“Philip is a phenomenal teacher of human language, behavior and psychology.”
~ Michael Guenza, USA
Philip’s first book, published
in 2021
Ajarn Philip Keay
Transformational Educator Teacher Trainer Author
Learning, Communication & Leadership Skills and Self-Knowledge for adults and adolescents
“When you discover the joy of learning you discover the joy of living, when you master the skill of learning you master the skill of living.”
~ Philip Keay
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi
Philip’s mission in life is training and inspiring adults and adolescents in learning the art of self-empowering self-education by developing their
learning, communication and leadership skills
self-knowledge, self-awareness and holistic health know-how
self-confidence and self-belief
He posits that a skills-focused, heart-centred, Task-Based Learning approach to education is the solution to all the division, conflict and troubles in our struggling human world.
Such an education will undo the considerable damage done to us all by the school systems which, instead of motivating and empowering us, disempower, disconnect and dehumanise us. Quite incredibly, they fail to teach us how to learn and communicate - the two most important skills human beings need to navigate all the challenges of life. So when we are the parents, teachers and leaders, how can we expect to our children to do any better?
Task-Based Learning is the solution, but it needs parents, educators and leaders to become skilled in it first. That is Philip’s mission. Quite simply, the educators need an education!
Philip is available to conduct workshops and learning programs both online and in-person in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and leadership retreats in the Chiang Mai mountains.
Contact information for Philip is at the bottom of this page. Please take a moment to see what past students say about their learning experience with Philip. You can also find a complete set of testimonials and feedback that will give you a sense of what it’s like to learn with Philip by clicking here.
In the words of undergraduate and postgraduate students at Payap University, Chiang Mai (1)
“Philip always motivates us to speak a lot. Everybody becomes talkative in his lesson.”
“He is one of the best teachers I have ever had in my life. I learnt a lot and applied it in my teaching too. Thank him for all of this.”
“Philip is an extraordinary teacher who is able to connect with his students of all ages. He always respects every student’s ideas and opinions with a positive attitude and wonderful rapport.”
“One of Phil's gifts is the ability to effortlessly bring out the best in others while imparting knowledge with great wisdom.”
“Philip is undoubtedly one of the best teachers I have ever had. He has his unique ways to involve his students and get authentic opinions out of them, promoting a peer learning experience.”
“Philip is an exceptional teacher I had the fortune to have taken classes with. He has a special gift in drawing students out of their shells to participate in class, even with a shy and normally reserved person like me.”
For full quotes and attributions, you can head over to Philip’s more comprehensive bio here.
Philip’s Ethos for 3rd Millennium Learning and Living
You have found the home of pre-digital nomad, soul adventurer, spiritual teacher and motivational educator and writer Philip Keay.
Thailand seduced him to settle down, but the travel spirit and passion for life remains in his blood. He lives in Chiang Mai.
Philip’s life mission is training and inspiring adults to become lifelong learners so that they can be the best version of themselves, and continue evolving now and forever. His message is this:
“Humankind urgently needs attentive, aware, articulate human beings who live by the understanding that we are all, by our birthright, intelligent integrated interconnected individuals.
This requires us to live with curiosity, courage, creativity, compassion, confidence and consciousness, which requires us to first adopt a mindset whose #1 objective is to live with health, harmony and happiness on a daily basis. This mindset is our navigator.”
School systems worldwide not only fail to develop us in this way, but in fact block us from doing so. Incredibly, we were never taught how to learn or communicate, nor taught anything about our mind. Yet, our mind is the epicentre of our life, and until we open our mind we will struggle to open our heart and never live up to our incredible potential.
Self-inquiry is the answer to all your ills! This is a process to be learned, and once learned the learner will never look back. The process looks like this:
unblock your mind —> unlock your heart —> unleash your spirit —> self-knowledge —> know how life works —> live with peace, love and harmony
Luckily there is good news… Philip facilitates you in your journey of self-inquiry and self-discovery.!
He does this using an interactive, skills-based, heart-centred brand of education to train and inspire adults (and adolescents) to take charge of their own life, health and destiny, by:
mastering your learning, communication and leadership skills
developing your self-knowledge and holistic health know-how
developing your self-confidence and self-belief
In this way Philip’s teaching brings to students a synergetic and empowering blend of cognitive skills, knowledge and the energetics of self-belief.
We learn to manage our physical, psychological, social and spiritual wellbeing; we build strong, healthy relationships with others; and we actualise our own potential instead of dreaming about it. We are also able to build and cultivate communities, a vital skill in today’s fractured, divided and divisive human world.
Best of all we serve the greater good, develop our communities, and help the whole of humanity evolve into a much fairer, kinder, happier and healthier version of ourselves! Look at this quote by JFK before he was most rudely assassinated, and bear in mind that I have swapped his ‘your country’ for my ‘humanity’…
“Ask not what humanity can do for you, but what you can do for humanity.”
Philip’s Highlights
Instructor on MA TESOL Program For 12 years at Payap University, Chiang Mai, Thailand, Philip trained and inspired over 400 multinational language teachers in the art of motivational learning and teaching, the language and communication skills, and in the empowering and transformational skills of doing classroom inquiry and action research on one’s own teaching.
