How can we grow inner wellbeing in an age of climate change? Would you like to feel happier, more steady and settled in yourself, but find that hard, particularly when alarmed by world events? Could we have an approach to wellbeing that doesn’t involve turning away from what’s difficult, but instead is about bringing out your best responses to the challenges of our time and developing a deeply satisfying life that is good for you, other people and the world? Could our very approach to happiness and wellbeing also express and contribute to a cultural shift towards a life-affirming society?
Su Ha is a system of insights and practices for SUstainable HAppiness. Inspired by healing martial arts like Tai Chi, it draws together evidence-based wellbeing approaches like positive psychology and acceptance and commitment therapy with change-making skills, a touch of playful energy and narrative design. Its central goal is to support the flourishing of life in ourselves, other people and our world, with a focus on how actions and choices supporting wellbeing in the moment can also generate ripples of benefit extending outwards in time and space.
The opposite of Su Ha is UnSuHa (or Unsustainable Happiness), where actions and choices driven by a desire for happiness in the moment steal joy away from other places in time and space. For example, can you remember moments where feeling good at one point in time left you or other people or aspects of our world worse off later on? Su Ha is a way of cultivating positive ripples instead.
Here’s part 3 (under 13mins) of our recent free webinar that introduces Su Ha as a modern hybrid wellbeing form. If you only have time to watch one thing, this is a good place to start. Links to the other parts of the webinar are found below it.
Here are links to the different parts of the introductory free webinar.
Part 1 introduces the webinar and the context for Su Ha
Part 2 describes the happiness trap of unsustainable happiness
Part 3 introduces Su Ha as a way of restorying happiness, and growing treasure inside ourselves!
Part 4 of the webinar, which introduces the Su Ha move of Afterglow (less than 12 mins).
Part 5 looks at what helps us develop a daily practice
Part 6 looks at how the Su Ha system supports change-making capacity
You can also watch our more musical short You Tube video introducing Su Ha.
Or just watch the very short Su Ha Song.
The course, which starts on Wednesday 20th September, has four core elements:
- A series of eight weekly webinars starting at 7.30pm UK time, 11.30am US PT, 2.30pm US ET, 8.30pm Europe CET. For other time zones, please convert at https://dateful.com/time-zone-converter. Each webinar lasts 90 minutes, and is recorded, with recordings hosted on the course online resource. This makes it easy to catch up if you can’t make one or more of the live sessions.
- An online resource hosting the webinar recordings, additional video tutorials and resources, and a discussion forum. Participants have long term access to this resource, making it easy to revisit the course at a later date.
- To give a more personal touch, the course also includes two 30 minute one to one Su Ha conversations with the trainer Dr Chris Johnstone. The first of these is right at the start of the course, and the second at the end.
- Each webinar invites participants to try out a Su Ha practice in the days between webinars – Su Ha is something you do, a practice you can bring into each day.
Here’s an outline of the course content:
Week 1: Arrival in a story of happiness – introducing sustainable happiness and the starting moves of Su Ha.
Week 2: Growing treasure inside ourselves – applying regenerative design to the landscape of the heart and mind, growing inner resources more valuable than gold.
Week 3: Nourishing relationships – science-based practices for nourishing and improving relationships.
Week 4: Facing the storm – the role of inspirational dissatisfaction when voicing our concerns, practices that help when feeling defeated or overwhelmed.
Week 5: Strengthening change-making capacity – listening for, hearing and answering our call to adventure, finding our part to play, and supporting our capacity to act.
Week 6: Finding our flow – preventing burnout and moving into flow with optimal pacing that draws on our strengths.
Week 7: Thrutopian adventure – recovering from setbacks and facing our fears, finding ways through when all seems lost.
Week 8: Transforming culture and living the beautiful life – transmitting ripples for positive change that improve our lives and world.
The course is run by Chris Johnstone, who’s been active in the studying, practicing and teaching about wellbeing for over 40 years. Su Ha is a system he’s developed in consultation with a wide range of colleagues. It draws upon health psychology, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Positive Psychology, healing martial arts, Permaculture, Systems Thinking, storytelling and a wealth of wellbeing approaches.
As this is a new course we’re piloting, we’re limiting the number of places and offering it a special price of £197 (approx $251 or €231). Please book using the PayPal button below. If you’d prefer to pay by bank transfer, please contact us for details. We have a limited number of bursaries available for people who’d love to take part but can’t afford the full fee. If you would like to apply for this option, please contact us.
If you’re interested in the course, but have some questions or would like to discuss it before we start on Sept 20th, Chris Johnstone would be happy to set up a zoom call with you (up to 30 minutes). Please contact us if you’d like this, identifying which time zone you live in.