Open Secret
Calendar of Events
Rainbow
Body Temple Teahouse, Cafe & Cultural Center
923 C Street San Rafael, California 94901 ~ 415-
457- 4191
www.opensecretbookstore.com
Dedicated to the Sharing of Human Wisdom and beauty
Celebrating 20 Years in the Heart of San Rafael
April to December
2009
Weekly and Monthly Events
Every Monday-Saturday Rainbow Body Chair Massage 12-6pm
The independent massage practitioners from San Rafael’s Elephant Pharmacy can now be found at Open Secret, and they’re waiting to place their healing hands on you! Drop in at lunchtime, mid-day or after-hours for a physical tune-up and an attitude adjustment! A 10- to 30-minute session starts at just $1.10 per minute. While here, get a Tarot reading, shop for a gift, or curl up with a book and a cup of the best hot chai in town! And be sure to enter the monthly drawing for a FREE 30-minute massage with the practitioner of your choice!
For more information about the booth, or to book a therapist or two for your workplace, party or event, contact Gail at 415-312-3112 or go@RiverGuidess.com.
TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOURSELF!
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Aura Soma Reading with Allegra Printz: First Monday of each month 12-5pm Experience the beautiful healing energy and scent of all Natural Sacred Color Energy Oils. Choose the right color for you and find out what it tells you about your current life situation. Additional Tarot cards help you discover and affirm your incarnational soul mission,1- bottle reading $5, 4- bottle consultation with audio tape $40, 4-bottle consultation with audio tape & 1 bottle to take home for healing $65 |
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The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Tuesday 7-9pm The Open Doorway
Come and share an in-depth, no-holds-barred exploration of our true nature and situation; ENLIGHTENMENT ITSELF! |
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Every Wednesday 7pm. Tarot Explorations
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RASA: Creative expression and interconnectedness through the diversity of innovative, experimental and ethnic world dance forms. In this dance class, we will investigate and integrate the essence of the dance traditions of The Middle/Near East, The Gypsy Silk Road, Oriental Belly Dance, India, Afro-Brazilian Samba, & the present day collective influences of the U.S.A.. Rasa conveys a profound unification with nature and the universal human experience. ---------------------------------------------------------- *Wednesdays, 5:00-6:00pm, $10 (Starts July 8th, 2009. No Class 8/19, 9/2, 9/9) |
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First Thursday of every Month 7:30 to 9pm Kirtan with Uma Reed and friends, A jewel among the various spiritual practices associated with Hinduism is kirtan, or devotional chanting. Kirtan is one of the most beautiful and expansive aspects of bhakti yoga — the path of opening the heart through devotion and surrender. The meaning of "yoga" is "union," and the goal of yogic practices is to recognize our true Divine nature. In bhakti yoga, each deity in the the Hindu pantheon is seen as a different aspect or face of the Divine Beloved, and devotional practices are used to bring one closer and closer to the Beloved, until devotee and Beloved become One. Although kirtan involves singing or chanting, it is not necessary to have any musical talent or background, or even a good singing voice. Kirtan is the music of the heart, and it is sung freely from the heart. Traditionally, kirtan is sung in call-and-response form. A leader sings a line or two of a song, and the participants sing it back. The words to kirtan songs are often repetitions of different names of the deities, usually in the Sanskrit language, or in a language derived from Sanskrit. The focus on the deities, and the repetition of their names releases the mind from it’s usual associative patterns, which keep us caught in the cycles of pleasure and pain that come with the ups and downs of everyday life. The vibrations of the Sanskrit sounds expand our hearts and minds beyond their normal limitations, into the depths of Spirit, and the recognition that we are never away from the Beloved.
Open your heart with chanting with Uma. www.umareed.com/ suggested donation $10 |
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Every Friday noon to 4pm Tarot reading with Arisa Victor: 38 years experience.-.$30 for up to 30 min
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Beginning Samba Dance Classes/Rehearsals combo class! Fridays 5pm-6pm |
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Last Friday of each month 7:30 pm $5 Clubhouse fee No one tuned Away Welcome to the Conception of the Enneagram Research Center Dedicated to the Study and Revelations of the Fractal Geometry of Nature and the Science of Light
$5 clubhouse donation No One Turned Away
We invite all who love and study the Living Enneagram to participate in the co-creation of the Enneagram Research Center dedicated to the study and practice of the Enneagram as a tool for human understanding love and harmony.
Sourced from the Ageless Wisdom and as a metaphor of the fall of consciouness into sefl-forgetfulness Sourced from Judiasm and Kabbalah, Esoteric Christianity and Gurdjieff, Rodney Collin and Oscar Ichazo, Claudio Naranjo and Helen Palmer and the Jesuits, and the modern teachers, the Enneagram has entered the main stream world and has become a mystical language that reveals the fractal geometry of nature and the science of light. With the synthesis of quantum physics and the discovery of the Mandelbrot Set, a new chapter of this universal language is emerging that is capable of revealing many of the secrets of the wave and particle facets of consciouness and light and the duality that is woven in the fabric of human living. |
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Healing Sundays noon to 4pm
CHAKRA READINGS with MICHAEL " Michael is a born clairvoyant. In 2001 he was Guided by Spirit to begin doing Chakra Readings as a service to humanity. The readings are a transmission of Light Information- verbalized information particular to each soul's path to God, as well as a subtle transmission of Light (Shakti) to help each soul along the path. He has worked primarily in Indonesia and Europe. For the first time he is now offering these readings publicly in the United States." By Donation |
| By Appointment | SOUL-CENTERED ASTROLOGY READINGS.
The placement of the stars and planets on the day you were born is one of the true and universal mirrors that grounds our self refection, self knowledge and an understanding of cosmos. Every human being is an unbroken transmission of light and life,
a genetic water crystal, that captures facets of the divine personality
and expresses them in the dance of living. These readings are a
living synthesis of Vedic Astrology, Kabbalah and the Enneagram
that helps us understand our NATURAL LIFE PURPOSE, the one the Original
light of God intended.
