Spiritual teachers encourage us to practice when life is going well, so that we have a strong skill set already in place when crises hit. But even when we have done so, the reality of a crisis, like the current coronavirus pandemic, shows us where we could become even more skillful and wise.
With this need for support in mind, we have put together a short list of e-courses you may find helpful in this time, especially if you're more isolated than usual or in full quarantine with time to spare. If you do have time and you're feeling at least relatively well, this might even be a good time to initiate a new contemplative practice.
Some of the courses bolster your physical and mental well-being but — as we trust could go without saying — none of them can substitute for getting medical help when you need it. Please take good and sensible care of yourself.
We also offer for free a set of spiritual practices for the coronavirus pandemic. All of our thousands of pages of resources at Spirituality & Practice, with the exception of e-courses, are also offered free of charge, which we hope will be of help to you at a time when people are financially stretched. Simply follow the menu at the top of any S&P page to find practices, films, books, arts pieces, quotes, blogs, and explorations (spiritual teachers, topics, traditions, and special projects).
For all the courses below, you can choose your own start date and frequency for delivery of session emails to your inbox. These courses represent only a small portion of our full array, so you can also consider our current e-courses with guided Practice Circles or the many that are available to schedule at your own pace.
Handling Uncertainty and Difficulties
- Living with Uncertainty
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Reminders and tools that help you make room for the unknowns during this pandemic.
- Fear Busters
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Antidotes to help you cultivate fearlessness, love, and compassion in counterpoint to this potent emotion.
- Dealing with Disappointment
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Practices that get at the roots of disappointment and keep us from closing our hearts, even when we have to set aside long-cherished plans.
- Time Out of Ordinary Time
By Wayne Muller
Practices to comfort, nourish, and prepare us to re-dream the world in a time of pandemic.
- Dark Nights of the Soul
By Thomas Moore
Concrete ways to make sense of dark nights like the COVID-19 pandemic and discover life-transforming benefits from them.
- Working with Worry
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
A treasure trove of insights and practices for giving worry less air time.
- Reframing
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
A 21-day program on seeing things differently as you put your mind under new management.
- Poetry in Quest of Courage
By Roger Housden
Thirty-one poems to restore your reservoirs of courage.
- Mastering the Art of Resilience
By James Kullander
Guidance for coping with and rebounding from adversity in a wide variety of situations.
Staying Healthy or Learning through Illness
- Twenty Strategies for Healing
By Drew Leder
Recovering life's wholeness and holiness.
- The Miracle of Breath
By Drew Leder
A chance to catch your breath and follow it into matters physiological, medical, cultural, political, ecological, and metaphysical.
- Every Body's Prayer
By Patricia Campbell Carlson and Lindsay McLaughlin
Exploring the refreshment of spirit possible when expressing faith through movement.
- Practicing Spirituality during Illness
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Tools to help identify and apply the gifts of illness — for those who are sick and caregivers.
Developing Your Contemplative Practice
- Centering Prayer
By Cynthia Bourgeault
Teachings about a no-frills form of meditation which reconnects directly to Christianity’s hidden treasury of mystical wisdom.
- Creating Sanctuary for Yourself and Others - 2020
By Terry Hershey and Patricia Campbell Carlson
An exploration of sacred space as both a personal boon and a cultural need.
- Lovingkindness
By Sylvia Boorstein and James Kullander
A classic Buddhist practice that shows you how to be kind in expanding circles, starting with yourself.
- The Liberating Promise of Mindfulness
By Sylvia Boorstein and James Kullander
Teachings about moment-to-moment awareness, a Buddhist practice that can dramatically enhance the way you live.
- Remembrance - The Spiritual Practice of Zhikr
By Kabir Helminski
A Sufi practice to develop continuous awareness of divine support through the knowing of the heart.