Course Descriptions - Holmes Institute Clone

Master’s in Consciousness Studies

Program Outcomes:

Differentiate religious, philosophical, and scientific origins of consciousness studies.
Apply psychological theory to support and promote individual and community spiritual growth.
Adapt spiritual leadership practices to real-world scenarios.
Analyze selected scientific theories as applied to concepts and practices of spirituality.
Synthesize consciousness concepts and apply research methods to spiritual community life.

Education

Required total units: 3

EDU 501 Research Methodology (required): 3 units
Dr. Victoria Bomberry
This course is an introduction to the craft of research. Students are introduced to the relevancy of research in ministry and spiritual leadership. During the course, students are guided through the thinking in research. The objective of the course is to teach the students how to conduct a systematic problem. Students will have the opportunity to learn how to apply their understanding of research to their work in other courses as well as in their role as spiritual leaders.

Leadership

Required total units: 6

LAD 501 Outer and Inner Creativity: 3 units
Dr. Janelle Barlow
This course will focus on understanding what creativity is, how it occurs and which skills are applied to facilitate the creative process. This course emphasizes techniques to enhance creativity and their application in a variety of settings. Students will learn the necessary and essential skills to be more creative, so they may utilize the methods and techniques taught to effectively work with their own ministry, help build spiritual community, and create innovative programs and services.

LAD 503 Fostering a Noble Purpose for the Individual and the Organization: 3 units
Dr. Judi Neal and Dr. Johanna Janssen
This powerful course guides the student through the process of defining their Noble Purpose for their life through a five-session series of live teleconferences with the instructor. By moving through the steps and wisdom of their Essential Self. The remaining five sessions empower the student to take this same process into leadership to create purposeful, high-spirited communities and organizations.

LAD 504 Teaching & Learning Online/Facilitating Virtual Community (required): 3 units
Rev. Laura Hallett
During this real-time, interactive, on-line course, students learn to use technology to expand the reach of their spiritual leadership, no matter what form that leadership may take. Students will learn how to facilitate community on-line using the most current learning theories as well as experience using those theories during real-time, collaborative facilitation experiences. All students will refine their teaching skills. Students will study transformational learning and may transform the way they think about themselves as learners and spiritual leaders. This class meets weekly in real time for two hours per week.

LAD 506 Theory and Practice of Spiritual Leadership: 3 units
Dr. Bary Fleet
This course addresses the challenge of leadership in a spiritual community by reviewing and applying relevant theories of leadership to the practice of spiritual leadership. The approach considers the challenges in building and sustaining a vibrant leadership council and community that fulfills its vision and mission. Emphasis is placed on exercise of leadership as service-oriented and context-bound. Through lectures, cases studies, and exercises, students work to seek practical solutions to actual and hypothetical dilemmas in leading spiritual communities.

Philosophy

Required total units: 9

One of either PHI 502 Classical Philosophy or PHI 505 Birth of Consciousness in Early Greek Thought is required.

One of either PHI 504 Mind in the Cosmos, PHI 506 Complete Writings of Thomas Troward, or PHI 507 Emerson and American Idealism is required.

One of either PHI 508, Paradigms of Consciousness, or PHI 509, Mythology, Cosmology & Worldview, is required

PHI 502 Classical Philosophy: 3 units
Dr. Pierre Grimes
This course surveys the origins and outcomes of the early thinkers who have come to be associated with the core foundation of classical philosophy. It begins with a study of pre-Socratic thinkers and traces the evolution of concepts about consciousness as developed by some of the world’s greatest philosophers. Through a study of pre-Socratic philosophers, we glimpse into the origins and early development of philosophy which later led to a system of thought developed by Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, and Proclus. Their wisdom and insights about the nature of man and the world have proven to be profound as well as lastingly beautiful.

