Dates: September 24th evening through 29th noon.
Format: In-person Residential Conference (14 participants max)
Location: Rayne Residence, Buxton Maine near Portland, USA
Accommodations: Local accommodations available (not included in price)
Available for lifelong learners or Academic Credit: Bachelors- 4 credits, Masters – 4 credits; Doctoral – 4 credits, For mere attendence without academic credit please purchase “audit” version
WISDOM AND CIVILIZATION
This course brings back the original pedagogical model upon which our university was founded. As envisioned by Matthew Fox, each Intensive was divided into four parts: Sacred Practice for 30 mins each morning to attune our bodies and open our hearts; Seminar for three hours, a lunch break for two hours, Transformational Art for three hours, concluding each day with Integration for 45 minutes for processing the issues and transformations of the day.
Sacred Practice with Mary Francis Drake
Each morning of this immersive course, we will begin our day with meditation, movement and song. Tapping into the quiet wisdom of the spirit by tuning in with Thich Nhat Hahn’s “Great Bell Chant”, we will sit in the mindfulness of our soul. Next we will embody the Sanskrit poem “Look to This Day” by Kalidasa through movements expressing salutations to the ever-new dawn and opening us to the gifts the day has to offer in the form of information and experience. Finally, we will express our inner search for meaning, wisdom and purpose through the art of spontaneous dance to the soulful call of Trevor Hall’s song “Khan”. This song reminds us of our sovereign nature as co-creators in life, tuning us into the creative energies that each of us can bring to bear on our experience of the day. We will engage in this same practice each morning to deepen in the conscious connection to our own soul’s wisdom as it unfolds in communion with the materials offered in the morning and afternoon sessions.
Seminar: Wisdom and Civilization with Jim Garrison, PhD,
The question of what constitutes wisdom in the crucible of civilization is a perennial question pondered by spiritual leaders and philosophers since the beginning of civilization itself. The question is even more urgent today as the world stands on the brink of self destruction and technology is expanding exponentially in ways that are fundamentally reshaping even what it means to be human in a world where our machines are more intelligent than we are.
We will explore both the earliest discussions of wisdom and civilization, starting with the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bhagavad Gita, drawing on the ancient philosophers and teachers, and exploring the contributions of indigenous elders and the great mystics, latest research into the physics of the universe, and the advances of artificial intelligence. We will ponder what it means to embrace wisdom as a way of life upon the anvil of the contradictions and challenges of life.
Daily Topics :
Monday: The Origins and Contradictions of Civilization
Plato’s Cave and the antinomial relationship between wisdom and civilization
Epic of Gilgamesh
Bhagavad Gita
Freud’s Civilization and its Discontents
Tuesday: Wisdom as a Way of Life
Apocalypse and the Rise of Wisdom
Philosophy as a ‘lover of wisdom’
Embodied Wisdom
Wednesday: The Spirituality of Gaia
James Lovelock’s Gaia Theory
Peter Thompkin’s The Secret Life of Plants
Biomimicry as the new Torah
Chartres and the embrace of the sacred feminine
Thursday: Remembering Indigenous Mind to Understand Modern Cosmology
Indigenous Mind as foundation of knowing
Meister Eckhart and Jalaludin Rumi
Science as the modern language of mysticism
Physics of Nassim Harimann
Friday: The Fierce Urgency of Now
Nuclear War, Climate Change, Social Media, AI
The rise of the Cultural Creatives
Community as the new Noah’s Ark
Rise of Women and transformation of Gender and Sexuality
Transformational Art: The Art of Feng Shui and Sacred Landscapes with Calen Rayne, DMin, and Feng Shui Master Jini Rayne.
We will explore the ancient Chinese art of creating harmonious environments. Topics include the principles of Feng Shui, including the five elements, the flow of chi, and the importance of balance and proportion. You will also learn about the history of Feng Shui and its application to homes, commercial spaces and sacred landscapes, including shinrin yoku trails, standing stones, labyrinths and gardens.
This course will include lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on exercises. You will have an opportunity to learn about the different principles of Feng Shui, and how to apply them to your own home and gardens. Bring your home and work space plans for exercises.
