Showing posts with label workshop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label workshop. Show all posts

Saturday, May 10, 2025

Just Like Heaven Fest, Pasadena (5/10)

The seasons are changing because there comes a time when weekends start to jam up with events. This weekend is Wango Tango (LA's top of the pops festival featuring Doja Cat, Katseye, Meghan Trainor, DJ David Guetta, and others). The Altadena Future Fair is also in town at the Pasadena Convention Center alongside the Just Like Heaven Fest a few doors down Brookside at the Rose Bowl.

Just like Dharma Buddhist Meditation took over the BeachLife Fest for a mass meditation, we're on the lawn at Just Like Heaven doing some hometown healing along the foothills. There's no sense in trying to meditate to vapid pop rock and schlock. That would be like trying to achieve clarity at AC/DC's show at the Bowl.

Why attend a fest? It's not as if the Arctic Monkeys are going to show up

The Altadena Future Fair is a free community rebuild and healing event happening May 10-11, 2025, at the Pasadena Convention Center. This fair aims to unite residents, innovators, and local leaders to collaboratively envision and rebuild the community’s future.
  • Saturday, Sunday May 10-11, 2025, 9:00 am-5:00 pm
  • Pasadena Convention Center, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena (where Thich Nhat Hanh used to come every year to give a rousing dose of Zen, singing, and mostly silent notmuchtosayism, which people loved).
  • Speakers, workshops, trade show, locals' market, community healing, kids' room, music and entertainment (Saturday 5:00-9:00 pm), and a community vigil on Sunday at 4:00 pm

The mission is to ensure that every neighbor affected by the Eaton Fire has access to resources, knowledge, and community support — so no one rebuilds alone. It seeks to bring together displaced neighbors, builders, innovators, and local leaders to facilitate a collective recovery process. More
  • Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven, Crystal Q., Kelsey (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
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Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Free writing workshop: How to story (5/6)


WHAT HAPPENED?
New open mic: SPARC Centre Gallery
It was a full house of participants gathered on a damp and drizzly evening. Next local poetry event is May 15th, 4:00-6:00 pm at the SPARC Centre Gallery. Also in attendance were the current Poets Laureate Sehba Sarwar and Lester Graves Lennon, who announced the upcoming "Poetry & Cookies" on Saturday, May 17, 2025, 4:00-6:00 pm (with a surprise open mic portion, so sign up). A beautiful land acknowledgement to the Native Tongva (Kizh, Gabrieleno) tribe of Los Angeles and region including the Channel Islands was delivered by the head of the library to launch the evening. Handouts were given and introductions were made. Then we got to writing, prompted by the workshop leader, former library Poet Laureate Dr. Lipkin. Grief was expressed about the Eaton Fire four months after the LA Fire devastated the city.


These three submissions, written on site, stood out. A page of writing prompts was handed out with leading phrases meant to trigger the creative process and the start of a poem (prompt shown in green).

THE NIGHT WAS DARK BUT THERE WAS ONE LIGHT.
The tunnel, the train, ah, the 6:40, yes, right on time. And here by its light, the reason for my stumbling, railroad ties -- and this long slick guide, steely, cold in pointing only this way or that. You see, I can't go back. I was fated forward roam, here alone, at night, right on track, in search of some way out. Then came the breeze, a breath, fresh air cool on my face -- with something left to face, over there, one more thing, right there. The night was dark but there was one light.
The two hours raced as we each wrote four pieces -- a fairytale, elegy, persona poem, and a prompted piece. Poets love to "paint" outside the lines, so every work of creativity was its own, each somewhat elegiac for what was lost to the fire. Only a small percentage of the participants were men; one cried as did another woman, who read and read every chance she could get, apparently dying for validation.

Fire Gained a New Power

Eaton Fire burned down to Woodbury...
Who knew, not I, that Fire had the power to fly
from up to down and back again
from crest to Woodbury and even Washington
The Monster of All-Consuming Light

The Mountain Ogre who gorges on the gorge
The Fiend who in fright delights --
with wind and its own weather and lines
that arc to heaven to call down lightning strikes

Bunnies and bears, feral felines, oak-gall-eating
co'yotes, sinuous serpents skewered on spits
of dangling branches -- and
everywhere Embers

The power of flight
     The power of fire
          to take aim and consume
               all it desired as if to say

All that lumber you took with not a sign of respect,
I will fully feast on just the same

Alternate Endings

Would I have it another way, the fire?
Better it had never been?
No, there's something in it, something perfect.
The Akashic Record is a bin -- so to have it
"different" means it's somewhere the same:
IT - IS - WRITTEN.

