Curriculum

In addition to being an intentional community, Lama Foundation is also well-known as a “mystery school”, or a place to study mystical traditions. People pay “tuition” to come to this place of learning, whether for a weekend or for a couple of years, and as such all people at Lama are “students”. While each person’s experience is unique to that person, a long-term “curriculum” of things to study or experience has evolved. Another way of saying this is that each person’s personal collection of spiritual practices, how they bring these practices into their lives, guidance they seek, books they read, how they offer their practice into the community, etc, is called the “curriculum” at Lama Foundation.

The “curriculum committee”, who has overseen the creation of the curriculum list and its implementation into the community, has gone through phases of much activity to phases of no activity. Some of the curriculum topics include: find a personal spiritual practice that you can do each day for yourself; learn how to cook a meal for 50 people with little preparation; do the “Watch” (includes leading meetings and leading community practices, and managing visitors); do personal hermitages; learn a little about the various spiritual practices that are currently at Lama Foundation so you can help hold the community practice space. All of these curriculum topics are things that people can experience when they serve for a year as a resident.

Progress along one’s curriculum is unique to each person. Some may experience “progress” while they stay at Lama, while others may not integrate their Lama experiences until after they leave. Others may have periods of accelerated inner work around the times when they visit Lama each summer. Some may decide to really dedicate themselves to their personal curriculum, and others may take it a little slower. Nevertheless, setting a personal curriculum and making progress reports to oneself or to the greater community while living at Lama Foundation is a great way to set long-term spiritual goals and to benefit from all that Lama has to offer.