About the Course
Learn the secular meaning of spirituality along with corresponding ideas and practices for filling your life with purpose, meaning, and joy.
What is a spirit? What is spirituality? Do these ideas have secular, this-worldly meanings? Do they matter to your life here on Earth?
Many people assume that these ideas and concepts related to them—such as “sacred,” “exaltation,” “reverence,” and “worship”—fall under the purview of religion. Consequently, many dismiss such ideas as mystical mumbo-jumbo. But as philosopher Ayn Rand argued, these ideas relate not to some divine or supernatural realm but to the “highest level of man’s emotions,” which should be “redeemed from the murk of mysticism and redirected at its proper object: man.”
In this course with Dr. Carrie-Ann Biondi, you’ll examine the natural aspects of human life that give rise to spirituality, the ideas involved, and how to apply these ideas in living and loving your life.
Topics of discussion will include:
- The nature and meaning of “spirit” and related ideas and values;
- The purposes that spiritual values serve in one’s life and the importance of understanding and attaining them;
- How Rand’s ideas on this subject compare with those of other thinkers; and
- Principles and practices for living a deeply spiritual, purposeful, and happy life.
Enroll now and enrich your mind, your emotional experiences, and your life.
Missed the course? We’ll notify you the next time it's offered!
How This Course Works
This course is interactive and discussion-driven, so enrollment is limited. Register early to secure your spot.
The course is held live on Zoom, which you can download for free here. Sessions are video recorded, so if you miss a session (or want to review), you can watch the recording. OSI may sell course recordings and/or use them for marketing, promotional, or educational purposes.
The course is 6 hours long, consisting of 4 sessions of 1.5 hours each. Homework assignments will require up to an additional hour per week.
Course handouts and supplementary materials are delivered via email. Course participants are invited to an exclusive OSI Courses group on Facebook, where they can post questions and engage in discussions with the instructor and other participants.
Have a question that wasn’t answered here? Read our FAQ or email us at [email protected].
By enrolling, you agree to OSI’s Course Terms and Conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions
OSI courses are live, interactive, and discussion-driven, so enrollment is limited. Register early to secure your spot.
Courses are held on Zoom, and sessions are recorded, so if you miss a session (or want to review), you can watch the recording. You can download Zoom for free here.
Courses vary in length. And some involve homework. Please see the specific course pages for details.
Course handouts and supplementary materials are delivered via email (please register with an active email address). Participants have access to an exclusive OSI Courses group on Facebook.
Zoom is a free video-conferencing app that we use to conduct our courses. You can download it here.
Sessions are video recorded, so if you miss a session (or want to review), you can watch the recording. That said, we highly recommend attending each live session so that you can ask questions and engage with your instructor(s) and other participants.
If you do miss a session, we recommend that you watch the recording before attending the next session.
Anyone aged 29 or younger may apply for an OSI scholarship to cover the full cost of a course. For information on how the scholarships work, please visit our Scholarships page.
You can see all current and past courses here.
If you have a question that isn’t answered in the FAQ or course description, please email us at [email protected].
