Help Us Give Young People Another Way to Think

For more than a year, I've been building The Modern Taoist through the podcast, exploring what Taoist philosophy has to say about living in the modern world.

Along the way, something unexpected happened.

Teachers from around the country began reaching out to tell me they were using The Modern Taoist in their sociology, psychology and philosophy classes. They were introducing their students to Taoist ideas because they saw value in giving young people another way to look at themselves, their relationships and the world around them.

I've also seen the effect these ideas can have in my own family.

That led to a simple question:

What if young people could have access to these ideas while they're still figuring out who they are?

That's why we created The Modern Taoist Foundation.

Our first project is a free online Taoist education program created specifically for teenagers.

This won't be an adult course simply repackaged for kids. We're building lessons around the things young people are actually dealing with as they grow up:

Identity. Relationships. Pressure. Competition. Failure. Success. Expectations. Uncertainty. Social connection. Figuring out who you are.

The program will also teach Taoism itself, its history, and how Taoist thought developed over thousands of years.

The goal isn't to tell young people what to think.

It's to give them another way to think.

I believe that growing up with these ideas can help young people develop a stronger understanding of themselves, their relationships with other people, and the world they live in.

And the world they're growing up in is changing rapidly. Technology, social media, artificial intelligence and an increasingly complicated world will require more adaptability, cooperation, critical thinking and emotional intelligence, not less.

I want young people to have access to a philosophy that has been asking questions about how human beings should live for thousands of years.

And I want that access to be free.

Our First Goal: $11,000

We're starting with a $11,000 fundraising goal to build the first phase of the program.

Your donations will help us:

Develop the curriculum and lessons
Produce the educational content
Build the online course platform
Cover the technology and operating costs required to make the program available
Begin building the Foundation's scholarship program for young people pursuing philosophy or the humanities

We're starting small, but the goal is much bigger than $11,000.

We want to build an educational resource that can reach teenagers anywhere, regardless of whether their families can afford another course, another program or another educational opportunity.

If we reach $11,000, we'll have built the foundation for the first phase of the program.

If we exceed that goal, we'll be able to build more, faster.

The Modern Taoist Foundation is now a legally established nonprofit, and we're ready to begin.

If you believe young people could benefit from having another way to understand themselves and the world around them, help us build it.

Help us reach our first $11,000.

Every contribution moves us closer to putting the first lessons in the hands of young people at no cost to them.

Thank you for being part of this from the beginning.