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ABOUT THE COURSE

Awakening Joy is both an Internet and an On-site course.

The Awakening Joy course can be taken online at this website or on-site in the San Francisco Bay Area. The on-site meetings are video and audio recorded and can be viewed and/or listened to by both Internet and on-site participants whenever they choose. You must be able to read PDF files to take this course. (You can download Adobe Acrobat for reading PDF files from the Member's section of this website.)

Please use these links to jump down the page to any section of interest:

COURSE OVERVIEW
    Course Principles
    Monthly Themes
    Buddies
    Intention is the Key
    Supportive Practices
    What if I'm Not a Joyful Person?

COURSE SCHEDULE AND LOGISTICS

WHAT DOES IT COST? No one is turned away from the online course due to lack of funds.

HOW TO ENROLL

Feedback from Past Participants
stories

COURSE OVERVIEW

This "Awakening Joy" course lasts for ten months. Over 2100 people have participated in the previous courses with very positive results. (See Feedback from Past Participants.) The course is meant to be user-friendly. Its goal is to awaken joy through monthly principles and practices that incline the mind toward well-being, happiness and joy. Participation in the course can be online and/or on-site if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Course Principles


The principles of the course are universal, although much of the material includes Buddhist philosophy drawn from the course leader’s 29 years as a Buddhist meditation teacher. Three of these principles that work together are at the heart of the program:

1. Developing and Increasing Wholesome States: The Buddhist teaching on Wise Effort includes developing and increasing wholesome states (ones that lead to true happiness). We can intentionally invite and cultivate these healthy states.
2. Focusing on Gladness That Arises with Wholesome States: While engaged in a healthy activity we experience an actual positive uplift of energy. The teachings speak of the value of experiencing “gladness connected with the wholesome” and of delight that “gladdens the heart.” By being very present for this gladness we increase its impact on us. This gladness is what I’m calling a joyful heart.
3. Inclining the Mind towards Wholesome States: “Whatever one frequently thinks and ponders upon will be the inclination of their mind,” taught the Buddha. As we incline the mind toward wholesome states of well-being, such as gratitude or kindness, they are more available to us. Current brain research confirms this. As we practice certain states of mind we actually change our brain structure, deepening the groove towards depression or happiness.  

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Monthly Themes

Each month we will incline the mind towards a specific wholesome (healthy) state bringing awareness to the gladness that accompanies it. The monthly themes are presented in a particular sequence of topics.  There is a presentation on each theme for the month, along with meditations and experiential exercises. The on-site meetings are recorded and made available online for download to your computer or MP3 player. There will be people from all over the U.S. and abroad doing the course on the Internet. All participants will receive access to the letters describing the monthly themes and practices (about ten pages long), including email notification of their availability on the website within a few days of each on-site class meeting. In addition, mid-way through the month you will be notified that a mid-month letter (approximately five pages) is available to help keep you on track.

Buddies

Participants are encouraged to do the course with a buddy. The support of a partner with whom to check in regarding the themes and practices helps keep the course in one’s awareness. Also, Internet participants benefit from doing exercises from the on-site class with their buddies. The course is even more effective when done this way. For some, the check-in may be weekly (5-10 minutes by phone or email). For others, it may be more or less frequent. (If you do the course with a buddy, it’s important to honor whatever agreement you mutually have about checking in.) You can use our Message Board to find your buddy. (The Message Board can be found in the Members section of the website.)

On-site participants will be able to choose their own buddies at class. Email participants, and people missing the first class, should use the Message Board to find a buddy, if they don’t already know someone they would like to buddy up with.

Intention is the Key

Although the idea of cultivating more joy is meant to be an uplifting experience, it takes genuine intention to develop new habits that begin to naturally incline the mind that way. The more you put into the course, the more you will get out of it. However, you can do it to whatever extent you are able. We have enough responsibilities to make us feel guilty as it is. Joy does not follow from guilt. You will be encouraged to do whatever practices we are focusing on in a way that works for you.

Supportive Practices

1. Quiet time: You'll be encouraged to take some quiet time regularly. If you have a daily meditation practice that’s great. However, meditation practice experience is not a prerequisite. If you do not meditate, then even taking a five minute coffee or tea break to relax and stop the momentum of busyness will be very helpful.
2. Reading: You will be encouraged to read one book: How We Choose to Be Happy by Rick Foster and Greg Hicks. You can order it from your local bookstore. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, along with Cody’s, and Black Oak Books in Berkeley, have ordered the book. It is also available in paperback from Amazon.
3. Other supportive practices: You will be encouraged to do other practices regularly, including some body exercise or movement (yoga, exercise, walking), some regular creative expression (singing, drawing, writing, dancing, etc.) and keeping a journal. Remember these are all suggestions. No guilt. No pressure to do everything or anything. Just do what you do in a way that works for you. The more you do the more you will get out of it. However, it’s completely up to you.

