Lifelong Learning - Course Listing & Descriptions

This course introduces students to the field of transpersonal studies as it relates to psychology, philosophy, science, and human development. Including a blend of both the theoretical and the practical, the course is designed to provide students with a background in knowledge related to the transpersonal. In particular, the course explores the life and work of Edgar Cayce, an individual who embodied the spirit of the transpersonal throughout his life. Finally, students will be asked to incorporate elements of the transpersonal into their own lives and report on the results.

A secondary purpose of this introductory course is to review and practice the elements of effective writing and APA style. Students will discuss the principles of writing in self-analyses, two conference calls, and two peer reviews. Though the conference calls are mandatory, students with time conflicts may listen to the recordings and then email their responses to the mentor. This course must be taken first in the Master of Arts in Transpersonal Psychology program. Note: This course includes a proctored exam.

The purpose of this required course is to provide students in-depth study of the dynamics of change and conflict, the relationship between these, and the importance of leadership in relation to these. Particular attention will be given to the types and styles of leadership needed for guiding successful change and avoiding or reducing conflicts. Case studies in sociocultural, business/economic, and political areas will be used for examining the change/conflict parameters, as well as the leadership used. The purpose includes students' developing their own leadership qualities and capabilities, especially for areas of change or conflict of personal interest. Students will create a project in which they structure the leadership necessary for some change or conflict they would like to see addressed. Note: This course includes a proctored exam.

Throughout the ages, individuals who have had intense religious experiences have also frequently exhibited unusual behaviors ranging from eccentric to fanatical, from saintly to insane. This course will assist students in defining such key concepts as mysticism, mental health, and mental illness, among others. Course work will focus on the neurobiological, psychosocial, and transpersonal aspects of various forms of mystical experience and mental illness. Students will be encouraged to examine their own experiences and develop a strategy for maintaining balance on the spiritual path. Those who take the class will be provided with guidelines and suggestions for assisting others who may be undergoing a "spiritual emergency" or "transformational crisis." Note: This course includes a proctored exam.

The purpose of this required course is to understand how power works and how to use it skillfully as a leader with different parties and under different circumstances. Power dynamics exist any time two or more people are in a relationship. Leadership by definition involves the legitimate exercise of power to move people to follow a desired course of action. This course focuses on what spiritual paths call "right use of power," the ability to influence others by tapping into their own interests while serving the greater good. It covers the different kinds of power - when to use them skillfully for the best results; how to balance the need for results against the need to maintain positive relationships; how to manage and develop individuals; how to lead teams and serve on leadership teams; and how to lead larger organizations. Note: This course includes a proctored exam.

The purpose of this course is to teach certain skills associated with the introverted side of life as it relates to transpersonal themes of personal development found in mythology. Included is a study of the practice of dream interpretation, meditation, and imagination and their use in personal growth as expressed in the development of a personal mythology. A personal mythology is a uniquely personal version of a universal story regarding the meaningful events typically found in a person's life span. The student will engage in a variety of experiential and research projects that will personalize the material and lead toward the creation of the student's personal mythology. Note: This course includes a proctored exam.

In this course, we will cover several major mainstream and minority psychological theories covering the first 130 years of the field that form the underlying basis for transpersonal theories and practices. We will discuss and critique these theories, informed by what we know about transpersonal psychology and the recent Cultural Competencies requirement that was added to the field's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5. The course will foster a better understanding of why the array of transpersonal psychological tools and ideas that have contributed to the transformation and well-being of ourselves, clients and society work in the way they do. Practices of contemplation, meditation and mindfulness will be applied and considered in relationship to these theories. Students will be able to use the knowledge gained in this course professionally and in their personal lives. Note: This course includes a proctored exam.

Within the context of leadership and community, the purpose of this required course is to provide an in-depth practicum in cultivating and sustaining the ability to be fully aware from moment to moment in daily life and particularly in leadership situations. This crucial skill of mindful awareness is necessary in order to apply leadership skills. This course will use exercises from the research of Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction combined with case studies of mindfulness practices in leadership. Note: This course includes a proctored exam.

