Department of Aliveness · Bureau no. 01
● Open · Ogden, Utah
● Open · Ogden, Utah
Est. 2024
The Aliveness Cohort · Prospectus
The Aliveness Cohort · Prospectus
The life
that’s here.
The life
that’s here.
The life
that’s here.
A ten-week experience in post-heroic living.
A ten-week experience in post-heroic living.
A ten-week experience in post-heroic living.
What if your life is not waiting for you to become someone else? Spend ten weeks discovering what you want more of, trying things in your everyday life, and getting to know people doing the same. Bring your ambition, your unfinished business, and your capacity for delight. None of them needs to wait for the others to be resolved.
What if your life is not waiting for you to become someone else? Spend ten weeks discovering what you want more of, trying things in your everyday life, and getting to know people doing the same. Bring your ambition, your unfinished business, and your capacity for delight. None of them needs to wait for the others to be resolved.
What if your life is not waiting for you to become someone else? Spend ten weeks discovering what you want more of, trying things in your everyday life, and getting to know people doing the same. Bring your ambition, your unfinished business, and your capacity for delight. None of them needs to wait for the others to be resolved.
Length
Ten weeks
Group size
8–10 people
Live sessions
One a week, 90 minutes, on video
Between sessions
A private space to keep talking, share what you’re trying, and stay connected
Join the waitlist →
The particulars
Length
Ten weeks
Group size
8–10 people
Live sessions
One a week, 90 minutes, on video
Between sessions
A private space to keep talking, share what you’re trying, and stay connected
Investment
$950
Begins
Dates to be announced
Recognition
Recognition
01
01
01
01
There is a strange point after something has happened to you.
There is a strange point after something has happened to you.
There is a strange point after something has happened to you.
The crisis may be over. The paperwork is finished. The funeral happened, the treatment ended, the divorce went through, you got another job, your body stabilized. People stopped checking in quite so often.
The crisis may be over. The paperwork is finished. The funeral happened, the treatment ended, the divorce went through, you got another job, your body stabilized. People stopped checking in quite so often.
The crisis may be over. The paperwork is finished. The funeral happened, the treatment ended, the divorce went through, you got another job, your body stabilized. People stopped checking in quite so often.
Maybe you are even, by most measures, doing well. And still, some part of your life remains arranged around the blast radius.
Maybe you are even, by most measures, doing well. And still, some part of your life remains arranged around the blast radius.
Maybe you are even, by most measures, doing well. And still, some part of your life remains arranged around the blast radius.
You learned how to protect yourself. How to anticipate. How to endure. How to explain what happened. How to keep going. Maybe you got very, very good at all of it.
You learned how to protect yourself. How to anticipate. How to endure. How to explain what happened. How to keep going. Maybe you got very, very good at all of it.
You learned how to protect yourself. How to anticipate. How to endure. How to explain what happened. How to keep going. Maybe you got very, very good at all of it.
Eventually, survival can become an architecture. You can live inside it long after you need every wall.
Eventually, survival can become an architecture. You can live inside it long after you need every wall.
Eventually, survival can become an architecture. You can live inside it long after you need every wall.
You can honor what got you through and still want more room to live. That’s what we’re here to explore together.
You can honor what got you through and still want more room to live. That’s what we’re here to explore together.
The premise
The premise
02
02
02
02
You could stop arguing with the person who is here.
You could stop arguing with the person who is here.
You could stop arguing with the person who is here.
Rupture changes us. One of the strangest things we do afterward is spend enormous energy negotiating with the person who emerged. We compare them to who we were. We manage them. Improve them. Apologize for them. Try to fit them back into old ambitions and old definitions of a good life. Even growth can become another way of asking ourselves to qualify for living.
Rupture changes us. One of the strangest things we do afterward is spend enormous energy negotiating with the person who emerged. We compare them to who we were. We manage them. Improve them. Apologize for them. Try to fit them back into old ambitions and old definitions of a good life. Even growth can become another way of asking ourselves to qualify for living.
