In May, 2010, a inaugural cohort of students completed our two-year program in InterSpiritual Wisdom.  It was a wonderful success.  We refined our curriculum, formed an on-going community of students and teachers, we broadened our understanding of contemplative principles from many traditions, and deepened our meditative practices.

We experienced how the integrated study of the principles and contemplative practices of the world’s spiritual traditions helped to strengthen and enrich our own individual meditative practices.   This holistic, integrated training is the unique value of the Spiritual Paths Institute.  It helps with our own practice and helps us to work closely with friends from many traditions to serve the needs of our times.

We will begin again when a new cohort of fifty students is fully formed.  Our target date is September 11 – 16, 2011, with a five-day intensive in Santa Barbara.   If you are a continuing or new student, please encourage your friends and colleagues to join us.

In order to hold your place and give us a firm count of students, please fill out a registration form on this site and send it to us.

The theme of our next intensive program is:

Sacred Wisdom Traditions in the Contemporary World

This five-day intensive will explore the great themes of world spirituality — both through lived experience and through the underlying principles of spiritual wisdom. “Wisdom Traditions” contain the collective spiritual knowing that has left their imprint on culture and on the soul of humanity.  This knowing emerges from an awareness of the sacred–an awareness tragically absent from out modern societies.  It is the cure for external, material obsessions that result in alienation, and the loss of meaning and values.  It is the medicine for healing the global crises of our times.

As we near the close an old historical cycle, we are witnessing the collapse of revered beliefs and values of our spiritual traditions.  Yet we are also living in a moment when the essential truths can be rediscovered and distilled into their essence to solve the major challenges of our times. InterSpiritual Wisdom is the shared essence distilled from the world’s wisdom traditions. This shared essence is the seed of a hopeful new cycle in history.  Our program distills these essences and plants these new seeds.

Two-Year Program

The Spiritual Paths Institute curriculum on InterSpiritual Wisdom is a course of study with respected teachers of contemplative wisdom and applied spirituality that combines intellect, heart, and spiritual practice.  It was developed by an InterSpiritual team of exceptional teachers, each authenticated within their respective traditions. The program is based on an intellectual inquiry and contemplative experience of the teachings of the world’s sacred traditions combined  with personally mentored spiritual practice.

The program entails four semesters, each beginning with a six-day intensive retreat followed by distance learning in a tutorial and small group format. The four semester themes are: (1) Principles of Wisdom Traditions, (2) Maps of Transformation, (3) Applied Spirituality, and (4) Global Vision-Personal Commitment.  Students will gain an understanding of the world’s spiritual contemplative traditions, develop their own spiritual paths, and learn to apply InterSpiritual Wisdom to their personal, professional, and community lives.

Applications Welcomed
We invite your inquiry and application for our next two-year cohort.  You may also apply to attend the Intensive if you are unable to commit to the full course.

For more information, please review our website:
www.spiritualpaths.net
or contact
registrar@spiritualpaths.net,
805 695-0104.