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| May Events | |
Monday May 4th Teachings with Lama Tsultrim Allione on Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict 6pm-9pm $20 Within the ancient teachings of Tibetan Buddhism lies a method for facing--and dissolving--our fears, illnesses and emotional stumbling blocks. Best-selling author of Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict, Tsultrim Allione will present a practical application of a revolutionary, loving approach developed by a legendary Tibetan yogini, Machig Labdrön, almost 1,000 years ago. She will lead an experiential 5-step process that can help you meet and release what the Tibetans call 'demons'---the longings, fears, obsessions, illnesses and attachments we battle every day. We will learn how our inner and outer demons can be seen, nurtured, and transformed into allies. Through this process, we can foster compassion and love in place of fear and animosity. She will be signing books after the teachings.
Bio: Lama Tsultrim Allione author of National Bestseller: Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict and Women of Wisdom was given the Outstanding Woman in Buddhism award for 2009 and was recognized as an emanation of Machig Labdrön at Machig’s monastery in Tibet, Zangri Khangmar, in 2007. She is known as a profound and lucid teacher, bringing together psychological and spiritual insights. She has been teaching internationally for more than 30 years, is the founder of Tara Mandala Retreat Center (www.taramandala.org).
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TUESDAY MAY 5, 7:00 p.m. Kabir musicians from India in San Rafael! In this unique concert event, award-winning Indian vocalist, Prahlad Singh Tipanya** and ensemble, from Ujjain district, Madhya Pradesh, will perform traditional bhajans (devotional songs sung in the folk register) in honor of the poet-saint Kabir.
U.S. tour organized by Prof. Linda Hess, Stanford* PRAHLAD SINGH TIPANYA lives in Lunyakhedi village in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, near the cities of Dewas and Ujjain. A rural schoolteacher, he began singing in the late 1970s after being attracted by the sound of the tambura, a five-stringed folk instrument, Though singing was not an inherited family tradition, this became a defining moment, for the tambura led him into the world of Kabir. Three decades later, he is a household name in the villages of Malwa. Many give him major credit for the resurgence of Kabir’s oral traditions there. Tipanyaji is now revered as one who propagates with great personal intensity the spiritual and socio-political message of Kabir.. His talent, passion, and insight have caused him to be increasingly recognized as a remarkable exponent of Kabir’s music and meanings. Among many other honors, he received the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 2008. (Sangeet Natak is India’s national academy of performing arts.) Tipanyaji is one of the main artists featured in Shabnam Virmani’s films. A grant for the musicians’ international travel has been generously provided by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. LINDA HESS, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford, writes on the poetry of North India's great 15th and 16th-century "poet-saints," their ongoing popularity and influence, and the modes of performing their works. She has been translating and writing on Kabir for many years and has worked closely with Prahlad Tipanya and Shabnam Virmani since 2002. She is author, with Shukdeo Singh, of The Bijak of Kabir (Oxford University Press, 2002). Her book Singing Emptiness: Kumar Gandharva Performs the Poetry of Kabir is forthcoming from Seagull Books (http://www.seagullindia.com/books/forthenactment.asp), and a book on Kabir oral traditions in rural Madhya Pradesh is in progress. Prof. Hess, the organizer of the 2009 North American tour of "Journeys with Kabir," will introduce these events.
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Wednesday May 6th 7pm Lama Tharchin Rimpoche :
“Khandro Norlha is a form of Guru Rinpoche whose blessings bring wealth of all types, including material support in difficult financial times to people everywhere in the world. This wealth also replenishes the earth's riches and brings balance to damaged elements, helping to heal environmental distress. Through the practice of Khandro Norlha, our short-term obstacles to wealth and abundance are removed, and so are the long-term obstacles to our spiritual practice and the attainment of enlightenment.” --Lama Tharchin Rinpoche
Lama Tharchin Rinpoche is a Dzogchen (Great Perfection) master of Vajrayana Buddhism. He is the tenth lineage holder of the Repkong Ngakpas. This is a family lineage of yogis, or householders, and was the largest community of non-monastic practitioners in Tibet. Rinpoche was trained in His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche's monastery, engaged in five years of solitary retreat and then completed the three year retreat with three others under Dudjom Rinpoche. In addition to Dudjom Rinpoche, his main teachers have been Chatral Rinpoche, Lama Sherab Dorje Rinpoche, and Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche. Rinpoche left Tibet by foot with his family in 1959. He lived in Orissa, India and Kathmandu, Nepal before coming to America in 1984 for health reasons. While in America, Dudjom Rinpoche asked Lama Tharchin Rinpoche to turn the third wheel of Dharma, the teachings of Vajrayana Buddhism. As a householder with two sons, Rinpoche has a wonderfully kind and wise approach to working with Western students. His gentleness and jewel-like qualities embody a living expression of the wisdom and compassion of the Buddhadharma. He is so rare and precious, not only because of his great realization, but also for his vast knowledge of Tibetan ritual arts, music, and dance, as well as the philosophical basis of the Vajrayana teachings. $20 donation |
Friday May 8th 7:30 pm $15 Book event and Workshop
Encompassing the Amazon: Ayahuasca, Vegetalismo and Cultural Survival Susana Bustos, Ph.D. and Robert Tindall (author of The Jaguar that Roams the Mind) spent a year in the Peruvian rainforest immersed in the vanishing culture of Amazonian shamanism. This presentation aims to introduce people to the healing ways of this tradition by combining travel narrative, music, slides and in-depth discussion of some of its main themes: the three pillars of Amazonian medicine (purging, work with psychoactive plants, and diet), the subtle inner logic of indigenous healing, and its efficacy in treatment of addiction and some physical diseases -- including cancer. Finally, this presentation addresses the greater cultural, ecological and translation issues involving the importation of Amazonian healing practices into the West, including the role this ancient medicine can play in healing our contemporary ecological crisis.
