The Octagon

Many places exist for great scientific and social discussions and debates on issues of the human experience, politics and relationships. Ethical and spiritual matters are preached in worship centers. Leadership and entrepreneurship are subjects discussed at educational institutions and within business communities. But absent is a forum for global conversation that connects health care philosophy, vitalism and integrated cultural and biological change. These important topics cross many subject boundaries and thus do not easily fit into established forums.

Life University has created the forum: The Octagon.

Life’s goals include building the Octagon as a home for change within a village. It will be the home foreight endowed chairs and will be located in the center of Life’s campus. Each of the eight endowed chairs will have its own office suite, support staff and work areas. In addition, the building will include large and small classroom space for program forums and lectures. All public space will be equipped with advanced technology and communication devices to allow participants to present, interpret and distribute information and policy born at the Octagon. Multilingual staff and tools will be present to interpret speeches, forums and papers to Octagon participants and visitors.

In the long term, the Octagon will serve as the foundation for a think tank village that includes a performing arts center to visually and creatively present the Octagon’s ideas, a business incubator that will produce applicable products supporting the Octagon’s policies and ideas, and a center for globalization that will disseminate worldwide the finished work products of the Octagon initiatives.

The Octagon concept exists to stage world-changing discussion. The vision for the Octagon is to be as impactful in changing the mindset about today’s health care system as the Heritage Foundation is on the topics of free enterprise and American political thought. For example, national discussions on the current obesity epidemic are centered within the framework of today’s health system, resulting in solutions involving drugs, surgery and therapy. A similar discussion within the Octagon would consider options outside the current health system, focusing more on healthy behaviors, personal goals and responsibilities and vitalistic principles than on more failed traditional therapeutic practice.

With a mission to create world-changing dialogue on health care and the human endeavor, the Octagon will host new conversation among the greatest thinkers, writers, politicians, entrepreneurs, educators and speakers in the world. The dialogue will be based on vitalistic philosophy: that people are self-developing, self-maintaining and self-healing, and will stem from a set of eight core proficiencies.

These proficiencies are pillars that collectively advance personal integrity and provide the foundation for professional success, social contribution and cultural change—all that distinguishes a Life education and defines the Life Movement.

Through the Octagon each of the proficiencies will develop its own principles and create its own platform for targeting change. Eight endowed chairs, occupied by leaders whose life’s work embodies the meaning within the proficiency they represent, will be the focal point for this development. It is envisioned that each chair will have staff, a budget and a world-acclaimed advisory board to assist them in their quest for meaningful and impactful change.