Heart Sense - def: Insightful perception & considered discernment regarding daily life developed through the wisdom of, and benevolent qualities associated with, the heart.
The Holistic Heart of Science - an online exploration
25th August, 1st, 8th & 15th September 2020,
7pm - 9pm
How do heart and mind hold together the human journey through challenging times?
Our world is dramatically pulling itself apart. The split of 'thinking' as something separate from 'feeling', that has been the traditional division of science & art, is dropping us into a void of opposites. Finding the path that supports us to integrate our hearts & minds is crucial for the integrity of the world to reassert itself.
What stands in the way?
Over 4 weeks, Philip Franses, from the viewpoint of science, & Louise Livingstone, from the perspective of the heart, journey with this key issue. Speaking in the midst of our human crisis, Philip & Louise open up a space for finding the generative heart that underpins the dynamic of form at all scales of existence, respecting both the framework of science & the voice of the holistic heart.
Course outline
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In this course, Louise offers the story of the heart, and her own personal story with her biological and subtle heart, to illuminate the limitations of modern, reductionist thinking. Philip, from the standpoint of science, will speak about how the generative energy of whole transformation guides our choice as a freedom at all scales of engagement – from atom, to cell, to spirit.
In this sense, this course creates the space to recognise both our participation and limitation within a dynamic reality. Specifically, how holistic science and 'heart sense', can help us to think differently, and act differently in the world. Each week will incorporate dialogue between Philip & Louise, and invite participants to share their own learning and experience as the course unfolds.
Week one: Our past informs our present
We cannot hope to encounter wholeness, nor understand our lived experience embedded within the unfolding dance of life, unless we understand our past and contemplate how Western contemporary thought has reduced our ability to encounter the living quality of life. In this session, we will explore the history of the heart and of science to help us understand how our perceptions shape the world.
Week two: A crisis of thought - moving away from wholeness
This week we will highlight the limitations of reason/analytical thinking and explore the emerging split between the philosophical space of heart and head. We will explore how the notion that everything can be explained through reason alone came into question within science. We will look at observer influence (quantum physics), Jung and Freud (unconscious); phenomenology and Goedel’s theorem. Indeed, these developments created a rational despair that reason alone could not encompass life, and yet thought alone was employed to address the riddle.
Week three: Coming-into-being - turning towards wholeness
In this session we will be honouring two modes of attention to notice the coming-into-being of the living world. Louise will explore how the heart tells us that there is a way to be in the world differently, to expand our awareness. Indeed, leading from the heart opens up the process of the world. Philip will talk about how mathematics went beyond dualism to the origin of its own order; and consequently how thought can go beyond its paradox with freedom into a new discovery of form.
Week four: Encountering the heart of wholeness - implications of holistic science and the holistic heart
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In this session we will explore the formative freedom between individual and collective. Feeling the intelligence/spark of unity aggregating choice at scales from atom, to amoebae, to plant, to embryo, to the spiritual - using holistic science and the thought of the heart. We will also explore personal story. How has this course changed our thinking?
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For Philip and Louise, the philosophy of holistic science and engaging deeply with the thoughts of the heart have profoundly changed their own lives in numerous beneficial ways, and they hope to share their experiences with participants of this course.
DATES, VENUE & COURSE FEE
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COURSE DATES: 25th August, 1st, 8th & 15th September 2020, 7pm - 9pm (UK - London time)
WHERE: Online via Zoom - all links will be provided on booking
PRICE: £95 (Please note that spaces are limited. For those on reduced income, several bursaries are available - please state your interest at registration)
TO REGISTER - IMPORTANT READING:
Click on the 'Register Now' button on this page and complete the form to register your interest. We ask you to supply your email address and to provide two short sentences in relation to why you would like to participate in this journey of exploration. A week prior to the course, we will invite you to submit your payment. Once we have received payment we will email you a recommended reading list and the Zoom link to join the first week of the course. If you have any queries about the course, or would like further information, please contact us.
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