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Wednesday May 13th 7pm $20 donation
Gatherings with Vanessa are an opportunity to explore the profound "Your Life, as it is, is the Holy Path…a rare and precious gift, complete in
Vanessa’s teaching and the work of the Amala Foundation extend the profound
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June Events
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Thursday June 4th 7:30 $10 Chanting with Uma and Friends monthly kirtan with Uma and Friends Please join us
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Friday June 5th 6 pm. An Evening with Lama Wangdor
Wangdor Rimpoche is a Tibetan Buddhist monk and teacher (lama). Through decades of solitary meditation, retreats and practices he has achieved the state which Buddhists call realization and is respected worldwide as a venerable teacher and a master of "Direct Mind Perception" (Dzogchen) Meditation. Lama Wangdor has a profound commitment to making Buddhist philosophy and teachings accessible to everyone with a sincere interest. He has taught and given empowerments in Asia, Europe and the United States over the past two decades.
He has spent more than 30 years meditating in the caves first used by the Tibetan saint, Padmasambava, above Lotus Lake (Tsol Pema) in the Himachal Pradesh region of Northern India. In solitary retreat during the early years, he was eventually joined over time by more than 50 cave-dwelling yogis and yoginis who look to him for guidance and support. Beginning in the 1970s, he constructed a monastery near the lake as well as a retreat center on the mountain, available to practitioners of all lineages and nationalities, projects which have taken nearly 20 years to complete.
Wangdor Rimpoche holds both Nyingma and Kagyu Dzogchen/Chagchen lineages and is considered a Remay (ecclectic) teacher. He teaches from heart texts on Dzogchen, the maha-ati and mahamudra yogas which he has received in lineage from Nambla Janchub Dorje, Kunu Rimpoche and Scholars Chonchok Sumon Khenpo of Trungpa Rimpoche's line; Tucksie Rimpoche and Pumdong Key Rimpoche.
Lama Wangdor Rimpoche
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Monday June 8th, Master Choa Kok Sui's Mediation on Twin Hearts FREE
MEDITATION ON TWIN HEARTS (MTH) is an advanced meditation technique aimed at achieving illumination or universal consciousness. It is also an instrument of world and community service that eventually harmonizes the earth by blessing it with loving-kindness, peace, joy and goodwill. Meditation on Twin Hearts is a noble tool that hopes to raise one’s vibrations toward higher states of awareness and expanded levels of consciousness. Presently being practiced globally by tens of thousands of people of different religions and backgrounds, the Meditation on Twin Hearts is extraordinary in its simplicity with amazing and dramatic results. Grand Master Choa Kok Sui, the modern founder of Pranic Healing and Arhatic Yoga and the spiritual teacher and spiritual inspiration to millions of people worldwide introduced this meditation as a powerful tool for spiritual development.
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Thursday June 11th 7pm Jigme Tromge Rinpoche -- Teachings on Pure View
“Appearance, sound and awareness are the realm of deity, mantra and dharmakaya, extending infinitely as the display of the kayas and timeless awareness. Jigme Tromge Rinpoche will offer two evenings of teachings on pure view, the essence of the Vajrayana approach. Extensively explained in classical texts and commentaries, pure view (or pure perception) can nonetheless be a challenging concept because of its vastness, and because of the extraordinary implications for every aspect of our experience and being. In these two talks, Rinpoche will refer to the above verses (known to many people as one of the ‘Prayers Between Sessions’ used during long pujas) to explain clearly what is meant by pure view, and how Vajrayana practitioners can understand this view and aspire to apply it on an ongoing basis. There is no charge for this event; traditionally, however, an offering is made to the lama giving teachings. Jigme Tromge Rinpoche is resident lama of Ati Ling, the Bay Area branch of Chagdud Gonpa Foundation. The son of H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, he was recognized as an incarnation of Tsewang Norbu, emanation of one of the 25 disciples of Guru RInpoche.
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Monday June 15 7pm The Nikkon World of Health Tools and Water Products with Gabrielle Dahms
And I simply have to share what I know with others so that the topic and controversy about good drinking water becomes less confusing.
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Thursday June 18th 7:00 Pm Backstage to Summer Solstice This night, as the Moon prepares to translate the light between Venus and Mars, $25 advance $30 Door
Welcome Allies All (who aspire to be) sane and reverent people, at this time of dire beauty, where everything we do matters, and it’s no time to be alone, but to gather in innumerable ways, back-stage and on, where through the power of our dedication we can broadcast the expanding frequency of the Compassionate Trickster, whose work is to make ever more available a vast repertoire of imaginative responses whereby to compost tyranny (now, there’s a renewable resource) into rich nutrient for the culture of reverent ingenuity we are cultivating. Caroline W. Casey is a Visionary Activist Astrologer, devoted to the principle that Imagination lays the tracks for the Reality Train to follow. Therefore the cultivation of imagination coupled with the capacity for complex story-telling is a key strategy for personal and collective change. As the late great Native American activist, Ruben Snake, used to quip, "Here's a little bit of Native American wisdom for you - if we don't change our direction, we're likely to end up where we're headed." A native of Washington DC Caroline is the last of five children born to an Irish-Democrat-New-Deal Congressman, and a politically active Yankee Swede. She has a degree in Symbol Systems (semiotics) from Brown University, and has studied magic, mythology and social activism all over the world. We are in dedicated cahoots with all doing the work of reverent ingenuity: Shape-shifting from a culture of dominance to one of collaborative cahoots with everything, in innumerable venues: the Visionary Activist Radio Show , the Mythic News, and personal astrological readings.
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Saturday June 20th 3:00-6:00 pm. Caroline Casey Tricksters Subscribers $20 $50 Friends and allies Coyote Village Gathering Trickster Training Council
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Tuesday June 23 7pm DreamingBear's Lovevolution:@! Tue. June 23rd 7pm!!! $15 Come hear the "Rumi & Hafiz of our time "If you'd like to experience a living combination of Spaulding Gray, Rumi, Jack Kerouac, Robin Williams, Shel Silverstien, Michael Talbot and Thich Nhat Han- you owe it to yourself to see Dreaming Bear." Frank Marino ~Elevate Films~ DreamingBear's divine downloads activate dormant DNA codes into the new exponential expansion that opens extra dimensions in internal technologies, & creates an atmosphere of spiritual romance, elevation of ecstasy, & explosive spontaneous combustion of laughter & joy! Joined by world class musician Valarian, whose muic literally accesses Lumerian & Atlantian vibrations to launch the heart into another atmosphere of akashic (outside of space time) atunemnet! Also Gary Malkin of Chant Wave & Wisdom of the World series as special musical guest. Who is Dreaming Bear?
