The books “InterSpiritual Meditation” and “Meditations for InterSpiritual Wisdom” are providing the foundation for an ongoing series of presentations, seminars, retreats, and online courses taught by Ed Bastian.

Students taking the twelve-week course (fall, 2011) for a Certificate may apply for a total of 24 Educational Credits .  For further details or to schedule a consultation with Ed, please email ed@spiritualpaths.net, or call 805 695-0104.

If you are interested in applying for this course, please click here to fill out the student information form.

Below is a general description for the twelve-week distance learning course to beginning January 30 , 2010.  Precise details will be available in December.

Course Description

The practice of contemplation and meditation create tranquility, focus, wisdom, compassion, happiness, health, and effective service in the world. Over the millennia the world’s spiritual traditions have created and preserved an amazing variety of practices that are our contemplative heritage. Properly practiced in concert with each other, they can become the eternal ‘renewable resources’ for global peace, equality, and prosperity.

Countless numbers of people, just like you and me, have attempted to develop and sustain a meditation practice. Our individual practices reflect the gamut of the world’s spiritual heritage. Often, our personal meditation practices come from a different religion than the one we chose or were born into and we must proceed alone without the support of our given communities. Yet to maintain our practice, we need mutually supportive contemplative communities to help nourish, support, and strengthen us – - communities that also reflect the vibrant spiritual diversity of our times.

InterSpiritual Meditation is a universal process drawn from the world’s spiritual traditions. It helps individuals to cultivate inner peace, wisdom, and compassion. Its seven-step process enables people of different spiritual practices to create engaged contemplative communities based on empathy, understanding, shared contemplative intentions, and compassionate service for the common good. InterSpiritual Meditation is the next step in the evolution of InterSpiritual Wisdom and a foundation stone for peace among peoples of all religions.

Amidst the world’s variety of religious and scientific beliefs, contemplatives often share a common intention: to be engaged in the world based on an inner foundation of equanimity, wisdom, and compassion. From the ‘inside-out,’ we are trying to become the peaceful and positive change that we would like to see manifest in the world around us. This is the calling of our times.

The Purposes of InterSpiritual Meditation

1. to help each of us to develop and sustain a comprehensive, satisfying, and sustainable process of meditation.

2. to help us co-create contemplative communities for people of diverse faiths and meditative practices. InterSpiritual Meditation is designed to provide a process around which meditators of diverse practices can build community.

3. to model a profound process for people of various religious traditions, and those without a tradition, to join together to create peace and to solve the critical challenges of our times.

Course Elements:

• Weekly sessions to explore each of the seven steps and to support our individual contemplative practices and spiritual aspirations.

• Online materials and discussions to expand our understanding and deepen our practices.

• Individual journaling to discern, refine, and sustain our respective practices.

• Deep dialog between teachers and participants

Click here to learn more about Ed.