Founders Message
The programs of this School combine the Wisdom and intelligence of those who have come before us, whether from millennia ago or of the last century. There are many definitions of the term’ wisdom’, but the one that guides the development of this School is this: “Wisdom is the art and science of spiritual transformation that leads to an awakening to one’s true nature or essence. As we awaken to this Wisdom, we find that we desire to unite with the Divine Spirit whose nature is, in fact, our Own.”
It follows that the School emphasizes direct experience along with knowledge and study. Additionally, the term ‘Intelligence’ needs to be reevaluated. It must include “Wisdom” and perhaps even be equated with it. As a society, we place a great deal of emphasis on knowledge and information as the only important things to pursue. Although the School values information, it seeks to use new knowledge for transformational efforts.
Furthermore, although a peak experience can transform our lives forever, we must learn how to stabilize in the new state to integrate it into our everyday lives. Our experience has shown that the transformation process has to be a permanent change in our way of being. For us to move through these stages safely, steadily, and with awareness, it becomes crucial to understand the stages of the transformational process itself. This is the foundation of this School’s educational philosophy, and we hope that it will serve humanity well.
Jim Sher’s Background
Jim Sher received his Master’s in Social Work from the University of Texas in 1972 followed by post-graduate training in Jungian theory and practice. His extensive social service experience included work in the fields of mental health, drug and alcohol treatment, domestic violence, and child abuse. In 1978, he began working in private practice as a therapist and counselor, with an emphasis in family and relationship counseling. After being introduced to astrology by a co-worker, he began noticing astrology was a more accurate tool at describing personality and behavioral patterns than any of the psychological tests included in his training. Not only was astrology helpful in understanding a client and what they were going through, but it was also helpful in determining what kind of treatment approach was appropriate.
Jim’s metaphysical training began with his research into both Jung and astrology. He studied many of the world’s religions, with special emphasis on their esoteric traditions, including Gnosticism, Sufism, Kabbalah, and Buddhism, along with the works of Gurdjieff, Alan Watts, and Krishnamurti. He developed great interest in the Golden Dawn system, which combined the Tree of Life, Tarot, numerology, astrology, and the Hebrew alphabet, into one system. His special love became “Sacred Geometry,” which is the study of geometry to discover why the numbers mean what they do.
In 1998, Jim became the first Executive Director of Kepler College in Seattle, Washington, the first degree-granting college of astrology in the U.S. He was instrumental in opening the College’s first office and in organizing a fundraising campaign that led to the opening of the College.
Since moving to Los Angeles in 1999, Jim developed a thriving Astrological Counseling practice and in 2000, he created the Sher Institute of Astrology & Metaphysics for students to learn astrology and metaphysical principles designed to accelerate the evolution of their consciousness. As a result, it has enabled him to uniquely weave together the many multi-dimensional disciplines he has learned and personally experienced into a wholistic teaching curriculum.
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