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The way in · 30 daysThirty days. One small deed a day.
You do not need to give anything up or travel anywhere. In the morning you look at a painting and choose one small deed for today. During the day you do it — at home, at work, in a queue, in a chat. In the evening you write three lines. And so for thirty days.
- An ordinary day — 15–25 minutes. A hard day — two minutes: a small action from the card and one line in the evening. Both count.
- For two weeks we try small deeds without names. On Day 15 we say which books it all comes from (you can find out right away here). Then the same tries a second time, now knowing what they are called. On Sundays — a small circle, if you wish.
- Free. Only you see your entries. Missed a day — you simply come back to today.
- Days 1–14. We try — without names.
- Day 15. We say which books it all comes from.
- Days 16–30. The same qualities by name — in your own life.
- Sunday, 19:00–20:30. A circle of 6–8 people — if you wish.
One day — 15–25 minutes
In the morning the card of the day is already waiting for you. On it are a painting by Nicholas Roerich, one question and one small deed. Not “be more patient”, but something like “hear your son out to the end, even if he is telling it for the third time” or “do not send the third reminder — wait for the deadline”.
The deed itself needs no separate time: it happens in a conversation in the kitchen, in a work chat, at the checkout. Only the morning and the evening need time of their own.
A minute with the painting, the question of the day and one sentence you keep in mind until evening. About ten minutes.
One deed from the card. And something good for another person — someone who is having a harder day than you. Without telling anyone about it.
Three lines: what I noticed, what I did, what I take into tomorrow. Not a confession — facts. About ten minutes.
A short audio, 3–4 minutes: a calm voice in no hurry. You can listen already in bed.
The numbers are minutes. What kind of day you are having, you decide yourself; there is no need to tell anyone.
«See the person, not the function»
In the morning — the painting: a figure in blue, the face almost hidden, only the lips and hands, and still it is clear that this is a living person. During the day — in one conversation, ten seconds of real attention: ask about the person, not about the task. A cashier, a courier, a colleague. In the evening — three lines and a question to yourself: whom do I see only by what they do for me?
First we try, then we name, then we apply
Twelve small tries in ordinary life. Without names and without special words: first with your hands.
The tries get names, and we say plainly which source they come from.
The same twelve qualities a second time — by name and closer to your life. Day 30 is a calm summary.
Week by week
First tries — without names
Every day — one small try in ordinary life: to see the person in a person, to carry a promise through, to wait for the right time and not chase. No special words. On Sunday, if you wish, — a circle where people listen to you without interrupting.
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Every day — one small try in ordinary life: to see a person in the cashier or courier, not a function; to carry one promise through; to wait for the right time and not chase a person a third time; to take a small step you have long been putting off. No theory and no special words — only a deed the size of one day.
On Sunday, if you wish, — the first circle: an hour and a half in which everyone talks for a few minutes about their week, and the others simply listen. No advice and no judgements.
The cashier, the courier, the colleague at the other end of the chat have a name, a hard day of their own and their own tiredness. Often one question is enough to see it.
It gets harder — and that is normal
The tries become finer, and resistance appears: to do a good deed and tell nobody, to hand over and not double-check, to hold a pause before answering. Resistance here is not a failure — it shows where things are hardest for you right now.
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The tries become finer: to do a good deed and tell nobody about it; to hand over a task or trust a word — and not double-check; to notice who is struggling today and do one concrete thing for them without advice; to catch the convenient version of events and write down how it really was; to say thank you aloud for someone else's work; to hold a pause before answering.
The second circle: which try came easily, and which resisted. Often the hardest thing turns out to be shared — and that makes it easier.
Resistance does not mean “I can't do it”. It simply shows where things are hardest for you right now.
We say where it all comes from
For two weeks you tried things without names. Today they get names, and we name the books from which everything is taken. In short: these are the books of the Russian ethical tradition, written down in Russian about a century ago. They are open to everyone — every word can be checked for yourself.
Behind this door are names and books you can check for yourself. We promise nothing more.
The same twelve — by name and closer to life
The same twelve qualities a second time — by name and closer to your life. What in the first days was simply “seeing the person” becomes a day without judging.
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The same twelve qualities a second time — now by name. “Seeing the person” becomes a day without judging. “Handing over and not double-checking” becomes trusting someone you did not trust before, in one concrete matter. “Who is struggling today” becomes a deed for the one to whom it is hardest: who hurt you or is unpleasant. “Thank you” becomes gratitude to someone who is hard to thank. For each day — a short passage from the books, so that you can check for yourself.
If the circle wishes, during these weeks it does one small deed together for people outside the circle — with hands and time, without money. Circles 3 and 4: what changed when a try got its name, and what I take with me.
