Back by popular demand! Last year (2018) this course (then called Working Together Towards Harmony) attracted nearly three hundred participants from over twenty-five countries. New materials have been added to the course to make it even better. We are proud to offer it again in partnership with Harmony Interfaith Initiative.
You are invited to participate in a 4-week in-depth and interactive course that was developed for people who are tired of the divisiveness and acrimony in society and are looking for real solutions. It includes bridge-building ideas and strategies from Nobel Peace Prize laureates, ethicists, interfaith leaders, civil rights icons, ancient prophets, sociologists, and psychologists.
‘Co-Human Harmony’ was created and is facilitated by Rev. Gudjon Bergmann, Interfaith Minister and founder of Harmony Interfaith Initiative (who also authored a book by the same name). The course includes step-by-step guidance, a variety of inspiring and thought-provoking videos, a selection of self-assessments and action plans, an interactive chat with the facilitator (who will reply to questions and comments on a daily basis), and access to like-minded participants from around the world.
Start date: 3/18/2019
Price: $25
Duration: 4 weeks
Registration Opens: February 24th
Sessions: Self-guided sessions are posted weekly
Scholarships: If you are enthusiastic about this course but cannot make a donation due to financial hardship, you can ask about the availability of a scholarship. Requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The course includes
- Four self-guided sessions
- Inspiring and thought-provoking videos
- Self-assessments and action plans
- Interactive chat with the facilitator, who will respond to questions and comments on a daily basis for the four-week duration of the course
- Access to like-minded people from around the world (this was one of the most rewarding aspects of the course last year and created many connections)
Note: The course does not include a copy of the book, Co-Human Harmony: Using Our Shared Humanity to Bridge Divides. It is not necessary to read the book to benefit from the course, but it does contain in-depth and supplemental material for those who are interested.
Course goals
- Create a realistic vision for bridge-building and harmony
- Explore the importance of co-human experiences
- Learn about effective communications and dialogue facilitation
- Become aware of unconscious pitfalls and biases
- Use moderating behaviors to temper extremist urges
- Acquire an assortment of bridge-building techniques
- Understand the process of ethical development, how it develops from selfish to care to world-care, and how it is directly related to people’s capacity for compassion
- Examine self-care principles to reduce the likelihood of burnout
- Develop a sense of compassion through direct action
Course Outline
Section A: Introduction, Overture: Why People Seek Harmony, and Movement 1: Recognize the Significance of Co-Humanity
Introduction
- Course overview
- Navigating the platform
- How to get the most out of the course
- Getting to know the facilitator
Overture: Why People Seek Harmony
- People seek harmony because…
- The spectrum of harmony
- Why social harmony is possible
- An achievable vision for ‘the willing’
- A personal status check
Movement 1: Recognize the Significance of Co-Humanity
- Understanding the human (Maslow) and the ideological (-isms) personas
- Examples of dehumanizing and otherizing
- The most important project at this point in history
- The connective importance of the term ‘co-human’
- Personal insights and examples from participants
Section B: Movement 2: Participate in Co-Human Experiences and Movement 3: Learn and Share Through Dialogue
Movement 2: Participate in Co-Human Experiences
- Using human experiences to build bridges
- Examples of experiential events that have worked
- Input and ideas from participants
Movement 3: Learn and Share Through Dialogue
- Five sample dialogue guidelines: Dr. Swidler, Minnesota Council of Churches, Experifaith, Red Bench, and Men’s Fellowship Network
- How to facilitate dialogue – where to start and what to aim for
- Getting people together
- What to do when you want to persuade others
- Two lessons from a mediator
- Participant aspirations and experiences
Section C: Movement 4: Nurture Harmony from Within
Movement 4: Nurture Harmony from Within
- Ethical development, from selfish to care to world-care
- Examples from the lives of Betty Williams, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Karen Armstrong and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- Increasing the personal capacity for compassion and care
- Generate awareness of unconscious pitfalls and biases
- Use moderating behaviors to reduce extremist urges
- Examine self-care principles to reduce the likelihood of burnout
- Share self-care examples and insights with other participants
Section D: Coda: Build Bridges Across Divides
Coda: Build Bridges Across Divides
- Without action, information is wishful thinking
- The bridge-builders checklist
- Personal blueprint for action
- List of resources (books, videos, organizations, and more)
- Ideas and input from other participants
About the Course Creator and Facilitator
Rev. Gudjon Bergmann is the founder and lead educator at Harmony Interfaith Initiative, which is an educational and social good organization based in Kyle, TX, and an official partner of Charter for Compassion. Bergmann is a seasoned professional speaker with more than twenty years of experience and has authored more than twenty-five books. His newest book, titled Co-Human Harmony: Using Our Shared Humanity to Bridge Divides, was published on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2019. He was born and raised in Iceland, but moved to the USA in 2010 with his wife, Johanna, and two children, after they found out that Johanna had been a US citizen from birth without knowing (long story). They settled in Texas, decided to stay for good, and he became a US citizen in 2013. After completing an immersive interfaith curriculum, Bergmann became an ordained Interfaith Minister on June 17, 2017. Shortly thereafter, he discovered his calling, which is to foster co-human understanding and bridge-building between differing ideologies, theologies and philosophical viewpoints.
