Now Enrolling · Fall 2026

Write a good life.
Then go make it.

The book, the album, the practice, the venture, the second act — the work that's been circling you for years. The Personal Master of Arts is a twelve-month year to finish it, built around your life rather than a campus, in the company of people who will hold you to it lovingly. This fall, the door in is the World Philosophy Workshop.

Twelve months, no residencyNo relocation, no debt Fall doorway opens September 16Contracts due September 9 115+ alumni across 9 countriesSmall circles of nine or fewer
Explore the perMA Start with the Fall workshop

Or take the seven-week World Philosophy Workshop on its own — three groups, eight seats each. Backed by our "Show Your Work" satisfaction guarantee.

"This has been the most educational thing I've done outside of my education, and the most therapeutic thing I've done outside of therapy." Paul Marcus, Psychotherapist — Taos, NM

The Practice

Presence, Purpose, and Perspective

How would you workshop practical wisdom? We believe in live dialogues, deep listening, and paying close attention to what we're paying attention to. We believe in generative questions, loving speech, and kind curiosity.

Mindful Writing

Writing as meditation, as a place to take a leaf blower to your mind, connect with sources of creativity. Right-brain processing.

Life Design

Prototypes, Odyssey Plans, Dashboards, Compasses, and beautiful questions to frame your creative improv. Writing a life well-lived: you shitty-first-draft it, test it, and revise it like a good writer would.

Small Groups

Small groups make this work. Not therapy, but therapeutic hope, universality, cohesion, and interpersonal learning. Mindful facilitation for here-and-now attention.

Third-Generation Coaching

The facilitator is also learning. Not instruction from behind a professional mask, but collaborative meaning-making between whole persons — where wisdom emerges between us rather than being transmitted at us.

The Year

Twelve months, one finished thing

You enter at a seasonal doorway, and the year takes its shape from there: a daily practice you contract with yourself, a weekly circle that keeps it honest, a monthly conversation that keeps it moving, and a finished work you share when it's done. Four movements, across twelve months.

1–3

Kindle

Your co-creative contract is witnessed. Your entry workshop begins. The daily practice gets established.

4–6

Ground

A first prototype exists — rough and real. The contract gets revised on purpose, rather than drifted from.

7–9

Connect & Deepen

Feedback cycles with fellows. The work moves through the community rather than around it.

10–12

Grow

The culmination is completed and shared publicly, and the year closes with a commencement conversation.

How the year works See the requirements

Prefer to start smaller? The seven-week World Philosophy Workshop stands on its own — and doubles as the Fall doorway if you decide to continue.

Between the Sessions

Infinite Questions and Emergent Synchronicities

Daily invitations and weekly challenges to write a good life. Optional Discord Channel and WhatsAPP group thread. Additional optional gatherings hosted by Alumni and participants.

The Collective Weekly Review

Each week the community reviews together: what moved, what stalled, what we need from each other. This is the engine — it keeps twelve months of self-directed work from dissolving into the scheduling entropy of adult life.

Open Hours

Monday Mindful Writing: Improv Wisdom Group. Friday Afternoons : Feedback on Projects Due.

Creative Process Troubleshooting

Optional 1:1 Creative Troubleshooting Sessions.

The Synchronicity Digest

A weekly email or SMS of field notes, invitations, and connections between participants.

The Long Game

Other ways in

Fall 2026 · Applications Open

World Philosophy Workshop

Seven weeks from Aristotle to the Potawatomi — part philosophy course, part walking group. Three groups, eight seats each, beginning September 15 and 16. Take it on its own, or as your doorway into the perMA year.

Read the syllabus →
Ongoing

O-PERMA Positive Psychology Lab

Five uplifting weeks for groups and individuals who want to gain happiness skills to do good in the world.

Join the waitlist →
Fall 2026

Facilitating Flourishing

7 inspiring weeks of mindful teaching practice for team-leaders and teachers who want to facilitate excellence with others.

Join the waitlist →
Spring 2027

Art of Living Beautifully

10 generative weeks nurturing creative practices for human development.

Join the waitlist →
For Organizations

Workplace Well-Being Series

Five sessions for up to 25 participants. Proven with the City of Fort Collins and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation. From $2,950.

Schedule a conversation →

Voices From

115+ alumni · 9 countries · Ages 18-75

"I can not believe how much I've changed in seven weeks. I started thinking I would fix my life and career… and it turned out that I got back into a relationship with myself."
Monica Aikman, Nurse — Saskatchewan, Canada
"All this free-writing unlocked something in me. There's stuff in me that wants to come out!"
Luna Alice, Medical Student — United Kingdom
"This course gave me what I didn't know I needed: permission to boldly make choices."
Simi Llowyin, Community Organizer — Toronto, Canada
"One of the biggest challenges of quitting my job was feeling like I was doing it alone. Going through this with other people made a huge difference."
Samantha Scott, Accountant — London, UK
"It was like improvisational philosophy! The art of playfully saying yes to the wisdom of others and enhancing that wisdom with our own."
Brian Oney, Facilitator — San Francisco, CA
"It gave me the space to listen to the sound of my own voice."
Subarna Ganguly, Student & Artist — New Delhi, India

About

Sean Waters, Founder

Sean Waters — musician, educator, facilitator

Sean is a Master Instructor who teaches writing at Colorado State University, where he has been faculty for 17 years. He holds master's degrees in Philosophy and English Education, and has over 1,500 hours of small-group mindful facilitation experience.

He founded the Wisdom Workshop in 2021 to begin to re-imagine education: what would school look like for people in mid-life transitions? What if the traditional Master of Arts program were more part-time, personal, and emergent? Drawing on the study of world philosophies, group psychodynamics, and positive psychologies, Sean is also skilled in musical listening, performing over 1,000 indie-folk singer-songwriter shows in and near Colorado.

"Sean has a gift for warmth, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard."

Email · Schedule a call · Substack · Spotify

What life are you being invited to write?

The Fall doorway opens September 15 and 16. Three groups, eight seats each.

Explore the perMA Read the Fall syllabus