He is a spiritual terrorist of tenderness who is dropping quark-sized Love-bombs in such quantities that the country is on red-alert! He's heading the new Lovelution; and he is at large! If you'd like to experience a living combination of Spaulding Gray, Rumi, Jack Kerouac, Robin Williams, Shel Silverstien, Michael Talbot and Thich Nhat Han- you owe it to yourself to see Dreaming Bear. |
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Wednesday June 24th 7pm. Tarot Explorations
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Friday June 26th 7:30 pm $15 Saturday !1:00 am to 6pm. $125 advance by June 13th $150 after June 13th
The Alchemy of Internal Bliss Kunlun Nei Gung Spontaneous Bliss & Re-Enlightenment With Aine Carlisle One Hour of Kunlun Nei Gung is Equivalent to One hundred Years of Sitting Meditation Practice. Powerful spiritual teachings have been held secret throughout our history. Rare practices have been kept hidden in monasteries and temples only to benefit a few people in each generation, until now. I offer you some of the simplest most powerful techniques for spiritual development ever taught on Earth. I give you the tools needed for your own direct connection to Source. Kunlun Nei Gung is one such teaching and now I bring it to you. Join me for a unique one day intensive experiential workshop where you fully embody and clearly feel the alchemy of your own internal ecstatic bliss. Easy, direct and grounded. Aine Carlisle will guide you in this life changing practice.
Bio Aine Carlisle has lived a most extraordinary, blessed and unique life. From living with a Tibetan Buddhist Nun at the foot of the Sacred Himalayan Mountains and studying Sacred Healing Arts to sitting with Teachers in the wilds of Australia. She was born in Northern Ireland and her awareness of the nature of suffering in the world became the fuel which ignited the passion which propelled her forward, at warp speed, to dedicate her life to seeking a means for finding inner peace, love, connectedness and joy. This passion for spiritual and personal evolution took her from Ireland at a young age to live and study with many world renowned masters of various traditions all over the planet and beyond. Aine is passionate about sharing her wisdom, knowledge, insights and all that she has learned on her journey thus far. Aine is a powerful motivational speaker, and storyteller as well as a highly gifted intuitive counselor
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Celebration of Rasa: Summer Soltice Show Pre-Show Festivities (4pm-6pm):
* Art Reception with Paintings & Drawings by Justyn Zolli, Visual Artist (http://www.JustynZolli.com). Wine and cheese served. Beautiful art for sale. Raffle: Win a piece of original art by Justyn Zolli! $5.00 per raffle ticket. * Vegetarian Dinner served by OM Restaurant. (http://om-indian-san-rafael.eat24hour.com.) $10/plate. Dinner served 4-6pm only. * Organic Raw Nut Milk Elixirs by Riikka Rajamaki, MylkMade, 415 455 8924. Show Festivities (6:30pm-9:30pm):
* Art Opening, Raffle, Henna, Massage, Drinks, Desserts all night long! |
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Carmen Gampa Yay! School's out! Mom, I'm home! Let your children feel welcome at home, and inspire them towards meaningful activities by re-arranging some basic things around the house and creating "YES" environments. In this mini-workshop, you will learn how to prepare play spaces intentionally, and how to set safe boundaries. Receive information on age-appropriate hands-on learning materials developed to learn practical and academic skills while playing. As you know, learning is not limited to school hours...Mini-workshop 7.30pm-9pm, $10 Carmen Gamper has been promoting self-directed learning for many years. After her degree in literature/linguistics and pedagogy, she completed a Montessori teacher training with Klaus- Dieter Caul and studied intensively with Rebeca and Mauricio Wild, two of the world's foremost promoters of active learning. She was director of two alternative schools in Merano (Italy) and in Wörgl (Austria). She is author of the "Sacred Child Companion" and founder of New Learning Culture.
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Tuesday June 30th 7pm.
Compassionate Communication With Lori Grace $15 In the year 2000, Scott was introduced to NVC by Lori Grace. He has embraced NVC as a lifelong practice, and has been actively studying and facilitating NVC. Scott has produced video and DVD projects for Dr. Marshall Rosenberg (the founder of NVC), and most recently with Robert Gonzales (a popular NVC teacher). Scott also facilitates classes, workshops and practice groups in the area of COMPASSIONATE COMMUNICATION, which includes his understanding of NVC. His workshops have been well attended throughout the Hawaiian Islands, Southern and Northern California, and several other states. |
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| July Events | |
July 4th 1989 - July 4th 2009 Celebrating 20 Years in the Heart of San Rafael Join Us for the Festivities
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Wednesday July 1st 7Pm-10Pm
Kirtan Workshop with Krishna Das
$45 Advance $50 Door Chanting (Kirtan) is a part of the path of Devotional Yoga. When we see the beauty of our own being we are seeing the beauty of the Being that is the One of which we are all a part. And when we turn towards that One, love is the natural reaction of the heart. God or Guru is an endless ocean of love truth and presence. First we may hear the distant roar of the crashing waves of the ocean and we're drawn to that sound. As we get closer, we can smell the ocean air and taste the sweet moisture. When we reach the beach and see the ocean for the first time, we're transfixed by the vastness and Beauty. We run and we dive in and enjoy the freedom that comes from this ecstasy. Finally we merge with that ocean of love and somehow find ourselves back on the shore, returning to ourselves so that we can share the experience with others. Those that have returned have given us these Names of God. These Names are the sound of the surf of that Ocean of Love. They hold the power to help us find our way back to that ocean. We don't have to create anything; we don't have to manufacture any emotions or feelings. We can't make it happen. It already is. All we have to do is Remember. Everyone has their own path to this beach, to the Ocean, but we all wind up in the same place. There is only one...One. The following is an excerpt from 'Pilgrim of the Heart' audio series by Krishna Das: "The words of these chants are called the divine names and they come from a place that's deeper than our hearts and our thoughts, deeper than the mind. And so as we sing them they turn us towards ourselves, into ourselves. They bring us in, and as we offer ourselves into the experience, the experience changes us. These chants have no meaning other than the experience that we have by doing them. They come from the Hindu tradition, but it's not about being a Hindu, or believing anything in advance. It's just about doing it, and experiencing. Nothing to join, you just sit down and sing."
