Join musicians Erica & Nailah on a sonic journey into restoration and self discovery. Guided by the healing vibrations of live harp, vocal harmonies, and Tibetan singing bowls, participants will explore realms of inner sanctity and serenity through meditation. All sounds and vibrations during this 50 minute immersion will be tuned down to 432 hz; a frequency found in nature, that is thought to create a sacred resonance within our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies. Come and submerge yourself in a sea of rejuvenating sound, and emerge saturated in the elixir of your own light. 

Erica Rey is a Latinx certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and yoga instructor who also offers herbal medicine, bodywork, and doula services. She is passionate about healing and is committed to accessibility and intentionality that allow these practices to be tools of resilience and sustainability for our communities. Erica holds a BA in World Arts and Cultures from UCLA, an Ayurvedic Wellness Counselor certification from Kerala Ayurveda Academy, Certified Doula and Community Birthworker training from Matriz Birthwork and Ayurvedic Wellness Practitioner and Herbal Medicine degrees from Southern California University of Health Sciences. Erica guides yoga at People's Yoga and offers Ayurvedic consultations and yoga at WeSpark Cancer Support Center.

In this two-part, interactive webinar we’ll investigate the central philosophical teachings of Mahayana Buddhism and how they are applicable to our spiritual lives.  Drawing on fifteen years of translation and study of Nagarjuna’s master text, Lama Marut will lay out a set of simple arguments that get to the heart of the doctrines of emptiness and interdependence.  The keys to understanding these deep insights into the nature of reality need not be overly complicated and putting them into practice results in an “open, spacious, and relaxed” state of mind we can bring to even the most difficult of circumstances

Lama Marut (a.k.a. Brian K. Smith) is extensively trained in the spiritual traditions of India and Tibetan Buddhism.  He holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Religion and taught for over two decades in the academic world, first at Columbia University and later at the University of California, where he retired as Professor Emeritus in 2004.  

He has served for the past seventeen years as a spiritual teacher to students around the world, and is currently the Spiritual Director for the Inner Way, LA, center in Los Angeles.“

In addition to several scholarly studies and translations based on Sanskrit materials, he is the author of the popular and award-winning book, A Spiritual Renegade’s Guide to the Good Life and of Be Nobody (both published by Beyond Words).  His audio and video podcasts reach hundreds of thousands of people around the globe.

With his unique mixture of erudition and earthiness, intensity and humor, conviction and openness, Lama Marut’s message is easily accessible and potentially life changing.

Drop into a Girlie Stories Gathering to join an instant community of womyn-identifying folks empowering themselves and each other via personal storytelling! 

Every last Saturday of the month, we'll check in with each other, experience some playtime with a community building activity, and then we'll share our stories! 

Please RSVP to girliestories@gmail.com if you'll be in attendance. Please prepare a personal story (about your life), no longer than 10 minutes. 

You are welcome to tell your story with or without notes. Girlie Stories believes that all of us have stories worth hearing and that all of us are storytellers! We welcome womyn with all levels of performance/writing experience, including none!

Come to tell a story or just to listen and share space with other womyn. Please bring a snack or drink to share.

$5 suggested donation or whatever you can afford, though all are welcome regardless of ability to pay and nobody will be turned away due to lack of funds.

FACILITATOR BIO: Johanna Middleton is an artist and arts educator with a passion for creating spaces for others to share their own stories. She is the creator of Girlie Stories, which provides a platform for women and girls to empower themselves via personal storytelling through monthly gatherings, workshops, and productions. Johanna has performed her original pieces as a storyteller with KPCC's Unheard LA, Rogue Machine's Rant and Rave, iO West, Upright Citizens Brigade, The Last Bookstore, and even the Long Beach Transit! She debuted her first solo theatre piece, Timeline:27, a participatory storytelling show, at the Santa Monica Playhouse. As an arts educator and arts-based facilitator, she has worked with students of all ages in Chicago and Los Angeles.  She is currently the Student Program Coordinator at Greenway Arts Alliance. She has facilitated storytelling and theatre workshops for UCLA, Black Women for Wellness, WeRise LA, and more.

 

Liberation Breathing is a modern way of taking in more Life Force. It is easy and simple. It is the quickest way I know to clear you of your negative thoughts and memories that are consciously and unconsciously limiting your life. A well-trained practitioner of Liberation Breathing can save you years of struggle… and bring you to decisions that will alter your life always for the better… liberating you from the past. Through Liberation Breathing you can reclaim your power to be the ruler of your destiny. No longer will any circumstances be “beyond your control”, as you invite the Divine into your life to forgive and erase the past, and inspire you to be your Self.

Liberation Breathing recognizes the power of your breath to transform you and brings a new awareness of your true Identity. Yoga masters knew from ancient times the breath as the most essential part of human life, connecting us to the Life Energy behind all matter. They called this energy Prana. Liberation Breathing is a modern day version of Pranic breathing that gets you in touch with who you are, free of problems and the cause and effects of Karma.

For More Information Contact

Jane Mnoian

310.737.0144

The purpose of this daylong meditation workshop is: TO CLOSE THE GAP between the life we live on the cushion and the one we live on the street. In meditation sits and retreats we seem to be able to connect with our best selves – calm, present, open-hearted. Then we step into the urban chaos and stress and all our hard-won composure is forgotten. How do we work with this? What simple strategies can be used in daily life – at work, with the family, at the gym, or out at a bar. How do we close the gap more generally between the life we live on the cushion and the one we live on the street?

Shinzen Young is an American mindfulness teacher and neuroscience research consultant. His systematic approach to categorizing, adapting and teaching meditation, known as Unified Mindfulness, has resulted in collaborations with Harvard Medical School, Carnegie-Mellon University and the University of Vermont in the bourgeoning field of contemplative neuroscience. Shinzen’s interest in Asia began at the age of 14 when he decided to attend Japanese ethnic school in his native city of Los Angeles. After majoring in Asian languages at UCLA, he entered a PhD program in Buddhist Studies at the University of Wisconsin. As a part of his thesis research, he lived as a Shingon (Japanese Vajrayana) monk for three years at Mount Koya, Japan. It was then that he received the name Shinzen (真善). Also during that time, he became friends with Father William Johnston (author of Christian Zen). Fr. Johnston helped broaden Shinzen’s interests to include comparative world mysticism and the scientific study of meditative states. Upon returning to the United States, his academic interests shifted to the dialogue between Eastern meditation and Western science. Shinzen is known for his interactive, algorithmic approach to mindfulness, and often uses mathematical metaphors to illustrate meditative phenomena. He is the author of The Science of Enlightenment, Natural Pain Relief and numerous audio offerings. Shinzen leads residential retreats throughout North America. In 2006, he created the Home Practice Program. These phone-based mini-retreats are designed to make deep meditation practice accessible to anyone in the world regardless of their location, health situation, and time or financial constraints.