Living in a New Republic of the Heart:
A Radical Experiment in Being the Change
with Terry Patten
Registration is now closed for Full Participation, however, we welcome you to engage with us in other ways. If you are interested in this yearlong program, please email us with your interest and/or questions: replies@terrypatten.com
- Join an international community of activist-practitioners in a mutual recognition of our prior unity, declaring and living in a New Republic of the Heart.
- Help one another integrate the inner work, the outer work, and the interpersonal work of bringing about a new stage of humanity’s evolving pattern.
- Participate in a pioneering pilot project aimed at helping advance the knowledge, power, and wisdom needed for healthy whole-system change.
A Yearlong Virtual Community of Practice.
A Radical Social Experiment.
January - December 2019
The teaching event I presented, "A Call for Yin Leadership" provides a description of this Yearlong Virtual Community of Practice Social Experiment, and tells you how you can get involved. Listen below:
What if a group of us really “went for it,” showing up as the most awakened version of ourselves as much as possible, supported by collective agreements, deciding to create a kind of transformative crucible as free as possible of the assumptions and conventions that reinforce the consensus trance of our larger culture?
What if we were able to harness the “all-in” commitment and intention of an immersive, long-term, spiritual community — for now, but framed as a time-delimited 12 month commitment?
Hi, I’m Terry Patten. I invite you to join me and a virtual community of serious practitioners in an existential inquiry that integrates the three vital areas needed to enact the radical, whole-system change need to bring our world back into balance — consciousness (the Inner Work), relationship (the Inter Work), and impact (the Outer Work).
Radical transformation is possible in each of these domains. I call them “the 3 Awakenings” that we’ll be cultivating over the next 12 months. Even before enlightenment, we can make choices based on enlightened wisdom. The same is possible in cultivating awakened relationships and transformational impact!
This journey is also an experiment, a finite expression of the radical, open-ended commitment described in the integrative vision of my acclaimed book, A New Republic of the Heart: An Ethos for Revolutionaries.
What can we learn when we commit fully to breaking through our consensus trance, defying our crisis of fragmentation, and blessing the world by serving and living as revolutionary Wholeness?
We can perhaps free ourselves to dare such a radical commitment by limiting this journey to 12 months. At the end, we will step back and assess our experience, both individually and collectively. What succeeded, and in what ways? What failed? What did we learn? What would we do differently if we were to do this again?
I invite you to answer this call to create a new kind of community. What if there really is a way we can make a difference? What if we can actually help Wholeness reassert itself amidst our crisis of fragmentation?
This experiment is the next phase of A New Republic of the Heart. Are you game?
What You’ll Discover in these Sessions
The Four Pillars of our commitment:
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- Inner work. We will all take on daily practices of conscious movement and sitting meditation. We will relate to every moment and aspect of our lives as an opportunity for practice, growth, and transformation.
- Interpersonal work. We will create conditions conducive to our quickly becoming an authentic community of practice, deepening our we-space naturally in our dyads, pods, breakout sessions, and service work.
- Outer work. We will all engage and deepen our functional capacities through practical service to projects dedicated to restoring wholeness to our natural, social, political, and/or cultural worlds.
- Co-creating a new pattern. We will ‘break the mold” by engaging all these practices as expressions of an emerging new republic of the heart, in a loving and fierce spirit. Together we will endeavor to establish a new collective field of consciousness, expressing awakening, service and friendship, rooted in radical acceptance and defiantly joyful hope.
This curriculum begins with the Four Pillars that lay out the foundation for our shared practice and collective experiment. We will then explore key teachings that relate to our individual interior lives and practice. We will be engaging them, however, not just subjectively, but intersubjectively — and in relation to our concrete action in the world.
They do not represent a predigested formula. They create a robust context in which we each can show up powerfully and vulnerably as we convene a new transparent brother-sisterhood. My long-time student Siobhan McClory and I have created a curriculum, an offering of preliminary best-practices. They are designed to help us embody higher levels of practice, engage deeper friendships, recognize our strengths and limitations, and grow beyond our edges.
Prerequisite
Having read, or listened to the audiobook of A New Republic of the Heart— or agreeing to read or listen to it by February 10, 2019.
Module 1 - Orientation: The Key Principles of Our Experiment
Module 2 - Pillar #1: Inner Work: Relating to Life as Practice
Module 3 - Pillar #2: Interpersonal Work: Co-creating Higher We-Space
Module 4 - Pillar #3: Outer Work: Making a Practical Difference in Our World
Module 5 - Pillar #4: Co-Creating a New Pattern: Exploring Radical Commitment
Module 6 - Our Paradoxical Ground
Module 7 - Opening to Wonder and Gratitude: Our Senses and the Natural World
Module 8 - A New Relationship to Change: Loss and Possibility
Module 9 - Making Our Grand Intentions Real and Human
Module 10 - The Ear of the Heart Hears the Still, Small Voice of the Soul
Modules 11 & 12: The Energetic Patterns that Animate Us - Seeing into the Unseen
Module 13 - The Power & Possibilities of Archetypes and Metaphors
Module 14 - The Intelligence, Power and Authority of the Integral Heart
Module 15 - Harvesting Our Learnings
The Primary Elements of the Course
This is a course that’s much more than a course. It’s a social experiment and a collaborative community of practice. I hope it will be a transformative event in all our lives, rippling out into the fabric of the larger human collective.
