beginning Fall 2026: Cedar Cohort

Planetary dharma - Two Year Flagship Program

Awaken the Bodhisattva Within - Applications open

Join us for a transformative journey taking place over two academic years:

• Fall & Spring Semesters 2026-2027

• Fall & Spring Semesters 2027-2028

This course is designed to support the awakening of the Bodhisattva within you. In a world marked by profound challenges and unprecedented opportunities, the Fourth Turning of the Dharma calls for a renewed commitment to sacred humanism through psycho-education and spiritual practice that meets the needs of our time.

This immersive training in the 4th Turning Planetary Dharma offers a path of transformation for spiritual practitioners, healers, and integral leaders who seek to anchor personal awakening within the context of global evolution. Rooted in the insights of the Fourth Turning and informed by both ancient wisdom and modern developmental frameworks, the program bridges meditative depth, psychological insight, and planetary service.

In Academic Year 1, students are guided through foundational teachings that reorient spiritual growth within an integral, planetary framework, one that recognizes the interdependence of personal healing and collective awakening. Through contemplative practices, psychological inquiry, and integrative developmental models, participants cultivate a grounded, embodied sense of wholeness.

In Academic Year 2, students deepen their commitment through the Bodhisattva Training, focusing on essence meditation, Lojong (mind training), and compassionate action. This advanced curriculum builds upon the inner foundations established in Year 1 to empower practitioners to embody awakened presence and offer it in service to others.

program Structure

The Cedar Cohort’s rite of passage unfolds across two academic years, an intentional journey paced with the steady rhythm of practice, community, and retreat. Like the slow growth of a cedar tree, the training is designed to cultivate depth over time, allowing the teachings to take root, strengthen, and rise within you.

From September to May each academic year, you move through a living mandala of study, meditation, embodiment, and relational practice, held in a container of collective awakening.

Academic Year One (2026–2027)

Each academic year follows a sacred rhythm:

• 8 Practice Modules
  A progressive arc of teachings and practices that open inner territory, deepen embodiment, and build the foundations of your path.

• 1 Four-Day Virtual Retreat
  A dedicated immersion: four days set apart from ordinary time, where the teachings settle more deeply into the body and psyche.

• Monthly Community Weavings

  • Practice Circles
    Small-group sanctuaries for shared practice, reflection, and intimate human connection.

  • Maha Sangha
    A larger gathering where your cohort joins advanced students (Years 3 & 4) in a shared field of transmission and collective practice.

All elements of the Cedar Cohort are held entirely online, a modern monastery without walls, so that the training remains accessible and continuous, wherever you reside.

Academic Year Two (2027–2028)

The second year deepens the spiral:

• 8 Practice Modules

• 1 Four-Day Virtual Retreat

• Alternating Practice Circles & Maha Sangha gatherings

The cadence becomes more familiar, the teachings more embodied, and the community more woven into your life. Through repetition and return, the path opens in surprising and transformative ways.

Peer-led Summer School

During the summer months, the community sustains the rhythm of practice through peer-led gatherings, spaces to stay connected, tend the teachings, and keep the practice field alive between academic years.

Optional In-Person Festival

Each summer, the entire Planetary Dharma school converges in Boulder, Colorado for an optional in-person retreat, a vibrant gathering where all cohorts meet in one shared field. The retreat has the feel of a spiritual festival: dharma talks, meditation, music, movement, outdoor adventures, embodied practices, and heart-centered community engagement woven into a sacred container. This retreat is offered separately from tuition and provides a rare opportunity to experience extended practice, deep connection, and the living transmission of the teachings within a joyful, embodied, all-school celebration.