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Wednesday July 1st 7pm. Tarot Explorations
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Thursday July 2nd 7:30 to 9pm Kirtan with Uma Reed and friends, A jewel among the various spiritual practices associated with Hinduism is kirtan, or devotional chanting. Kirtan is one of the most beautiful and expansive aspects of bhakti yoga — the path of opening the heart through devotion and surrender. The meaning of "yoga" is "union," and the goal of yogic practices is to recognize our true Divine nature. In bhakti yoga, each deity in the the Hindu pantheon is seen as a different aspect or face of the Divine Beloved, and devotional practices are used to bring one closer and closer to the Beloved, until devotee and Beloved become One. Although kirtan involves singing or chanting, it is not necessary to have any musical talent or background, or even a good singing voice. Kirtan is the music of the heart, and it is sung freely from the heart. Traditionally, kirtan is sung in call-and-response form. A leader sings a line or two of a song, and the participants sing it back. The words to kirtan songs are often repetitions of different names of the deities, usually in the Sanskrit language, or in a language derived from Sanskrit. The focus on the deities, and the repetition of their names releases the mind from it’s usual associative patterns, which keep us caught in the cycles of pleasure and pain that come with the ups and downs of everyday life. The vibrations of the Sanskrit sounds expand our hearts and minds beyond their normal limitations, into the depths of Spirit, and the recognition that we are never away from the Beloved.
Open your heart with chanting with Uma. www.umareed.com/ suggested donation $10 |
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Saturday July 4th 8PM. Join Us For Our 20th Anniversary
* Vegetarian Dinner served by Radience Restaurant. $10/plate. Dinner served 5-7:30 pm.
Featuring
Kirtan, Dance and The Story of Open Secret with Jai Uttal, Nubia Teixeira, Krisztina, and Friends,
Celebrate Open Secret Book, Music, and World Art Gallery and the Rainbow Body Cultural Center, 20 Years in the Heart of San Rafael
$25 Advance $30 Door
Jai Uttal is a pioneer in the world music community. A student of India’s Ali Akbar Khan and master teacher Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Uttal’s blend of Eastern and Western sound has put his music at the forefront of the world fusion movement. His many albums include Beggars and Saints, Shiva Station, and the Grammy-nominated Mondo Rama. jaiuttal.com Love can take many forms—the physical, the emotional, the spiritual among them. Each can stand alone in a beautiful way, but when the myriad types of love entwine, truly revelatory things can occur—as they do throughout Thunder Love, the long-awaited new album by world music voyager Jai Uttal.
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Sunday July 5th 2-4pm Shambhala Healing tools $10 Introducing the Shambhala Healing Tools The Shambhala Healing Tools™ by Buddha Maitreya, the incarnation of Buddha Maitreya, are a form of energetic, vibrational medicine that helps a person awaken their Soul or 'Buddha Nature', the divine enlightened essence within all beings and things. Simply used in meditation and healing, Buddha Maitreya's work is less about a religion but more about helping others heal themselves, make positive changes and enjoy a better way of life.
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Wednesday July 8th 7pm. Tarot Explorations
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Tuesday July 7th 7pm Book Event: A New book, "Instilling Hope, Healing Fear" with author Vijaya Stallings Instilling Hope, Healing Fear is a sweet practical guide for each of us to heal fear and gain hope and optimism in our lives. It is fear that separates the drop from the ocean. The moment the drop knows he or she is the ocean, then the drop becomes the ocean. This transformation of the drop into the ocean is possible by following the Ayurvedic principles discussed in this book. Fear creates stress, anxiety and disease of the mind, body and spirit. And fear is Dr. Paul Haider -- Minister and Author of the Books "Relax into Success" & "21 Ways to Live a Stress Free Life…in Only 21 days"
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Thursday July 9th
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Friday July 10th 7:00 Birth As We Know It A Film on a Revolutionary Approach to Human Birth $10 By Elena Tonetti BIRTH AS WE KNOW IT
Experience Birth As We Know It in this groundbreaking new film featuring 11 births, all completely unique and all natural. Birth As We Know It is a treat for both the heart and mind, comfortably intertwined on a path toward realizing the full potential of birth. A new style of documentary film creates a refreshing arena for the story of Birth to unfold. A triumphant orchestration of stunning cinematography, empowering instrumentation, and a calming narrative, warms our hearts as we are reminded of the beauty of Life, and awakened to the ultimate possibilities of Birth! more... Question and Answers with the film maker |
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Saturday and Sunday, July 11th and 12th 11am to 6pm Birthshop with Elena Tonetti
BIRTH INTO BEING The 'Birth Into Being' workshops are not only for pregnant women. They are beneficial for anyone born into less then optimal circumstances who would now like to change the way their traumatic formative period has impacted their present adult life. View a clip from a previous workshop: "I feel I have learned during this 10 days of apprenticeship training more than in the last 20 years! Finally I am able to get rid of old patterns and 'reinvent' myself. I have also experienced a tremendous amount of support and wisdom from all of the workshop participants, whose experience was generously shared with me - it was like having 17 teachers available for myself all 24 hours for ten days. My big "Thank you" to everyone who was present". Limbic Imprint re-coding invokes our emotional and physical memory of Bliss, unlocking the mysteries of our behaviors and realigning our actions with our emotions and desires. You too can enjoy the delicious, juicy experience of comfortably owning a body, being fully engaged in life, and loving it! Twenty five years of thorough research in the field of prenatal psychology show undoubtedly a direct correlation between the way we were born and our subconscious behavioral and emotional patterns- defining the quality of our experience of being in the body throughout our entire life. We come into this world wide-open to receive love. When we receive it as our first primal experience, our nervous system is limbically imprinted, "programmed" with the undeniable rightness of being. Being held in mother's loving arms and seeing the great joy in father's eyes provides us with the natural sense of bliss and security; it sets the world as the right place for us to be in. If our first impressions of being in the body are anything less than loving, then that "anything" imprints as a valid experience of love. It is immediately coded into our nervous system as a "comfort zone," acting as a surrogate for the love and nurturing, regardless of how painful it actually was. Statistically, 95% of births in the US are rated as "traumatic". As adults, we unconsciously re-create the conditions that were imprinted at birth. But it turns out it's not very difficult to create a brand new Limbic Imprint. It's very effective instead of trying to fix the old "programming" (by re-living the initial shock of being born) - just acquire a whole new vivid, rich, wonderful and sweet birth experience. Birthshop participants can have an actual in-the-body experience of being conceived, gestated and born in love and ecstasy. The Birthshops combine lecture/exercise/specific movement/specific breathing/ role-playing - it's very entertaining!
