School for Ethics

Life getting complicated?  Try "Voluntary Simplicity."

Reclaim time for relationships and community.

Learn how you can leave a lighter footprint on the earth.

A 7-session course from the Northwest Earth Institute.  Sponsored by the Ethical Society of Boston and the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University.

• Time:  7:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M.

• Dates:  January 31 through March 13, 2008 (Thursdays)

• Location:  Grays Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

• Cost:  $35.00

Open to the General Public.  Special rates for Harvard students and alumni.

For more information contact:

Margo Woods at (781)646-6059 or

Peter Ames at (617)731-0512

or call go to http://www.harvardhumanist.org

Topics to be covered are:

1. The Meaning of Simplicity:
The concept of simplicity, as a religious practice or philosophy of life, has a long history. Both inner simplicity and outer simplicity are involved. What are some common misconceptions about a simple life?

 2. Living More with Less:
Accumulating material possessions is part of the American Dream. For some, the dream has become a nightmare. When do material possessions add meaning to our lives and when do they detract?

3. Your Money or Your Life:
A growing number of people wish to resolve the conflict between the desire to make and spend money and the desire for a simple life. Why is that so difficult in our culture?

4. Do You Have the Time?:
In modern society, our minds are focused on the "busyness" of the day, our current problems, and our future challenges. Are there alternatives to the fast pace of our mainstream culture?

5. How Much Is Enough:
As a society, we engage in patterns of material consumption that are damaging the environment. How much do we really need?

6. Swimming Against the Tide:
Our country's current guiding economic principles push growth, consumption, and technological advance as inextricable and desirable goals. In our efforts to live simply, we may feel like we are swimming against the tide.

7. The Practice of Simplicity:
There are countless practical benefits in moving toward simplicity. What steps can be taken to move toward a life simple in means, rich in ends?

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