A child's hand brushing through tall, sunlit grasses
A woman standing still while a crowd hurries past her in a great hall
An old, empty farmhouse among tall trees, lit by a low sun
A woman wrapped in a blanket turning toward the rising sun over a meadow

The Mystery School · Course One

The World as It Stands

Thirteen flip-book lessons on seeing the world clearly, and finding our way home.

Seeing clearly

Name it, and it loosens its hold

Each lesson looks gently at one part of how we were taught to forget.

The root beneath it all

Back to what is true

Scripture, the Gnostic gospels and the living land are our guides.

The prodigal comes home

Every road can lead us home

Read at your own pace, then bring your journal to the fire circle.

Begin Lesson INew here? Crossing the Hedge

Course One · The World as It Stands

Each lesson is a short flip book to page through at home or share around the fire. Begin with the first and take one a week. Every lesson ends with questions for your journal and a simple practice for the week, out on the land.

A child's hand brushing through tall, sunlit grassesLesson IThe ForgettingBorn of the light, taught to forgetA baby's small hand resting in a mother's handLesson IIThe First ProgrammingWhat we learned before we had wordsA child gazing out of a sunlit windowLesson IIIThe ClassroomSitting in rowsA Gothic stone university tower rising among trees and ivy in the MidwestLesson IVThe Ivory TowerWhen credentials outrank wisdomCupped hands holding a handful of soil with a young green seedlingLesson VThe Origin StoryWhat we were told about where we came fromA woman's face lit by the glow of a smartphone in a dark roomLesson VIThe ScreenA world of light, but not the LightFairground rides and a Ferris wheel glowing against the night skyLesson VIIBread and CircusesThe gentle art of distractionA woman standing still while a crowd hurries past her in a great hallLesson VIIIThe MachineWhen a person becomes a fileA young boy running barefoot across a track in golden evening lightLesson IXThe RaceCompetition in everythingA woman by a lake at dusk with her dog on a lead sitting beside herLesson XThe DebtThe invisible leashThe vast, dim interior of a Gothic cathedral with tall stained-glass windowsLesson XIThe Captured TempleWhen truth is bentAn old, empty farmhouse among tall trees, lit by a low sunLesson XIIThe Lost KingThe root beneath it allA woman wrapped in a blanket turning toward the rising sun over a meadowLesson XIIIThe TurningThe prodigal comes home