A Better World, A Meaningful Life

A month-long online course for people who want to put their vision for a better world & a more joyful, examined life into practice.

Live a life that truly reflects your values.

Tap into your deepest values and help create a peaceful, just, compassionate, sustainable world while cultivating your own inner peace and joy. You'll assess your life, examine your values, explore new information and do more good for yourself, other people, animals, and the environment. 

Upcoming Course Dates:

March 5-30, 2012

Register for the March 2012 session of A Better World, A Meaningful Life.

Register for the October 2012 session of A Better World, A Meaningful Life.

Are you a concerned citizen, changemaker, or educator who wants to:

• learn how to better align your passions and values with your daily choices?
• be more knowledgeable, empowered, and successful at creating change?
• connect with others committed to living a conscious and ethical life?
• gain support and insights for deepening your personal commitment to a better world?
• cultivate more motivation and concrete skills for becoming an effective, joyful changemaker?
• nurture a happy, balanced, intentional life?

Now you can find the freedom, support, skills and motivation you need to bring more joy, balance and satisfaction to your life and to make a positive difference in the world.

“THANK YOU!! I am a happier, more balanced, and more fulfilled person than a month ago, and I feel that this is just the beginning!”
~ Estela Diaz Carmona

How It Works:

During this month-long online course, you'll examine important questions, such as:

• What do I want to be able to say about my life and what I've done to create a better world?
  
• What am I responsible for?
  
• What are the impacts of my choices on myself, other people, other species and the environment?
  
• How can I help change destructive systems that perpetuate cruelty, violence and injustice?

 You'll do so by completing exercises that engage you in:

• Inquiry -- where you seek information
• Introspection -- where you explore your values, passions, abilities and commitments
• Integrity -- where you take action to make your life more aligned with your deepest values 

“This class has been life changing.  It has given me more to think about than what I can probably digest in a year.  Hopefully it will be a lifetime pursuit. I have promised myself that I will continue to research, consider and challenge myself to be more MOGO every day.  This class has prompted me to get off my complacent derrière and be more active.  I have also been convinced that if I add amazing, important things to my life (volunteerism, activism...) it will not add to my feeling overwhelmed, but it will actually bring centeredness and vitality.”
~ Deb Kingston

What the Course Includes:

√A Course Book - Each participant will receive a copy of Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World and Meaningful Life by IHE President, Zoe Weil. We'll mail this book to you as soon as you register.

√A Downloadable Course Curriculum - Your online course curriculum provides you with thought-provoking exercises to explore putting your vision for a better world and a more joyful, examined life into practice. You can use it again and again to continue your life's journey.

√Online Commons - Your learning continues in the discussion forum, which you can visit at your convenience to engage with fellow participants and your course instructor, Lynne Westmoreland. Participants use the Online Commons to compare experiences, share insights and resources, and connect with classmates and the instructor to get help, create solutions, and build momentum. 

√Bonus Exercises & Resources - As part of the course you'll get bonus content to extend your learning and help you plan forward after the course ends.

√Phone Mentoring - Your course instructor, Lynne Westmoreland, is available by phone to answer questions, provide guidance, and discuss issues that arise during the course.

√Continuing Education Credits (CEUs) - You can earn a certificate of completion and 4.5 CEUs through the University of Maine by submitting your responses to the exercises within a week of the end of the course and by being an active participant in the Online Commons (the course discussion forum) throughout the course. Teachers in other states may be able to utilize these for continuing education requirements in their state. Applications for other state CEUs are in progress; please inquire.

“I have learned so much from everyone in this course! I have learned that sharing knowledge is so powerful and when you share with others instead of keeping your knowledge to yourself you have no idea what impact you may have on others. I am grateful to have been a part of a community of sharing and respect through this course.”
~Jen Baillie  

Time Commitment:

This course will be as meaningful as you make it. We estimate that the course will take an average of 5-8 hours per week. The more time you have to devote to the exercises and the online discussions, the more transformative the course will be for you. 

It has changed the way I think, definitely. I feel kinder, a deeper humanity towards everyone. I'm more aware of issues and what I can do to benefit people, animals and the environment, in the everyday choices I make. It has had a massive effect on me. Fantastic. The exercises, the organisation of the course, online support/course advisers were all excellent. I would wholeheartedly recommend it.”
~ Lee Anne Chapman

Register for the March 2012 session of A Better World, A Meaningful Life.

Register for the October 2012 session of A Better World, A Meaningful Life.

Cancellation Policy:

We will refund your registration, minus a $25 administration fee, if you cancel more than 7 days before the course session begins. IHE is unable to grant refunds for cancellations after that date.

Transfer Policy:

If you find that you cannot participate in the session of the course for which you have registered, you have until the Friday of the first week of the course session to let us know and transfer to another scheduled session of the course or to one of IHE’s other online courses. After that time, we cannot offer you a transfer. The transfer must be made to a course that is scheduled within nine months of the current course session, and there is a limit of one transfer per course. There is an additional $20 course book fee if you transfer to a different online course.
 

Course Faculty: Lynne Westmoreland

I have trouble remembering a time when I was not concerned with making the world a better place.  But we all know that is much easier said than done and finding our unique and individual way of making a positive difference can sometimes be a frustrating and lonely path.  Being with similarly concerned people though is one great way to test out ideas, look more deeply at our individual value systems, learn about what others are doing, and gain knowledge and inspiration about the many ways to create positive changes in our own lives and then more broadly in the larger world.  Join us in this adventure to create a better world and align your deepest values with your daily life decisions.

This course will challenge us all to “question our answers” - a wonderful phrase I first heard at the Omega Institute.  The goal of A Better World, A Meaningful Life is to begin a process that empowers individuals to think in new ways, to envision different realities and to challenge the assumption that one person cannot make a difference.

Lynne Westmoreland holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts degrees in piano performance and a Master of Education in Humane Education.  Lynne has been a pianist, accompanist, and piano and music instructor for 30 years.  While always having a great love for music and for her students, she has also always been concerned with issues of justice, compassion, and environmental responsibility and has been a lifelong student of human nature in all of its fascinating ambiguities.  After exploring many paths as an encore career, she met Zoe Weil at a festival and immediately knew that  humane education was exactly what she had been looking for.  The journey through this degree work has been more transformative, engaging, and sacred than could have been imagined.

Lynne lives in the Finger Lakes area of New York with her partner, Linda, and 3 dogs, 3 cats, and 2 horses.  Her free time is spent reading, walking, biking, dancing, cooking, serving as lay church leader, and spending as much time as possible with friends.

“Thank you all for a wonderful experience…..how fortunate we all are to have a lively, learned, compassionate discussion with open hearts and minds. It is too rare. It fills me up! Thank you for all you’ve taught me!”
~ Courtney Lowery

Still Undecided?

For more information, email us at info@HumaneEducation.org.  

Help Us Spread the Word About A Better World, A Meaningful Life

Other Online Courses:

• Raising a Humane Child
  
• Teaching for a Positive Future

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