The uniqueness of our school is best described through the three themes of adventure, service and self-discovery. Throughout the year, students are challenged to broaden their horizons through involvement in a wide variety of expansive, outside-the-classroom experiences.

In previous years students have:
—studied marine biology on the coast of Baja California;
—worked with Alzheimers patients at an adult daycare center;
—helped out in a war refugee camp in Italy;
—toured the West Coast with student drama and music productions;
—assisted in classrooms for severely handicapped children;
—visited monasteries and ashrams in the US and India;
—worked in local food banks and homeless shelters;
—protected endangered sea turtles along the beaches of Costa Rica;
—volunteered to plant trees and collect litter at national parks;
—helped build houses with Habitat for Humanity;
—worked for two weeks in a Mexican orphanage;
and much more.

Through these adventure and service projects students not only broaden their sense of what they are capable of, but gain invaluable insights into some of life’s subtler dimensions.

“After a week at the orphanage, I learned a lot more than Spanish. My new friends taught me more than I could ever give back. I learned everything from songs to prayers, dish-washing to basketball, even a new hairstyle! Although none of the kids were well-off, they all had a sense of joy that I don’t see in middle-class America. It was worth getting up extra early to help with the chores. It was worth repetitive meals. It was worth it all. I made, we all made, new friends. I will never forget them.” C.P., LWHS student

The natural focus of teenagers is to explore and experience the world around them. By working sensitively with this innate tendency, we find abundant opportunities for cultivating self-discovery on many levels. Through helping others, students gain personal validation for the maxim "Service is joy." In challenging their capacity for adventure, comes a realization of the truth "There are no such things as obstacles, only opportunities." Periods of introspection, meditation, and time alone in nature deepen the experience of self-awareness. Through activities of this kind, students gradually become more comfortable with themselves and more secure in their inner wisdom. And of course, nothing is more motivating to this age group than sharing all these experiences with like-minded friends.

“Our daughter came to Living Wisdom High School from Germany. Most important to us was that in the very sensitive time of adolescence, children learn to be more in contact with their inner selves and to look inside for answers to their questions. The teachers guide the students to help them to see their own difficulties as well as their strengths." T.J., Bonn, Germany