Compassionate Integrity Training

Co-Sponsored by Jung Center and Compassionate Houston

Pam Lewis, Ph.D.

Ten Tuesdays, November 17 – February 2, 5 – 7 pm (no class December 22 & 29)

Have you ever seen someone deal with any situation that comes their way calmly, with care and consideration? What about someone who has a sense of gratitude for all things around them? Have you wondered how you could be more like them? When we learn to calm our bodies and minds, deal effectively with our emotions, and treat others with kindness, dignity, and compassion, we have the ability to create a better world. Compassionate Integrity Training (CIT) is a resiliency-informed program that cultivates values as skills so we can thrive as individuals and as a society. Compassionate integrity is the ability to live one’s life not only in accordance with one’s values but also with a recognition of common humanity and an orientation toward kindness and reciprocity. We will utilize large- and small- group discussions, experiential learning activities, reflective writing, mindful dialogue, and contemplative practices.

Enroll

Animals and Human Nature

Christopher Laursen, Ph.D.

How are animals central to revealing our human nature, in turn providing potential to evolve as humanity? Journey through the multifaceted past and present of human/non-human animal relations with Christopher Laursen, Ph.D. Together, we will focus on what non-human animals teach us, how they contribute to our well-being, and how they invite compassion and empathy. But we also have a more difficult path to take in our journey, and that is how human relations with non-human animals reveal social injustice, environmental degradation, and turn a mirror on our own behaviors and how they contribute to greater problems. What tools might we develop in learning from animals to work toward resolving the greater issues that affect us all?

Express Interest

First Contact: Transformative Encounters with the Unexpected

Christopher Laursen, Ph.D.

First contact involves encountering something or someone unexpected which redefines a person’s life path, and even cultures. In comparing a spectrum of such first contact events, we find that we can start to collectively theorize what makes for positive transformation on both individual and societal levels. In tracing back our own individual transformations and putting them into greater context, we map our lives, but also how we fit into and adjust to the world in which we live. Christopher Laursen, Ph.D., guides you through historical examples of spiritual, cultural, and knowledge-making transformations while providing tools through which you may trace who you are back to first contact events. The act of comparison empowers us to identify how to enliven our life narratives in powerful ways, reimagining community and connectivity through transformative experiences.

Express Interest

Nature Spiritualities

Christopher Laursen, Ph.D.

Nature spiritualities arise from a deep realization of the sacred interconnectedness of all things. Human effect, intuition, creativity, and spirituality elevate nature beyond mere humanist utilitarianism. In many ways, people express how nature has inherent or intrinsic value deserving respect, protection, and understanding. In this, eclectic individuals and groups move toward practices outside of traditional religions that seek to explore and demonstrate what Arne Næss called “deep ecology,” Gregory Bateson “ecology of mind,” and Bron Taylor “dark green religion.” Christopher Laursen, Ph.D., shares varieties of thoughts, experiences, and practices through which nature spiritualities originated and grew – such as Indigenous knowledge, Asian philosophies, and contemporary environmentalism. How do people find and maintain connections with nature, treat nature as a teacher, and effect meaningful change in communities, ecologies, and globally?

Express Interest

A Kaleidoscopic Journey: Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism

The Jung Center

Sravana Borkataky-Varma, Ph.D.

Films can project powerful images of a society in ways conventional academic mediums cannot. This course is as much about the use of film to study religion as it is about the use of religion to study film. In other words, we will use three different films to facilitate discussion about various dimensions of and issues in the following three religions: Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. And conversely, we will use images, metaphors, and teachings found in religion to discuss the layers and elements visually and audibly portrayed on screen. Through different critical approaches, this six-week course will examine how religion, as variously defined, pervades the modern cinema and how one may engage in dialogue with this phenomenon.

Express Interest

Bollywood and Beyond: Discover the Social Fabric of India through the lens of Cinema

Sravana Borkataky-Varma, Ph.D.