PHI 504 Mind in the Cosmos: 3 units
Dr. Christian de Quincey
This course explore a cosmology where cosmos and consciousness have coexisted from the beginning. We will closely examine the mysterious relationship between mind and matter from the perspectives of four major worldviews—dualism, materialism, idealism, and panpsychism – and will focus on the “most likely” story that can account for mind in the cosmos. A key guide on our journey will be philosopher and mathematician Arthur M. Young, and his seven-stage model of the evolution of consciousness.

PHI 505 The Birth of Consciousness in Early Greek Thought: 3 units
Dr. Greg Salyer
This course addresses a period of history that the modern philosopher Eric Voegelin named The Great Leap of Being, a few thinkers on the fringes of the Greek world began to explore the nature of the cosmos and with it the nature of human being. The Great Leap of Being described a period roughly from 800-300 BC when many great teachers were alive and presenting consciousness-altering visions of truth, reality and meaning. An important addition to course material will be a consideration of the Eleusinian and Delphic Mysteries and their relation to a new vision of consciousness.

PHI506 The Complete Writings of Thomas Troward: 3 units
Dr. Tom Sannar
This course explores the complete writings of Thomas Troward based upon all of his published books and shows why Troward is the foundation for the entire teaching of Science of Mind and Spirit as it was intended by Dr. Ernest Holmes. To understand the complete theoretical foundation of Science of Mind and Spirit, it is necessary to understanding of the complete writings of Troward.

PHI 507 Emerson and American Idealism: 3 units
Dr. Greg Salyer
This course will explore the work and thought of American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson through the development of what came to be known as Transcendentalism. We will study how this philosophy developed from the Perennial Philosophy through European Idealism to become a unique expression of a vital philosophical vision.

PHI 508 Paradigms of Consciousness: 3 units
Dr. Christian de Quincey
A paradigm is a framework of beliefs about reality shared by a community and affirmed through communal behavior. A “paradigm of consciousness” is a system of beliefs about the nature of consciousness and how it relates to physical reality. Society today is a result of past paradigms of consciousness. This course explores the emerging “new” paradigm of holism – a shift from a mechanistic/separatist worldview to a creative, dynamic process of dialogue, feedback, integration and interrelationship. We will examine the four major worldviews that attempt to explain how consciousness relates to the physical world (dualism, materialism, idealism, and panpsychism) and we will see that all other paradigms of consciousness are variations or combinations of these. Throughout the course, students are guided to personalize the notion of “paradigms” by recognizing the limitations of all beliefs as ways to know reality. We will see how “personal paradigms” are embedded in cultural belief systems. Students are encouraged to examine their own beliefs and to explore the possibilities of learning and knowing through experience beyond belief. In the final weeks of the course, we will switch from an intellectual approach to exploring practical and ethical implications of the various worldviews. Students will be introduced to Bohmian Dialogue as a way to shift from a concept-dominated view of the world to a more intuitive and feeling-based one.

PHI 509 Mythology, Cosmology, & Worldview: 3 units
Dr. Devon Deimler
Myth is a creature of shifting forms and meanings. Mythology (the study of myth), therefore, is a creature of many eyes—many ways of seeing myth (including barely seeing it at all!). This course will introduce core theories for understanding myth from those branches of the humanities that have especially adopted myth into their methods, including religious and ritual studies, depth psychology, hermeneutics, aesthetics, and the arts. We will explore the historical and continuing relationship of myth and philosophy, creative and imaginal engagements with myth, and modern interpretations of just what constitutes the mythic. We will look at myth from the perspectives of creation, destruction, perpetuation, and from below (the underworld). And, of course, we will approach myth through its own stories. Myth is, by one definition, the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves; they form our very worldviews and the cosmologies that comprise our sense of place and value. Myth illustrates the sacred in the profane. It functions consciously and unconsciously, metaphorically and physically. Myth has the power to do great harm and to provide great healing and guidance. This course aims to help students appreciate the scope of myth, to consciously and conscientiously engage myths from “other” cultures, and—above all—to notice the myths at work in their own lives and times.

