Human Excellence means...

Excellence in each of the five domains of human personality: Love, Truth, Peace, Right Conduct and Non-violence

Who are we?

We are a world-wide group of citizens – psychologists, teachers, scientists, lawyers, parents and concerned others – who believe that unless our present civilisation regains its moral compass we are on a fast track to an ecological and humanitarian disaster of epic proportions.

Each one of us has a long history of involvement in the psychology of personal transformation, and also in reformist education that gives equal or more weight to the development of both moral and performance character (good and smart) in our mandatory school system.

We believe that the world cannot change unless we ourselves are willing to engage in an ongoing self-transformation in how we think and live. To do this requires courage and commitment, but the personal rewards are great indeed.

As Reinhold Niebuhr has said:

Change is the essence of life: be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.

The Academy for Human Excellence has been directly involved in setting up two schools – Toogoolawa School in Australia (www.toogoolawa.com.au ) and The Embodiment of Love Academy (TELA – www.joyvillages.org) in Nigeria – that are run according to a form of Values-based Education termed Human Values Education. Their spiritually- inclined approach aims to bring forth from within each student the universal Human Values of Love, Truth, Peace, Right Conduct and Non-violence, which are said to subsume all of the noble virtues and to have endless depth and breadth akin to that of saints.

The Academy and the two Schools are honoured to have two Senior Advisors, Emeritus Professors Terence Lovat and Ron Toomey, both of whom are leading researchers into Values-based Education worldwide.

Additionally, the Academy has had two visionary educationists/humanitarians/philosophers as mentors, Sathya Sai Baba and Sri Madhusudan Sai, both of whom have established a number of free schools, hospitals and universities in India and abroad that have the five universal Human Values as their guiding principles.

Why are we here?

We believe that there is a manner of thinking, feeling and behaving that is truly human, in the same way that a bee and a tree behave exactly as they must. If a critical mass of us can set in motion a flowering of our innate human excellence, the tide will be turned and peace without measure will saturate the world.

There are many people in the world who, like us, feel an inner calling to let go of those limitations in the mind that have been keeping us away from a more lasting and meaningful happiness. Our wish and intention is to share with you some discoveries being made in the field of personal development, and to provide a collection of wise sayings to use as catalyst for change within oneself.

Much of our focus is on the education of children, for they are the parents and citizens of the future. If they can complete their schooling as compassionate and humane young people, with an eagerness to help those less fortunate then, we believe, a new era of world-wide harmonious relationships will be born.

What can we do?

It might seem that, as individuals, we can do little to bring about a change in the world. However, each one of us is a catalyst for change in others. The presence of one truly peaceful person in a café shop invariably has an effect upon others present.

As adults, when we look back over our lives, we can see how we’ve stumbled, then learned, and in this way we have changed. We have grown more into our true potential. So we know that self-transformation is possible. We need to change, not only for ourselves and the world, but, more importantly, for the sake of the young ones in society. Our children, our students, are the future of our society. We need to give a much higher priority to the fostering of good character and self-confidence in young children and teenagers.

The cloak of virtue that the young ones wear will be determined in large part by the way in which we, as adults, think, feel and act.The essential catalyst that will allow the young to aspire ever-upwards towards being good and true is that we, the concerned adults, take as our own the words of Mahatma Gandhi:

Be the change that you want to see in the world

That is, if we can have the courage to shed our ego-skin again and again, so as to rediscover our own human excellence, our young ones will be inspired to emulate us. They will build a strong moral compass for guiding them unerringly through life’s challenges, tribulations and joys.

We believe that there is much that we can do, for each one of us lives inside an extraordinary biological, biochemical, neurological machine that can be reprogrammed to reach for the stars within ourselves. As the Ukrainian educationist Vasily Sukhomlinsky wrote:

I am firmly convinced that the human personality is inexhaustible; each may become a creator, leaving behind a trace upon the earth…There should not be any nobodies – specks of dust cast upon the wind. Each one must shine, just as billions upon billions of galaxies shine in the heavens.

Where do we begin?

With these goals in mind – self transformation in the individual and a revolution in education – we have established the Australian Academy for Human Excellence, a division of the non-profit Heart of Love Foundation (Australia). The work of the Academy is to:

1. Provide tools and techniques for individuals to rediscover their true Self, their joy in being alive every moment, and a higher love for both themselves and all others.
2. Remind teachers of the nobility of their profession and awaken them to the momentous task in front of them, for the future of our society is in their hands. The challenge for them is to so transform themselves that their students will be inspired towards manifesting their own human excellence.

“You have a treasure within you
that is infinitely greater than anything
the world can offer.”

— Eckhart Tolle

What do we do?

We encourage all concerned citizens to strive towards living the five universal Human Values which are:

Love – Use caring and respectful words; develop compassion, kindness, generosity and greatness of spirit; care for the environment, for each other, and for ourselves
Truth – Speak honestly and confidently; develop the power of reason, intuition and a sense of inquiry; recognise the Oneness of all humanity, all life, all of creation.
Peace – Develop self-respect, calmness, patience, forgiveness, and self-control; value others; move without hurry.
Right Conduct – Develop integrity, determination, perseverance, cleanliness, punctuality and respect for the laws of society; be true to our conscience, or moral compass.
Non-violence – Avoid hurtful thoughts, words or actions; practise forbearance, cooperation, gentleness, consideration, respect and tolerance towards others; limit desires and have respect for Nature.

In support of the above, the Academy provides free online courses in a number of areas and recommends inspirational wise sayings, reflections, Self-help Therapy tools, and more, so that you have much to choose from. We invite you to browse through the Menu items, and to follow up on whatever resonates with you.