The School for Religious Studies and Spiritual Practice

The School for Religious Studies and Spiritual Practice provides access to the wisdom teachings of religious traditions from around the world and the spiritual practices that lead to a direct experience of the sacred within each tradition. This includes not only the well-known western traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and eastern traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism, but also indigenous traditions (i.e. shamanism, Native American religions, and African religions), esoteric traditions (i.e. Sufism, Kabbalah), ancient religions (i.e. Egyptian, Greek, Celtic, Mesoamerican), and contemporary religions/spiritual systems (i.e. Wicca, Gurdjieff, New Age). It also includes new and unusual forms of religion and spirituality that are emerging within popular culture, such as the rave scene, Burning Man, movies like Star Wars and The Matrix, 'the zone' in sports, 12-step groups, techno mysticism, eco-spirituality, and UFO groups, to name just a few. Our approach is inclusive, acknowledging that there are many legitimate paths to the sacred worthy of study and practice but, at the same time, leaving the center empty of any exclusive truth claim or dogma.

Classes are taught by lineage-holders from within each tradition or by scholarly experts with firsthand experience, and always include both an informed discursive component and a strong experiential component. For example, classes in Zen Buddhism are taught by a Zen practitioner, and include background history and cultural context (from India to China to Japan to the US), classic Buddhist and Zen teachings (the Four Noble Truths, satori, koans, etc.), and, most importantly, zazen sitting meditation practice.

Both components are necessary for a full understanding because it is impossible to really understand Zen without doing meditation practice, and it is impossible to integrate one's meditation experience without the authentic teachings. This balance between discursive teachi ng and hands-on practice is one of the central features of the School for Religious Studies and Spiritual Practice, distinguishing it on the one hand from the mainstream academic approach, which has no practice component and leaves one on the outside of a tradition with no direct experience, and on the other hand from the New Age workshop-style approach, which tends to lack rigor and accuracy in its informational component.

Another central aspect of our approach is to integrate class material into our daily lives, so that spirituality is not abstract and unattainable but, rather, something concrete and practical that serves us in the mundane details of the real world we actually live in. In this regard, we also seek to create a sense of spiritual community that will support each of us on our path. Individual work is obviously important, but it is equally important to be able to draw strength and understanding from our fellow travelers, knowing we are not alone in facing the challenges along the way. This is just as true for our teachers as it is for our students and, accordingly, teachers also share the personal aspects of their knowledge and practice in order to demonstrate and model the complexities and nuances of following a spiritual path in today's world.