The purpose of this required research methods course is to give students a foundation from which they can understand the readings and research they will come into contact with throughout their studies in the MA in Mindful Leadership and Transpersonal Psychology. The course challenges students to expand their understanding of the importance, meaning, purpose, and application of scientific research in the field of transpersonal psychology and leadership studies. They learn how to differentiate between different research methodologies and how to apply them rigorously, constructively and creatively in service of transformation. Students are walked through an experiential and didactic process of developing their own research project proposal, which could be used for their Capstone or Culminating Project. In this way, they personally experience how research can contribute to personal growth and enhance human consciousness and lifestyles.

The purpose of this course is to introduce transpersonal psychology and situate it in the fields of study to which it is related. The texts for the course provide an introduction to the evolution of transpersonal psychology as a distinct field in psychology and modern Western culture from its cross-cultural origins in ancient times. They also provide an overview of the phenomena most associated with transpersonal psychology or best considered through its lens, including the following: Shamanism and other indigenous traditions; contemplative spiritual practices; paranormal or psi phenomena; mind-body development practices; involuntary, spontaneous openings to altered states; psychotropic drugs and sacred medicine traditions; and other deliberate practices for the cultivation of non-ordinary states. Transpersonal psychology involves many areas of scholarly controversy within the field and vis-à-vis other areas of scientific exploration. Sciences based on classical, materialist worldviews tend to oppose transpersonal phenomena (and subjective experience or phenomenology generally), but those based on quantum physics can accommodate transpersonal experience. Transpersonal psychology remains at the forefront of the paradigmatic struggle between classic science and a new worldview that would more adequately account for "anomalous" experiences and observations. This course provides an overview of the range of transpersonal psychology and a critical framework from which to consider it, including examining your own experience of and beliefs.

*Prerequisite TP5012 Introduction to Psychological Theories 

This course examines six major world religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Taoism) and Indigenous Spirituality from two distinct perspectives. Students will first study an overview of the tradition, which may include its origin, history, underlying mythology, rituals, and the life and spiritual practices of its adherents. This perspective will encompass what you might call the orthodox or exoteric aspects, as well as touching on esoteric (or mystical) aspects, of each tradition. The second perspective will be a journey into the more mystical (esoteric) aspects of each tradition via exposure to some of its original (formative) mystical texts and writings. As an experiential adjunct to this perspective, students will be asked to try a contemplative practice from each tradition. In addition, they will read about the first-hand experiences of saints and sages who arrived at realization or enlightenment through that religion. Students ought to be aware of three possible approaches (perspectives) that can be taken when looking at religious traditions or beliefs other than one's own: the exclusivist perspective is one in which one's own religion is the one true tradition, and all others are false or deluded in some way; an inclusivist view asserts that one's own religion is true and that others are partially true and the truth in them can be understood by reference or comparison with one's own tradition; finally a pluralist view accepts all traditions as the truth in themselves. In this view one is willing to be changed by one's exposure to that tradition.

This course is designed to help you understand your role as a spiritual mentor and the qualities that you need to nurture in yourself to enhance your effectiveness. It also will explore the nature of the mentoring relationship and what a mentor does and does not do in the role of spiritual guide. It examines the function of spiritual experiences and ways by which we can evaluate their validity and direction. It also will clarify how mentoring compares to counseling and psychotherapy, and it teaches fundamental tools that are crucial to the development of skills and success at being a spiritual mentor.

The purpose of the course is to enhance the skill set of students with an interest in holistic mentoring or the creative application of intuitive arts in varying types of personal relationships. It has been designed to engage the mind, open the heart, and provide opportunities to connect deeply with others. On a cognitive level, it presents humanistic, transpersonal, and spiritual perspectives that address humanity's desire for and movement toward wholeness. On an experiential level, a great variety of holistic helping tools are explored, collected into a Cohort's Collective Practitioners' Toolbox, and experimented with - both individually and in partnership with fellow classmates. Additionally, students are introduced to the concept of a Divine-Human in relation to expanded sensory perception, synesthesia, intuition, mindfulness, and more. Because holistic mentors can guide others only to depths that they themselves have explored, emphasis is placed on the parallel development of personhood and mentoring skills.

This course introduces the student to various theories regarding the origins and development of consciousness, as well as historical and contemporary models for the structure of consciousness, and possible directions for the further evolution of consciousness. The course emphasizes the contributions of metaphysics, religion, and transpersonal psychology, but also considers traditional viewpoints. The views of such thinkers as Wilber, Cayce, Eisler, Schneider, and others are included. Students will also consider their own development of consciousness.