English Language Teacher Since 1992 Philip has taught about 3500 English language students (adults and adolescents) from 35+ countries in Bangkok and Chiang Mai in Thailand,, Brighton and London in the UK. Students, many for the first time in their life, discover the true and joyful nature of learning, and they become lifelong learners..
MA English Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics King’s College London (2002); dissertation on Learner Motivation and Beliefs, specialist subject Teacher Training and Professional Development.
Diploma and Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adults University of Cambridge (1993 and 1998); being trained to use the student-centred teaching methodology of Task-Based Learning and Communicative Language Teaching.
Author Menu For A Spiritual Revolution: Health Harmony & Happiness (published in 2021); Education Charter and Framework for the Healing of Humankind (unpublished ebook, 2022)
Educational Pioneer, Creator of The Academy for A Spiritual Revolution to bring self-empowering, heart-centred, skills-based education to adults. The whole of humankind suffers from the consequences of a disempowering, disconnecting and dehumanising schooling, and only when parents, educators and all leaders take time out to educate and empower themselves in the learning, communication and self-leadership skills can they then empower the children, and break this intergenerational vicious cycle of disempowering schooling which steals our inner authority and human essence..
Practitioner and Teacher of Holistic Health The medical system is focused on symptomatic illness and disease and the treatment of the symptoms, whereas wellness—cultivating a healthy body, mind and soul, and a harmonious connection to the web of life—can only ever be a self-directed approach to life, entailing a lifelong journey requiring lifelong practice. Philip has learned and self-taught himself the art of holistic health and understanding, has written his book guiding others to do it for themselves, and now includes holistic health and spiritual growth as an integral part of all curriculums, courses and learning materials he creates and teaches.
The foundational purpose of education is to cultivate in the student their own inner authority and human essence.
Educational Ethos
teaching means encouraging, enabling and empowering students to become skilled communicators, leaders and lifelong learners
learning is a 4-stage process of input, intake, output and reflection, engaging both mind and heart
learning must be motivating for both the students and teacher: make it Fun Rewarding, Engaging, Empowering, Dynamic, Organic and Moral (FREEDOM) for all
education is not an end-product of knowledge, it’s a never-ending process of lifelong learning about ourselves, our world and the interconnected nature of everything on Planet Earth’s web of life
education therefore is a synergy of skills, knowledge and the energetics of self-belief
the learning environment is super important, and the heart-centred teacher will create and maintain an emotionally supportive yet cognitively challenging space for all group members to evolve and thrive in a community setting.
Philip in action at Moulmein University, Myanmar
In the words of undergraduate and postgraduate students at Payap University, Chiang Mai (2)
“Philip far exceeded any expectation I had of what a good teacher should be. He asked deep questions which planted the seeds of continued self-development in his students. He taught us to put students first and practised this himself in teaching us.”
“He taught with passion… His classes were a source of joy to us, and we were always looking forward to each one of them.”
“Concerning the teaching of reading, Mr Philip’s instruction totally changed my view.”
“His wisdom, professionalism, calming spirit, gentle sense of humor, wealth of experience, and respect for human dignity have shaped me as a learner and as a university faculty member.”
“I most benefitted from Philip because of his way/style of teaching. He uses his heart and warm empathic humanistic qualities to show a great way to relate to people as people and to teach everyone with love and respect.”
“What I have thought of this class is that it is fun, the atmosphere is really laid back and everybody feels comfortable. I’m a bit shy, I don’t really like speaking but within this class I don’t mind speaking out. I am not afraid of saying something wrong because Philip has created this atmosphere where my opinion seems valuable and he will never make me feel bad.”
“I felt busy and thirsty in almost every period of class because we were highly motivated to engage in all kinds of class activities. In this open system of teaching, we never felt worried about whether our answers are right or wrong, and from the discussion we draw conclusion by ourselves. I’m much amazed at the teacher’s skillful organization of the class.”
“Philip’s non-conventional approach to language learning has truly been an eye-opener for all who have attended his classes, and has personally contributed greatly to my success as an English educator.”
“His teaching methods and skills are so interesting that it has made the course a most enjoyable experience to the students. He is always so patient with the students.”
“Philip’s classes often challenged me to think for myself and question my own ideas and strongly held beliefs. I credit Philip with being one of the few teachers in my life that really inspired me to look at learning as a life long pursuit.”
“All of the 5s I marked were earned. I honestly feel this class was the most practical of all the courses. Also, this was learning by doing every hour of every class. Without a single slide every concept was illustrated at length. Downright exceptional.”
“Another very enjoyable course - all of Philip’s courses have heavily influenced my teaching for the better, and made me think deeply about what I am doing.”
“Very engaging and thought-provoking. Great fun and highly practical, really useful building blocks for highly effective teaching. Thank you!”
“Another inspirational course from Philip that further strengthened the Task-Based Learning procedure in us.”
For full quotes and attributions, you can head over to Philip’s more comprehensive bio here.