Learn from two masters in the fields of personal development, spirituality, and coaching who bring something new and dynamic to every session.
This is a foundational step for any coach, therapist, parent, spiritual guide, teacher, or helping professional.
Six Three-Hour Live Video Sessions Spread Out Over Four Months of Intensive Study
TUESDAYS starting March 10, 2026
12 Noon – 3 PM EST / 9 AM – 12 Noon PST
Save $100: Register by February 5, 2025
Video recordings will be provided
Ask Yourself
Do you know where your goals come from? Are they truly yours?
Where in your life are you doing things in the same old way?
What is the connection between Trust and Freedom?
Can you discern between spontaneity and compulsion?
Can you be free without destroying the freedom of others?
The day we give up being touched by reality is the day we shut down. Authentic change requires freedom as a kind of portal to what we are beyond our programmed habitual self. We are always interested in looking minutely at important questions that people don’t ask. We help students see through assumptions they have of themselves and others. Through our shared experience of working deeply with people over the decades. We have discovered powerful ways of uncovering and revealing barriers to or possibilities for people achieving true freedom.
~ Quotes from a conversation with Russ Hudson & James Flaherty
This is not a beginner’s class.
This program is for everyone dedicated to living in authentic freedom in a way that contributes to others. The course assumes basic Enneagram knowledge, using it as a component to go far beyond type-specific teaching. The methods, insights, and processes can readily be brought to any work participants do with clients as a coach, psychotherapist, spiritual director, or teacher. Even parents will find many new ways they can encourage their children in the direction of freedom.
Many of us desire freedom and deeply seek it. Still, freedom can bring up anxiety.
To skillfully step into these possibilities and release the obstacles necessitates a focused path of guided cultivation.
The first step toward liberation is seeing how you, yourself, are not free.
As the course progresses, you will experience the breathtaking vastness, possibility, and profound aliveness that springs from the inner work with freedom.
After an entire year of planning, Russ & James bring to light this unique shared teaching!
This course merges decades of teaching and experience to explore what it means to be released from constraints that no longer serve you.
Something new emerges when James and Russ teach together. They are continuously evolving as individuals and teachers along with the students. Their shared experience allows them to notice subtle barriers and possibilities that lead to significant breakthroughs.
You’ll benefit from Russ and James’ quantum transmission, where they play off of one another, and something exciting and often unexpected is revealed in each session. The atmosphere they emit will support your own development as a guiding, teaching, and leadership presence in the world.
“The Deeper Why of Freedom”
Now is a time of tumultuous change in the world, and many people shut down and try to control themselves and others. This program offers an alternative—a chance for personal evolution to occur when restraints are loosened, and habitual patterns are identified and released.
This course helps you value those openings to restore curiosity and shift from reactivity to responsiveness.
Plus, you will become part of a new, supportive, and vibrant student community through this program and discover opportunities for deeper learning and guidance from Russ & James.
Takeaways
- Gain a sense of empowered wonder and a capacity to be grounded in a much wider range of circumstances
- Enjoy greater ease and less effort in your life
- Directly encounter the essence of freedom in a way that naturally keeps unfolding
- Let your compulsions rest, and restore a sense of responsiveness instead of reactivity
- Experience greater creativity in responding to real and perceived limits
- Learn to meet others where they are and hold a deeper understanding of core motivations
- Become more skillful and spontaneous in expressing your vocation and gifts
- Have confidence in responding to difficulties by choosing new paths and responding to life with presence
- If you are in a healing profession, your inner work toward freedom will shine through you to benefit your clients
- Watch how your learnings positively impact your interpersonal relationships
An Invitation from Russ & James
Why Study Freedom?
What you can expect in this immersion with Russ Hudson & James Flaherty
This course is designed to be highly experiential. The program is broken down into three main sections, with two classes each, spread out over four months. You can expect a highly dynamic learning environment with:
- 6 live teaching sessions / 18 hours with Russ & James – Video and audio recordings will be provided
- Experiential practices in every session
- Coaching demonstrations
- Plenty of time for rich discussion, questions, and engagement with Russ & James
- Integration Practices, reflection questions, and exercises to support your ongoing exploration between sessions
- Practice partners – Between class sessions with faculty, students will meet with a fellow student for practice, accountability, and connection to support the learning experience
- An online community forum to stay connected to fellow students between sessions
Freedom is challenging because it means relinquishing our belief that we know what’s going to happen… It’s opening up the curiosity and relaxing the part of us that thinks it knows…
~ Russ Hudson & James Flaherty
Course Flow & Session Dates
A Journey Toward Embodied Freedom Immersion
March 10, 2025 – June 23, 2026
12 Noon – 3 PM EST / 9 AM – 12 Noon PST
In just four months of experiential, transformative work with Freedom, your two master teachers will guide you to clear the inner blocks that stand between you and expressing your authentic self. You’ll learn how to leverage that journey to serve others, creating a lasting impact in your career as a coach, therapist, or transformational leader, as well as in your personal connections.