Psychology

Required total units: 6

PSY 504 Speaking Earth: Planetary Psychology, Philosophy, and Cosmology (required): 3 units
Dr. Craig Chalquist
The key endeavor of this course is to learn about and practice ways of turning up the ongoing conversation, largely nonverbal and unconscious, between ourselves and the world, including natural settings, elements, rivers, seas, and hills, but also objects, roadways, houses, and cars. We will work psychologically, philosophically, and spiritually, surveying paths delineated and making a few of our own.

The disciplines involved include depth psychology, deep ecology, ecopsychology, ecotherapy, ecospirituality (including spiritual ecology), dream studies, terrapsychology, nature mythology and folklore, and Hermeticism as a lost Earth-honoring wisdom path.

PSY 503 William James and the Stream of Consciousness (required): 3 units
Dr. Jeffrey Mishlove
William James is possibly America’s most important thinker of the nineteenth century. He is known as the father of psychology in the United States, one of the founders of the pragmatic school of philosophy, and the thinker who initiated the academic study of religious experience. In addition, he was a deep student of psychical research and engaged in scientific study of spiritualistic claims. This course focuses on James’ classic essay, “The Stream of Consciousness”, and elucidates the influences on James’ thinking – including Emanuel Swedenborg, Franz Anton Mesmer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Charles Sanders Peirce. It also explores subsequent developments that have emerged in the wake of James’ pioneering work – including applications in social activism, hypnosis, psychotherapy, psychic healing, and consciousness research.

Religion

Required total units: 18

REL 501 World Religions (required): 3 units
Dr. Greg Salyer
This course offers an overview of the many great spiritual traditions of the world. Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, and others are introduced with an emphasis upon Judeo-Christian and Eastern concepts of consciousness.

REL 502 Spiritual Philosophies of the West throughout History: 3 units
Dr. Stephan Hoeller
This course explores ancient Mediterranean wisdom and its influence upon Western culture and spiritual philosophies. The course looks at the religion of Mithras, ancient Persian god of light and an important forerunner of Christianity, the recurrent deific figure of Hermes Trismegistus and the discipline of alchemy.

REL 503 Wisdom of Kabbalah: 3 units
Dr. Yosef Rosen
This course focuses on the central teaching of Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition that emerged in 12th-century Provence and profoundly influenced European spirituality. This course explores themes of Ein S of (God as Infinity), Ayin (the divine nothingness), Shekhinah (the feminine nature of God), and Raising the Sparks (discovering God in everyday life). We will study the original teachings of Kabbalah, translated from Hebrew and Aramaic.

REL 504 Understanding the Bible (required): 3 units
Dr. Greg Salyer
This course offers an alternative approach to the bible’s essential teachings with respect to its spiritual, literary and poetic significance. The course will aid the student in understanding how the Biblical words were understood by those who first heard them, as well as how we understand them today.

REL 505 The Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita: 3 units
Dr. Krista Noble
This course reviews the wisdom of the Upanishad and the Bhagavad Gita, The Song of God, which is the essence of Hindu spirituality. It is said that hearing the Upanishads with understanding leads from ignorance to liberation. The major themes of the Upanishads will be examined philosophically, as well as with integral realization in mind.

REL 506 Buddhism in the Modern World: 3 units
Dr. Kim Kaiser
Buddhism is an integrated system that incorporates religious belief, philosophical analysis, and scientific inquiry. The foundation of the theory and practice of Buddhism focuses on the realities of suffering, its source and the path to liberation. These ancient teachings will be integrated with contemporary field of knowledge, including psychology, physics, and medicine.

REL 507 Gnosticism: The Path of Inner Knowledge: 3 units
Dr. Stephan Hoeller
This course explores the practices of modern Gnosticism, a spiritual philosophy which flourished during the first three centuries of the Christian Era. Gnosticism holds that the path of enlightenment is in gnosis (true knowledge), which consists of both knowledge of the inner spiritual self and knowledge of divinity. This course is based primarily on the Nag Hammadi documents with emphasis on the contemporary relevance of Gnostic teachings.