But I would my part rearrange:
Just as every smart accused person "lawyers up,"
I'd "insurance up" in advance,
take a policy out on myself, homeowner's, full
coverage, renter's, and lots and lots of comprehensive.

You see, in every down market, someone wins.
Every "loss" is to someone's advantage.
Foresight is hindsight turned on its head
by the insertion of time, which spoils the equation.

You'll pay me how much for my cars?
I get to rebuild in the same spot?
If I'd known that, I would have sang,
"Let it burn, let it burn, let it burn."
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EVENT DETAILS
Into the Woods: Using fairy tales to tell YOUR story with Elline Lipkin
Poet Laureate Elline Lipkin
Fairy tales have been around for centuries because they capture something essential about the human experience.

In this workshop, we will use fairy tales and their tropes as inspiration to write about our own lives.

Thinking about the forest, the animals, the seasons, and the symbolic characters we find in fairy tales, we will explore the persona poem and elegy, among other exercises to spark the imagination, to celebrate and commemorate Altadena, and to process grief.
The workshop is FREE and open to the public -- all ages and backgrounds welcome.

Please bring a notebook and pen if possible; otherwise, the Altadena Library may provide writing utensils.

Anniversary of the LA Fire
The Jan. 7th fire was the worst in its history
Tuesday, May 6, 2025, marks nearly four months since the Eaton Fire devastated the Altadena community. We extend a special invitation to Altadena, Pasadena, and Sierra Madre residents and to those impacted by the Palisades Fire. Please join us to write and process experiences, releasing grief, and showing Los Angeles community resilience.
  • Tuesday, May 6, 2025, 5:30–7:30 pm
  • Altadena Main Library Community Room
  • 600 E. Mariposa Street (west of Lake Ave.)
  • Altadena, California 91001 (626) 798-0833
  • Programs — Altadena Library District
Lipkin, UChicago Graham School
ABOUT: The presenter of this workshop is former Altadena Library Poet Laureate (2016-2018) Dr. Elline Lipkin, PhD, a poet, nonfiction writer, and academic (Prof. Elline Lipkin, UChicago, Graham School) who until the Eaton Fire had been an Altadena resident for 13 years. She holds an MFA and PhD in literature and creative writing and has been a research scholar with UCLA's Center for the Study of Women. She is the author of two books. Her third, Girl in a Forest (on triohousepress.org), is forthcoming in October 2025. She served her community for two years as Altadena Poet Laureate and editor of the Altadena Poetry Review.
Get it published in Wisdom Quarterly
Those who produce a poem worthy of attention at this workshop are encouraged to submit it to Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal for consideration. Editors will consider submissions, and publication may be the result. Yesterday (May the 4th Be With You Day) this website had 53,000 views, and today (Cinco de Mayo) 56,000 and counting (running from 5:00 pm to 5:00 pm). Moreover, the past six months have seen 2.94 million views. So publication may draw considerable attention to your efforts.


Poetry open mic in South Pasadena

Read works of poetry, short fiction, memoir, slam, spoken word, rap, whatever in a circle of area poets at South Pasadena Arts Council SPARC Centre Gallery located at 1000 Fremont Ave., South Pasadena, third Thursdays, from 4:00-6:00 pm. FREE

WEEKLY: Meditate with Amy Rutledge (Tuesdays via Zoom)
Meditate with Amy Rutledge, virtually, on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, 6:30–7:00 pm via Zoom. All-ages are welcome. Join Amy and others for a guided half-hour meditation via Zoom in recognition of Mental Health Month. Be kind to yourself and chill in a group for 30 minutes.
ABOUT: Amy Rutledge came to the study of meditation as a path toward personal healing after struggles with the effects of Lyme disease as well as depression and anxiety. She found that it helped her in unexpected ways when many other approaches failed. More: meditatewithamy.com
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Monday, February 24, 2025

LA Fire Trauma Workshop (2/24)


WHAT HAPPENED?
Info for FREE event for emotions
Twenty-four participants made it out, all but three of them females, mostly older, wealthy ladies living high in Altadena. Not everyone lost a home or car but were forced to evacuate, see their neighborhood destroyed, and are having to deal with the rebuilding of community and detoxing the area, depending on the EPA to remediate the land in the next 12 months. Everyone was traumatized in one way or another. Entering the stage area at Throop UU Church from the rear, avoiding the pews or main area used for Sunday services, we found yoga mats, sleeping bags, blankets and pillows for all. We set down our things, picked up a bound journal, and formed a circle of chairs for introductions. Sadly, the center of the event, Dr. Aimon Kopera, could not make it due to a family illness. Her facilitators also bailed on Thursday, leaving Dr. O'Connor with a tough choice: reschedule, cancel, or push forward.

