NOTE: Inclusive pricing options at the bottom of the page

Accessing the course

Convened and facilitated by Shaun Chamberlin, the online Deeper Dive includes:

• Live webinars for discussion with expert guests (see below)
• Weekly reading assignments and audio/video content in our NEO course platform
  
• Live small-group reflection webinars with Shaun
• Facilitated written discussion forums
• Live social sessions for smaller-scale breakout conversation within the group
• Guided — and open — access to LeanLogic.online

We are used to some of our participants being new to online learning, and our team will be on hand to deal with any technical difficulties.

What is the time commitment?

That is largely up to you. Our Surviving the Future courses are designed to offer a balance of flexibility and interactive opportunities for participants.  We completely understand that different folk will have differing levels of time and availability, and may be more interested in the live sessions, or written discussions, or the reading/video resources.

As a general indicator, we would say that 5-6 hrs/week might be a reasonable minimum, though you will get far more out of the experience by engaging more fully with the group than that would allow.  In essence, the more you put in the more you are likely to get out of it, with no shortage of options for those who wish to make The Deeper Dive their central focus for these ten weeks.

We often hear that people wish they had made more time for fuller engagement, and are yet to hear the opposite!

How many live sessions are there, and must I attend all of them?

As a minimum, three 90 minute live sessions will be offered each week. Further live sessions will be created in response to the needs/interests of the group.  There is no requirement to attend all of them.

Indeed, some participants - especially those from time zones for which our timings are tricky - choose to get heavily involved without joining those sessions live at all.  Instead they complement viewing the recordings with the supplied readings and other materials, and interact with the facilitator and other participants at times that suit them via the active course forums, as well as our 24/7 Zoom room.

Note also that the materials and forums will remain available to you after the course closes, allowing further flexibility.

When will the live webinars be scheduled?

A survey will be sent out to enrollees in the opening week to identify the optimum times for all live sessions.

In an effort to accommodate participants from as many time zones as possible and to work within reason for the facilitator (Shaun/Western Europe) live webinars are usually organized for a range of times between 10am-5pm U.S. Eastern Time (UTC -5), which is afternoon/evening time in Africa/Europe. There may be some exceptions to these timings, but all webinars will be recorded and available to course participants within two working days of taking place.

We also split the reflection webinars into two smaller sessions (i.e. Shaun hosts two per week, with each participant choosing one to join), both to allow for more active participation, and to offer further flexibility in offering times to suit as many participants as possible.

Participants with a diversity of lifestyles have joined us from every continent, so if you have particular concerns about your availability or time zone, please drop us a line and we may be able to advise, or put you in touch with someone who participated under similar circumstances who can discuss their experience.

Guest participants

We will again be delighted to welcome a number of distinguished and compelling guests who join us live to take part in our deepening conversations. 

All have long experience of both the joys and sorrows of engaging with the issues of our times, and our confirmed guests will be:

• Nate Hagens
• Rachel Donald
• Mark Boyle
• Isabelle Frémeaux
• Brett Scott
• Vanessa and Giovanna Andreotti
• David Abram
• Vandana Shiva

As with all our Surviving the Future offerings (and indeed life in general!) conversation and community are at the heart of what makes it worthwhile. 

Happily, running these live StF courses since 2020 has given us a strong grounding in holding such spaces and stimulating meaningful connection both with the subjects at hand and with each other.

Numbers are capped for the Deeper Dive — after our experience of accepting too many enrollments in the first year! — which supports effective relationship-building and warmth in this online format, and we wholeheartedly encourage brave, open, supportive sharing and listening as we engage with some deeply challenging and controversial topics.

As ever with community, what you get out will have a lot to do with what you put in! 

Conversations will be held across a number of different media — and there is no obligation to participate in all of them! — including prompted and unprompted written discussions in the dedicated course forums, live conversational webinars, our 24/7 Zoom room, group social sessions and small breakout conversations.

And as those of you who are already StF alumni know, our global community does not end when the course does.  The course forums and 24/7 Zoom room remain open for ongoing conversations and support as we go about our lives, and you will also be invited to our popular monthly online gatherings.  If past experience is anything to go by, some of you may even invent and suggest other new possibilities for us all to enjoy!