Sessions 1 & 2 (March 10 & 31)
Revealing Patterns
- Learn to release compulsions that limit your growth opportunities
- Embody freedom rather than define it for lasting impact
- Understand trust’s role in the pursuit of freedom and the key that makes that possible
Sessions 3 & 4 (April 21 & May 12)
Digesting Patterns
- Understand why we tend to gravitate toward restraint
- Distinguish between impulse and true spontaneity
- Face the “I can’t do this” barrier and take a leap into authentic, relaxed action
Sessions 5 & 6 (June 2 & 23)
Responding with Love & Responsibility
- Learn how to respond with genuine responsibility without burden
- Discover the motivation that arises when compulsions lessen—unfolding your capacity for love
- Discern what’s on the other side of self-regulation and how to create a life of greater opportunity and more warmth
Program Cost & Payment Details
Single Pay
One payment of $899 $799
Early Registration Pricing Ends February 5, 2026
Payment Plan
Three monthly payments of $329 $293
Early Registration Pricing Ends February 5, 2026
Pay it Forward
One payment of $1349 $1249
Goes toward student scholarships
Early Registration Pricing Ends February 5, 2026
We are offering a limited number of need-based, partial scholarships for this program. Please click here to apply.
What Students Are Saying About Past Tandem Teaching Programs with Russ & James
About Russ Hudson
One of the world’s top teachers and developers of the Enneagram personality typology, Russ Hudson has co-authored five best-selling books including the renowned The Wisdom of the Enneagram, and Personality Types. The Sounds True audiobook Nine Gateways to Presence is the most recent work.
In addition to 40 years of publishing, interviews, teaching and research, Russ developed a scientifically validated test instrument. The Riso-Hudson Type Indicator (RHETI), the leading standard test in the Enneagram field.
Russ is co-founder of the Enneagram Institute and President Emeritus, as well as a Founding Director and former Vice-President of the International Enneagram Association.
He initially encountered the Enneagram through the Gurdjieff Work and saw it as a map for personal development and awareness – more than merely a system for categorizing people.
Russ emphasizes the importance of cultivating presence and mindfulness as a foundation for authentic work with the Enneagram. The approach to aligning the study of the Enneagram with spiritual practice exponentially enhances the personal development process. It is Russ’ desire to bring these mutually compatible tools to greater public awareness.
About James Flaherty
James Flaherty’s immense curiosity about people and life—and mostly about how to be useful to others—led him to develop the practical and customized methodology known as Integral Coaching®, a uniquely effective approach that integrates recent discoveries in biology, linguistics, developmental psychology, and twentieth-century philosophy.
In 1987, he founded New Ventures West, which trains and certifies people to coach using this methodology. He is the author of Coaching: Evoking Excellence in Others, which is widely recognized as a seminal text in the field. He has led coaching and leadership courses involving thousands of people throughout North America, South Africa, Asia, and Europe.
James is a Master Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation. He currently works with several private clients in a variety of fields.
He is a longtime Zen student, and he also practices yoga and qigong. In addition to being a voracious reader, James owns a large collection of CDs, mostly in the classical, rock, and jazz genres. He loves to travel and also enjoys watching movies and English Premier League football.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is your refund policy?
Your satisfaction is our highest priority! We offer a satisfaction guarantee for a full two weeks, so that you can try out the course risk- free. The deadline to receive a refund is midnight Eastern, the date of the second course session (March 31, 2026). To request a refund, please click here to submit your Refund Application Form. Your refund will be processed within five business days, and we will send you an email confirmation when your refund has been processed.
However, we’d love to have a chance to address and resolve your concerns first. If there’s something we can assist you with, please email us at support@russhudson.com, and we’ll be happy to help!
How can I reach customer support?
Please write to support@russhudson.com so we may address your question.
Do you offer discounts & scholarships?
We offer an Early Registration discount until February 5, 2025, and payment plans are available. A limited number of partial scholarships will be awarded. Please complete the Scholarship Application for consideration. Any partial scholarships awarded are considered final sale and are not available for refund.
What happens if I have to miss a session?
While we hope students will be able to attend the sessions with Russ & James to get the full benefit of the program (live Q&A, breakout exercises, etc), our programs are recorded, allowing students to review the teachings in their own time. We also provide a way for students to submit a question for Q&A, so even if you’re unable to join us on Zoom, your question will be reviewed and considered for in-class Q&A.
Do I have to participate in the breakout exercises during the sessions?
We strongly recommend students set themselves up to participate in breakout exercises during class, which support learning and embodiment of the teachings. Breakout exercises are a key component of the inner-work journey and a vital part of all of our live and virtual teachings.
What are the prerequisites for this course?
This course assumes students have at least basic Enneagram knowledge and self-application, and a commitment to the inner work journey. Students will be participating in spiritual and psychological inquiry for the sake of being more skillful in supporting others.