What If I’m Not A Joyful Person?

The word "joy" may be a stretch for some. Perhaps you can’t imagine yourself skipping through a meadow with childlike exuberance. Don’t worry. Truly happy people are not happy all the time. They feel sad and angry and have the whole range of human emotions. We’re not talking about having a syrupy facade or being in denial. What we’re calling joy is a general feeling of aliveness and well-being that is characterized by engagement with life, meeting its ups and downs with authenticity and perspective. It can look very different from person to person, from a quiet sense of contentment to bubbly enthusiasm. That will be one of your discoveries—identifying how joy expresses itself uniquely through you.

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COURSE SCHEDULE AND LOGISTICS

We will have eleven monthly sessions (ten themes and one final closing session). All participants will receive access to the monthly themes and practices, including email notification of their availability on the website within a few days of each on-site class meeting. 

For those who can come to the meetings in person in Berkeley, CA, there will be two separate classes each month, one on Tuesday night and the other on Wednesday night. People will be registered for one or the other as they sign-up for the course as an on-site participant.


Time: Time: 7:00-9:30 PM the last Tuesday of each month, and the last Wednesday of each month, except June and September, as shown below.
Location: Berkeley, CA/Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda.

The location is between Marin and Solano Avenues in North Berkeley, with plenty of parking in the lot and on the street.

    Dates for the Tuesday On-Site Course in 2008

January 29 July 1--No meeting in June
February 26 July 29
March 25 August 26
April 29

September 23--the 4th Tuesday,

not the last one

May 27 October 28
  November 18--the 3rd Tuesday, to avoid Thanksgiving week

    Dates for the Wednesday On-Site Course in 2008

January 30 July 2--No meeting in June
February 27 July 30
March 26 August 27
April 30

September 24

May 28 October 29
  November 19--the 3rd Wednesday, to avoid Thanksgiving week

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WHAT DOES IT COST? No one is turned away from the online course due to lack of funds.

The suggested donation for the course is $250. (There are 10 monthly themes and practices.) We do not want financial considerations to keep anyone from participating. Keep in mind that you will get out of it what you invest into it. If the full amount is not something you feel you can do at this time, please consider offering what, for you, is a workable investment. You are welcome to offer anything that works for you.

Because seating may be limited at the on-site meetings in Berkeley, first preference will be given to those who pay the entire course fee at the time of registration on a first come, first served basis. We will have, however, a limited number of scholarship slots available. We hope that those admitted to the live classes all have a commitment to attend regularly. You will hear from the course administrator  as to whether or not you have a confirmed seat as the first class date approaches.

Please do not come to the on-site meetings in Berkeley if you do not have a confirmed seat. We will begin a wait list when we reach capacity and you will be informed if you are on it. Those on the wait list will be notified if seats become available. People on the wait list for the live meetings are still fully enrolled in the course as online participants. This means you have full access to the course materials on the website, including audio recordings of the on-site meetings and all of the written materials.

If possible, it helps if you pay for the entire course at the beginning. This will increase the likelihood of sustained individual and group commitment, which is important in doing this together. It also greatly simplifies the bookkeeping. If, however, it is more workable for you to do it in two or three or even monthly segments, please indicate that as you sign up. The course can be paid online by credit card, or by check. (See How to Enroll, below.)

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HOW TO ENROLL

To enroll, please follow these steps:

1. First, enter the email address, admin@awakeningjoy.info, into your email program's address book. Otherwise, the spam filter at your Internet service provider’s site may block as spam our email messages, which notify you of the availability of the monthly themes and practices that are integral to the course.
2. Click this Sign Up link to enroll.  Fill out the Sign Up form with all the required information.
3.

After you fill out the Sign Up form, you will be automatically directed to the Payment Options page, where you will be able to select 3 different ways to pay for the course. There are no discounts for missed classes, since all participants have access to the material covered in the classes.  

No one will be excluded from the online course due to finances. If the suggested donation is a consideration, you are welcome to offer whatever works for you, whether a one-time offering or over time.

4. Once your payment or your payment plan is received, you will be given log in information. Then you can go to the Members section and log in to view the course materials and begin.

If you have any questions, email us at admin@awakeningjoy.info and we will do everything we can to help.

The course is intended to be a fun and nourishing experience for you. Think of it as a gift you're giving yourself, rather than one more thing you have to do. May you find the course helpful in bringing more well-being, happiness and joy to your life.

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                                                                    © 2008 James Baraz