Civils Being Civil
Heidi Williams
For generations, civil engineering has been known as a "people-serving profession," so maybe it shouldn't come as a surprise that two Santa Clara University civil engineering professors recently teamed up to publish a paper aimed at helping humankind restore inner and world peace.
Colleagues John Finnemore (now professor emeritus) and professor Sukhmander Singh share a bond beyond their chosen profession; they both have a deep interest in spirituality. And while Singh has grown increasingly concerned about the "loss of harmony between the sublime/spiritual/divine in nature and within us" that separates us from "peaceful living within ourselves and among nations," Finnemore has been championing spirituality as a means to nobility of character leading to peace and harmony.
The result of their collaboration is "Restoring Inner Peace in a Science Dominated Society," a paper presented at The Religion in Society Knowledge Community Fifth International Conference on Religion and Spirituality in Society, at the University of California, Berkeley, this past April.
The authors are quick to point out that their definition of spirituality has nothing to do with religion; rather, it entails the development of personal responsibility, humility, sincerity, and integrity (among other traits) in the pursuit of being a channel for good.
"This work is consistent with the SCU mission to help humanity. We should strive to be of good character, conscious of suffering, and compassionate in our desire to relieve it. When we are in harmony with nature, and when we seek to behave with honesty, sincerity, and fairness, our rewards are far greater than any ego-driven pursuits. Someone has to raise a flag and pause to think about these things; that's why we wrote this paper," said Singh.
Finnemore, who recently compiled Spiritual Light: Universal Teachings from the Highest Spirit Realms (available via www.theusb.org) adds, "As a civil engineer, my focus was on environmental protection; I see this work as society protection. As a society, we have serious difficulties resolving conflicts, helping starving populations, and protecting our planet. We need to raise consciousness among different audiences, and this work is one way of doing that."