We embark on this journey together, anticipating the most beautiful marriage between information and transformation. The program consists of the six courses detailed below:
Practicing Presence
In Practicing Presence, we dive into the depths of what we can know cognitively while expanding our hearts to take in the immeasurable beauty of this knowing. What a fitting way to start this year of study, with a practical exploration into a kind of seeing that penetrates the surface of things as we cultivate the habit of daily awareness in the form of a contemplative practice.
Mimesis in the Gospel of John
What does creative mimesis look like? Mimetic desire is often discussed in the context of rivalry and violence, but it can also be the basis of friendship, creativity and the proper relationship between God and humanity. In the gospel of John we have specific examples of mimesis between Jesus and the Father. In desire, thought, word and action, Jesus demonstrates what divine mimesis looks like.
The Creative Unconscious
Having established a habit of practicing God’s presence, and having looked deeply into the model of Jesus’ imitation of the Father, we now tap into the creative unconscious. There is a source of meaning and beauty in each of us, beyond the logic of reason. In the environment of love, the symbols of the unconscious can take on new, life-giving form. Specifically, we explore aspects of creative writing.
Being and Becoming
The very nature of reality is dynamic, moving and changing relationships. There is nothing static about our being and the possibilities of becoming are innumerable. In this course we’ll introduce some of the most significant aspects of Process Theology and Open Theism. Discovering ourselves in relationship with the God for whom all things are possible … not certain.
Face of the Invisible
How do we articulate more accurately, and give meaning to, the reality of God without creating idols? A number of models of understanding will be explored. Specifically, we’ll examine relational aspects of God and whether there can be a synergy between orthodox views of Trinity and Process Theology.
Divine Evolution
In this course we will explore the exciting theme of evolution from a theological point of view.
Evolution is a profound affirmation that you belong to a cosmos and a world that has been loved and nurtured by God with unimaginable patience because he believes in the goodness and beauty it can produce.
How it works
- Each week a new lesson is made available. A written lesson is often accompanied by an audio and/or a video (approximately 30min each). To read through the lesson and watch the video will take about an hour.
- One of the most important goals of the course is to help students develop their own unique voice. That means that lessons are not designed to cram you full of information, but rather to draw your unique understanding out. This is facilitated by a weekly written assignment of 300 – 500 words. It is by far one of the most beneficial disciplines. (Time:15 – 45 min)
- The assignments are posted within the class for other students to engage with. Unlike social media where everyone can enter a conversation and steer it in any direction, these conversations are within the class context. That means everyone has read and listened to the same material and answered the same questions in preparing their assignments. The engagements are therefore very focussed and insightful. (Many beautiful friendships have developed from these conversations in previous classes) We encourage students to spend at least 45 min/week interacting within these forums.
- So to summarize the weekly commitment so far: 45 min to work through the lesson; 45 min to write the assignment; 45 min interacting in forums. That totals to just more than two hours per week.
- At the end of every month, we host an online video conference.
- The course is for 6 months. The price is $840 or if you prefer paying monthly, registration is $240 and the monthly investment is $100.
- The final commitment is reading a prescribed book per month. The books are NOT included in the course fees. The time spent depends on your reading speed. Here are some ideas to help increase your reading speed: https://youtu.be/HhW8IHhmSY8
- More information on Group Discounts, Couples, and scholarships here.
See what previous students said about Mimesis Academy
Register here.