Rupture changes us. One of the strangest things we do afterward is spend enormous energy negotiating with the person who emerged. We compare them to who we were. We manage them. Improve them. Apologize for them. Try to fit them back into old ambitions and old definitions of a good life. Even growth can become another way of asking ourselves to qualify for living.
You could get to know yourself as you are now. What you love. What you want to change. What you can no longer tolerate. What catches your interest before you decide whether it’s useful. Which ambitions still belong to you, and which you’re allowed to leave behind.
You could get to know yourself as you are now. What you love. What you want to change. What you can no longer tolerate. What catches your interest before you decide whether it’s useful. Which ambitions still belong to you, and which you’re allowed to leave behind.
You could get to know yourself as you are now. What you love. What you want to change. What you can no longer tolerate. What catches your interest before you decide whether it’s useful. Which ambitions still belong to you, and which you’re allowed to leave behind.
That is post-heroic living: taking part in your life without making your worth depend on what you overcome or become. We spend ten weeks putting it into practice together.
That is post-heroic living: taking part in your life without making your worth depend on what you overcome or become. We spend ten weeks putting it into practice together.
That is post-heroic living: taking part in your life without making your worth depend on what you overcome or become. We spend ten weeks putting it into practice together.
Why a cohort
Why a cohort
03
03
03
03
Some things become possible together.
Some things become possible together.
Some things become possible together.
We explore the ideas behind the Department, including post-heroic living, the flinch, surrender, and learning to trust your own aliveness. Then we see what happens when those ideas meet your life. You try something, notice what happens, and bring it back to people who are getting to know you.
We explore the ideas behind the Department, including post-heroic living, the flinch, surrender, and learning to trust your own aliveness. Then we see what happens when those ideas meet your life. You try something, notice what happens, and bring it back to people who are getting to know you.
We explore the ideas behind the Department, including post-heroic living, the flinch, surrender, and learning to trust your own aliveness. Then we see what happens when those ideas meet your life. You try something, notice what happens, and bring it back to people who are getting to know you.
Someone remembers what you wanted to try. Someone asks how it went. You get to do that for them, too.
Someone remembers what you wanted to try. Someone asks how it went. You get to do that for them, too.
Someone remembers what you wanted to try. Someone asks how it went. You get to do that for them, too.
Over ten weeks, the conversation has somewhere to go.
Over ten weeks, the conversation has somewhere to go.
A conversation. A boundary. A desire. A Thursday afternoon. Someone else’s experience can give you a possibility you hadn’t considered. Being heard can help you say what you mean. And returning to the same people gives you room to be more than the version of yourself you introduced on the first night.
A conversation. A boundary. A desire. A Thursday afternoon. Someone else’s experience can give you a possibility you hadn’t considered. Being heard can help you say what you mean. And returning to the same people gives you room to be more than the version of yourself you introduced on the first night.
A conversation. A boundary. A desire. A Thursday afternoon. Someone else’s experience can give you a possibility you hadn’t considered. Being heard can help you say what you mean. And returning to the same people gives you room to be more than the version of yourself you introduced on the first night.
The ten weeks
The ten weeks
04
04
04
04
Where the ten weeks go.
Where the ten weeks go.
Where the ten weeks go.
Weeks 1–2
Weeks 1–2
What is actually alive here
What is actually alive here
What is actually alive here
We pay attention to what already moves you. The thing you keep wanting and immediately talking yourself out of. The room where you soften. The interest that survives your best efforts to be sensible. We give those signals somewhere to lead.
We pay attention to what already moves you. The thing you keep wanting and immediately talking yourself out of. The room where you soften. The interest that survives your best efforts to be sensible. We give those signals somewhere to lead.
Weeks 3–5
Weeks 3–5
The flinch
The flinch
The flinch
The moment you pull back from being known, wanting something, or trying what interests you. We get curious about what that response is protecting, when you still need it, and where you might have more choice.
The moment you pull back from being known, wanting something, or trying what interests you. We get curious about what that response is protecting, when you still need it, and where you might have more choice.
