Spirituality Matters by Steven Libowitz “Spirituality Matters” highlights two or three Santa Barbara area spiritual gatherings. Unusual themes and events with that something extra, especially newer ones looking for a boost in attendance, receive special attention. For consideration for inclusion in this column, email slibowitz@yahoo.com.
Hearing “No” with a Smile
T
he Santa Barbara NVC (NonViolent Communication) Practice Group meets every Thursday at practitioner/center for NVC trainer Rodger Sorrow’s home in Santa Barbara. Sorrow trained with Marshall Rosenberg – the late creator of NVC who taught frequent workshops at SBCC Adult Ed in the 1990s and early 2000s – and now co-leads the circles with Lesley Weinstock. Sorrow has taught for years at Adult Ed’s successor, the SBCC Center for Lifelong Learning. NVC practice groups provide the opportunity to deepen understand-
ing, skills, and living the principals in everyday life. The group practices honest expression, giving and receiving empathy and self-empathy, and using roleplay to work with real situations. Each week features a different theme, though this Thursday’s (August 25) continues to focus on “Hearing No,” which was also a big part of the preliminary exercises during last weekend’s unrelated Cuddle & Connect meetup. The NVC model makes it clear to the listener that when someone is saying no, they are also saying yes to some perhaps unexpressed
�������������� �������������� �������������� ��������������
need, which makes it easier not to take the rejection personally. The meeting will focus on learning those skills to stay in the dialogue and move forward to mutually satisfying strategies. There will be lots of opportunity to practice. For details, donation information, and reservations, call Sorrow at 4528874 or email RodgerHSorrow@gmail. com. Visit www.chooseconnection. com for more information on NVC and Sorrow’s programs.
Awaken & Lead with the Feminine
Montecito-based mother and daughter Nancy D. O’Reilly, Psy.D., author of Lead With Your Feminine Power, and transformational and spiritual coach Ragan O’Reilly Thomson, are teaming up to share life-changing tools at the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort on Thursday, August 25. The 6 pm event, which also features a hosted wine and cheese event as part of the program, costs $20 at the door. Call 453-7281 or email jen@drnancyoreilly.net. Attendees will learn how to harness innate feminine power, take control of your personal story, exchange “power over” for “power to,” and learn to support other women. You’ll also discover how to identify blocks created from the ego that get in the way of the divine feminine within, and learn how to clear and resolve negative energy that keeps creating the same problems. Thomson also joins her husband, Alex Thomson, to present ongoing periodic workshops on transforming the shadow side in relationships at their East Valley Road location. Visit www.joyticity.com/events.html for details.
Pride (in the Name of Love) ������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������
Celebrate Labor Day by treating yourself to ������������������������������������������������������������������� a piece of handcrafted Stickley furniture ������������������ ����������������������������������������������������������� —furniture that works as hard as you do. �� ������������������������������� ������������������������������������� Now through September 5 th you can save 38% off one item.
PTS FURNITURE
��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
������������������
HOME A ND OFFICE SHOWROOM 250 CONEJO RIDGE AVE. • THOUSAND OAKS • (805) 496-4804 OPEN DAILY MONDAY - SATURDAY 10:00 - 6:00; SUNDAY 12:00 - 5:00 ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
ptsfurniture.com
DISCOUNT IS OFF SUGGESTED RETAIL. LIMIT ONE PER HOUSEHOLD. NOT TO BE USED WITH ANY OTHER OFFER OR PREVIOUS PURCHASE.
28 MONTECITO JOURNAL
Love. Period. That’s what they’re calling the 2nd annual Interfaith Pride Celebration that takes place 3 to 5 pm on Sunday, August 28, at the Courthouse Sunken Gardens. Sponsored by PFLAG Santa Barbara, Pacific Pride, and Interfaith Pride Alliance, the event features more than 20 open and welcoming faith communities and organizations that are coming together for the celebration – part of Santa Barbara’s Pacific Pride Festival – to stand up for the dignity of the LGBTQ community. The celebration will feature an interfaith choir and speakers from various faiths in an afternoon that looks to be healing, inspiring, and uplifting. Details online at www. pflagsantabarbara.org.
• The Voice of the Village •
Meditation on the Move
After years of weekly meditations on Tuesday nights at the charming and rustic MacVeagh House at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, One-Dharma Sangha, led by Radhule Weininger, M.D., Ph.D., has moved downtown – and an hour later. The sessions now run from 7 to 8:15 pm at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1500 State Street, on the corner of State & Micheltorena. Next Tuesday marks the third week at the new location. “The windows give a beautiful light, the energy is just right, and there is a quietly contained spaciousness,” Weininger wrote in an email. “We shall sit together in mindfulness and compassion meditations along with Dharma talks and occasional guest speakers. OneDharma Sangha is a fluid, inclusive interfaith community, a safe place following a Buddhist practice and a vision that follows His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s vision for seeing “Compassion and Kindness as our religion.” As a clinical psychologist and mother of three young adults, I regard it as meaningful to make Buddhist-inspired practice relevant and accessible in 21st century by adding the wisdom of Buddhist and Western psychology.” Unchanged are the weekly meditations on Mondays at 7 pm at St. Michael’s Church in Isla Vista, and Thursdays at 6 pm at the Loft at La Casa de Maria in Montecito, where Weininger also offers a monthly halfday Sunday afternoon retreat (the next one is slated for 2:30 to 6 pm on September 4.
Raising Consciousness with Rikka
After going on hiatus during August, Santa Barbara Consciousness Network founder Forrest Leichtberg has announced the next Conscious Network event, which attracted more than 150 people in July at only the second gathering. The featured speaker for the evening – which takes place 6:30 to 10 pm on Friday, September 9, back at Unity of Santa Barbara, 227 East Arrellaga Street – will be Santa Barbara’s own world-renowned speaker, author, and life coach Rikka Zimmerman, who will discuss the subject “Activating Your Highest Destiny.” Singer-songwriters Bent & Magi Myggen will provide the music. Check this space for more details and an interview in the next issue, but save the date now for one of the fastest-growing, consciousnessraising occasions in town. Details on the event’s Facebook page: w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / e v e n t s / sbconsciousnessnetwork. •MJ 25 August – 1 September 2016