Wisdom School
Join a yearlong, immersive program designed to reawaken the art of inquiry, self-reflection, and imaginative transformation.
The Pilgrimage Project: A Renaissance of Spirit through the Contemplative Humanities
At the Crossroads of Crisis & Calling
We live in an era of accelerating change — ecological unraveling, social fragmentation, spiritual confusion, and the disintegration of inherited structures of meaning. In this moment of rupture, the world doesn’t just need more data or innovation. It needs wisdom. It needs the kind of sacred knowledge found in the world’s wisdom and esoteric traditions.
In 2026, our theme is pilgrimage — not only as a sacred journey through the physical world, but as an interiorizing process of subtle attunement and embodiment. Rooted in the deep traditions of contemplative philosophy and embodied education, Wisdom School invites you to begin a process of living inquiry, guided by a rhythm of deep unfolding — a perennial structure that echoes across variable cultures and epochs.
The Year of Pilgrimage: Curriculum Overview
The 2026 Wisdom School curriculum unfolds as a cyclical journey, with each phase modeled on Joseph Campbell’s conception of the “Hero’s Journey.” Along the way, we will traverse thresholds of meaning, encounter inner resistances, explore life’s many “initiations,” and perhaps discover gifts latent within that we can share with the world.
Weekly Meditations
Monthly Lectures
Enjoy a weekly live guided meditation with Faculty Circle teachers, aligning with each month’s theme. These “spiritual microdoses” help you integrate learning and anchor your week with intention.
Each month brings a new lecture exploring pilgrimage across traditions—from Indian and Christian mysticism to Sufi and Daoist paths—drawing on texts like the Mahābhārata and the Camino de Santiago.
Quarterly Workshops
Each quarter, join a live 2.5-hour experiential immersion to deepen your practice and inquiry, with skills-building workshops expanding your toolbox of techniques, contemplative methods, and embodied practices.
Across the year, we’ll read four classical and modern texts that illuminate the seeker’s path. Each text becomes a portal, and each discussion a shared reflection on how wisdom journeys within and beyond.
Quarterly Book Club
Learning Pathways
To expand your cross-cultural contemplative literacy, in 2026 we will introduce four new additions to our existing Learning Pathway curations:
When you enroll in Wisdom School 2026, you'll have access to these new additions as well as a selection of past Learning Pathways. Become a member with Wisdom School Plus and you'll have unlimited access to the Embodied Philosophy Wisdom School Course Library, a smorgasbord of continuing education that includes over 1000 hours of video courses, lectures, and learning pathways in classical yoga philosophy, somatics, contemplative practice, and esoteric philosophy.
Each Pathway offers multiple modules, guided textual explorations, and contemplative practices designed to ground your study in lived experience.
Meditation Mondays
Mystical Meditations
Metta Meditations
Tantrik Meditations
Mythology Meditations
Neuroscience &
Yoga Meditations
with Mary Reilly Nichols
with Oneika Mays
with Nataraj Chaitanya
with Susanna Harwood-Rubin
with Dr. Abha Rajbhandari
Monthly Lectures List
Your pilgrimage through Wisdom School follows a rhythm inspired by Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey — a twelve-stage archetypal cycle reflected in myth, ritual, and spiritual transformation:
Month
Curriculum Theme
January 2026
The Call to Depth: “Something in me has stirred…”
February 2026
Refusal and Resistance: “Surely not me, not this, not now…”
March 2026
Crossing the Threshold: “There’s no turning back now.”
April 2026
Sacred Companions and Guides: “You don’t walk alone.”
May 2026
The Descent into the Shadow: “To know light is to experience darkness.”
June 2026
Sacrifice and Letting Go: “What must die for me to live?”
July 2026
Revelation: “Everything I thought I knew is dissolving.”
August 2026
The Trials of Integration: “How do I carry this light through darkness?”
September 2026
The Gift of the Real: “Not transcendence, but intimacy.”
October 2026
The Return with Wisdom: “I must share what I have seen.”
November 2026
The Circle Reopens: “The journey begins again — but deeper.”
December 2026
Sanctifying the World: “Everywhere is the center.”
Renaissance of the Humanities: A Contemplative Rebellion
Wisdom School is part of a larger cultural commitment — to reform the spirit of the humanities by a remembering the human spirit. This commitment is anchored in a vision we could describe as a new cultural renaissance.