This course is an exploration of cutting edge areas of teaching and thinking within the expanding field of transpersonal psychology. It is impossible to feature all of the individuals and groups who are leading the world at the frontiers of the development of human consciousness. This domain of human exploration has been rapidly growing in the past 50 years, with a quantum leap especially since the late 80s and early 90s. Meditation and other contemplative practices have entered the mainstream along with their emerging complementary and new understandings of human psychology and consciousness. Many practices and teachings have arisen out of the intersection of western civilization and the wisdom traditions of Asia and the indigenous peoples of the Americas, among others. Not all of their work appears in standard treatments of transpersonal studies, but are nevertheless profoundly influential in that field. Many of these movements might not even characterize themselves as "transpersonal," but nevertheless fit seamlessly into the exploration and expansion of human consciousness.

For more than 2000 years, starting with the Ancient Greeks at least, humanity has pondered questions about what is real and true. This questioning has focused throughout history on an apparent rift or contrast between what we might call the outer and inner worlds; between the material and non-material, between matter on the one hand and mind or soul on the other, and between what we now call the objective and subjective realms of human experience. This ancient issue has become, in its modern expression, a divide between science and religion or at a more fundamental level between science and spirit.

As our collective worldview evolved our perception of reality (a reality that presumably encompasses outer and inner worlds) has clearly changed. The purpose of this course is to examine the age-old question about, and our changing view of, reality. The historical perspective allows to see where our modern scientific worldview came from, and what underlying assumptions it has. We study what it is that science tells us about reality and who we are. We also study what the mystical traditions tell us about who we are. It is a contrast in worldviews and hence a contrast in perceptions about reality. Is the apparent rift between science and spirituality real? Are there possible worldviews, towards which we are changing, that could integrate these two realms?

Creativity is an inherent primal drive that is at the core of human existence. It is most obviously demonstrated in the arts and sciences, but we all engage in that creative drive, consciously or unconsciously, in every aspect of life - in dealing with the trials and tribulations of life, as well as the positive aspects - in conscious evolution and soul development. It is the fundamental drive that we draw on as we pursue our unique sense of soul purpose. The study of creativity is a complex affair requiring an integrated multidimensional approach. This course presents such an approach through a didactic and experiential process of investigation.

The purpose of this course is to guide students in the process of self-discovery and clarification of what they might need to live a more meaningful life. Through this process students will acquire self-knowledge and tools that will enable them to create a personal vision or mission statement. Students will also gain an understanding of the creative process and how it might be applied to life's challenges. The goal is to enable students to move their actions into closer alignment with their spiritual ideal, their values, and their personality to live richer and more meaningful lives. As students progress through the course, they will begin to put their ideas into practice and to examine and assess the results.

The assumption behind this course is that each of us can make a difference in our families and communities by developing a greater consciousness of our own feelings, thoughts, and actions as they affect our ability to create harmony around us. The purpose of this course is to deepen students' understanding of the dynamics of peacebuilding as it relates to any situation. The course will also include the examination of some of the terms and modalities used in peacebuilding, such as reconciliation, conflict transformation, and mediation.

The purpose of this course is to increase students' effectiveness in conversation, both with themselves and with others. Students will learn and practice different forms of listening, and will also study several approaches to the dialogue process. Throughout the course, students will be asked to reflect on their own progress with, and challenges to, being an effective listener and participant in dialogues. The course offers numerous ways to practice these.

This is the first required course in the Master of Arts in Mindful Leadership program because it provides the foundation and orientation to the other areas of leadership covered by the curriculum. This course is based on the 14 leadership competencies, the motive- and trait-level qualities statistically proven to distinguish excellent from average leaders at the level of predictive validity, by motivation theorist David McClelland and his team of researchers.

One of the primary objectives of the course is for students to learn that competencies, like motives and traits, cannot be directly observed, but they can be reliably inferred from a person's behavior.

Another primary objective is for students to learn that leadership competencies, no matter the profession, are demonstrated by the best leaders. These competencies are inferred through the measurable behaviors that great leaders demonstrate more often, more consistently, and with better results than other leaders. Students will have an opportunity to delve into one of these competencies in depth, and to apply the theory to real situations.

