Marsilio Ficino
"There are three guides for the life of man.
First is principle, which has been long and carefully tested;
the second is experience, strengthened by long practice;
and third, the authority of those ancients who could not have
been easily deceived by anyone, and who appear not to have
wished to deceive others."
Course Content
The Course
The School For Self Knowledge offers an introductory, nine-week course of Self Knowledge four times each year. The course is comprehensive, highly practical and refreshingly direct.
The course is open to everyone. No prior study is necessary, no examinations are conducted and no certificates are awarded.
Material
Material for the course is drawn from the wisdom of ancient Sages, the world's great cultures and religious traditions, and a wide range of literary, artistic, and scientific sources.
Some of the sources drawn from include great poets and writers such as: Shakespeare, Blake, Kabir, Emerson, Whitman, al-Ghazali, Marsilio Ficino and Rabidranath Tagore; great composers and artists such as Mozart, Haydn, Vivaldi, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Botticelli; scientists and astronomers such as Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Einstein, Kenneth Walker, Hoyle and Stephen Hawking; Eastern classics such as the teachings of Lao Tzu, Bhagavad Geeta, Upanishads, Mahabharata, The Mathnawi; the Holy Bible; the ancient Greek and Roman philosophers, Plato, Socrates, Pythagoras, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and others.
Method
The Introductory Course is presented systematically week by week, and combines the transcendental with the down-to-earth. Classes provide the opportunity for observation and discussion of the material presented. To progress towards the inner discovery and experience of Self Knowledge, students are encouraged to verify for themselves through practice and direct personal experience in their everyday life, the truth of Self Knowledge enshrined in the great teachings of mankind.
Workshop
A full day workshop, which is included in the course, provides a practical opportunity for students to extend their experience of the subjects discussed in an easy, stimulating, and enjoyable programme.
Further Study
Following completion of the Introductory
Course, students may continue their further
study of Self Knowledge through subsequent
courses in the School.
Discussions include:
- What is Self Knowledge? "Who am I?" is the ultimate question.
What is this world, what makes our heart desire truth and our mind seek it, and
what is the reality behind all these? The practice of 'Being Here Now'.
- Wisdom. Relevance of ancient teachings in today's world. Discriminating
the Real from the unreal. Perceiving unity in diversity. Practice of increasing
Self awareness. Inner peace, joy and happiness. Excellence in thought, speech and
action.
- Mind and its functions. Reason, understanding, detachment, concentration,
memory, intuition and creativity. Levels of consciousness. Experience of values
and relationships in harmony with true human nature. Insight into our acquired nature.
Beauty of existence.
- Cause and effect. Desires and their results. The practice of freedom
from identification with our false ego-self, body, senses, and the changing states
of our mind. The root cause of human suffering and a rational solution.
- Attention and its power in practice. Observing the external world,
and our inner world of thoughts, feelings, emotions.
The unifying and disruptive factors in life. Self enquiry.
Know thyself.
- Science, religion, spirituality. A view of the universe and our
place in it. Universal Law and the qualities of Nature. The eternal and the transient.
The silent witness.
- Love of Truth, beauty and goodness. The essential qualities of
Truth, Life, Knowledge, Love and Being in our daily life through contemplation and
meditation.
- Self Realisation. Our natural state of silence, stillness, presence.
- The way forward.
Awareness Power of Attention Right Perception Effective Action Consciousness Intuition Love of Truth
Self Enquiry Beauty Understanding Silent Witnessing Practical Guidance Clarity of Mind Confidence
Stress Free Living Lasting Happiness Wisdom Freedom Fullness of Life Inner Peace Justice Tranquillity