Weeks 6–8
Weeks 6–8
The old identity still voting
The old identity still voting
The old identity still voting
The ambitions, relationships, and routines that still organize your life. Which feel like yours now? Which are you maintaining because they once did? We explore what you want to keep, change, or try, and give those choices a chance in your everyday life.
The ambitions, relationships, and routines that still organize your life. Which feel like yours now? Which are you maintaining because they once did? We explore what you want to keep, change, or try, and give those choices a chance in your everyday life.
Weeks 9–10
Weeks 9–10
Collaborating with what is here
Collaborating with what is here
Collaborating with what is here
What have you learned to notice and trust? What do you want to keep making room for? We bring those discoveries into the life you’ll be living when the ten weeks are over, including the parts still changing.
What have you learned to notice and trust? What do you want to keep making room for? We bring those discoveries into the life you’ll be living when the ten weeks are over, including the parts still changing.
No final reveal. You have a life to get back to.
No final reveal. You have a life to get back to.
The mechanics
The mechanics
05
05
05
05
How the cohort works.
How the cohort works.
How the cohort works.
Eight to ten people
Eight to ten people
The same people for all ten weeks. No drop-ins, no rotating seats.
The same people for all ten weeks. No drop-ins, no rotating seats.
The same people for all ten weeks. No drop-ins, no rotating seats.
One live session a week
One live session a week
Ninety minutes, on video, same time each week.
Ninety minutes, on video, same time each week.
Ninety minutes, on video, same time each week.
Experiments between sessions
Experiments between sessions
Small, specific things to try in your own life, shaped around what interests you and what you want to explore.
Small, specific things to try in your own life, shaped around what interests you and what you want to explore.
Small, specific things to try in your own life, shaped around what interests you and what you want to explore.
A community between sessions
A community between sessions
A private space for all ten weeks, with me there too. Share what happened, ask a question, or pick up a conversation.
A private space for all ten weeks, with me there too. Share what happened, ask a question, or pick up a conversation.
A private space for all ten weeks, with me there too. Share what happened, ask a question, or pick up a conversation.
Cameras on
Cameras on
We meet with cameras on so we can see one another. Speaking every week isn’t required. Your attention and company count, too.
We meet with cameras on so we can see one another. Speaking every week isn’t required. Your attention and company count, too.
We meet with cameras on so we can see one another. Speaking every week isn’t required. Your attention and company count, too.
Ten weeks of your evenings
Ten weeks of your evenings
Time you set aside for your own life, with people doing the same. Returning each week gives us a chance to notice what a single conversation might miss.
Time you set aside for your own life, with people doing the same. Returning each week gives us a chance to notice what a single conversation might miss.
Time you set aside for your own life, with people doing the same. Returning each week gives us a chance to notice what a single conversation might miss.
Between sessions
Between sessions
06
06
06
06
Life won’t wait until our next session.
Life won’t wait until our next session.
Life won’t wait until our next session.
You tried something. Changed your mind. Had the conversation you’d been putting off, or discovered something you want to do again. Bring it to the group while it’s still fresh. There’s a private space for those conversations throughout the ten weeks, with people who know more of the story each time.
You tried something. Changed your mind. Had the conversation you’d been putting off, or discovered something you want to do again. Bring it to the group while it’s still fresh. There’s a private space for those conversations throughout the ten weeks, with people who know more of the story each time.
You tried something. Changed your mind. Had the conversation you’d been putting off, or discovered something you want to do again. Bring it to the group while it’s still fresh. There’s a private space for those conversations throughout the ten weeks, with people who know more of the story each time.
I’m there too, joining the conversation as you put things into practice. You can share a question, a small pleasure, or an ordinary moment that suddenly looks different. None of it needs to be a breakthrough to be worth telling us about.
I’m there too, joining the conversation as you put things into practice. You can share a question, a small pleasure, or an ordinary moment that suddenly looks different. None of it needs to be a breakthrough to be worth telling us about.