REL 509 The Eclectic Writings of Holmes: 3 units
Dr. Tom Sannar
This course introduces the primary ideas of Dr. Ernest Holmes which create the foundation of our teaching called Science of Mind and Spirit. We compare and contrast the ideas found in all of his writings, including unpublished material, from 1916 through 1959.

REL 510 African Americas Diasporic Spirituality: 3 units
Dr. Will Coleman
This course will study the sacred text and spiritual practices of the ancient West African Yoruba (Nigeria) and Dahomey (Benin) people. This spirituality is called “Ifa” and its sacred text is “The Holy Odu.” During the centuries of European enslavement of Africans, they spread in various ways and are recognized throughout African Diasporic religions such as Candomble (Brazil), Lukumi (Cuba) and Santeria (Puerto Rico). Some components of them are present in Vodou (Haiti) as well. They were also transmitted into the more Protestant and resistant culture of the United States in a veiled form. In addition to Hoodoo, enslaved Africans embedded them into their emergent forms of African American Christianity, especially within the “Sanctified Church.”

Science and Spirituality

Required total units: 12

SSP 502 Psi Research: 3 units
Dr. Jeffrey Mishlove
This course surveys the current scientific studies and field research of paranormal phenomena and theories, including synchronicity, distant viewing, clairvoyance, precognition, and survival of consciousness after death.

SSP 503 Science and Spirituality (required): 3 units
Dr. Amit Goswami
This course is a brief history of the conflict between sciences and spiritual traditions. It reviews the reasons behind the division, and explores the possibility of integrating scientific and spiritual cosmologies with respect to current perspectives of science and spiritual practices for inner growth. It also covers the basics of quantum physics and the connections between quantum physics and spirituality.

SSP 506 The Essentials of Mind/Body Medicine: 3 units
Dr. Martin Rossman
This course addresses the multifaceted dimensions of mind/body healing and reviews the expert mental data emerging from a variety of fields of study and research. The question which underscores the whole realm of mind/body medicine is, “Can consciousness heal the body of disease as claimed in all spiritual traditions and as vindicated by the data?” New and old answers to this question are explored as well as recent discussions about quantum healing and science within the study of consciousness.

SSP 507 The Quantum Doctor: 3 units
Dr. Amit Goswami
This course introduces an integral paradox-free approach to medicine based on quantum physics and the primacy of consciousness. The student learns how principles underlying both conventional allopathic medicine and alternative medicine can all be incorporated within the metaphysics of the primacy of consciousness. Various techniques of alternative medicine are explained from the perspective, such as the quantum chi of Chinese medicine and acupuncture, the East Indian medicine system of Ayurveda, chakra medicine, homeopathy, mind-body medicine, mental and spiritual healing. Finally the student explores the healing path as a path to spiritual growth.

SSP 508 Spirituality and the Brain (required): 3 units
Mark Waldman and Dr. Andrew Newberg
This course examines the current neuro-scientific evidence showing how spiritual practices, religious beliefs, and positive thinking affect cognition, emotional regulation, and physiological health – and how to apply that knowledge in ways that can improve our communication, teaching, and spiritual leadership skills.

Certificate in Spiritual Education

Leadership

Required total units: 3

Philosophy

Required total units: 6

One of either PHI 508 Paradigms of Consciousness or PHI 509 Mythology, Cosmology, and Worldview, is required.

One of either PHI 502 Classical Philosophy or PHI 505 Birth of Consciousness in Early Greek Thought, is required.

