THE INNER KINGDOM

Six ancient teachings. Six doorways into the inner life.

There are teachings that survive for thousands of years because they continue to describe something true about being human.

The Beatitudes are among them.

Often encountered only within Christianity, these short teachings contain a much larger spiritual psychology: emptiness, sorrow, gentleness, hunger, mercy, purity of heart, peace. They describe movements of consciousness that appear across wisdom traditions and throughout our own lives.

The Inner Kingdom is a six-session exploration of this ancient wisdom through the lens of conscious living.

We will take these teachings out of their familiar religious setting and look deeply at the human and spiritual experiences beneath them. This is not a Bible study or a course in religious doctrine.

Along the way, we will draw connections with yogic philosophy, mystical traditions, psychology, consciousness, and the ordinary experiences through which spiritual life actually unfolds.

SIX SESSIONS

1. EMPTINESS

Blessed are the poor in spirit.

There are moments when what once sustained us no longer does. Certainty disappears. Old identities loosen. We discover that we cannot think, achieve, acquire, or control our way into fullness.

We will explore spiritual emptiness as an opening: the interior space created when we loosen our grip on what we thought we knew and become receptive to something deeper.

2. SORROW

Blessed are those who mourn.

Sorrow is part of loving anything in a world where everything changes.

We will explore grief as more than an emotion to survive. What does mourning open within us? What becomes possible when sorrow is allowed to deepen rather than harden the heart?

3. GENTLENESS

Blessed are the meek.

Meekness has often been mistaken for weakness.

This session explores another possibility: strength that no longer needs domination, defensiveness, force, or control. Gentleness becomes a way of standing firmly within ourselves without creating unnecessary violence within or around us.

4. HUNGER

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst.

Human beings are creatures of longing.

We hunger for love, belonging, meaning, justice, beauty, recognition, God, purpose, and experiences we cannot always name. Instead of treating longing as evidence that something is missing, we will explore what our deepest hungers reveal about the movement of the Soul.

5. MERCY

Blessed are the merciful.

Mercy asks something different of us than judgment.

We will explore compassion, forgiveness, human imperfection, boundaries, and the complicated territory between understanding someone's humanity and excusing what causes harm.

Mercy changes the way we see one another—and ourselves.

6. WHOLENESS

Blessed are the pure in heart.

Purity of heart is not moral perfection.

It points toward an undivided interior life.

We will explore the many competing motives, fears, loyalties, desires, stories, and expectations that pull consciousness in different directions, and what it means to become increasingly wholehearted in the way we live.

AN ANCIENT TEACHING FOR A MODERN INNER LIFE

The word kingdom in these teachings does not simply point toward a distant place or future reward.

It points inward toward a different way of seeing.

A different relationship with ourselves, one another, and the Sacred.

Across six weeks, we will approach these teachings with curiosity rather than dogma, allowing ancient wisdom to become something living, relevant, and deeply personal.

No particular religious belief or background is required. Come with questions. Come with experience. Come as you are.

COURSE DETAILS

6 Live Online Sessions via Zoom

Wednesdays | 7-8:30 pm ET

Begins October 6th

Class recordings available if you need to miss a live session.

Course materials and weekly teaching notes included.

Full Course: $185

Try One Class: $30