AWAKEN YOUR INNER WISDOM
Deepen your sense of meaning and purpose by attending a course that explores the practical benefits of philosophy.
Practical Philosophy Australia (est. 1967) is a not-for-profit school offering both in-person and online courses in an interactive environment.
Our lively courses examine how wisdom teachings of the East and West can provide you with real-world solutions to some of life’s challenges, as well as practical tools and techniques for experiencing a more sustainable happiness.
To get started, enrol in our introductory course
The Wisdom Within
EVER WONDERED...
How life became so complicated?
If happiness lies beyond the seeking of material possessions?
If there is something more to life?
If it is time for a new way of thinking?
"I'm perpetually curious and interested in what it means to live deeply, meaningfully, graciously and lovingly; and I seek out ways to expand my understanding and practice of living well. I saw 'The Wisdom Within' on Instagram and followed through."
- Student of Wisdom Within 2022
WOULD YOU LIKE TO...
Simplify and clarify your decision-making?
Free yourself from habitual thinking and action?
Learn practices that bring your mind to stillness?
Better deal with stress and overwhelm?
Join a group to consider the deeper questions in life?
Strengthen your fortitude and conviction?
At the School of Practical Philosophy we seek to inspire the community to engage with the wisdom of philosophy as a way of living a true and happy life.
Our courses will help you explore the practical benefits of philosophy and ignite a different way of thinking about the world you live in, about how you approach the challenges and appreciate the joys that come your way, and about your relationships with the people around you.
We invite you to test out history’s great philosophical teachings in the context of your own life experience, through course material that's been refined over 50 years.
ENROL NOW
"This is the single most important thing I have done for my development since university. Do it when the time is right."
- Student of Wisdom Within 2022
OUR INTRODUCTORY COURSE
START YOUR JOURNEY BY ENROLING IN "THE WISDOM WITHIN", OUR 10-WEEK INTRODUCTORY COURSE AVAILABLE BOTH IN PERSON OR ONLINE.
'The Wisdom Within' makes philosophy relevant and practical to our modern lives by introducing you to time-honoured philosophical concepts, developing them into techniques and real-world solutions to counter life’s seemingly endless challenges.
The course explores where true wisdom is found and asks what holds us back? What sets us free? It aims to guide you to a greater understanding of yourself, your states of awareness and how justice is relevant to a meaningful life.
You will be introduced to practices that will improve your ability to be present to everyday moments with an increased sense of purpose.
TERM COMMENCES 29 MAY 2023
ENROL NOW
JOIN A COURSE AND TAKE TIME OUT FOR YOURSELF TO EXPLORE
TOPICS LIKE HAPPINESS, LOVE, WISDOM, FREEDOM, AND JUSTICE.
VIEW ONLINE OR FACE-TO-FACE OPTIONS
"Studying philosophy gives me a time each week to focus on me and making my experience of this life more fulfilling and meaningful."
- Student of Wisdom Within 2022
IT'S PHILOSOPHY FOR EVERYONE
DESIGNED FOR ALL, THE APPROACH IS PRACTICAL RATHER THAN ACADEMIC. THERE ARE NO PRE-REQUISITES AND NO EXAMS TO PASS.
All that is needed is a thoughtful approach to life, a desire to know more, to experience greater happiness and to discover the practical means to fulfillment.
Philosophical enquiry and study in the School is directed towards the understanding of the unity that underlies everyone and everything. This philosophy is known as Advaita Vedanta.
As companions on this exploration, we discuss concepts and ideas put forward by some of the greatest minds including Socrates, Plato, Confucius, Buddha, Epicurus, Emerson, Vivekananda and a modern exponent of the philosophy of Unity, Shantananda Saraswati.
COST: $150.00 PER PERSON
Attend all 10 sessions over 10 weeks for just $150.00 per person this coming term.
Our schools around Australia operate as not-for-profit organisations, as such we do not operate under the principal of generating profit and exist to serve the community. As a result, we are able to offer our introductory course The Wisdom Within at this very reasonable fee.
ENROL NOW
"A big thank you for offering the Wisdom Within course online for free - I look forward to my sessions each week, have built a network with fellow students and I look forward to continuing my study with the School"
- Student of Wisdom Within 2022
COURSE OVERVIEW
The Wisdom Within - Our Introductory Course
10 week course
Attend Face-to-Face or Online
Meet once a week for 90 minutes (online) or 2.5hrs (Face-to-Face)
Guided by a dedicated tutor
Just $150.00 per person this term
Term commences 29 May 2023
The classes are not lectures. During each session you'll have the opportunity to interact with the tutor as well as your fellow students.
You will be in the good company of like-minded people from diverse backgrounds.
You will leave each class with time-tested principles and practices to apply in daily living and a toolbox of skills informed by the wisdom of the great philosophers.
ENROL NOW
INTAKE DATES
Courses commence 3 times a year:
Term 1 - 6 February 2023
Term 2 - 29 May 2023
Term 3 - 11 September 2023
"It's a wonderful introduction to a new way of thinking. Provides time and space to reflect and learn about yourself and your life."
- Student of Wisdom Within 2021
COURSE CONTENT
SESSION 1 - PHILOSOPHY & WISDOM
SESSION 2 - KNOW THYSELF
SESSION 3 - BEING AWAKE
SESSION 4 - PRESENT MOMENT
SESSION 5 - LIVING JUSTLY
SESSION 6 - THREE-FOLD ENERGY
SESSION 7 - LIGHT OF REASON
SESSION 8 - POWER OF BEAUTY
SESSION 9 - UNITY IN DIVERSITY
SESSION 10 - DESIRE FOR TRUTH
DOWNLOAD COURSE OUTLINE
"The course supports a deep exploration of self and our place in the world and helps in our understanding of the self and to journey towards being the best version of ourselves."
