With Jim Garrison Ph.D, Caroline Myss Ph.D, Peter Merry Ph.D (Cand.), Paul Ray Ph.D, Marjolein Berger-Vos, Marja de Vries

This is the fourth in a 2013 series of WisdomU intensives in the Netherlands. See https://www.wisdomuniversity.org/WisdomLife.htm for full details.

Course Overview

This course will focus on the challenge of pursuing wisdom at a time, such as ours, of extreme duress. Economic disruption, ecological instability, social alienation, and political incompetence are converging to produce an almost universal sense of unease about whether our systems of governance can maintain any sense of institutional normalcy or moral integrity in the face of increasing turbulence, mostly emanating out of the escalating effects of global warming and related ecological and economic disasters. Highly paradoxically, it is during times of extreme chaos that the spirit of wisdom finds her voice with the most daring authenticity and subtle potency.

This complex reality calls into question what we mean by “wisdom” and what we mean by “civilization.” To answer these questions, we will traverse the pathways of human history, looking at written history as well as at the wisdom of societies without written history, and including the roles of both men and women. We will consider the profound contribution of the Greeks to the notion of wisdom as a way of life. We will contemplate the sources of wisdom and how wisdom can inform our vision of a more humane future.

The course will take an integral approach, exploring what this means for the individual, for culture and relationship, and for society and organisation. Drawing on the discoveries of the previous three 2013 intensives, we will integrate what we know about the deep patterns of the change at this time, the wisdom of ancient traditions and the groundbreaking insights of frontier science.

As ever on WisdomU intensives, afternoons will be devoted to transformational art, to integrate our full being and provide space for self-expression.

Plenary/Small Group topics include:

Wisdom and Civilization

Drawing on the essential teachings of key phases in the development of our human civilization, we will look at what we can learn about the integration of wisdom into our modern-day civilization. What are the principles we have learned during our journey on this earth that we would be wise to consider living by today?

Faculty: Dr. Jim Garrison

Your Inner Wisdom

We explore an inner path to self-knowledge, a road to spiritual knowledge of your own soul. In fact the soul is your spiritual castle and doing interior soul work helps you find your path in the world Practices and methods of spiritual inquiry develop your personal powers of prayer, contemplation, and intuition, which in turn reinforce your interior castle and build a soul of strength and stamina. With stories and inspiration from mystics of all traditions, we will go on a journey into the center of your soul.

Faculty: Caroline Myss, Ph.D.

A Wisdom Culture

The cultural creatives are people who are deeply spiritual without being dogmatically religious and who are committed to technology and economic prosperity but not at the cost of the environment or community. They understand the world holistically and are deeply committed to non-ideological politics that emphasize practical solutions. They thus represent a dramatic departure from the traditional value system represented by religious fundamentalists or the modernist worldview represented by much of the scientific and business community. Not since the Enlightenment, when the modernist worldview began to emerge, has there been such a profound realignment in fundamental human values. The cultural creatives carry the values of the emerging wisdom culture. We will explore the qualities of that culture and its implications for our work in the world.

Faculty: Dr Paul Ray (by skype)

Societies in Balance

“Societies in Balance” is a term coined to describe societies in which the universal laws are an inherent part of all aspects of the culture. The common goal within these societies is to contribute to the wellbeing of all and everything, making it possible that individuals as well as the society as a whole can function in an optimal way. Therefore these are egalitarian, stable, peaceful and flourishing societies, able to exist for thousands of years in harmony with themselves, other societies, the natural environment and the Earth. The good news is that such “Societies in Balance” are not a utopia, for they have existed worldwide in many places and a few still exist today.

“Societies in Balance” are characterised by equality between men and women. These societies have committed themselves to the responsibility of always maintaining and/or restoring balance—balance in themselves, balance in the society and balance in nature. We will look at the essential features of “Societies in Balance” and examples of their existence to understand what is necessary for the transformation toward worldwide “Societies in Balance”.

Faculty: Marja de Vries

See https://www.wisdomuniversity.org/WisdomLife.htm for full details.