I’m there too, joining the conversation as you put things into practice. You can share a question, a small pleasure, or an ordinary moment that suddenly looks different. None of it needs to be a breakthrough to be worth telling us about.
Boundaries
Boundaries
07
07
07
07
There is no heroic arc here.
There is no heroic arc here.
There is no heroic arc here.
You don’t need a dramatic breakthrough or a story in which adversity finally explains your purpose. Real lives are much less cooperative. We heal something and grieve something else. We recognize a familiar pattern halfway through repeating it. We encounter joy before we feel entitled to it. All of that belongs here.
You don’t need a dramatic breakthrough or a story in which adversity finally explains your purpose. Real lives are much less cooperative. We heal something and grieve something else. We recognize a familiar pattern halfway through repeating it. We encounter joy before we feel entitled to it. All of that belongs here.
You don’t need a dramatic breakthrough or a story in which adversity finally explains your purpose. Real lives are much less cooperative. We heal something and grieve something else. We recognize a familiar pattern halfway through repeating it. We encounter joy before we feel entitled to it. All of that belongs here.
It is
Ten weeks of noticing and following what makes you feel alive
Ten weeks of noticing and following what makes you feel alive
Ten weeks of noticing and following what makes you feel alive
The Department’s ideas brought into ordinary days
The Department’s ideas brought into ordinary days
The Department’s ideas brought into ordinary days
A group small enough to get to know you
A group small enough to get to know you
A group small enough to get to know you
Company while you stop arguing with yourself
Company while you stop arguing with yourself
Company while you stop arguing with yourself
It is not
Therapy, treatment, or any clinical service
Therapy, treatment, or any clinical service
Therapy, treatment, or any clinical service
A recovery program with a finish line
A recovery program with a finish line
A recovery program with a finish line
A requirement to reinvent yourself
A requirement to reinvent yourself
A requirement to reinvent yourself
A predetermined outcome waiting at week ten
A predetermined outcome waiting at week ten
A predetermined outcome waiting at week ten
Fit
Fit
08
08
08
08
You might recognize yourself here.
You might recognize yourself here.
You might recognize yourself here.
Something changed your life. You’re interested in what living can look like from here.
Something changed your life. You’re interested in what living can look like from here.
Something changed your life. You’re interested in what living can look like from here.
You’re doing well by most measures, and you want more of your life to feel like yours.
You’re doing well by most measures, and you want more of your life to feel like yours.
You’re doing well by most measures, and you want more of your life to feel like yours.
You know a great deal about yourself. You’d like to give your curiosity as much attention as your patterns.
You know a great deal about yourself. You’d like to give your curiosity as much attention as your patterns.
You know a great deal about yourself. You’d like to give your curiosity as much attention as your patterns.
You want to explore with other people, without turning yourself into another project.
You want to explore with other people, without turning yourself into another project.
You want to explore with other people, without turning yourself into another project.
The room
The room
09
09
09
09
Small enough to be known.
Small enough to be known.
Small enough to be known.
Eight to ten people gives us time to notice one another. The way someone’s eyes change when they talk about what matters. Their particular humor. The thing they’re excited to tell us this week. Being known includes your difficulties, your pleasures, and the parts of you that rarely get much airtime.
Eight to ten people gives us time to notice one another. The way someone’s eyes change when they talk about what matters. Their particular humor. The thing they’re excited to tell us this week. Being known includes your difficulties, your pleasures, and the parts of you that rarely get much airtime.
Eight to ten people gives us time to notice one another. The way someone’s eyes change when they talk about what matters. Their particular humor. The thing they’re excited to tell us this week. Being known includes your difficulties, your pleasures, and the parts of you that rarely get much airtime.
We witness before concluding.
We witness before concluding.
We witness before concluding.
You get to say what your experience means. The rest of us can listen closely, get curious with you, and leave room for something neither of us has seen yet.
You get to say what your experience means. The rest of us can listen closely, get curious with you, and leave room for something neither of us has seen yet.
My role
My role
10
10
10
10
I bring a practiced eye. You bring a whole life.
