Living in the Gift

About This Course

To inhabit more fully the spirit of Gift is to transform life within us and around us. It is a journey of trust, an exploration of synchronicity, a recalibrating of boundaries, a step into community, a discovery of purpose, and an invitation to friendship with the world.

This course is an induction into the habits and perceptions of the Gift. Everything is on the table: economic and social, psychological and relational, spiritual and cosmological. While money (its presence in our lives and minds) is an important theme, the course goes far beyond New Age doctrines of abundance, because ultimately, no one wants merely to prosper personally within an unjust system. We can do better than that!

We will see the power that comes from developing the foundational understanding that life is a gift, that the world is a gift, and that the cosmos operates on the principles of gift.

Living in the Gift is my most ambitious online course to date. It was recorded over the course of three months with an initial cohort of participants, in which themes and inquiries emerged organically. We are now relaunching it with a new cohort. In addition to the ten original units, you can also look at the bonus material — recordings from the first cohort. We began on June 21, 5:20pm Eastern time.

Session Information

This in-depth course combines pre-recorded interviews, webinars, instructional sessions, and a discussion forum. Much of the material emerged organically during the initial live roll-out of the course and was drawn from experiences shared by the first cohort of participants, allowing us to discuss real situations as they related to course concepts. We expect more of this for the second cohort.

This course has run for the last two years as a DIY course, and you are welcome to do it that way. However, for many people it is more powerful to work the material with a group. Toward that end, a discussion forum is hosted on A New and Ancient Story, a community dedicated to reverence in communication The standards of communication are very high there. If you would like to be part of the discussion forum, go to the community landing page and read the introduction and posting guidelines. If you feel resonant, you can apply to join (all serious applicants are accepted). Once you are a member, the discussion will be happening on course forums on the left menu.

I have designed and intended this course to be something that works on you, with modest time commitment. The only “homework,” so to speak, is the seed questions/mantras. You could say that the results will come as a gift. All that is required is your presence, your attention, and most importantly your willingness to receive it.

“I just wanted to offer a few words of gratitude and encouragement for the Living in the Gift course. I am so enthusiastic about the course that I’ve been talking to practically everyone I know about it. I think you are touching on very profound truths and have found a great way to help a great many people connect with and live out of these truths. I am so glad to be able to journey with you and the whole crowd of companions who are joining the course.”
— Laurence

“Like so much of what you offer, this course has helped me see that I am so not alone and to feel supported in stepping more fully into my calling. There was a moment at the end of the Q&A call when Charles said “thank you, thank you, thank you” and seemed to shed a tear. That moment really struck me. Thank you for seeing all of us longing to live in the gift through eyes of love and compassion.””
— Rachel