Film has the ability to project powerful images of a society in ways conventional academic mediums cannot. This is particularly true in learning about India, which is home to the largest film industries in the world. This course explores images of Indian society that emerge through the medium of film. Our attention will be focused on the following: Historical India before the partition, partition, social structure, family dynamics including arranged marriages, and today’s India. Participants will watch an assigned movie before the class meets. During class, content discussions will be held to flesh out the nuances of the movie. Parts of the movie will be played back. But not in its entirety.

Express Interest

Guides of Hinduism: Gods, Goddesses, and Gurus

Women’s Institute

Sravana Borkataky-Varma, Ph.D.

From Kailashnath to Krishna to Kali, Hinduism has a rich tradition of gods and goddesses. Gurus, or spiritual guides who embody gods and goddesses on earth, are also an important part of Hinduism. These varied representations of the divine mirror the religious diversity of Indian society. Join Sravana Borkataky-Varma, Ph.D., co-founder of Lumen Tree Portal to learn how Hindu religion is reflected in its ritual and how it is practiced on the ground by different individuals, families, and communities. Examining folklore, historical accounts and even social media, this course explores the spiritual, philosophical, political, economic, social and mythical dimensions of Hindu gods, goddesses and gurus.

Express Interest

Men with the Yellow Hats: Tibetan Buddhism and the Dalai Lamas

Women’s Institute

Sravana Borkataky-Varma, Ph.D.

Pope Francis is the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. This is a fact. His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the head of Buddhism across the world. This is not a fact. His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. Now, this is a fact. Buddhism has a long history. Similarly, Tibetan Buddhism is historically tightly interwoven with Mongolia, China, Nepal, and the British, which shaped the institution of Dalai Lamas.  So, who is the Dalai Lama? Are there more than one Dalai Lama? Why is he so popular? How did he manage to have such political powers? Are there women leaders in Tibetan Buddhism? You may come looking for answers to these types of questions. But you will leave the course with a newfound penchant for history and its relationship with shaping world religions, Buddhism in this particular context.

Express Interest

Seeking India: A Cultural Journey

Suzanne Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, Rice University

Co-Sponsor: Department of Religion, Rice University and Rice University Chao Center for Asian Studies

Sravana Borkataky-Varma, Ph.D.

Celebrate the rich heritage of India with Dr. Sravana Borkataky-Varma, who shares scholarly and personal insights on one of the oldest living civilizations and the second most populous nation in the world. India has a long tradition of attracting seekers of spiritual, cultural and personal inspiration. Whether you are a current or aspiring world traveler or an armchair explorer, this course invites you to experience the vibrant, complex culture, history, religion, landscape and people of India.

Express Interest

The Dalai Lamas, Reincarnation and Buddhism

Suzanne Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, Rice University

Sravana Borkataky-Varma, Ph.D.

Most people around the world recognize the title His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Many among them associate this title to Buddhism. But who is the Dalai Lama? Are there more than one Dalai Lama? Why is he so popular? How did he manage to have such political powers? This course beings with exploring the fundamentals of Buddhism. In the second class we will discuss the concept of reincarnation within the Buddhist tradition.   In the third class we will look at the role of the Dalai Lama as an embodiment of the bodhisattva of compassion at the center of a tapestry of religious ceremony and ritual performances. Forth class until the sixth, we will briefly look at all fourteen Dalai Lamas; historical to present.

Express Interest

The Silk Road: Seven Religions of the East

Sravana Borkataky-Varma, Ph.D.

The religious traditions that we now know as Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism, all originated on the South Asian peninsula where they have developed a stunning array of religious ideas and practices over the course of the last 3,500 years. Confucianism, Taoism, originated in China approximately the time that Jainism and Buddhism originated in India. Finally, we arrive at Japan and look at the complex history of Shintoism. These traditions advance visions of the world, humanity and the sacred ground of existence that are often radically different than those embraced within European thought and cultures. Participants will evaluate how these traditions arose and how they developed over time in response to social, cultural and historical variables.

Express Interest