The only way through it is go in and emerge.
She could not bring herself to make changes, so she pulled in her sound bath team, a Pilates instructor from the Langham Spa Resort, and volunteers to pull it off. We then learned "circle breathing," taking in long or short breaths of the same length without pause. Then we were asked to lie down with eyes covered under warm blankets, focusing only on the breath. After emerging, we journaled and did art with the supplies provided. Then, taking a break, it was time for lunch, followed by a Pilates session and a lengthy sound bath with Vivian the acupuncturist coming around and applying essential oils on us. She then made another round with a dab on the third eye and a drink of flower essence. Finally, she came around with tuning forks and attuned us on various chakra points. Windchimes, a massive gong, Tibetan singing bowls and crystal bowls, and bells all fluttered, bringing us to the final sharing circle, where we formed a pro-Altadena allegiance or association so everyone could stay in touch, share information, and invite each other on nature walks now and in the future. Stay tuned for the next event at Dharma Buddhist Meditation (Foothills Meetup) and Dharma Buddhist Meditation (Urban Meetup) or Dharma Buddhist Meditation (Valley Meetup).

Event details
 
What is emotional pain that makes the body hurt?
Dr. Aimon Kopera of the MINDAI Institute with Dr. Ling O'Connor were offering a free trauma release workshop at the Langham Huntington Spa Resort Hotel.

NEW LOCATION
The time for it has doubled so that it now runs from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm by changing the location to Throop Unitarian Universalist Church in Pasadena, a UU church created by the same man who built Caltech, which was originally called Throop University, Pasadena.

Throop Unitarian Universalist Church, Pasadena, California
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Original flyer for Langham Resort Spa location
In the wake of the recent Eaton Fire (one of many of the LA fires), the MINDAI Healing Community under the guidance of Dr. Kopera and her team of facilitators is offering a special one-day retreat at no cost to those affected by the disaster in the Eaton Fire community. Space is limited. Register at mindai.institute
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Saturday, June 22, 2024

Vegan party: solstice, full moon ceremony

The full Strawberry Moon is waxing in the east and will reach maximum this week

Welcome the Summer Solstice and Full Moon
The Post Fire in Gorman has caused the postponement. So we are celebrating the Summer Solstice and Full Strawberry Moon above Pasadena.

The location of the party is through the Cosmic Breezeway into Oh Happy Days Vegan Cafe on Lake Avenue, Altadena, LA.

This FREE VEGAN POTLUCK PARTY features live music, meditation, singalong chanting, and socializing with good company with Mc Cody and crew.

FREE TO RSVP
Party is on, but three-day festival postponed due to fire


Why is June’s full moon called the “Strawberry Moon”?
The Indigenous Algonquian and Ojibwe cultures nicknamed this full moon the Strawberry Moon because it marks the month when strawberries are ripe and ready for picking in the northeastern USA. In Europe, people call it the Honey Moon because June is when honey was typically ready to harvest.

“The tradition of calling the first month of marriage the ‘honeymoon’ may be tied to this full moon because of the custom of marrying in June,” wrote NASA’s Gordon Johnston in a blog post. June’s Summer Solstice Strawberry Moon (inverse.com)

What was DisclosureFest going to be?
..
Laura Eisenhower
When did DisclosureFest begin? Years ago, Adrian and his spiritual business partner were on the radio (Coast to Coast with guest host Jimmy Church) talking about bringing a FREE Burning Man, Coachella, Woodstock festival of music, yoga, vegan food, ecstatic dance, yoga, and ET/UFO disclosure to Los Angeles.

What is the disclosure? We're not alone.
Where could it be held? How about a cornfield in DTLA, next to an art colony, by historic Chinatown under the elevated Metrorail train? Yes!

They talked the City of Los Angeles into it, and it went off without a hitch. Eventually, it got so big it moved to Las Vegas like most music festivals eventually do. (There are fewer regulations and hassles there).

See the spectacular Full Moon Ceremony like they have in Buddhist Phuket, Thailand

Founder Adrian, spiritualized nerd
The pandemic slowed it down. But it's a year-round series of initiatives. It centers around the Mass Meditation Initiative as its center with sound baths and other healings.

This year the fest it is at the Castaic Lake Lagoon in northwestern LA County, 40 minutes from DTLA, out past Magic Mountain. Castaic is a reservoir along the 5 Freeway. It's three days full of music, workshops, yoga, and speakers  Stairway to the Stars including these notables:
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Friday, February 2, 2024

Voice Liberation Playshop with Mayumi

Mayumi B. (kinshipyoga.com, Instagram); Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

WHAT HAPPENED?