I bring a practiced eye. You bring a whole life.
I bring a practiced eye. You bring a whole life.
I’m a political psychologist, researcher, and kundalini yoga therapist. I pay attention to how people make sense of their lives, what they notice in their bodies, and what becomes possible in a conversation. In this cohort, that attention is yours to make use of.
I’m a political psychologist, researcher, and kundalini yoga therapist. I pay attention to how people make sense of their lives, what they notice in their bodies, and what becomes possible in a conversation. In this cohort, that attention is yours to make use of.
I’m a political psychologist, researcher, and kundalini yoga therapist. I pay attention to how people make sense of their lives, what they notice in their bodies, and what becomes possible in a conversation. In this cohort, that attention is yours to make use of.
We might notice a desire you keep explaining away, an ambition that still matters, or a moment when you feel unmistakably yourself. I’ll help you stay curious about it and find ways to explore it in the life you’re actually living.
We might notice a desire you keep explaining away, an ambition that still matters, or a moment when you feel unmistakably yourself. I’ll help you stay curious about it and find ways to explore it in the life you’re actually living.
We might notice a desire you keep explaining away, an ambition that still matters, or a moment when you feel unmistakably yourself. I’ll help you stay curious about it and find ways to explore it in the life you’re actually living.
I guide the conversation, offer questions and experiments, and make room for people to hear one another. I’ll bring my perspective without making it the final word on your life.
I guide the conversation, offer questions and experiments, and make room for people to hear one another. I’ll bring my perspective without making it the final word on your life.
I guide the conversation, offer questions and experiments, and make room for people to hear one another. I’ll bring my perspective without making it the final word on your life.
The investment
The investment
11
11
11
11
$950 for the ten weeks.
$950 for the ten weeks.
$950 for the ten weeks.
Ten weeks with a small group of people making room for more aliveness in their lives. Ten live sessions, experiments to try in your everyday life, and a private space to keep the conversation going. Time to become known, discover what matters to you, and show up for one another as you put it into practice.
Ten weeks with a small group of people making room for more aliveness in their lives. Ten live sessions, experiments to try in your everyday life, and a private space to keep the conversation going. Time to become known, discover what matters to you, and show up for one another as you put it into practice.
Ten weeks with a small group of people making room for more aliveness in their lives. Ten live sessions, experiments to try in your everyday life, and a private space to keep the conversation going. Time to become known, discover what matters to you, and show up for one another as you put it into practice.
Pay in full or in two payments, with no added fee. Choose what works for you when you join.
Pay in full or in two payments, with no added fee. Choose what works for you when you join.
Pay in full or in two payments, with no added fee. Choose what works for you when you join.
Questions
Questions
12
12
12
12
The things people actually ask.
The things people actually ask.
The things people actually ask.
No. You might have come through something that changed your life, or simply want more room for curiosity, pleasure, and connection in the life you already have. You don’t need a dramatic backstory to belong here. The Department does not require supporting documentation.
The Aliveness Cohort
Length
Ten weeks
Group size
8–10 people
Live sessions
One a week, 90 minutes, on video
Between sessions
A private space to keep talking, share what you’re trying, and stay connected
Investment
$950
Begins
Dates to be announced
Join the waitlist →
More of your life, with you in it.
More of your life, with you in it.
More of your life, with you in it.
Ten weeks to follow what interests you, make room for what matters, and experience aliveness with people who are getting to know you. Bring the life you have. There’s plenty here to begin with.
Ten weeks to follow what interests you, make room for what matters, and experience aliveness with people who are getting to know you. Bring the life you have. There’s plenty here to begin with.
Ten weeks to follow what interests you, make room for what matters, and experience aliveness with people who are getting to know you. Bring the life you have. There’s plenty here to begin with.
Join the waitlist →
Add your name and tell me what brings you here. You’ll hear first when dates are announced, with the details you need to decide whether to join.
Add your name and tell me what brings you here. You’ll hear first when dates are announced, with the details you need to decide whether to join.