PHI 504 Mind in the Cosmos: 3 units
Dr. Christian de Quincey
This course explores a cosmology where cosmos and consciousness have coexisted from the beginning. We will closely examine the mysterious relationship between mind and matter from the perspectives of four major worldviews—dualism, materialism, idealism, and panpsychism – and will focus on the “most likely” story that can account for mind in the cosmos. A key guide on our journey will be philosopher and mathematician Arthur M. Young, and his seven-stage model of the evolution of consciousness.

PHI 506 The Complete Writings of Thomas Troward: 3 units
Dr. Tom Sannar
This course explores the complete writings of Thomas Troward based upon all of his published books and shows why Troward is the foundation for the entire teaching of Science of Mind and Spirit as it was intended by Dr. Ernest Holmes. To understand the complete theoretical foundation of Science of Mind and Spirit, it is necessary to understanding of the complete writings of Troward.

PHI 508 Paradigms of Consciousness: 3 units
Dr. Christian de Quincey
A paradigm is a framework of beliefs about reality shared by a community and affirmed through communal behavior. A “paradigm of consciousness” is a system of beliefs about the nature of consciousness and how it relates to physical reality. Society today is a result of past paradigms of consciousness. This course explores the emerging “new” paradigm of holism – a shift from a mechanistic/separatist worldview to a creative, dynamic process of dialogue, feedback, integration and interrelationship. We will examine the four major worldviews that attempt to explain how consciousness relates to the physical world (dualism, materialism, idealism, and panpsychism) and we will see that all other paradigms of consciousness are variations or combinations of these. Throughout the course, students are guided to personalize the notion of “paradigms” by recognizing the limitations of all beliefs as ways to know reality. We will see how “personal paradigms” are embedded in cultural belief systems. Students are encouraged to examine their own beliefs and to explore the possibilities of learning and knowing through experience beyond belief. In the final weeks of the course we will switch from an intellectual approach to exploring practical and ethical implications of the various worldviews. Students will be introduced to Bohmian Dialogue as a way to shift from a concept-dominated view of the world to a more intuitive and feeling-based one.

Psychology

Required total units: 3

Religion

Required total units: 9

REL 502 Spiritual Philosophies of the West throughout History: 3 units
Dr. Stephan Hoeller
This course explores ancient Mediterranean wisdom and its influence upon Western culture and spiritual philosophies. The course looks at the religion of Mithras, ancient Persian god of light and an important forerunner of Christianity, the recurrent deific figure of Hermes Trismegistus and the discipline of alchemy.

REL 503 Wisdom of Kabbalah: 3 units
Dr. Yosef Rosen
This course focuses on the central teaching of Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition that emerged in 12th-century Provence and profoundly influenced European spirituality. This course explores themes of Ein S of (God as Infinity), Ayin (the divine nothingness), Shekhinah (the feminine nature of God), and Raising the Sparks (discovering God in every day life). We will study the original teachings of Kabbalah, translated from Hebrew and Aramaic.

REL 506 Buddhism in the Modern World: 3 units
Dr. Kim Kaiser
Buddhism is an integrated system that incorporates religious belief, philosophical analysis, and scientific inquiry. The foundation of the theory and practice of Buddhism focuses on the realities of suffering, its source and the path to liberation. These ancient teachings will be integrated with contemporary field of knowledge, including psychology, physics and medicine.

REL 509 The Eclectic Writings of Holmes (required): 3 units
Dr. Tom Sannar
This course introduces the primary ideas of Dr. Ernest Holmes which create the foundation of our teaching called Science of Mind and Spirit. We compare and contrast the ideas found in all of his writings, including unpublished material, from 1916 through 1959.

Science and Spirituality

Required total units: 6

SSP 503 Science and Spirituality (required): 3 units:
Dr. Amit Goswami
This course is a brief history of the conflict between sciences and spiritual traditions. It reviews the reasons behind the division, and explores the possibility of integrating scientific and spiritual cosmologies with respect to current perspectives of science and spiritual practices for inner growth. It also covers the basics of quantum physics and the connections between quantum physics and spirituality.