Philosophy   

Inner peace is a lifetime journey done with discernment but not judgment. The only requirement is a willingness to be aware of how much one ruminates about the past or tries to predict the future. This happens while missing what is happening in the present time. In this discussion class we will be aware of a possible runaway ego. The ego can be a good thing or a destructive thing. Awareness can end the destructive ego cycle.

In 1932 Aldous Huxley created an imaginary future to examine the benefits and liabilities of living in a eutopia based on peace, prosperity, and stability. Does the quest for happiness conflict with liberty, knowledge, and progress? Join this learning through conversation seminar as we explore a future world order organized according to the alleged principles of Henry Ford. Published 92 years ago, Huxley's masterpiece confronts many of today's national and global issues.

We will explore the subject of human enhancement and consider the social implications of the alterations humans are capable of making to themselves and others. Whether a tattoo, the consumption of a drug designed to boost performance, or the surgical alteration of the body, we have a rapidly advancing ability to alter our biology and, in so doing, to challenge cultural norms and potentially threaten long-established social structures. Is this hubris? Do alterations offer the promise of enhancement or threaten peril? Join the discussion!

In 1997, Don Miguel Ruiz published The Four Agreements. He writes that we have, mostly unconsciously, agreed to living as what he calls "the domesticated human," leading lives that can be unfulfilling and difficult. The four agreements can create the experience of inner freedom and contentment. In class, we will discuss each agreement and ways to apply them in everyday life. Familiarity with the book is helpful but not necessary. Just come and learn how to live a more wholesome life!

The class will examine common flaws in logic which lead to questionable conclusions: opposites and falsehoods, blame and responsibility, paradoxes, fallacies, emotions, etc. The goal is to become aware of one's own blind spots that are obstacles in the search for truth.