Just as the European Renaissance sparked a return to classical texts and transformed the cultural approach to lived knowledge, science, philosophy, and literature, we are calling for a similar revival — one rooted not in nostalgia, but in a visionary engagement with wisdom traditions that are altogether “new” to a culture that has largely forgotten them.
We therefore do not read ancient texts to escape the present, but to transform how we relate to and engage with it.
Through close engagement with spiritual and philosophical principles, teachings, and practices, we cultivate interpretive humility, philosophical literacy, and contemplative discernment. These are not only skills for seekers — they are potential tools for cultural renewal and repair.
In a time when attention is scattered and meaning is outsourced to an intelligence that is increasingly artificial, the simple act of reading deeply, practicing consistently, and studying with contemplative care becomes a revolutionary act.
Why Pilgrimage?
Pilgrimage is not merely a religious custom. It is a perennial movement of the human spirit — an invitation to expand the orbit of what is known, follow a thread of intrinsic longing, and walk with humility into the outpouring of a great mystery.
In this year’s Wisdom School, we explore pilgrimage in both its outer and inner expressions:
Whether you are literally walking new terrain or undergoing a rite of inner passage, this program provides the structure, resources, and fellowship to guide you toward the depths.
What Makes Wisdom School Unique
Philosophically Sophisticated
We don’t reduce wisdom to information. We treat it as a locus of transformation.
Our faculty includes world-class scholars, teachers, and lineage-holders from a range of traditions.
Practice-Integrated
Every theme, text, or teaching is aligned with contemplative or embodied practice.
Non-Dogmatic
This is not a single lineage, tradition, spirituality, or religion. It is a novel approach to contemplative education for the 21st century.
Community-Oriented
You’re not doing this alone. Our weekly practice sessions, quarterly gatherings and book clubs are vibrant, reflective spaces of community and fellowship.
Rooted in the Real
5-Day Inner Pilgrimage Through the Five Kośas
Our annual Meditation Resolution returns January 1-5, 2026 with a fresh orientation: an inner journey through the five sheaths (kośa), the ancient yogic map of our layered being — from the ‘food sheath’ to the ‘bliss body.’ Join Wisdom School today and begin the new year with this 5-day commitment to clarity, connectedness, and contemplation.
Wisdom School Core Faculty
Mary Reilly Nichols
Senior yoga and meditation teacher
Nondual, Hatha yoga, and contemplative wisdom traditions
Oneika Mays
Buddhist, trauma-informed mindfulness facilitator
Justice-centered, therapeutic mindfulness coach
Nataraj Chaitanya
Meditation teacher (Bhagavan Nityananda lineage)
Devotional practice, mantra, and embodied presence
Susanna Harwood-Rubin
Writer, artist, and yoga teacher
Embodied creativity, somatics, and contemplative expression
Dr. Abha Rajbhandari
Neuroscientist and contemplative educator
Neuroscience, yoga, and mind-body integration
Athena Potari
Hellenic philosopher and spiritual teacher
Embodied meditation, sacred philosophy, and devotional inquiry
100% Satisfaction Guarantee
We know that you'll find this program informative, educational and inspiring.
But we want you to know that even if you don't, Course refund requests submitted within 7 days of program start are fully honored. To request a refund, contact our support team at hello@embodiedphilosophy.com. We promise to have your refund issued within 5 business days.
Tuition & Access
Wisdom School is available now in two formats. Enroll in the live, guided 2026 year-long program, or enroll in 2026 and add access to the Course Library with 1,000+ hours of on-demand teachings.
Access Comparison
Individual Purchase Price
Wisdom School Plus - $497
Wisdom School 2026 - $297
Content Access
Wisdom School Plus - $497
Wisdom School 2026 - $297
Individual Content + Price
12 Monthly Lectures (2026) - $948
48 Monday Meditations (2026) - $588
4 New Learning Pathways - $1,588
4 Existing Learning Pathways - $1,588
4 Weekend Workshops (2026) - $516
4 Book Club Events (2026) - $316
100+ on-demand courses in the Course Library - $15,597
6 more Existing Learning Pathways - $2,382
12 Monthly Lectures (2026)
$948
48 Monday Meditations (2026)
$588
4 New Learning Pathways (2026)
$1,588
4 Existing Learning Pathways
$1,588
4 Weekend Workshops (2026)
$516
4 Book Club Events (2026)
$316
100+ on-demand courses in the Course Library
$15,597
6 more Existing Learning Pathways
$2,382
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