Natural birth does require some preparation nowadays, for attention to the art of birthing has been in decline for many generations. In tribal life it was supposed to be a mother's gift to her daughter, a natural obvious transmission. But with the modern day stress level and easy access to drugs, in the US 95% of births are considered traumatic. 50% rated as moderate trauma, 45% of them are rated as severely traumatic. Our species has an amazing built-in mechanism for procreation. Our bodies are designed to reproduce naturally, with grace and ease. To be able to relax in a bath tub during labor was found extremely helpful by millions of women. However, waterbirth by itself does not guarantee the degree of consciousness, of non-trauma, that we desire and deserve. We, as spiritual beings, have the capacity to experience the transformative power of birth that connects us with deeper understanding of life. When a new human being that did not exist before, enters into our world, the veil separating our reality from the Great Unseen becomes very transparent for a short period of time. This gives us an opportunity to experience, first hand, the ecstatic bliss of ONENESS with all, a state in which separation does not exist, where Love prevails. When Love is an integral part of the birthing field, a woman has access to the power of creation that is working through her. The more power there is in her field the less force she will need to use, because Love is a highly coherent field. And visa versa: the less power she has, the more force it would require to deliver a baby. In the beginning every one of us was a tiny infant - speechless, vulnerable, in desperate need of love and care. In our soft, warm hands we are holding the keys to the thriving of our species! We have the capacity to enhance the quality of life in one generation through bringing our loving, conscious awareness into our people-making practices. Birth is a powerful initiation, a rite of passage for all involved, which enables us to create a beautiful Life on this planet. It is our birthright!" Elena Tonetti-Vladimirova, A Russian-born visionary who after 25 years of intense soul-searching is now sharing her insights on the mechanisms and tools for creating our own reality. Elena had her first formal training in Russia at the College of Arts in theater. Since 1982 working closely with the waterbirth pioneer Igor Charkovsky, she moved on to organizing birth camps at At the same time she was working wholeheartedly as a facilitator in business seminars called "Games", that were extremely effective in bringing economic changes to the USSR. Also, she was simultaneously involved in "Citizen Diplomacy" - an underground organization created with the purpose of putting an end to the Cold War. Elena has a beautiful teenage daughter, who is a constant source of her mom's inspiration. :) Well, now allow me to introduce myself informally. I am a Russian woman with an Italian last name, living in California… My journey - the story of my own healing - has become the poster child for my work. I graduated from the College of Arts in Russia in 1980 as an actor. After working in a theater for 9 months I had a powerful realization that all my training in performing arts was about my skills to act as somebody else. It left me with no identity of my own! When I was not playing something I was not, I did not know who I was! Throughout the years of my theater school I was taught that it takes a lot of talent to pretend to be somebody else. The realization that happened to me was that it takes a lot more of a talent to stop pretending. I left the stage and never looked back.
Monday July 13 7pm The Nikkon World of Health Tools and Water Products with Gabrielle Dahms
And I simply have to share what I know with others so that the topic and controversy about good drinking water becomes less confusing.
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Master Choa Kok Sui's Mediation on Twin Hearts FREE
MEDITATION ON TWIN HEARTS (MTH) is an advanced meditation technique aimed at achieving illumination or universal consciousness. It is also an instrument of world and community service that eventually harmonizes the earth by blessing it with loving-kindness, peace, joy and goodwill. Meditation on Twin Hearts is a noble tool that hopes to raise one’s vibrations toward higher states of awareness and expanded levels of consciousness. Presently being practiced globally by tens of thousands of people of different religions and backgrounds, the Meditation on Twin Hearts is extraordinary in its simplicity with amazing and dramatic results. Grand Master Choa Kok Sui, the modern founder of Pranic Healing and Arhatic Yoga and the spiritual teacher and spiritual inspiration to millions of people worldwide introduced this meditation as a powerful tool for spiritual development. |
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Tuesday July 14th 6pm Free Legal Advice With Duane Light Join Duane for one-hour talk on Holistic Law for individuals, businesses, nonprofits and communities. and a couple of hours of free 15-20 legal consultations for people
ABOUT DUANE LIGHT, HOLISTIC LAWYER, PEACE COUNSEL, MEDIATOR A peace-based approach to the law will help you: * make better decisions * save time and money * reduce stress * create inspiring outcomes I am a licensed California attorney with 17 years' experience in a wide variety of civil law areas. My clients are nonprofits, businesses, and individuals who wish to bring their highest values and principles to their legal needs. My primary focus in life is recognizing and living from, as often as possible, the deep peace that rests in the core of my being. I counsel and support my clients in finding this place of peace. From this peaceful space all is accepted - including anything we may be feeling emotionally. The more we are able to rest in acceptance of all that we are, the less we feel compelled to act out of anger, fear, revenge, etc. We honor our emotions without having to allow them to run our lives. This peaceful perspective brings us to a place of caring for ourselves and then for everyone, even those whom we might have thought of as "enemies." Bringing my peace and insight, and assisting you to find the same, we create an effective and compassionate path forward in fulfilling your legal and spiritual goals. |
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Wednesday July 15th 7pm. Tarot Explorations
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Thursday July 16th
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Thursday July 16th 7pm
Brent will be discussing and reading from his book, Evolutionary Education: Moving Beyond Our Competitive Compulsion. Brent has been studying the human condition for over 40 years, both appalled and confused by our species inhumanity. He has been searching for solutions and finally discovered one through education. From his extensive experience teaching the highly competitive game of tennis for 35 years, Brent saw that by removing competition from the learning process students learn to be partners wanting to help each other achieve their potential, rather than opponents trying to beat each other down. Our species’ adversarial approach to education is at the core of our universal problems. By teaching in a competitive environment we learn to see others as adversaries rather than friends. Evolutionary Education challenges the very foundation of our system. Come hear Brent’s vision for an excellence based, non-competitive learning system that will help lead our species out of its evolutionary rut toward a new era of cooperation, transcendence, peace, and joy.
