansion but also as a general rule of thumb to progress.

Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.