When a habitual reaction has a name, it is easier to notice it in time — and not let it decide for you.
A pause before answering and a calm summary
Day 30 is a calm summary without scores: you reread your entries and see what holds even on a hard day and what you did for others.
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Day 29 is once again a pause before answering, now by name: equilibrium. Day 30 is a calm summary without grades. You reread your entries and answer two questions for yourself: what holds even when it is hard, and what you did for others this month. No scores and no “you completed the course at 80%”.
Then for two weeks you simply live and notice. And on Day 45, if you wish, — the Wheel: for each of the twelve qualities, one question — was there a deed during these two weeks, and which one.
What remains: a few small deeds you can carry into an ordinary day, the names of the twelve qualities, your own entries and, if you came, the experience of the circles. After that — only if you wish.
Thirty days, twelve qualities, a circle of six to eight people, Sunday for the meeting — our working decision, a convenient frame, not the words of the Russian ethical tradition.
A missed day is not made up
A day fell out — you simply come back to today's card. Yesterday's is not finished off, and there is no “days in a row” counter. Nobody will write to you reproachfully.
The leader does not track who has not logged in for how many days, and does not see what or how much you write. The leader sees only your mark for the week, if you leave one, — so as to write in time to someone who is struggling.
One thing is worth guarding: that a break does not become a habit. That is what the two-minute minimum is for — it keeps the rhythm when there is no strength.
As the books of the Russian ethical tradition say: “Yesterday has gone out; let us learn to meet a new dawn.”
Four Sundays — an hour and a half with people
On days 7, 14, 21 and 28, from 19:00 to 20:30 Moscow time, — an online circle with six to eight people going through the same thing. Each person talks for a few minutes about their week: where it worked, whom it made things easier for, where it was hard. The others listen. No advice unless asked.
The leader keeps time and looks after safety. The leader is a participant like you who just started earlier: not a mentor and not an inspector, teaches nothing and does not see your entries. From Day 15 the circle reads a short passage from the books and people say where they saw it in their own day.
Without the circle the course is still complete. That is a legitimate path.
Our safety rules
- You may stay silent. Reading and doing without answering either in the chat or in the circle is full participation. We ask one thing: if you came to the circle, be with it while it lasts — do not interrupt, and let what is said in the circle stay in the circle. As the books of this tradition say: “at least for one hour, to be consciously responsible people”.
- No comparisons. No ratings and no grading of other people's answers.
- Not therapy. The course does not replace a doctor or a psychologist. If things are very bad — see a specialist first.
- The common deed — without money. If the circle does something for people, it is with hands and time. The circle has no cash box.
- You can leave on any day — without explanations.
- No need to write beautifully. One honest line is better than a long correct text.
These are our rules — a working decision of the project, not tenets of the tradition. All the rules →
Nobody checks your entries
Only you see your entries
The three evening lines are kept in your account. The leader does not see them; nobody reads or grades them. Only what you yourself decide to share goes into the group chat.
The Wheel too
The Wheel on Day 45 is questions about your deeds, with no scores. Only you see it.
Questionnaires — without names
Short optional questionnaires go only into an overall summary for the group, without names. It is a check of the method, not an assessment of you. More ↓
We check the method, not you
Before the start and on days 30, 45 and 90 we ask you to fill in a short questionnaire: a few minutes, if you wish. It is a check of the method, not an assessment of a person.
The questionnaire has questions about your week, including some where you yourself mark how even your day was. The answers go only into an overall summary for the group, without names. The leader sees only this summary, and only when there are at least five questionnaires; the leader does not see your answers separately. They are not shown to you as “your growth” either: a person is not judged by a few numbers. We check something else — whether the way itself helps: the cards, the circles, the two-minute minimum.
The ninetieth day matters more than the thirtieth. At the end of a month it is easy to mistake a lift for a change; after two more months you can see what has taken root in ordinary life. What the overall numbers show, we will tell as it is — including what did not work.
Answers → an overall summary for the group, without names. The leader sees only the summary, and only when there are at least five questionnaires. Your answers are not shown separately, neither to the leader nor to you as “your growth”.
Honestly about the source
The programme rests on the Russian ethical tradition; its books were written down in Russian about a century ago and are open to everyone. We name its books on Day 15 — the tradition itself advises this: first apply, then name. If you want to know right away, open the “Source” block.
On this day the twelve tries get names. “A pause before answering” is equilibrium, “carrying a promise through” is devotion, “handing over and not double-checking” is trust. The words themselves come from the books of this tradition, while the choice of twelve and the order of days are ours.