Mayumi on IG (@shaktimayumi)
We gathered on the wood floors of Kinship, forming a circle and were welcomed by Mayumi, with introductions going around. Say your name and make a sound with a body movement, and we will all mimic it. We each came up a signature exclamation and move. Everyone followed suit.

We got up as Mayumi turned into a Japanese American shaman from Highland Park (L.A.), pulsing a horseskin drum she made by hand. We moved rhythmically, and I suddenly began to think, "Wow, I really am in L.A."

The group was about 99% women, all wanting to open their throat chakras and express themselves without shame, overcoming the shaming, belittling, and being told to quiet down we all experience. Childhood trauma was an underlying issue in the group.

We made sounds, drank tea, danced like Burning Man/Bhakti Fest hipsters, and made sounds, expressing our range of vocal ability.

I had been privileged to have a hands-on healing from Mayumi at the Collective a few days in advance. I thought there would be more of that, which is available in private sessions.

Instead, it was a group healing, over all too soon. Will there be another? There will. Keep an eye on Dharma Buddhist Meditation and her Instagram for details.

Event details
Explore the magic, wisdom, and infinite creative potential of the voice that's waiting to be unlocked, expressed, and liberated!

This is a supportive, healing space to:
  • ✧ Explore the pure sound of the voice with curiosity, playfulness, and presence
  • ✧ Clear physical and energetic blockages in throat chakra and free it from self-judgment, comparisons, and old stories of "not being good enough"
  • ✧ Soothe the inner critic and cultivate deeper compassion, respect, and self-love
  • ✧ Strengthen intuition, trust, ability to listen to the wisdom within
  • ✧ Gain confidence in sharing the voice with others from a regulated place of peace, resilience, and wholeness
  • ✧ Awaken the healing power of voice to create inner and outer harmony
  • ✧ Connect with an inspiring, supportive community to feel seen, heard, honored, and celebrated
  • ✧ Have fun and inJOY yourself!
As we do this practice to courageously open and liberate our voices, we send ripples of healing to our ancestors, loved ones, the world, and future generations ♡

I look forward to sharing this sacred space! Register now as space is limited and will fill up. Questions? Email Mayumi at shaktimayumi@gmail.com or DM on Instagram @shaktimayumi

~ Mayumi
ABOUT: Mayumi B. is a Dragon Priestess, Ancestral Voice Liberation Guide, Community Leader, and Multidimensional Artist. She weaves voice liberation, ancestral wisdom, dragon embodiment, sacred prayer, inner child integration, community connection, and sound healing into her offerings to awaken the grace, brilliance, and infinite creative potential of our unique soul expression into the here and now. As a 4th generation Japanese-American, born and raised in Highland Park, Los Angeles, Mayumi is honored to give back to her hometown community and share her lineage, culture, and ancestral roots. She is deeply passionate about supporting people to transmute shame, suppression, and self-doubt into liberated, authentic self-expression so they can feel confident, connected, and creatively empowered in their voice. Mayumi shares the sonic medicine of her voice to bring healing, harmony, and love to humanity and Mother Earth. She has offered sound healings with diverse communities around the world, from large festivals to classrooms in inner-city schools. Both in her group gatherings and one-on-one sessions, she supports people to come back home to themselves, to cultivate self-trust, to love, and to remember who they truly are.
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Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Wild Thanksgiving: food workshop (11/18)

Author and Nature Guide Christopher Nyerges, SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com; Xochitl, Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation Meetup), Wisdom Quarterly
Rain or shine. Survivalist Christopher Nyerges loves challenging weather. Bring umbrella.
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Guide to Wild Foods (Nyerges)
WILD FOOD COOKING WORKSHOP Join the School of Self-Reliance on a short nature walk to learn how to recognize and forage wild foods in season available now. Participants will gather and prepare various wild foods, along with some brought for a complete meal.

Work together to create a salad, soup, protein, pancakes, tea, and some dessert items, to include mushrooms if any are found. Learn how to eat the mature nopales or cactus pads.

The kizh (wigwam) are the houses of the local "Tongva" Natives, not teepees like others.
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How to Survive Anywhere (2nd ed.)
It’s worth noting that when the first peoples of Hahamongna (Native Kizh/Tongva) lived here, they relied on the flora and fauna for their sustenance. We will be getting a small taste of what that would have been like.

It is worth noting that the majority of the wild foods available today are European invasives, plants that the first peoples would not have found growing in the Americas.

Bring notebook and camera, water and reuseable bowl. Be prepared to participate. This is not a spectator sport. Self-reliance means being prepared to process greens, make fire, and cook. COST: $65 ($45 for seniors and students).
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