Feedback from those who have joined us on The Deeper Dive in previous years:

• “When I found the course, or the course found me, I just knew I needed to sign up for it. My gut feeling did not betray me.
  It was the right course at the right time helping me to understand and come to terms with the various crises and human predicaments.
  My fellow learning companions helped me to learn, grow and find ways in which I will work towards transitioning and the sequel here in Berlin. I just loved the whole experience.”
• “The space and respect you gave to all participants was fundamental. I cannot emphasise this enough, the way in which you listened and allowed us to be, really brought this course to another level.“
• “Just brilliant. I was able to meet people from across the globe I ordinarily wouldn’t have had the chance to talk with.”
• “I LOVED the Deeper Dive and thought the design and implementation of the class was brilliant — the lectures, on-line forum questions, the weekly bundle of rich resources, and the social gatherings.
  I’ve never seen such a multi-layered design that touches all our modalities.”
• “Thank you so much. Being able to participate from a distance, and not having pressure to attend everything was really helpful.
  Due to our different time zones, and trying to juggle multiple commitments in this space meant that listening back and engaging in my individual way was ideal.
  I absolutely loved the material we covered, and have felt very confirmed in all that we are creating here in NZ.”
• “An important reminder of how lovely humans can be.”
• “The course has definitely sparked some much-needed fire and motivation in me for thoughtful action.
  I started this course with grief, sadness even rage at the way things are going, at the total destruction our human-made systems are wreaking with terrifying efficiency on the natural world, and a sense that those around me weren’t really concerned about it much at all.
  At the end of this course, I feel more understood.
  And a desire to channel the energy throbbing in these emotions into greater courage, to step into life more, with greater conviction, and do my best to question whether each step/decision is bringing me into a more relationally rich, nourished way of living.
  I already feel different.”
• “Participating in the Deeper Dive had a profound impact on me.
  The course of my life has changed because of it.”
• “Your course should be a model for online learning!”
• “I feel so blessed, so enriched, so humbled and so eager for others to have the chance I had here.”
• “This is much more than just a course; it brings together a community of people who want to explore how we got where we are on a global level and how to respond to it with courage, positivity, wisdom and humour in an ongoing and unforgettable conversation.”
• “What an amazing journey you took us all on! Immense gratitude to each of you.”
• “It was terrific to be able to engage with other people from all over, live in conversation. The intimacy with which we were able to connect with the guest teachers was invaluable.
  Shaun was also available far beyond what I could have imagined. I really appreciated the timeliness of each of his beginning of the week welcomes.”
• “Such a swell of emotion and inspiration to be in a space where I don't have to explain myself at all, we each already get it in our ways...
  I wouldn't be able to speak enough to how much this is precisely where I need to be right now.”
• “Shaun did a beautiful, artful job convening a community and shepherding us along, and the guest teachers each brought a facet of the complex question of finding purpose and meaning in a culture that is so off track.”
• “I have heard the quote ‘Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul’ in a new way throughout this course. The birds sing it to me in the morning, I hear it on the breath of my sleeping child.
  I have always felt despair over how wrong it feels to be re-arranging the proverbial deck chairs on the titanic and trying to fix the problem within the system that created it.
  Action is coming ... it is as real as the seedlings I am putting in the ground. And I am so grateful for the courage this course and community has given me to make this happen.”
• “It’s difficult to find the words that would fully capture what I’m taking away from our 8 weeks together. I came into this longing for new options for how to change the way I’m living and I think I found it.
  I feel like my daily experience with life has become much deeper and more peaceful over these eight weeks as a result of the connections I’ve made, the course material that I’ve encountered on my own, and the sage advice I’ve integrated from our guest teachers.
  I have been seen and heard in a way that is so rare, especially when discussing the things we’ve discussed here. This has been a profoundly meaningful experience, thank you!!!”
• “I've never found a more lovingly and thoughtfully curated space geared toward bringing people together and enriching the lives of everyone involved.”
• “The range of content — from the artful poems, fiction and songs to the intellectual readings and graphs — provides a rich offering. Unlike anything else I've encountered. This course is in a category of its own. Exceptional.”
• “Since taking the Deeper Dive I have come to count on this community for information, inspiration, comfort.
  I believe that coming together in a group to learn about and address these issues is the way forward for human communities.
  We need each other, and courage, as we learn to face the future, to acknowledge what is true and to navigate the stormy seas ahead. Grateful!”
• “I am emerging from this learning journey transformed. Still me, but with a clearer look on reality and with new energy, tools and connections to ‘bend the curve’ and help myself and my community here to transform and transition.”
• “The careful conception of the course with curated reading, listening, watching materials; Shaun Chamberlin's warm and wise guidance; meeting guest teachers as discussion partners; social and reflection sessions; the forum which reminded me of a permaculture food for thought and action garden…
  I appreciated the kinship of the others through grief, inspiration and co-creation. And of course our closing carnival which was one of the most magical experiences I have ever had (online).”
• “This course has been so stimulating and hopeful, something desperately needed and sustaining for me, that I cannot suppress its content and hope within myself.
  I began trying to substantively share about this course last week. It was truly eye-opening and it made me feel so much more hopeful and empowered, despite many unresolved disagreements.
  That is what this course is all about. That – such a short and tiny taste but so rich and enduring – is a hint of the magic that creates and sustains community and culture. That was conversation.”
• “The Deeper Dive went a long way in my realization that I still personally have thoughts to share on this topic of collapse and that are unique and aren't coming from anyone that looks like me — a black man.
  I have been been thinking, discussing and occasionally writing my thoughts on these topics for nearly my whole life. This space inspired me to share my perspective more actively and wider and to commit to writing more. I am extremely grateful for that and the connections I made.”
• “My greatest regret is that I did not take this course 10 or 20 years ago and that I wasn't able to take leave and do nothing other than immerse myself in this course and the amazing, profound work of all of the guest speakers during the eight weeks.
  I have taken many courses with great thinkers, scientists, and minds; Shaun and the guest speakers are among the most transformative minds I have had the privilege to learn from, but what was so profound about this course was the way the material was presented and the way the other participants built this interactive community. I learned more from and about myself and how to intuit and perceive than I thought possible.
  This course is a gift that I will continue to come back to and learn from and lean on for the rest of my life.”
• “I cannot thank you enough for the wisdom, care, and brilliance you have given to make the Deeper Dive so magically transformative, life-affirming, and beautiful.
  I am gob smacked and awed with how powerful and intricately interwoven the speakers, supplemental recordings and resources, and conversations have been.
  It has felt both like an education in intuition, community building, therapy, and life-training like I didn't think was possible.”