21 Course Sessions:
90 minute large-group meetings will occur every 2-3 weeks. Each will begin with a dharma talk, and then we will go into smaller breakout groups. I will lead these assisted by my longtime student Siobhan McClory. These will focus on empowering you through philosophical and practice distinctions and direct transmission. Six of the large group sessions are reserved for emergent topics — I will offer comments and teachings that will address, in a timely way, what is happening in our sangha and our world. Fifteen of the large group sessions will be formal modules with a predetermined focus that will move through the practice curriculum described below, covering the Four Pillars of our experiment and seven key practice topics.
Q & A Sessions with Terry:
Occasional ad-hoc Q&A Sessions with Terry. I will respond to questions and offer coaching during our primary course sessions. Additional ad-hoc Q&A sessions will be announced and scheduled as needed.
One dyad session each week:
One 30-60 minute dyad session each week in which you and a partner go deep into a series of personal and we-space practices. Your dyad partners will change every 6 to 8 weeks.
Smaller Circle meetings every 2-3 weeks:
A 75-90 minute meeting with your “Pod” every 2-3 weeks when the large group is not meeting for a Course Session. In this smaller circle of 4-6 people you will explore the course themes and discuss your practice, service and projects. These pod configurations will change twice (for a total of 3 configurations across our year-long journey).
The Practice of Making Change Real:
You will choose an arena in which to do your “outer work.” You can originate your own project or you can volunteer with an existing organization (there are a lot of ways we can help!) It should be on a scale appropriate to you — from family to community to city to nation to world, as long as it truly matters to you, averaging at least 2 hours a week. We will engage this not as a mere duty but as an ennobling practice, through which we will not only contribute but also learn and grow. And in our pods, we will give and receive mentoring and support. In this way, we will integrate our “outer-work” with both our inner- and inter-personal work. Some of us may join together in our projects. We have surveyed many dynamic expressions of the new movement that is coming into being, so we can help. And everyone is warmly welcomed to volunteer to further the initiatives of the New Republic of the Heart nonprofit organization.
Online Community:
Our private online community, exclusively for participants in this course, will provide a supportive environment for you to connect and have conversations about these key topics outside of our class sessions and your pods and dyads. Here you can continue the conversation and deepen your understanding with the broader community.
Video and Audio Recordings of the 21 Course Sessions:
After each large group meeting for our Course Sessions, both the video and audio will be available for you to download or stream in high-quality format. We encourage you to join every session live, but if you have a scheduling conflict, you can watch or listen to the recording at your convenience. This is also a great tool for reviewing and integrating the material.
Hi, I’m Siobhan McClory. I am very excited to be joining Terry and all of you who have felt called to be on this 12 month journey. It feels like such a poignant and paradoxical time to be alive on our planet.
Having been a student of Terry’s for over seven years, it has been an honor to join with him in creating a curriculum that can support us all. As a certified Integral coach™ and long time meditation practitioner, the recognition that we are always in a “process of becoming” is close to my heart. In my coaching work, my focus is in guiding that process in ways that enable conscious, sustainable change.
In our work together over the following year, I look forward to being of support through group mentoring sessions, supporting dyads and pods and also as a fellow practitioner in our bewildering and yet beautiful world.
From my heart to yours, thank you for joining with us as we explore what it means to be citizens of a new republic of the heart.
Sessions will be Wednesdays from 12 noon to 1:30 PM PST on the following 2019 dates:
Jan 16, Jan 30, Feb 13, Feb 27, Mar 13, Mar 27, Apr 10, Apr 24, May 8, May 22, Jun 5, Jun 26, Jul 17, Jul 31, Aug 21, Sep 11, Sep 25, Oct 16, Oct 30, Nov 13, Dec 4
Although we don’t plan to reschedule any of these sessions, we know that unexpected circumstances can make changes necessary. If so, we will alert you of any changes as far in advance as we are able to.
Total time commitment: 2 - 4.5 hours per week.
Those able and wanting to engage more deeper and extensively may engage for 10 hours a week or more.
Also: A number of Auditing Spaces will be made available to sincerely interested supportive individuals whose lives don’t allow them to commit to this whole experiment, but who want to learn and observe and participate in a more limited capacity (~90 minutes a week or less). If you’re interested in auditing, please go through the normal sign-up process; we will give all participants an opportunity to define their desired level of engagement later.)
Registration for Full Participation is now Closed. If you are interested and would like to participate in some way, please email us: replies@terrypatten.com
From colleagues...
"In a stunning marriage of wild heart and cool mind, Terry Patten turns the black diamond of our global darkness to illuminate our hearts, hone our wills for selfless service, and resplendently deepen our commitment to enact our divine identity and its joy, whatever happens. This is a major work of pioneering originality accomplished with great intellectual grace and profound sacred passion.”