For four decades,Brent Zeller has devoted his life to the study of learning, and of that fabled state called "the zone." He has done extensive research as a student, a teacher, an athlete, a muscian, and through the study of philosophy, psychology, learning theory, and history. He played tournamtnet level tennis for eighteen years, attaining rankings locally, statewide, and regionally. As a tennis instructor since 1974, he has worked with thousands of people, logging over 20,000 hours of on court observation. Since 1992, through his non-competitive evolutionary tennis program, Effortless Tennis, he has taught nearly a thousand people how to enjoy playing without competing, and how to succeed in a competitive environment if that is their desire. His articles on the zone and non-competitive learning have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, The Marin Independent Journal, Inside Tennis Magazine, The Point Reyes Light, and various Internet websites. He has also spoken at regional and national conferences of the United States Professional Tennis Association, of which he has been a member of since 1975. |
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Friday July 17th An Evening with PanGaia 7:30 pm. $15
PanGaia presents a multi-sensory, multi-lingual blend of shamanic poetry accompained by ancient instruments. PanGaia creations come out of the necessity and urgency for the protection of the Earth. We want to give voice to what the earth would say if she could speak in human language.
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Saturday July 18th 7:30 pm $15 “From ancient Egypt to today’s cabarets and concert halls
Bellydance troupes from Marin County and the Bay Area present a caravan of exotic music, brilliant costumes, and innovative and dynamic dance choreography. This sparkling evening of dance and musical entertainment features a sampling of tribal, ethnic, cabaret and fusion style bellydance performances. Join SHERRY, TROUPE ALA NAR, and the RISING STARS, along with exciting guest troupes and solo dancers including: RAKS TERAYZ, TROUPE DHYANIS, JOWEH, THE VALKYRIES, WILDCARD BELLYDANCE, SHIMMY AMOUR , and more. Tickets: $15 (advance ticket purchase encouraged. Events by this producer have sold out in the past). Call Richard at (415)388-6683. Visit InnerRythmDance.com. |
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Kali Puja A Special Worship of the Divine Mother Monday July 22nd 7:30 pm.
A Rare Opportunity to Experience Authentic Worship from one of the world's most ecstatic traditions
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Wednesday July 21st 7pm. Tarot Explorations
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Thursday July 23rd
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Saturday July 25th
The Tibetan Bell Experience
There is another aspect to the ceremony. It is becoming widely accepted that pure sound tones and harmonics have a positive and penetrating impact upon a person's natural healing system. Karma has developed his collection of instruments and his ceremony with this understanding as his guide. When experiencing the ceremony in an intimate setting, one really feels the Longhorn and the Bowls move the energy of the lower chakras. The Bells move the heart and middle chakras. The Tingsha and Conch Shells stimulate the crown and higher chakras. Thus, the journey to the highlands is also a journey through the chakras. One of the outstanding qualities of Karma's Bell Set is its harmonic attunement. Karma has sifted through nearly five thousand bowls over a period of twenty-six years to accumulate twenty-four bowls. These were selected for their purity and clarity of sound, sustained resonance, and harmonic blending or pairing with the other bowls within the set. The bowls, bells, and tingsha are handmade, using from five through twelve metals, including meteorite. The varying thickness of the metals produces a variety of tones and harmonics, within each bowl. When the bowls are played in runs or struck as pairs, their harmonics penetrate the physical and subtle bodies of the listeners. The audience easily relaxes into a natural state of meditation. Karma's mastery of circular breathing, which he applies to the Longhorn, Native American Flute, and Conch Shells, allows him to bring the pure tones of each instrument to the listener in an unbroken stream of sound for twenty or more minuets. When he plays the Longhorn at fairs and expos, people are drawn from all corners of the grounds, as metal is drawn to the magnet, to experience the power and variety of tones, which Karma achieves. In an enclosed setting, the sound is even more remarkable. When in San Francisco, Karma performs the Tibetan Bell Experience in his studio three times each week, on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. One experiences the ceremony in candlelight, in a warm, intimate setting, bathed in the rich sound of the bells. People have been so moved by these ceremonies that they have returned, bringing members of their families and communities with them. They have also brought Karma to play background music for their own celebrations — birthdays, weddings, and rites of passage. He's been invited to play for the Kalachakra Mandala installation at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, as background for a Tibetan exhibit in the Crocker Museum in Georgia, as background for meditations, whole life expos, and numerous benefits. And, his music is extensively used as background for meditation, yoga, t'ai chi, massage, and births. |
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Wednesday July 29th 7pm. Tarot Explorations
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Thursday July 30th
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| August Events | |
Kirtan with Nina Lakshmi and Friends August 1st 7:30 pm. Kirtan! Nina Lakshmi
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The 14th Annual Kali Puja with the Priests form Kali Temple in India Friday Aug 28th 6:00 Pm Kali Puja A Special Worship of the Divine Mother
A Rare Opportunity to Experience Authentic Worship from one of the world's most ecstatic traditions
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| Sunday August 9, 2-5 pm. H.E.Dong Bao Zhong Ba Tulku Rinpoche H.E.Dong Bao Zhong Ba Tulku Rinpoche will teach us “Green Tara” that |
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Monday August 9th 7pm The Nikkon World of Health Tools and Water Products with Gabrielle Dahms
And I simply have to share what I know with others so that the topic and controversy about good drinking water becomes less confusing.
