Dear CIHS Community Members,

There are some important announcements in the second newsletter of 2015. First, we are pleased to announce a new publication release from Dr. Hiroshi Motoyama, CIHS Founder and President. The title of the book is "The World of Religious Experiences." Please read further details of this publication below. This book was first published in 1963 in Japanese based upon Dr. Motoyama's doctoral dissertation, and now the English translation is available. We are so grateful to the translator of this book, Dr. Shigenori Nagatomo. This book will be available by the middle of February through the CIHS bookstore online.

Second, Dr. Hope Umansky announces the initial course schedule for the Spring quarter and some important CIHS updates. Third, Dr. Thomas Brophy expands upon the CIHS' Subtle Energy Research (SER) conference. This is the first CIHS student research conference - SER*Talks CIHS Student Research Symposium, June 20, 2015. We are very excited about this event, and Paul Mills, PhD, and William Tiller, PhD, will be joining us to view you, the students, as well as launch and close the symposium.

Next, in the fourth announcement, CIHS faculty, Dr. Tamara Goldsby, introduces a Sound Meditation that happens every Wednesday from 6:30 pm to 8 pm on CIHS' campus. Proceeds of the meditation events go to the Bishwa Seva Foundation, founded by Mr. Deoja, which supports a school and orphanage in Nepal; please join us for this wonderful opportunity.

Additionally, there are also details about CIHS' popular annual yoga workshop on campus April 18 and 19. Please see below.

If you are interested in CIHS or have questions about any of our programs, please visit our website (www.cihs.edu) or directly contact Dr. Hope Umansky ( hope_umansky@cihs.edu) for any assistance. If you would like to visit our campus and discuss our exciting and unique graduate programs and research opportunities in person, we will be happy to schedule a time. We welcome all like-minded inquires for graduate school, research, and/or workshop opportunities.

Have a wonderful February.

Sincerely,

Hello CIHS Community,  

As move into Spring, CIHS has some very exciting news. We are entering a new era of the school, and we are pleased to announce that in CIHS' 23rd year, with full support from Dr. Motoyama and the CIHS Board of Directors, we have launched an accreditation initiative. Although we do not know the final outcome or how long this process will take, we are very excited to have begun the process to apply for eligibility with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation organization. This is the very beginning of a very lengthy process, and although we can guarantee no certain outcome or timeframe in which this process will be complete, it is milestone nonetheless.

As many of you know, the accreditation project has been many years in the making. It is truly a collaborative effort between the Board, the administration, faculty, the students, and the larger CIHS community. At this stage, CIHS is committed to demonstrating that it operates according to WASC's high standards, and you will see these higher standards reflected in course offerings and in your work within your courses. Now it is up to all of us, faculty, students, and the community to establish a graduate school culture that is conducive to becoming accredited. I want to assure the students and the community that in no way will our innovative, sometimes even radical, curriculum be watered down or neutralized. We were given the permission to apply for eligibility as a boutique school, and thus, we are and will remain unique and unprecedented. We also want the community to be assured that this battening down the hatches does not change the administration and faculties' commitment to leading the school with heart. We sincerely value the community and our students' diversity of experience. We are confident we can do both: Lead a school that is kind hearted in its approach and produce work with rigor.  It truly will take a village. This will be a labor of love for everyone, and we appreciate your support! If you have any questions about this process or the information above, please kindly email me. I am happy to speak with you about it.

Now, on to more practical matters: It is that time again-to start thinking about Spring quarter courses. Registration for Spring quarter March 23-27 and Spring quarter begins March 30.

The courses for Spring quarter are the following:

Counseling and Communication Skills, Dr. Sharon Mijares, CIHS core course all programs

Spiritual Coaching, Dr. Tamara Goldsby, elective *can be taken by IH students instead of Counseling/Communication Skills

Psychology of Mind/Body and Energy Dr. Michelle Dexter

Research Methods for Religious Studies, Dr. Randy Fauver, CRP requirement and elective other programs

Human Sexuality II: Advanced Concepts in Healing and Consciousness, Dr. Michelle Dexter

Study of East/West: Philosophy of Ethics, Dr. Mali Burgess, CRP requirement

Biological Basis of Neuropsychology, Sam Aganov *Psychology licensure recommended and elective other programs

Contemporary Concepts in Chinese Medicine, Dr. James Mattioda, Integral Health, CRP, and elective.

Introduction to Yoga Philosophy, Dr. Tim Laporte, open to all programs as elective.

Topic of Special Interest: Science of the Cosmos and Philosophy of Reality, Dr. Thomas Brophy, elective all programs.

Shamanism and Indigenous Traditions, Dr. Roger Cavnaugh, CRP and elective all other programs.

Anja Chakra Yoga Workshop, Dr. Paul Grilley and Mr. Takeshima, fulfills 2 of the four units for spiritual education.

Pranic Healing, Dr. Mary Clark, fulfills spiritual education units.

Dissertation sequence, Drs. Thomas Brophy, Hope Umansky, and Tim Laporte.

I am happy to discuss your course selections with you by email, phone, or in person. Ultimately, it is up to you to ensure you have the classes you need within the program you are enrolled. However, it is very helpful to consult with me to ensure you are on track with your goals and expectations. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,  

Hope

Hope_Umansky@cihs.edu 

Don't forget to submit your proposal for presentation to our summer student research seminar. Saturday, June 20, we are looking forward to current CIHS students, as well as alumni and others related to the CIHS community, creating a lively and informative Subtle Energies Research SER talks.  

We also received confirmation that Dr. William Tiller will also attend to interact with students and the community, answer questions about his research, and give a 20-minute presentation commemorating the event. As we announced last month, Dr. Paul J. Mills, Professor at UC San Diego, and Director of the newly established UCSD Center of Excellence for Research and Training in Integrative Health, and CIHS affiliate, will give opening remarks. Dr. Thomas Brophy will give a short 20-minute closing as well. We are already expecting a number of distinguished alumni presentations.  

For this event, SER is broadly defined to include laboratory or theoretical studies related to the mind-body problem, Integral/integrative studies, energy or clinical psychology, health and essentially all the conventional and trans-conventional topics covered in CIHS programs. All talks will be 20-minutes, concise, tightly phrased and fast-paced. Those who prefer not to give an oral presentation may submit for a poster presentation, and a section of time will be dedicated to poster presentations, with posters also displayed throughout the day.

The submission deadline for proposals is April 15, 2015. Proposals should be in a single documentthat is single spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font and include:

• Note whether you are proposing an oral or poster presentation.
• A 200-250 word abstract of your proposed presentation along with a title, your contact information and any institutional affiliation (if additional to CIHS).
• A one-page outline which details the organization of your presentation. Include the specific topics and subtopics you plan to cover as well as any experiential exercises and multimedia elements you plan to include.
• Please include a 100 word or less biography of yourself.
• Please save the document as "yourlastname.firstname.SERproposal.doc" and use the subject line SER Proposal Presentation or Poster Board.

The conference will be free to all students, presenters, and CIHS faculty, and open to the public for a small admission fee. It will be a festival style day with various food truck options for lunch and the social/dinner hour to celebrate. Accepted presenters/participants, who are current students, will also have the option to register for the event as part of a 2-unit academic course. Of course, participation in this event is valued academic experience and can be placed on your CV that you were a participant in CIHS' SER*Talks.

Please email the proposal to Dr. Thomas Brophy at Thomas_Brophy@cihs.edu and Dr. Hope Umansky at  Hope_Umansky@cihs.edu 

We look forward to seeing you there.

Sincerely,

Thomas Brophy, PhD and Hope Umansky, PhD