Much more than knowledge or even understanding, wisdom is seeing life through the eyes of an awakened heart and transformed consciousness. In Buddhism this is called enlightenment. In Hinduism it is called liberation. In Christianity it is called Christ consciousness (or the mind of Christ). 

Regardless of the language we use to describe it, the important point is that wisdom involves something much more profound than acquiring information. It involves a quantum shift in our inner world that leads to a fundamentally new way of seeing and relating to everything in existence. This is the basis of wisdom. 

Wisdom is grounded in a deep awareness of the sacredness and interconnectedness of all things. It is living in alignment with the creative Spirit of Wisdom, who inhabits all of creation and is our truest and deepest self. It is learning to participate in the cosmic, whole-making, transformational agenda of the Transcendent One.

The heart of Cascadia is the intentionally small, core group of members who commit, one year at a time, to intensive journeying together online. Members stay as long as they wish, some having been with us since our beginning in 2017, but all are always welcome to return any time without submission of a new application.

Membership is not the only way to engage with us but is ideal for those who are ready for a deep-dive into the inner and outer work of awakening and wisdom living. Of everything that we offer, membership involves the biggest commitment of time. Many of us interact daily, others less often but usually at least once a week. Our interaction is built around readings that we discuss and inner work practices that we teach and learn together, but the most important thing we do is share the challenges and successes of living what we are learning. 

Cascadia exists for the world, not merely for those of us who are within the community. Each of us commits to passing on what we are learning to others whose lives touch ours. We make the same commitment as an organization. This is why we are pleased to be able to share with you some of the resources that we develop for the core community. 

We believe that living the wisdom that comes from our own awakened hearts and the mind and heart of Christ is a way of participating in God’s cosmic transformational agenda. Our awakening and transformation is the gateway to our participation in the Divine healing and restoration of the wholeness of everything and everyone. This is the heart of Cascadia and the reason for our existence.

We tap the deepest sources of wisdom through living the rhythmic flow of contemplation and action. Contemplative practices have a particularly important role in accessing and living wisdom. They open up regions of the heart that are essential if wisdom is to get us – as opposed to us simply getting it.

No single spiritual tradition has a monopoly on wisdom. This is why we draw wisdom from a number of religious, spiritual, scientific and cultural traditions.

While most of us find our home base in the Christian tradition, this does not mean that we teach Christian beliefs or that you have to believe anything in particular to participate. Although we operate within and teach the Christian wisdom tradition, this is not a set of beliefs to be embraced but a transformational path to be walked. It is the mystics who have the most to teach us about walking that path, so they provide our primary point of access to the Christian wisdom tradition. However, we also draw deeply on other wisdom traditions, particularly indigenous spirituality, depth psychology, the natural sciences and other religious and spiritual traditions.

The uniqueness of Cascadia is our commitment to learning together within small groups. Courses and workshops are kept intentionally small (usually no more than 20–25 participants). The same is true of our core community, which is kept to about the same size. This offers rich opportunities for intimate interaction as we journey and learn together. It also allows us to rely on mentoring more than formal teaching.