Master Series
Online Study groups for Students of the Classics

Classic Teachings Inspire! Helping you be healthier, and  make sense of your world!

Each online workshop provides: 

• A deep dive into classic texts by recognized master authors, teachers and practitioners

• Take the written word “off the page” and into practice!

• Practical guidance for natural wisdom-based living! 

• Deep scholarship and practical interpretations of dense textual works 

• Dial in specific teachings and pull out salient details to apply directly to your life

• Lively discussion of the topics and contents of master works with fellow students

For each of these study groups all that you need do is register,  acquire a copy of the text being studied, download the power point available to you upon registration, and have a notebook ready at hand for taking your own personal notes on the journey. 

• The Ethics of Caring, by Kylea Taylor
   Working within “non-ordinary states of consciousness” provides essential understandings to the practice of many healing arts. Sitting across from one another in regular conversational consciousness can only take us so far along the healing path. To stimulate deep healing, a deeper access to “subconscious” or even “unconscious” material, as well as the “collective unconscious” can create a pathway to access deeper healing awareness. Yet, this presents the healing artist with a particularly slippery slope when it comes to ethical behavior when inducing these states of consciousness in their clients. Non-ordinary states present deep and specific vulnerabilities for both client and practitioner. To guide one through the process of discovering these vulnerabilities, Taylor follows a Chakra model to explore the full range of living concerns. In this class, Sweigart interweaves the Cycles of 7 and 8, of the Chinese Wei Mai Vessels to deepen understanding of the exquisite path to building that “internal locus of control” for the choices we make in our practice, and in our daily life.
Six weeks: Tuesdays, September 28 – November 2,  2021, 10am-Noon (Pacific time).  Click here to register for this powerful and important class!=

• Between Heaven and Earth, by Korngold and Beinfield
      A perennial favorite, everyone has a natural affinity to connect to the elemental powers of our our world and discover how these elements manifest within our own body, mind and spirit. This master work takes us deep into the study of the Five Elements of Chinese Medicine where we meet out own elemental qualities as well as begin to embrace the presentation of the elements in friends and relations that surround us. Having a grasp of your Elemental Type helps you to understand how it is that you “face” or “see” the world around you.
Ten weeks: Thursdays, September 30 – December 9,  2021, 10am-Noon (Pacific time).  Click here to register for this Five Elements Class! 

• Iron John, by Robert Bly
     This Master Class focuses on an in-depth reading of Robert Bly’s master work on male initiation, with an eye toward integrating the feminine. As a practitioner of Chinese Medicine the YinYang theory is never far from my consciousness. And the truth is, if you look at Yang, you are looking at Yin. In the text for this class, Bly follows the plot-line of an ancient folk tale to explore the process of maturation and growth from childhood to adulthood. He draws significant parallels between this ancient tale and our day-to-day experience in today’s world. Filled with insights into the process of development, the study of Iron John sheds light on every aspect of life, from relationship dynamics to how we interface our mortality with immortal teachings of the vital inner beings within. Of particular interest in this class is the process of Katabasis, the vertical descent. This is the way in which we either “go down” consciously and with support, or how life finds a way to “take us down!” This is one aspect of the work, where we can use holistic health approaches to find the path into our shadow work and come through it wiser and deeper and more ready for all that life sends our way. Though men may find the work most engaging, women can gain insight into their own journey as well as that of the men they love.
Twelve Weeks: Mondays, October 4-December 20, 2021. 6pm-8:30pm Pacific Time (all classes will be recorded and uploaded to a private student drive folder where you may login at a later time and review the lesson).  Click here to sign up for this journey!

• Natural Foods Cookery
 Matthew’s journey in the healing arts didn’t actually begin with Shiatsu. It began with cooking! In college he practiced being a Vegetarian for a year, and learned just how important food preparation is to creating tasty, healthy meals. Then, as his theatre career interests were waining, he discovered the macrobiotic diet, and spent two years practicing this dietary health regimen. In that time he learned many food preparation and combining techniques. As that progressed he also found that his Shiatsu teacher Ohashi Sensei, was something of a gourmet Japanese cook, and many lessons poured into him from this important mentor. At the same time, he was influenced by Anna Marie Colbin, and The Natural Gourmet Cooking School in NYC, and later would work extensively with Paul Pitchford’s, Healing With Whole Foods, at the Heartwood Institute, and in his own home kitchen. A divorced dad for 15 years, he learned first hand how to prepare tasty meals for his growing boys, while at the same time staying on the right side of healthy eating. In this master class, he will share his tricks for preparing healthy and delicious meals from scratch, broadcasting from his own home kitchen. There won’t be heavy lessons on alkaline/acid balance, or dogmatic teachings that say “eat this way.” Rather it will be a delicious romp through nature’s cornucopia of foods, with an omnivore’s sensitivity and a colorful approach to culinary adventures. 
Ten Weeks: October 7 – December 16, 2021. Varying lengths, random meal times (based on Matthew’s kitchen schedule), including breakfasts, lunches and dinners, and possibly a grocery shopping video! Attendees will get notice in advance of classes, and also have access to recordings.   Click here to register!

Coming in 2022

• Dragon Rises, Red Bird Flies, by Leon Hammer
     This Master Class draws students into the vital, rich and dense world of the master work of Leon Hammer, PsyD, OMD. Dr. Hammer’s bio includes more than 30 years as the Director of Psychiatry at a major upstate NY hospital, and his transition to Chinese Medical Philosophy to guide his practice. The title itself speaks to the thesis of the work. The Dragon is the mythical beast that represents civilization. The Redbird is the mythical representation of the individual. The ultimate practice suggests that as the individual learns to fly, the civilization rises. As the civilization rises, the individual learns to fly! Following the teachings of the five elements and the nourishing cycles elucidated by Chinese Medical philosophy, we engage this deep work to lift us up to our own highest flight!
Coming in 2022! Click here to access registration for Dragon Rises, Redbird Flies! 

• Extraordinary Vessels, by Matthew Sweigart
     This master class draws from a number of master teachers of the Chinese Medical arts including Yuen, Twicken and and Ferrell as Sweigart weaves the story of his own unique bodyworkers approach to the Eight Extraordinary Vessels. Join this master class to get a front row seat to the edge of Chinese Medical philosophy and an unfolding discovery of the application of the medicine to a variety of contemporary conditions, such as trauma, psycho-emotional healing and current psycho-social conditions.
Coming in 2022!  Click here to register for Extraordinary Healing!

• Enspiriting, by Warren Ziegler
     This classic personal growth work draws out the seminal offering of the great master futurist, Warren Ziegler. In it, we will practice his invitation to the “futures room” by entering into the practices of deep listening, questioning, intentioning, discerning, dialogue, learning and imaging. Each of these consist of a body of understanding, and a set of practices time tested by Ziegler in many many group settings over decades. His master work invites us to discover what concerns us, what imbalances us, what we have to learn from the interplay of spirit and biography and how to actualize spirit’s calling into every action of our life in the world. Together we will engage in the Enspiriting work and I will help you work through the dense language of this master text. We will use this as the touch stone for accessing our own futures room, and live into the world we want to see. “Be the change, you want to see in the world!”
Coming in 2022!  Click here to register for Enspiriting!

Inspiring classics help you make sense of your world! Sign up today! And we’ll see you in class!

Bringing style, grace, laughter and enjoyment to the art of learning and growing in both personal or professional practice Matthew Sweigart, CI. helps you explore the healing classics. Enjoy healing dialogue in a supportive and inspiring online community environment!