Seeds of Flourishing
Eight sessions.
Eight practitioners at the cutting edge.
Eight radically different ways to explore the same question:
What does it actually take to thrive?
We're often told to optimize our well-being, boost our productivity, and hack our way to happiness. "Flourishing" is often portrayed as a thing for people who have it all figured out.
We see it differently.
We believe that flourishing is asking powerful questions about meaning, presence, connection, and what to do when the usual answers stop working.
This series of encounters will provoke your thinking and leave you with valuable practices you can use starting that same day.
Sessions run March through June, every two weeks, 45 min long, at lunch time, live, interactive and online.
All sessions are free and open to everyone. If you'd like to support this work and help us keep it accessible, donations are welcome.
1 - The Way of Flourishing
March 5, 12 p.m.
Flourishing isn’t an abstract ideal, but a reality to inhabit. Transformative mentor Bhaskar Goswami, blending yogic tradition with organizational leadership, guides a live, participatory inquiry that moves beyond theory into embodied understanding. You’ll surface the hidden patterns quietly undermining your vitality, and come out with a clear, practical next step toward greater alignment, meaning, and aliveness.
2 - Meaning at work in the age of AI
March 19, 12 p.m.
Our modern sense of "meaningful work" is more fragile than we think, and AI is dramatically exposing that. Drawing on traditional philosophy, indigenous thinking, and modern psychology, Mike James Ross traces how our understanding of labor has evolved across cultures, and why today's work is uniquely vulnerable to automation. In this interactive session, you’ll discover how returning to an older, deeper sense of purpose can turn AI from a threat into a catalyst for reclaiming what makes work profoundly human.
3 - Psychedelics: Facing your Deepest Fears and Reconnecting with your True Self.
April 2, 12 p.m.
Real transformation begins in the body. Steve Rio, co-founder of Enfold, explores the profound potential of psychedelics for lasting healing. His "Awakening to Life" framework integrates somatic modalities and Internal Family Systems-informed coaching to regulate the nervous system, providing a safety-focused roadmap to dissolving the ego and reclaiming deep inner freedom.
4 - An Ecosystem Approach to Gathering in Times of Rupture
April 16, 12 p.m.
When designed with care, gatherings become seeds of possibilities. Dr. Jessica Riddell shares her "Hope Circuits" framework, a practical approach to convening people, ideas, and action. You'll learn how to structure the spaces you lead, like classrooms, meetings, and community events, so they build trust, challenge what feels broken, and make collective flourishing something you design for.
5 - The Power and Practice of Presence
April 30, 12 p.m.
When the world feels "on fire," presence is our most vital anchor. Senior Kripalu coach Aruni Nan Futuronski shares the practice of pacing your energy and leaning toward solace. Discover how to meet life’s turbulence with nonjudgmental awareness, moving from survival to a state of grace, kindness, and profound contentment.
6 - Thriving through Disagreement: How Science can Help
May 14, 12 p.m.
We face irreversible climate change, mass displacement, and clashing visions of how to live, yet our ability to talk through any of it is failing. Scientist Dr. Floris van Vugt surveys what research reveals about why dialogue breaks down, from the cognitive pitfalls we don't see to the patterns that turn disagreement into deadlock. You'll come away with concrete steps to have better disagreements, and a case for why our differences might be exactly what helps us thrive.
7 - Flourishing Metaphors and Presence
May 28, 12 p.m.
The metaphors you use every day, "I'm stuck," "I'm drowning," "I can't see a way forward", run deeper than we realize. Author and Master Certified Coach Lyssa deHart draws on neuroscience and 25,000+ hours of deep listening to reveal how everyday language quietly shapes your identity, choices, and possibilities. We'll look at how presence can help us notice those metaphors in the moment, and how shifting the language we use can shift how we feel, choose, and relate, in crafting a story worth living.
8 - The Ferrari Challenge: Why Conventional Parenting Fails Gifted and Sensitive Kids, and What Actually Works
June 11, 12 p.m.
Gifted kids are like Ferraris: brilliant, powerful, and wired differently. But when every parenting book hands you advice designed for a Toyota, things keep breaking down. Master educator and gifted specialist Sarah Strouthopoulos draws on 25+ years of work with intense, sensitive children to reveal why conventional approaches backfire, and what actually helps these kids flourish. You'll walk away with a fresh lens on your child's big emotions, perfectionism, and intensity, as well as practical strategies to work with that wiring, not against it.
Support a thriving community
In a time marked by growing mental health pressures, uncertainty about the future of work, and increasing polarization, the Centre for Human Flourishing lecture series equips students, faculty, staff, and community members with research-informed tools to move beyond coping toward flourishing.
Your support helps translate wellbeing and health science into practical learning, strengthen trust and belonging, and position Concordia as a leader in nurturing resilient, engaged communities.
All contributions are tax-deductible, and donors will receive an official tax receipt from Concordia University.
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Contact info
Nicolò F. Bernardi, PhD
nicolo.bernardi@concordia.ca
514-848-2424, ext. 2273
