My Recommendations
Nov 23, 2011 In Person Interfaith Thanksgiving Eve Service
I highly recommend this service on the night before Thanksgiving to those who are seeking to balance the upcoming shopping, feasting and football with spiritual sustenance. Gratitude … the giving of thanks … is a practice that exists across cultures and faiths and can serve as a way to bring people together. This particular service embodies that reality as you will have a chance to hear contributions from a Muslim imam, Catholic priest, Jewish rabbi, Methodist reverend … and the list continues to grow! I am hoping that the Buddhist teacher who joined the group last year, but had to miss the service due to illness, will be able to contribute to the celebration...
Read MoreNov 4-6, 2011 In Person Jade Goddess Workshop with Saida Desilets
I’ve now done Saida Desilets’ workshop twice, and have signed up to take it again. She definitely fits my definition of a master teacher who walks her talk! For the Overworked Overwhelmed Overachiever woman, Saida’s Live Your Bliss: Jade Goddess workshop and associated practices are a wonderful antidote to the stress that we accumulate in our bodies. Saida teaches ancient Qi Gong healing practices that involve breath, movement and focused awareness (that’s the parallel with yoga therapy) with a compassionate, playful, present-moment attitude (that’s the parallel with meditation). Saida has a deep academic, experiential and intuitive understanding of women as...
Read MoreOct 19, 2011 In Person Workshop: Building A Strong CommUnity
You already know about my passion for the Social Justice Fund for Ventura County (SJF), which led to my husband and I creating a matching gift challenge earlier this year. Face it, I’m a solution seeker, who gets fed up of hearing about the same problems repeatedly from the media. I seek out innovative thinkers, approaches, and solutions that strive to fix the problem at the source, rather than apply larger and larger bandages. I never dreamt that I would discover a network of organizations, with that same perspective, right here in my backyard. With each live encounter, I leave energized and inspired, having learned some cold hard facts, while hearing from people...
Read MoreNov 5-6, 2011 In Person Seminar with Jack Kornfield
A few years ago, I had the pleasure of hearing Jack Kornfield speak live. In a room full of both therapists, psychologists and meditators (and some who are all three), Jack held us spell bound for a full day as he described the bridge between mindfulness meditation, neuroplasticity and psychotherapy through experiences, examples and information. I would not have dreamt it possible, had I not experienced it for myself, but you could hear a pin drop as people who were skeptical were able to drop into that meditative quiet. Jack Kornfield is another one of those master teachers who serves as a well-informed bridge for people who think they cannot meditate. Well-informed...
Read MoreSept 27, 2011 On-Line 6 Weeks with Pema Chödrön
I have not had the pleasure to hear Pema Chödrön live, but have read her articles and seen videos of talks that she has given. I find her to be a very grounded, humorous, and pragmatic teacher. She has a unique ability to take hard to comprehend concepts from Buddhist meditation and guide you on how they relate to living a more peaceful, balanceful, easeful life in modern times. She epitomizes a master teacher for me because she teaches from her own experience and has a foot planted firmly in the concepts and how they apply to modern life. Here is an amazing opportunity to join with a group of people committed to going deeper into the Four Immeasurables, specific...
Read MoreSept 19, 2011 On-Line 9 Weeks with Marshall Rosenberg (Nonviolent Communication)
As I write this blog post, directly after the Thich Nhat Hanh one, I’m appreciating how blessed I’ve been to be able to hear such masterful teachers of mindfulness and embodiment speak live … to be able to study at the feet of the masters. For the past 2 years, Marshall Rosenberg, the brilliant founder of Nonviolent Communication, curtailed his in-person talks which he used to do all over the world. I’ve heard that his health has been fragile, which has informed his travel schedule. So here is a unique and ideal opportunity to learn from the master from the comfort of your own home! I’ve been practicing Nonviolent Communication for 5 years...
Read More2012 Tapping World Summit with Nick Ortner
