For some time now, people have been saying that they prefer spirituality over religion. They no doubt think about religion in the usual way as a belief system to join, a set of rules and customs to adopt, a particular place to go, and a community and leadership to follow.

Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul and numerous other books, who spent 12 years as a Catholic monk, thinks this view of religion is too limited. Rather than reject religion, he encourages us to redefine and re-imagine religion.

In this e-course he shows us how to use the time-honored elements of the religions to craft our own religion out of our personal experience and inspiration. These ideas are developed in Moore's book A Religion of One's Own but the e-course is self-contained, focusing more on the practical steps in this process. (To get a taste of the ideas he explores in the book, see this gallery of quotes.)

Your own religion may mean staying with your long-held tradition and rediscovering its value, arranging its components into a personal "rule" of life. Seekers may draw from many traditions and from nature to formulate a way of life and a practice that is not secular but is not religious in the usual sense. Atheists and agnostics may engage the eternal questions of meaning and create a religion suited to them.

Through emails that you can schedule at your own pace, Tom will explore these and other themes:

• Religion's way of engaging the mysteries.
• Experiences of ordinary mysticism.
• Sanctifying daily life by borrowing from the monastic traditions.
• Dream practice.
• Art as an essential in our own religion.
• Revelation, epiphany, and intuition.
• Integrating the sensual and the spiritual.
• Connecting with the world community and your neighbors.

The emails will give you tasks to do as you craft your personal religion during the course. The Practice section of each email will talk through the steps of this process.

A teleconference was offered when this course first ran. The call was hosted by Mary Ann Brussat where Thomas Moore answered questions submitted by participants. You will receive a link to the recording of the 1 1/2 hour call.

Take time to reflect upon your approach to religion: reframing, renewing, and re-imagining what it means to you. Whether you are happily rooted in one tradition, a spiritually independent seeker who draws upon the wisdom of many religions, or someone who has never had any religious education or participation, this e-course will help you bring religion down-to-earth and into the very heart of your life.

(4 CEHs for Chaplains available.)

Available On-Demand
(choose your own start date and frequency)

$49.95

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