—Andrew Harvey, Author of The Hope – A Guide to Sacred Activism (from the Foreword)
"We all know that humanity is at a critical turning point—and this is THE manual for all who want to meet this moment as the historical call to action that it is. Combining brilliant social commentary along with a step-by-step blueprint for catalyzing whole-system change from the inside out, Terry shows us the way to rise into our personal and collective destiny."
—Claire Zammit, Ph.D. Founder, FemininePower.com
“A superb, terrific, exciting, sane, and enlightening look at more truly integral approaches to activism. It represents a social activism that is certainly social, but also personal, emotional, spiritual, ecological, relational, and that stems from, and points toward, the very leading-edge of evolution itself. Highly recommended!”
—Ken Wilber, author of The Integral Vision and Grace and Grit
“The world is changing now, rapidly and radically. Terry Patten imparts a challenging insight to us all—helping us feel and understand how the world is calling us to transform our interior lives as well as our behaviors relating to our immediate urgent evolutionary challenges.”
—Thomas Hübl, international teacher of practical mystical competence and founder of the Academy of Inner Science
"Like all true spiritual guides, Terry Patten shows us how to open our hearts and respond to this suffering world. His book is thoughtful, careful, and joyful."
—Diane Musho Hamilton Sensei, author of The Zen of You and Me and Everything is Workable
"With deep caring and illuminating insights, Patten unfolds an integrative analysis of our impending crisis of civilization, offering a valuable handbook for those trying to make sense of what’s happening and—most importantly—what they can do about it."
—Jeremy Lent, author of The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity’s Search for Meaning
About Terry Patten

TERRY PATTEN is a philosopher, activist, consultant, coach, teacher, and social entrepreneur. He is the author of the bestselling book, A New Republic of the Heart: An Ethos for Revolutionaries, as well as Integral Life Practice, which he co-wrote with Ken Wilber and a core team at the Integral Institute. As a teacher, he created the acclaimed online courses Integral Spiritual Practice, Living the Integral Heart, The Integral Soul Work Journey, and Awakening your Revolutionary Heart. For the past seven years he’s guided Circles of Mutuality which focus on deep “we-space” and relational work.
Terry is the founder of the “Beyond Awakening” teleseminar series and Bay Area Integral. As a social entrepreneur, he founded the pioneering consciousness technology company Tools For Exploration and led the team at the HeartMath Institute that developed their first heart-rate variability monitor. He co-leads initiatives in restorative redwood forestry, fossil-fuel alternatives, and transforming collective trauma.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is a virtual course?
A: Virtual learning is a way for you to participate in a course from anywhere in the world — home, office, wherever you have a reliable internet connection. You can join the weekly sessions via computer, mobile device, or telephone and access course materials via computer or mobile device. We’ll be using Zoom video conferencing for our live events. If there is more than one person in your household taking the course, you will each need your own connection.
There is no additional charge for connecting to Zoom with your computer or mobile device. Please note that dialing Zoom from your telephone is a toll call; your telephone service provider will charge you according to your existing long-distance calling plan. International access numbers are available.
Q: What if I can’t make all of the classes?
A: Each session will be recorded, both in video and audio format, and posted to the course homepage, so if you have a scheduling conflict, you can watch or listen to the recording at your convenience.
Q: How does the Course Online Forum work?
A: Our online community is open only to participants in this course. The intention is to provide a lively, supportive environment outside of class. Here you will be able to continue the conversations and deepen your understanding with fellow participants.
Q: How do the pods and dyads work?
Early in the course, after completing a survey to determine timezone compatibility, you’ll be introduced to your first dyad partner (2 people) and pod (4 to 6 people). Dyad meetings can range from 30-60 minutes. Pod meetings will range from 75-90 minutes. You will then work together to establish a day and time for your meetings and determine the platform you’ll be using for your meetings, either by video (Ex. Zoom, Skype, Adobeconnect) or audio (ex. Freeconferencecall.com, Maestroconference.com). Dyad partners will change every 6-8 weeks; We will have 3 different pod configurations over the course of our year together.
Q: What if I can’t commit the time required but I want to be part of it?
A number of “Auditing” spaces will be made available to sincerely interested, supportive individuals whose lives don’t allow them to commit to this whole experiment, but who want to learn and observe and participate in a more limited capacity. If you’re interested in auditing, go through the normal sign-up process; we will give all participants an opportunity to define their desired level of engagement later.
Q: What is your refund policy?
This course is for the most part billed monthly, so you only “pay as you go”. Thus, in some sense it is an honor system. However, we make a huge investment in generating the community, and as we cohere a group field, it hurts everyone when anyone drops out. So we invite you to register, participate, confirm your commitment, and if you don’t cancel by Jan. 30, 2019, to fulfill the full 12 months of participation and payment. If unexpected circumstances force you to withdraw, we ask you to have a conversation first. Be aware that our expenses will not be reduced by your early withdrawal. So if a completion conversation becomes necessary, we ask you to make a mutual and respectful agreement about the remaining payments.
Q: How can I reach Customer Support?
A: Please contact us here and we’ll get right back to you.
"What we have here is possibly the finest example of the making of the possible human and with this, the development of a possible world."
—Jean Houston, Ph.D., Chancellor, Meridian University, author of A Passion for the Possible