The purpose of this course is to introduce you to basic two-dimensional art skills that will provide you with the confidence to express yourself more fully in a visual manner. This course also will provide you with a foundation in the spiritual dimension of the creative process. The work covered in this course is appropriate to individuals of all skill levels in two-dimensional art from beginner to advanced. Included is instruction in basic representational and abstract drawing and painting skills.

The purpose of this course is to focus on developing the presence of a leader, through incorporating the theories and ideas of leading thinkers in leadership theory, including Scharmer's Theory U, Heifetz's Adaptive Leadership, and Hedges' The Power of Presence. Through a balance of internal work and inner knowing practices combined with external, didactic real world examples and case studies, this course presents a holistic model of leadership that promotes the emergence of the authentic presence of a leader.

This course is designed to deepen your appreciation for the role played by dreams in personal growth and transformation. It provides you with the skills you need to understand your dreams better and, more significantly, prepares you to help others understand their own dreams. It examines the important role waking life plays in the dream world and the role of personal responsibility and ethics in working with the dreams of others. Course requirements include a practicum. This course will not provide the student with the background to offer psychotherapy or other therapeutic counseling, which requires special training and state licensure.

Click here for a detailed description of the course, including weekly breakdown.

The purpose of this course is to critically examine persistent constructs that serve and support colonialism from multiple perspectives. Through writing, discussion, and self-reflection, students will explore how power, privilege, sexuality, gender, and race are visibly and invisibly interwoven at all levels of society. Underlying this decolonization project is a focused study of neurological and scientific principles that inform individual and collective behaviors. Students will draw on meditative practice and leadership principles to disrupt colonial encounters through their own civil discourse and positive action.

The purpose of this course is to help you develop skills and methods that will allow you to clarify your own mission in life so you can help others find theirs. The strategies for creating a personal mission statement are drawn largely from the material found in Edgar Cayce's nearly 2,000 life readings - clairvoyant, spiritual counseling discourses given to individuals between 1923 and 1944 - material that provides a framework that is easily adaptable to contemporary seekers. Course requirements include a practicum. This course will not provide the student with the background to offer psychotherapy or other therapeutic counseling, which requires special training and state licensure.

Any consideration of leadership from the point of view of its transformative qualities must necessarily take into account the evolving relationship between self-transformation and the leadership based upon this self-integrity and wholeness (leading from the inside out). Essentially, this course asks students to give serious thought to the question of what it means to be a leader with strong personal wholeness. The course is based on the premise that inner transformation depends upon the person, and that such transformation can occur in context with others. Thus, leading from the inside out does not mean that, as I transform myself, I then transform others. Rather, the group dynamic within which I operate presents an opportunity for all involved to transform themselves.

This course is designed to deepen your appreciation for methods for connecting with your inner spiritual resources. The approach to this study and practice will be eclectic - drawing upon sources from Eastern and Western traditions. As you deepen your own inner life, you will be better prepared to act as a guide, teacher, or mentor to others. The course culminates in a practical demonstration of your growing capacity to serve as a helper to other seekers. Course requirements include a practicum, in which you will have the opportunity to teach and share your own personal version of meditation instruction. This course will not provide the student with the background to offer psychotherapy or other therapeutic counseling, which requires special training and state licensure.

This course is a survey of the field of parapsychology, including spontaneous psychic experiences, studies of mediums and psychics, experimental studies, and the relationship of psychic phenomena to religious experience. It approaches psychic phenomena from the perspective of integrating them with other aspects of human consciousness. The course combines intellectual and experiential approaches. The course compares the methods used to study and experience various types of psychic phenomena and explores the implications of these phenomena for other fields of human endeavor. There are also opportunities for you to explore your own psychic ability and to conduct a study of the psychic abilities of others.

The purpose of this course is to increase students' skills for effective cross/inter-cultural sensitivity, communication, and competency. Twenty-first century globalization is creating a high demand for such skills, as is the increasing complexity in cultures. Students will be introduced to concepts and terms most associated with this field. This will be followed by skill development in sensitivity/awareness, communication, and competency. Students will then examine cross-cultural case studies in business, education, healthcare, politics, and international relations. Students will choose an area of personal interest to research through individual study. This course will prepare students to take leadership roles in effecting cross/inter-cultural sensitivity, communication, and competency.

