I have finally decided to major in psychology. And I have already picked out the school that I just wish to go to for both my bachelors and masters degrees - Naropa University. Naropa is a private (read: expensive as hell) university which provides Buddhist-based education up in the liberal foothills of Boulder, Colorado. Truth be told, the entire reason why I moved to Colorado in the first place was so that I could easily attend Naropa. And guess how I suddenly became broke? Yes, it was by trying to move to and live in Boulder without having a job already lined up before the move. But either way, there are several reasons why I want to have a Buddhist-based education in psychology at Naropa.
- The Theory of Contemplative Education - Contemplative Education, a mainstay at Naropa University is the idea that education is more than just listening to the teacher, the text book and just considering the information provided to you. No, at Naropa, education is much more than this!
- The Maitri Retreats - A part of the BA Contemplative Psychology programme is the Maitri retreats. (Maitri is the Buddhist idea of loving kindness). These are held at the Shambhala Mountain Centre, which is in northern Colorado - just 2 hours north of Boulder. While I have never been on one of these retreats, I have heard many good things about them and judging from what I hear, they are very vital to the Contemplative Education process.
- The Boulder/Naropa Community - When I tried to live in Boulder, the people were so nice and friendly. The community is serious about the environment (hence the number of bike trails and pedestrians). It is also a college town, so I feel very good about living there since there will be lots of people my age and hopefully, I can find a nice hot lesbian to date and marry and live together forever with. ^_^
- My Buddhist beliefs and UU Principles - It’s an education that I believe will help me grow into my Buddhist beliefs and Unitarian Universalist principles.
The only problem I see is financing my education. Naropa is terribly expensive - to the tune of, about, $10,000 per semester for tuition alone. Ouch! That means my BA will cost me $80,000 and by the time I get my MA, it will be $140,000. And since I plan to pursue a doctorate at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, the costs just keep going up. Not to mention books, food, rent in Boulder (a real killer) and all sorts of other ‘fun stuff’.
Yeahhh.. time to start applying for scholarships NOW.