And one more thing, honestly and in advance. From Day 15 we tell you about the main advice of these books: begin the morning with a thought of the one who gives you the best advice for life; whom to think of, you decide yourself. Whether to accept this advice is also up to you. Nobody checks and nobody asks.
Leaving on Day 15 is also a normal decision. The experience of two weeks is already yours.
The map of thirty days
Day 1 is open to everyone. The other cards come to participants one a day, in their personal account.
Days 1–14 · we try without names
Day 15 and Days 16–30 · by name
Here are only the names of the qualities — the same tries, a second time. What each one means is told on the page “The twelve qualities”.
Further — only if you wish
You can go through the month and stop there. That is a full result, not “quitting halfway”.
- Day 30A calm summing-up
You reread your notes and answer two questions for yourself: what holds even when it is hard, and what you did for others this month. No scores and no “pass”.
- two weeksYou simply live and notice
No new cards. An ordinary day — with your small deeds in it, if you wish.
- Day 45 · optionalThe Wheel — a mirror of deeds
For each of the twelve qualities one question: was there a deed in the last two weeks — and what was it. No scores, no total, no comparison with others. Only you see your Wheel. How the Wheel works →
- about three months · optionalA season of one quality
Out of the twelve you take one: the one you are drawn to, the one that is still limping, or the one life itself is asking for right now — a small child, a new job, an illness of someone close. Every day — one small deed in it, a circle once a week or every two weeks, once a month — reread your notes. If you wish, at the end you can ask someone close: “what have you noticed?” — without any grades. After the season — two light weeks. How a season works →
- further onAt your own pace
A new Wheel, a new choice: another quality, or the same one if it does not yet hold everywhere. Once a year — reread your notes and see where you were different. The whole programme →
- You can leave on any day
After any step and in the middle of any — without guilt and without explanations. This is an order, not a ladder of levels: nobody will tell you that you have “risen”.
Why the Wheel has no scores: how a person grows inside cannot be seen — just as you cannot see a hair growing. What can be seen is something else: what you did and what came of it. So the Wheel asks only about deeds and compares nobody with anybody.
So that it is easier for people around you
The course is not about becoming perfect. It is about ordinary minutes: a morning when everyone is late; a chat where someone wrote something sharp; an evening when you have no strength left for anyone.
At home
Notice who is struggling today and do one concrete thing — without advice and without reminding them it was you. At home there are more occasions for this than anywhere.
It happens like this: people start telling you about their day before you ask.
At work
A pause of three breaths, practised on trifles, may work where it matters most too: in a conversation about deadlines when the other person has raised their voice, in the hour when everything is on fire for everyone.
It happens like this: in a hard conversation, things get quieter around you.
In promises and your own goals
The three evening lines show what memory carefully hides: how much of what you promised — to others and to yourself — you carried through. Often after that a person starts promising less or doing more.
It happens like this: you have to go back on a word already given less often.
When you are tired
The course does not treat and does not replace a doctor. But the two-minute minimum helps keep the rhythm when there is no strength, and the rule “come back to today” helps not to swing between “a dash” and “self-reproach”.
It happens like this: between “I slipped” and “I came back” a day passes, not two weeks.
This is a direction, not a promise: health, work and chance stay where they are, and nothing of this is guaranteed.
Jobs change, circumstances change. Who you have become stays with you.
Free. And why
Taking part is entirely free: the cards, the circles, the Wheel, the seasons. No fees, no extras and no paid continuations.
Why: you cannot sell a person to themselves. Money between the one who tries and the one who leads the circle spoils them both.
If you want to say thank you — once, after a completed step and only if you wish: to the project, to the founder or to your own leader, as you decide. It is gratitude afterwards, not a payment.
Before you sign up
I don't have time for this
An ordinary day is 15–25 minutes, and most of the deed happens inside your ordinary affairs. On a hard day two minutes are enough: a small action from the card and one line in the evening.
I'm not a fan of “self-development”
Fine. There are no trainings, big words or motivational speeches here. There is your ordinary Tuesday and one small deed in it. Try one day and see whether it is for you.
Do I need to believe in anything?
No. You do small things in ordinary life and watch what changes. We name the source on Day 15, and you are free to accept or not accept the main advice of its books. If you want to know right away — the “Source” block.
Do I have to go to the circle and speak?
No. The circle is optional, and you may stay silent in it. If you come, simply be attentive to others while the circle lasts.
Who will see what I write?
Only you. The leader does not see your entries. Only what you yourself decide to share goes into the group chat.
What if I give up?
You can leave on any day, without explanations and without guilt. Nobody will try to talk you into coming back. And you can come back — to today's card.
You can start with one day — today, without signing up. Decide the rest later.