Shamanism is a term that has been used since the 1950s to describe an engagement by healers or medicine people with the spirit world. In truth, this is a very limited understanding of the varied, rich, ancient and complex practices across cultures and time that can include work with plant medicines, village and community leadership, spiritual mentoring, priestly ceremonial oversight, and healing of both individuals and groups, among other "medicine".

In this class, students will be challenged to learn the history and background of shamanism across cultures, from indigenous to western. They will understand the difference between indigenous perspectives about their own healing and ceremonial traditions versus western shamanism as a new spiritual and therapeutic movement. They will learn how it fits into the transpersonal movement in the West. 

In addition they will engage with levels of consciousness that must commonly be mastered by a novice "shaman" or medicine person seeking to master engagement with the spirit world and its potential for healing and transformation. This course will not teach students the art and craft of shamanism--such study can take years of intensive effort and self-discipline--but it will expose them to the beauty and power of the path. 

This course explores the nature of symbols and mythology, the reasons for their importance, and their effect on the way in which we experience life. It explores how our belief systems and the resulting behaviors reflect our family and culture, and how, during our passage from one stage of life to another, symbols and images arise from our biological, emotional, psychological, and spiritual maturation. The purpose of this course is to increase the student's deep understanding of myths and symbols for the transformations in life.

In this elective writing course in the Creativity Specialization, students will define a reason for wishing to write nonfiction and then create a vision statement and career plan or book proposal for actualizing their vision. They will also practice the techniques for writing different types of nonfiction and give one another feedback on their ideas and writing. The purpose of this course is to outfit transpersonal thinkers with the tools necessary to share their ideas with various audiences in various genres or media. As a result of this course, the students will be able to actualize and shape transpersonal theories into interesting and readable prose. In so doing, they will educate the world and help to actualize their own purpose within it.

Professional development of others is central to leadership roles of any kind. Traditional goals for development are for improved performance; however, the best leaders serve as mentors and coaches developing the whole person to reach their highest potential. The purpose of this course is to understand what kinds of development are appropriate in various situations, the role of individual development in organizations and its effect on personal satisfaction and organization performance, and how to foster development ethically and appropriately. This course covers the range of development, from remedial change to inspirational, whole-person development in workplace settings. Participants will learn how to set development goals, inspire performance, give praise and corrective feedback, identify defensive patterns that create resistance, and assess progress.

Influence is the essential element of leadership: the exercise of power to move others to a desired course of action. It is indispensable in organizations, but it is a communication skill that is the foundation of many jobs, including sales, marketing account management, public relations, investor relations, and management of all kinds. The purpose of this course is to learn how to apply skillful means to move people forward without activating resistance. This course presents an array of influence techniques for a variety of situations, including how to determine when they will be most effective in getting others to align with a desired position or course of action.

Any activity that involves the interaction of human beings is bound to have ethical and spiritual implications. The purpose of this required course is to examine the spiritual and ethical implications of leadership. Essentially, this course asks students to consider the questions of how one ought to behave both spiritually and ethically as a leader. In whatever society we live, these questions are raised as a normal part of human discourse. For example, in the course of an election, people will try to decide which of the participants would be a better leader. The term, "better," is a value-laden term in that it implies some criterion or goal with respect to which we will measure potential leaders. It may be that, for some, "better" means "more effective" in achieving a certain goal. But, for this to make sense, the goal must have some value. Spirituality and ethics are key pieces in the study of value.

This course will provide you with the necessary background and tools to engage in a personal exploration of mandalas through the creative process. Using a variety of methods and materials, you will create a series of mandalas, observe this process as it unfolds in a series of images over time, and experience firsthand the transformation that can come from the conscious creation of mandalas. You will explore the symbolism of mandalas through intuitive interpretation, dreams, and the synchronistic patterns that manifest in waking life while you engage in this practice. The course provides an historical, philosophical, and psychological context for understanding mandala creation, while placing emphasis on the development of personal artistic vision.

The purpose of this course is to give the student an understanding of entrepreneurship, business and an understanding of how their business will have a local as well as a global effect. Through these understandings, the student will be able to define how the business process works, how to use the knowledge gained to start their own enterprise, how to be an effective leader, and how to start a socially conscious and responsible business. Through the definition and creation of their concept, the student will begin to build a plan for the launch of their new endeavor.