- Student of Wisdom Within 2020
HOW TO ENROL
CHOOSE ONLINE OR FACE-TO-FACE.
ALL OUR COURSES ARE LIVE, INTERACTIVE AND CONDUCTED BY A DEDICATED TUTOR FOR THE DURATION OF THE COURSE.
FACE-TO-FACE LOCATIONS
Our bricks and mortar schools in each state, whilst all being affiliated to our global network, are all independently operated. Course pricing for the face-to-face courses may vary from school to school. Please see the individual school websites via the links below for course pricing at your local school.
NSW / ACT
Tuesdays 6:30pm - Sydney CBD
Wednesdays 6:15pm - Sydney CBD
Wednesdays 9:30am - Wahroonga
Thursdays 7:00pm - Wahroonga
ACT
Wednesdays 10:0am Deakin
Wednesdays 7:00pm - Deakin
Term commences the week beginning May 29
Follow this link to enrol
QUEENSLAND
Wednesdays 7:00 pm - Milton
Thursdays 7:00 pm - Milton
Term commences the week beginning May 29
Follow this link to enrol
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The course consists of 10 weekly sessions of approximately 2.5 hours, including a break for refreshments.
Tuesdays 7:00pm - South Perth
Saturdays 9:00am - Burswood
Term commences the week beginning May 29
Follow this link to enrol
VICTORIA
Please visit the Melbourne School website for further information about face to face courses.
Please note: Our national bricks and mortar schools are independent organisations, and the fees charged for courses may vary from state to state.
ONLINE OPTIONS
29
MAY
THE WISDOM WITHIN
Mondays 7pm AEST (5pm AWST)
Session information$150.00 incl. GST
REGISTER
30
MAY
THE WISDOM WITHIN
Tuesdays 11am AEST (9am AWST)
Session information$150.00 incl. GST
REGISTER
31
MAY
THE WISDOM WITHIN
Wednesdays 8pm AEST (6pm AWST)
Session information$150.00 incl. GST
REGISTER
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THE WISDOM WITHIN
An introductory course of 10 weekly 90 minute meetings
SESSION 1 PHILOSOPHY & WISDOM
- What is practical philosophy?
- ‘What would a wise person do here?’
Philosophy means the love of wisdom. Our course is intended to show how philosophy can help us enjoy richer, less stressful and more useful lives. These opening two sessions consider these aims, and introduce simple exercises in mindfulness and the application of wisdom you can practise in daily life.
SESSION 2 KNOW THYSELF
- Who or what am I?
- What is my potential?
- Who am I, really? My body? My emotions? My strongly held beliefs?
- My soul? Possibly all of these? Possibly none?
Such questions have preoccupied philosophers through the ages. We look at practical ways to explore who we really are and how to tap our true potential.
SESSION 3 BEING AWAKE
- What is our state of awareness?
Why does it fluctuate during the day? Often the most notable quality of wise people is their alertness to the subtleties of a situation. They are awake, perceptive and curious.
We look at deeper levels of awareness, and consider how we may become more awake to ourselves, our surroundings, and the events we meet.
SESSION 4 THE PRESENT MOMENT
- Living in the now, mindfulness.
- What is the potential of the present moment?
We review our own experience of attention through a model featuring attention centred, captured, open and scattered, and how these each relate to the past, present and future. We examine the extraordinary brightness and freedom naturally available in the present moment. A straightforward practice is introduced to help us experience this more frequently.
SESSION 5 LIVING JUSTLY
- Plato’s views on justice.
What does it mean to live justly? According to Plato, justice and injustice do not start ‘out there’. They begin within us. For justice to prevail, Plato suggests that we must learn to avoid being ‘tyrannised’ by our passions and fears to the extent they overrule our reason.
We discuss the practicality of Plato’s ideas on justice in our daily lives.
SESSIONS 6 THE THREE-FOLD ENERGY
- What is energy? Can it be created and conserved?
We consider the Vedic model of three fundamental substances or energies. Sometimes we seem not to have enough energy, or the wrong kind. A wise person can act consistently despite these varying conditions.
We consider how to recognise differing energies, how to gain and conserve them and how to use them wisely.
THE WISDOM WITHIN continued
SESSION 7 THE LIGHT OF REASON
- What is reason? How can it enrich our lives?
We look at the philosopher Shankara’s notion that reason is the ability to discern the transient from the eternal, the changing from the unchanging. This leads to the question of what, in our experience, can be said to be actually unchanging?
Suggestions are given to help further consideration of this question.
SESSION 8 THE POWER OF BEAUTY
- What is beauty? Is there such a thing as absolute beauty?
Beauty has the capacity to open the heart and bring delight. In this session we discuss our direct experience of beauty in its different forms: of the sensory world; of thought, of feelings, of the inner nature, and of conduct.
We consider Plato’s idea of there being ultimately one beauty – beauty absolute – ‘not knowing birth or death, growth or decay’.
SESSION 9 UNITY IN DIVERSITY
- Is there a common thread running through all things? What is the effect of finding unity?
When we look around at nature, we see diversity beyond imagination. The wise person looks for a unifying factor: that which allows all this apparent diversity to be seen as part of a single whole.
- Seen in this way, life may have the best chance of being fresh, open and invigorating. 2
SESSION 10 THE DESIRE FOR TRUTH
- What is truth? How does the desire for truth show itself?
Practical philosophy is about discovering the truth of things – not theoretically, but in our own experience.
In this final session we look back and ask ourselves how our search for truth has fared as the term has progressed. We discuss what has been discovered and how, in our own way, we may continue to develop it in our daily lives.
