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i i juny £0 Express numscit with unusual freedom and (0 come to a fuller and deeper understa is Of himself. Living and working together with these vital issucs and this challenging material, members at the group find that they experitace a new quality of association with une another. The usual barrices co free communication ate diminished, and the possibilities of new depths of relationship appear. The individual is encouraged by this climate to look honestly ax himself as he now is, and dares to consider the possibility of a change. History of the Seminars ‘The Sequoia Scarinar is a contemporary expression of un effort begun before the turn.of the prescnr century by Dr. Henry Burton Sharman. He was con- cefned with the rising tide of cynicism and loss of basic faith in aay eternal veritics which seemed in incellecrual circles to result from the supposed conflice between science and religion. A scientist himself, he saw no necessity for any such conilict. He believed that there were basic truchs about the process whereby human personaliey achieves its highest expression and chat these must be furdamencal in any mature and sophisticated religion. He belicved, further, tht any such cruths could be discovered by any honest, sincerely searching mind willing to observe the same high standards of intellectual integrity required by the scientific method or by aay other rigorous scholarly inquiry. Accordingly, he sce about developing a method of approach co test his theory. It seemed ro Sharman that a critical study of che mind of any great religious genius ought co reveal s recognition and an understanding of the mose basic principles af ccicatation, of integrativn, and of personal effectiveness. He began, therefore, to explore the most acarly original records which have been pre- setved 10 us of the life and the expressions of che mind of Jesus of Nazareth, whom he regarded for a number of reasons as one of che most promising figures t0 examine. This exploration, utilizing the findings and the methods of modern literacy and historical cricicism, led to his conviction that this was indeed a fruitful body of material for such critical study. 6 fo comet ay a Gee UE pene (raring and rigGroas questions, led a che developmcnt of iq rks of ‘an summer sennnats. Those were or six woes’ duration ata comrortabls the Canadian wilderness. Here the olivun and che sett group's concentration on the task at hand with the minimum ut interruption but with ample opportua ated th seraccion and and facilities for recreation. Those who launched the Sequoia Seminar had the privilege of participecing in this activity under Sharman’s leadership. The great values they derived from thar xperience motivated them to seck means for making dicin availible wo others. In the summer of 19:16 they held a scminat of this kind for a durarion of four weeks at « fishing lodge on the Klamath River among the redwoods of Northern California, For the next four summers ewo such seminars were held each year at the Asilomse conference grounds facing che ocean at Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula, In 1951 the seminar was moved to the Sequoia Seminar’s own camp near Ben Lomond. Experimentation has led to the shortening of the period of che introductory seminars to two weeks and the reduction of the size of the group to cighteen. The program and che methods continus to be experimental ad d constant endeavor is to improve the procedures shrough which the participants may with the maximum freedom, but also with che maximum stimulation toward critical and independent thinking, work roward formulating theit owa outlook on and program for life. In secent years it has become apparenr that, even when a person has conve clearly t0 a decision as t0 che orientation his life shall assume, he aos che hdbp of others to implement this decision. This fact led to the establishing of a series of continuation seminars. Some af these are one week in duration, some two. Their narure varies; some concentrate on clitification of the issues en- countered in the introductory seminars, others on knowing the self, still ochers on techniques and procelures related to pursuing the way of fife which seems to be implicic in the teachings of Jesus. Program The intcoductory seminars last for a period of two weeks. Every morning of this period is devoted 0 the group discussions. Afternoon and evening proycams are worked out by the participancs of each seminar to meet hest the needs of the particular group. Part of every afternoon is generally free for individual and group relaxation and recreation; often extra afternoon sessions are sche uled to fill a aced felt by the goup to relate their tentative findings more dirverly to everyday personal relations. Recorded music usually plays some pace in the day's activities. For those who ase interested, an opportunity is provided 10 experiment with the contribution of creative work with art materials. 7