You can email him and learn more by visiting his website, or read his blog!
Listen to recent interviews
Testimonials from Participants in 2018
Opening Up To a Deeper Awareness
“Thank you for opening up a deeper awareness in me of the term co-humanity and deepening my beliefs of the necessity to embrace and understand the value of diversity. Most of all, to becoming more aware of the part I play in the harmony/disharmony dance in my own environment through my thoughts, words and actions.”
~ Gabrielle Menegaldo
More Compassionate, Tolerant and Joyous
“We live in a word full of daily news that divides us and makes us angry and even hateful. The course helped me to wrestle with the reality that while the world around me may incite divisiveness, we can work to create harmony in our lives, and in so doing, learn to be more compassionate, tolerant, and joyous.”
~ John Smelcer, Ph.D., CAGS, MLA
Recognizing My Triggers
“Continuing to work with the exercises has become part of my daily practice. I am creating a harmony journal inspired by the course. For example, part of that journal focuses on recognizing triggers for what they are and critically analyzing why I am reacting as I do. Thank you for being such a wonderful moderator, I know it was an incredible amount of work, but your input and responses were really inspiring to me.”
~ Angela Chouinard
Not a Soft Option – but an Absolute Must
“Using conflict resolution techniques based on harmony and compassion, Bergmann’s course requires participants to walk the talk as he shines a powerful light on alternative pathways towards understanding and acceptance. This course is not a soft option. It will be confronting and challenging for many. But if you believe our future survival requires shared respect and understanding for the sake of both people and planet, then this course is an absolute must. It was a waypoint in my own journey, providing alternatives I’d never previously considered, new ways to create meaningful change by focusing on our shared humanity rather than our ideological differences.”
~ John Sellwood
Help With Ideological Discussions
“As I attend a rather conservative church but teach a very non-traditional class at this church, his pointers on having discussions with those with whom you disagree ideologically were VERY useful in helping me see changes I have to make in having such discussions. I strongly recommend his course to others to help us live through these rather contentious times we are experiencing.”
~ Margaret Cox
Refreshed My Soul
“The course infused and refreshed my soul with tonics of simplicity and understanding. I am grateful and thankful for the gentle push to a better understanding of my fellow folks here on this planet of ours.”
~ Kevin B.
Succinct, Clear and Profound
“The course materials were so valuable, succinct, clear and profound. Specific invitations and directions on how an individual can change personal perspectives and behaviors will make a significant difference in interacting in today's divisive climate and are so needed. I very much enjoyed the robust and provocative discussions between yourself and so many within the course. What a gift for each of us to create peace and unblock paths to love for others and ourselves. Thank you so much!”
~ Nancy Rushlow Bray
Practical and Powerful Wisdom
“Bergmann has developed and presented an insightful and impactful course that has already helped me to have more positive and productive interactions with others. The structure of the course enabled concise and engaging presentation of its key concepts. Gudjon was an excellent embodiment of the key principles and practices of the course in all his communication with us. The course offers practical, powerful wisdom and techniques for achieving greater harmony and peace in all our lives; I highly recommend it.”
~ Tom Miller
Supporting Connection
“Through Gudjon Bergmann’s course, I have learned new and powerful elements to support connection with others whose views are different than my own. Gudjon was very supportive as were the discussions with fellow classmates from around the world.”
~ Linda Kochman
Provided Me with Useful Tools
“This course not only reinforced my desire to communicate and connect with those who I would not normally connect with, but it provided quite a few useful tools to make that connection possible. The videos, readings and instruction were first rate and not the usual platitudes. I recommend this course.”
~ Steve Liebowitz, ED.D, Author, Life & Business Coach
Clarity and Language
“The most valuable thing I gained was clarity. I so often struggle to express myself for lack of words; I have been given some of the language I need in order to express not only what is important to me, but also to help build those bridges. Thank you so much!”
~ Jennifer Brodeur
Thought-Provoking Material
“Thank you for the wonderful course, Gudjon. Amazing how much thought-provoking material you have packed into lessons that read so quickly. I have come away with a wealth of ideas that I can use in my Dignity Dialogues initiative.”
~ Larry Visser
Confidence Builder
“The course was a confidence builder.”
~ Angela
Two Personas and Co-Humanity
“I thought the course was excellent, especially since it introduced concepts unfamiliar to me...the two personas. Focusing on the co-human is very helpful.”
~ Larry Brown
Uplifting and Challenging
“This course is at once uplifting and challenging. The frameworks provided helped me, and my course colleagues, to break down complex issues and discuss them using a common language. I left the course with actionable tools and language for continuing to work on creating harmony in my corner of the world.”
~ Amy Giddon, CEO Daily Haloha
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