Courses
A summary of the introductory course:

WEEK 1: Introduction. What are philosophy, wisdom and truth? The importance of knowledge of oneself.

WEEK 2: Familiar states of consciousness. The refinement of the human instrument through the proper use of the senses.

WEEK 3: What am I in relation to the body, mind and nature? Are we more than these three?

WEEK 4: The limitations of day-dreaming and imaginings versus the freedom and clarity of simple observation.

WEEK 5: The essential components of the universe. The qualitites of consciousness and their everchanging balance versus the unchanging, underlying consciousness itself.

WEEK 6: Identification with the limited and the transient and how one begins to overcome this. Who am I in truth?

WEEK 7: Leaving the dreams; coming out of what one is not, in order to be what one really is; the philosopher's first task.

WEEK 8: The subtle instrument of mind and the light of reason. The natural functions of the Intellect and the Discursive Mind.

WEEK 9: The qualities of consciousness and their effect on the natural and efficient functions of mind.

WEEK 10: The cause of ignorance and suffering. The limitations of the ego in the pursuit of the truth. The role of the Intellect in the letting go of untruth.
"The Birth of Venus" by Sandro Botticelli, courtesy of Mark Hardin, www.artchive.com
To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity and trust. It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically.
                                 Thoreau

This above all--to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
                                 Shakespeare

He who has found Truth, seeks no more; the riddle is solved; desire is gone, he is at peace. Having approached from everywhere that which is everywhere, whole, he passes into the Whole.
                                 Mundaka Upanishad

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
                                 Saint John

In addition to the course described on this page, a continuing series of discussions is provided for those wishing to pursue the study of philosophy beyond this introductory level, including the formal practice of meditation.

Evening classes begin at 7:00pm and end at 9:15pm.