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Master Choa Kok Sui's Mediation on Twin Hearts FREE
MEDITATION ON TWIN HEARTS (MTH) is an advanced meditation technique aimed at achieving illumination or universal consciousness. It is also an instrument of world and community service that eventually harmonizes the earth by blessing it with loving-kindness, peace, joy and goodwill. Meditation on Twin Hearts is a noble tool that hopes to raise one’s vibrations toward higher states of awareness and expanded levels of consciousness. Presently being practiced globally by tens of thousands of people of different religions and backgrounds, the Meditation on Twin Hearts is extraordinary in its simplicity with amazing and dramatic results. Grand Master Choa Kok Sui, the modern founder of Pranic Healing and Arhatic Yoga and the spiritual teacher and spiritual inspiration to millions of people worldwide introduced this meditation as a powerful tool for spiritual development. |
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Tuesday August 11th 7:00 pm *Yoni Speak: *An Evening of Channeled Wisdom and Guidance from the Deep Feminine suggested donation $10-25
*Yoni is the sacred Sanskrit name for the archetype of Deep Feminine Wisdom embodied in the Vagina.* When was the last time you really listened to Her? Mellissa Seaman, a Stanford-educated former attorney turned shamanic priestess, has a gift for channeling the archetypical voice of Yoni. She holds a safe space for channeled transmission and information, discussion, breath, and energy practices while creating a fun, lively space for women to connect as sisters and friends. This evening experience may be especially useful for women who experience feminine health issues like fibroids, diminished sexual vitality, low fertility, or sexual frustration, as well as any woman who wants to connect more deeply with her feminine power and wisdom. |
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Master Choa Kok Sui's Mediation on Twin Hearts FREE
MEDITATION ON TWIN HEARTS (MTH) is an advanced meditation technique aimed at achieving illumination or universal consciousness. It is also an instrument of world and community service that eventually harmonizes the earth by blessing it with loving-kindness, peace, joy and goodwill. Meditation on Twin Hearts is a noble tool that hopes to raise one’s vibrations toward higher states of awareness and expanded levels of consciousness. Presently being practiced globally by tens of thousands of people of different religions and backgrounds, the Meditation on Twin Hearts is extraordinary in its simplicity with amazing and dramatic results. Grand Master Choa Kok Sui, the modern founder of Pranic Healing and Arhatic Yoga and the spiritual teacher and spiritual inspiration to millions of people worldwide introduced this meditation as a powerful tool for spiritual development. |
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| September Events | |
Martin Prechtel $20 Tickets go on sale Jul 10th
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7:00 pm Saturday & Sunday 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Jyotiña and Birth Psychology: Discover how to predict birth trauma from a horoscope. With this knowledge you will be in a position to illuminate and navigate an uncharted area of many individual’s lives. Through uncovering this information, you can help others in their pursuit of a more fulfilling life based on self understanding. Very importantly, this knowledge immensely enhances your understanding of conscious and unconscious motivations, and subsequent strategies typically invoked as seen through the lens of their horoscope. Steven Highburger presents his deep research on principles taught privately by Hart deFouw on how to recognize birth trauma in a horoscope and use its implications for powerful horoscope interpretation.
This seminar is open to anyone with a background in the basic building blocks of Jyotiña: Räsi, Bhäva’s, Grahas, Dignities, Aspects and Daçäs. Dates: September 11th, 12th & 13th, 2009 Time: Friday 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Steven has been deeply immersed in Vedic studies for 12 years and is a teacher of Jyotisha (Vedic Astrology), Ayurveda ( India’s indigenous medicine) and Sanskrit at the Vedic Vidya Institute in San Rafael, CA under the tutelage of the renowned Hart deFouw. Steven is also a certified teacher and tutor from A.C.V.A. (American College of Vedic Astrology). He is a graduate of The Ayurvedic Institute of New Mexico where he studied classical Ayurveda under the direction of Dr. Vasant Lad and his university degree is in philosophy. He has taught Jyotisha, Ayurveda and Vedic philosophy to both students and teachers of yoga in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Steven maintains a busy private practice in San Rafael, CA. Highburger@aol.com
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Monday September 14th 7pm The Nikkon World of Health Tools and Water Products with Gabrielle Dahms
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Tuesday September 15th 7:00 pm *Yoni Speak: *An Evening of Channeled Wisdom and Guidance from the Deep Feminine suggested donation $10-25
*Yoni is the sacred Sanskrit name for the archetype of Deep Feminine Wisdom embodied in the Vagina.* When was the last time you really listened to Her? Mellissa Seaman, a Stanford-educated former attorney turned shamanic priestess, has a gift for channeling the archetypical voice of Yoni. She holds a safe space for channeled transmission and information, discussion, breath, and energy practices while creating a fun, lively space for women to connect as sisters and friends. This evening experience may be especially useful for women who experience feminine health issues like fibroids, diminished sexual vitality, low fertility, or sexual frustration, as well as any woman who wants to connect more deeply with her feminine power and wisdom. |
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| October Events | |
Friday, October 2nd 7:30 pm. "The Neverending I" An evening with Karl Renz $15 “For being what you are, neither work nor development is required. Meeting Karl Renz will leave you with a radically different sense of yourself. He Karl Renz is originally from the Lower Saxony area of Germany. He
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Monday October 5th 7pm The Nikkon World of Health Tools and Water Products with Gabrielle Dahms
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November Events
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| December Events | |
Saturday and Sunday December 5th and 6th Open Secret Is proud to present our annual meeting with Kryon
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In this seminar you will learn: 
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