Living on Purpose Distance Learning Program

We invite you to join us for a distance learning program

LIVING ON PURPOSE
The Curative Power of a Meaningful Life

January 8 – February 7, 2025

conducted by Gregg Krech
and Loraine Rickard-Martin

Click Here to Register

A Distance Learning Program by Gregg Krech and Loraine Rickard-Martin

January 8 – February 7, 2025

30 day program
24/7 access
Go at your own pace
Teachers maintain an active presence in the discussion
Weekly zoom check-ins
Online discussion forum
Daily reflection exercises
Online video, audio and readings
A Finger Pointing to the Moon (e-book)
Camaraderie of a global community
16 credits toward Certification in Japanese Psychology

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About the Program

Many of us want to live a more purposeful life. We want to use our time well, put our energy toward that which truly matters, and leave behind a positive legacy.

But our lives are often propelled forward by urgent pressures and demands, both internal and external, rather than guided by meaningful purpose. As a result, we may feel adrift and unsatisfied.

The Living on Purpose program provides an empowering and unique opportunity to align your life more fully with purpose. This 30 day program will provide support, inspiration and guidance via three distinct components:

Experiential. Every day of the month you will work with a specific exercise, related to the theme of purpose. This experiential component is the heart of the program and will enable you to live more purposefully each day;

Resources. You will receive an e-book, entitled A Finger Pointing to the Moon, as well as thought-provoking resources that can be accessed through the course website at your own pace;

Community. You will have a chance to engage with other participants from around the world who will provide insight, richness, support and camaraderie throughout our online discussion. Throughout the course of the 30 days, this virtual community can become a very meaningful part of the program experience.

Gregg Krech, Director of the ToDo Institute, will be teaching and facilitating this program. Gregg is one of the leading authorities on Japanese Psychology in North America and the author of several books, including The Art of Taking Action: Lessons from Japanese Psychology(currently an Amazon best-seller), and Naikan: Gratitude, Grace & the Japanese Art of Self-Reflection. For over 20 years, Gregg has been developing programs and resources for applying Japanese Psychology to everyday life.

Loraine Rickard-Martin was certified in Methods of Japanese Psychology by the ToDo Institute in 2011. She’s been teaching the Living on Purpose course for the past ten years. She leads a Practical Zen group of United Nations staff and retirees dedicated to Morita and Naikan principles and practices. She retired from the United Nations in 2009 and, since 2011, has led an NGO that educates companies and governments on compliance with international sanctions. She is 73 years old, with two adult children and currently lives in New York City with her husband.

The Living on Purpose program is designed to help you find direction, set direction, and stay on track for a more purposeful life. What a great way to start the year! Please join us.

What You Can Expect

You will have a chance to consider the bigger picture of your life.

What is more important to our lives than the way we spend our time? Many people are dissatisfied with their current life direction, but don’t know how to reconsider their options. Our lives can be so demanding to maintain that we lack the time and focus required to identify new priorities and set them in motion. This program provides the structure and guidance needed to reevaluate your current situation.

You will focus in on your strengths, talents, passions and values to help inform your direction.

What is most important to you at this stage of your life? What interests have remained with you throughout the course of your life? What activities prompt the greatest spark of joy? Through a series of specific exercises, you will catch up with yourself and become reacquainted again, which can help to reset your personal compass.

You will become more purposeful in your day to day life.

In addition to addressing big-picture purpose, this program also focuses on the role of purpose in our moment to moment lives. Sometimes our feelings are right in line with our purpose, but not always. Sometimes they tug in opposite directions. Becoming aware of such moments can help you to make more deliberate and purposeful decisions, rather than being driven by your fears and desires.

What You Will Receive

Our course website will provide you with the following:

A Calendar of Daily Exercises.

These exercises are the heart of the program. They will give you an experiential framework for considering the role of purpose, as it arises in your day to day life.
Online Resources.

You will have access to stimulating and diverse resources through the course website that will help you to become more mindful, aware and alive to the world
A Finger Pointing to the Moon (e-book) by Gregg Krech and Linda Anderson Krech.

This eBook provides a practical framework for making constructive changes in our lives through a structured process of self-reflection. This resources addresses themes such as setting direction, taking action, daily life criteria, habits and momentum.
Inclusion in a Global Community.

Our programs reach a worldwide audience. It is not uncommon to have participants from 8 to 10 countries participating in our programs. A strong sense of camaraderie often develops through our online discussion, as participants share their challenges, insights, experiences and wisdom with the group.

What You Will Do

With just an average commitment of about 30 minutes per day, this program can have a profound impact on how you live and how you experience your life. You will have a chance to:

Start each day with a specific purpose-related exercise.

Through this experiential component, you will have a chance make some real and significant changes in your life.
Share your experiences and questions with the group.

Though this is optional, we encourage you to make your voice heard through our global online discussion. You will feel more engaged and connected with the group and will enrich the program for others as well.
Study and reflect on thought-provoking readings.

We have created a diverse collection of readings and resources to enrich and support your experience throughout the month.

What You Will Pay

If you are a ToDo member, your program cost is $78.
If you are a non-member, your program cost is $93.

Alumni Discount

If you have done the Purpose Program before, you will receive a 50% discount off of the above prices.

Certification in Japanese Psychology

The ToDo Institute offers a credit-based Certification in Japanese Psychology. Each of our distance learning programs provides 16 credits toward certification. Those seeking credit need to submit a completed journal, documenting their experience throughout the month, along with a 1-2 page essay summarizing what they learned during the program.

For further information about the certification process, contact us at todo@todoinstitute.org or call 802-453-4440.

Other Online Learning Opportunities

The ToDo Institute is a non-profit educational center located in the foothills of the Green Mountains in central Vermont. We serve as a meeting place between east and west, where methods of Japanese Psychology blend with western culture to provide powerful tools for enhancing our lives. The applications of our work bridge the gap between the spiritual, the psychological, and the practical.

We provide a credit-based educational process that leads to Certification in Japanese Psychology. Those seeking credit for our online programs need to submit a journal, documenting their efforts with each of the daily exercises, along with a 1-2 page essay describing their overall experience with the program.