Monday:
- Introduction to Feng Shui and sacred landscapes
- The five elements of Feng Shui
- The Bagua map
- How to use the Bagua map to assess your home or space
Tuesday:
- The art of placement
- How to place furniture, objects, and art in your home or space to create balance and harmony
- The use of color and light in Feng Shui
Wednesday:
- The power of intention
- How to set intentions for your home or space and use Feng Shui to manifest your desires
- The importance of clearing and cleansing your home or space
Thursday:
- Feng Shui for specific areas of your life
- How to use Feng Shui to improve your health, wealth, relationships, and overall well-being
- Case studies of Feng Shui transformations
Friday:
- A final review of the principles of Feng Shui and sacred landscapes
- Q&A session
- Closing ceremony
Integration with Mary Francis Drake
Conscious integration of mind, heart and soul is the purpose of the closing exercise of each day of our gathering. Through the use of spontaneous symbols and words, participants will bear witness to the internal progression of their own growth and transformation. This dynamic process will be facilitated with musical support and guided meditation. Each day’s unearthing of unconscious and unfolding content will be a teaching of its own for the individual as well as the group. Participants will be invited to share their progress and its meaning for their life and their longing. These symbols will be gathered across the week to formulate the greater meaning of the gathering of participants as we take our place in the ever unfolding gnosis of inner wisdom as it moves into our lived experience in the present moment. Herein lies the magic of the immersive process…the wonder of the whole being more than the sum of its parts.
Faculty
Rt Rev Mary Francis Drake, MA, MSW, D-Min Candidate, is an educator, contemplative mystic, bishop and counselor, Mary Francis combines decades of contemplative practice, devotion, education and expertise to create containers for the transformative process. Drawing from psychology, spirituality, women’s empowerment, meditation, yoga and expressive arts, she crafts experiences that allow for mindful and purposeful unfoldment of the psyche and the spirit that move individuals and groups along their path of inspiration, integration and individuation. The express purpose of the immersive experience is to uncover the soul’s longing to express itself and join in the co-creation of the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.
Jim Garrison, PhD, is the President and Founder of Ubiquity University. He has been studying great books since childhood as the son of missionaries to China and Taiwan where he was able to delve into eastern spirituality, particularly Buddhism and Taoism. His double Masters degree in the History of Religion and Christology at Harvard University and his doctorate on a Jungian analysis of ancient Judeo-Christian apocalyptic literature at Cambridge University enabled him to study texts across the spectrum of Axial religions and wisdom traditions. He has spent a lifetime studying great books from east and west, both ancient and modern, sacred and secular.
Calen Rayne, MFA/DMin, is a Unitarian Universalist Lay Community Minister and Current Director of Organizational Architecture at Ubiquity University. He has an MFA in Writing and Poetics from Naropa University and a DMin from Wisdom University. Calen creates labyrinths, designs/consults on sacred landscapes, produces healing energy mandalas/altars, and has completed certification training in labyrinths, feng shui, reiki, energy healing, Himalayan singing bowl, earth energetics, dowsing, Egyptian Bio-geometry, alchemy, sacred geometry, geomancy, psychomanteum and medical intuitive work. Calen also studied with alchemists of the first religion of the Himalayas (nameless religion), known as “patterns of heaven” or “sacred conventions.”
Jini Rayne is a business and teaching professional, advanced certified teacher of Feng Shui and Space Clearing and Blessing, and an Independent Reiki Master in the Usui, Japanese , Tibetan and Soul-Wind traditions. She was a senior student and disciple of His Holiness, Grand Master Thomas Lin Yun, Rinpoche, a Chinese-born Feng Shui master. For many years, Jini studied extensively with the late Professor Lin, who expanded traditional Black Sect doctrine and philosophy to include knowledge and influences from Western medicine, psychology, social science, architecture, ecology, and natural science. Jini later studied with Denise Linn, author of Sacred Space and many other books. Interior Alignment™, which incorporates Instinctive Feng Shui™, embraces ancient Chinese principles and little-known information from native cultures, as well as modern techniques for present day life.
Questions: Please do not email faculty directly with any technology or registration issues. If this is your first time purchasing from us, or you need a refresher, we suggest you review our tutorial How to Purchase a Course. If you do not have a user account, you will be required to create one upon your initial purchase. Save your username and password as you will need it to login to access course materials later and to make purchasing faster in the future. If you need technical assistance you can use the chat button located at the bottom, left-hand side of the screen and you can also email our Registrar, Veronica Saldias at registrar@ubiquityuniversity.org.
Information about how we process refund or cancellation requests can be found here: Refund and Cancellation Policy
Requirements for enrolled Degree students to earn 4 Credits:
This course qualifies as an Independent Study Option for Ubiquity University Students.
End of course essay describing the impact on your life of studying this material
- For BA students – 6-9 pages in length
- For MA students – 10-15 pages in length
- For PhD students – 20-25 pages in length
The rules guiding our assignment collection and grading process can be found here: Ubiquity University Grading Policy