• “What I’ve gotten from the course goes beyond the mind-expanding exposure to activists and thinkers who are ahead of me on this journey.  It’s the profound sense of being on the same journey.“

• “The more people talk about the issues the more real it seems, and it pushes me to make the changes I need to help ensure I can survive in the future, and that I can help others to see the truth of our situation. My community is growing, swelling with positive influences.“
• “I joined, and left, this course knowing there are most certainly dark times ahead, but I have never felt so equipped to deal with them.”

Sterling College recognizes that financial resources are not evenly distributed within societies or across geographical locations.

To reduce financial barriers to education and participation, we are pleased to offer a sliding-scale pricing model that encourages participants to consider and choose the price that they can pay based on their individual circumstances and resource availability.

Our pricing model relies on honesty and trust. We do not ask for proof or explanation of any sort for your choice. We do, however, ask that your choice is based on thoughtfulness and integrity as you consider your actual financial position. Payment by installments can also be arranged on request.

Pricing options

Note: If you are able to offer more than the higher-tier price to support inclusive pricing for others, you may donate here (use the dropdown menu to designate the 'STF Scholarship Fund'). Thank you!
(if you are on a mobile device, click "View Desktop Version" after clicking the above link to access the dropdown menu)

Higher tier: $599 USD

This pricing level reflects the actual cost to run and sustain the course. We ask you to pay at this level if you have above-average financial resources and will not be disadvantaged or face any type of insecurity in meeting your basic needs. Your full-price payment helps support those who would otherwise have a hard time accessing the course.  Because our Surviving the Future courses attract participants from every continent, when considering whether you fall into the “above average” category, please think more broadly than your local context and milieu.

Middle tier: $445 USD

This pricing level reflects a reduced price for the course. We invite you to pay at this pricing level if you have enough financial resources to contribute to the course cost, but not at the full level, and you are able to comfortably meet your basic needs.

Lower tier: $299 USD

This pricing level is a supported price for the course. We invite you to pay at this level if your currency conversions are distinctly unfavorable, or you are unemployed or experiencing other hardships that affect your ability to meet your needs.

Scholarships

If, after considering the above options, finances remain a meaningful barrier to your participation, we invite you to click below to submit a simple trust-based application for a Surviving the Futurescholarship. Again, no proof of need is required.

Scholarship applications for Surviving the Future: The Deeper Dive 2025 are now closed, since the program is full.

You may wish to consider Surviving the Future: A Path Through Tumultuous Times.