GEI Courses

Inner Compass Syllabus

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Category: Course Syllabi

 

Inner Compass

Finding and Holding the Vision

Instructor:
Starhawk

 

In the ancient, pre-Christian Goddess traditions of Europe and the Middle East, the earth is sacred:  a living being that all of us are part of.  Witches, shamans, and Pagans draw on the balance of life for knowledge, renewal and healing.

But right now, at this crucial moment in time, that balance is threatened by global warming, social and environmental breakdown.  Our society is faced with a huge challenge—the necessity for fundamental changes in our way of life.  Each of us alive today is here for a purpose.  We each have a unique role to play in bringing about that transformation—our own gifts, our own vision.  And the earth needs us each to be our most creative, compassionate and powerful self.

But how do we find that vision, our purpose for being here, our true work?  How do we step up to the challenge, and how can we hold a vision through times of adversity, and find the courage to overcome fears, blocks and challenges?

For some of us, it’s hard to see the vision clearly.  Others may need support to take new steps and dare new paths.  Some of us may already be on the road, but need help to sustain our energy and enthusiasm when obstacles loom and setbacks appear.  The greatest gifts are often found after hard climbs on twisted paths.

Magic, “the art of changing consciousness at will,” offers us tools.  In this six week online course, Starhawk will guide us through a process of discernment and reflection, to find and identify our big vision, and develop the grounded spiritual practice that can be our base as we dare to make it real.

Using readings, meditations, directed exercises, journaling and discussion, we’ll find the inner compass that can guide our choices, connect to the allies that can support us, find the courage to face challenges and overcome fears, and the strength to take our vision out into expression and action.

When we put our lives toward the service of the sacred, powerful allies and great powers of regeneration and renewal work through us.
 Week One - Introduction and Reflection:

            This first week will introduce us to some of Starhawk’s core ideas about power, magic and purpose.  We will look back at our life journey so far. reflecting on the ways in which  different kinds of power have shaped us.  We’ll practice basic magical tools for grounding and cleansing.

Week Two - Tools of Discernment:

            This week students will develop and/or deepen a personal, spiritual practice, the ongoing, daily work that can build for each of us a solid base of clarity from which to make choices.  We’ll begin to develop an awareness of our own states of consciousness, and learn some of the tools that can help us navigate between them.

Week Three - Allies and Guidance:

            Allies and sources of support, both spiritual and practical, surround us, but to help us, they need to be asked.  Guidance is always available to us, but we need to know how to find it, and how to tell true guidance from self-delusion.  This week we work with a spectrum of sacred allies—ancestors, plants, Goddesses and Gods.  We’ll develop inner tools that can help us discern real guidance from wishful thinking.

Week Four - Courage and Heart:

            Following our true purpose is not always easy.  But often the worst enemies are the ones we carry within.  This week we explore the voices that stop us, the faces of the self-hater in its many aspects, and use our magical tools to transform its energies into creativity and strength.

Week Five - Transforming the Story:

            Now we’re ready to look back at our life stories, examining the patterns that serve us and those that constrain us.  Are there ‘wicked vows’ that we have made that we need to break?  Our tools and allies help us rewrite the script.

Week Six- Voice and Vision:

            We’re ready to follow our inner compass, our true guidance, and step into our power.  This week we bring it all together, developing an ongoing personal practice, strong contacts with allies, and a new story that will let us carry our vision out into the world.