INNER EYE

November 18, 1999

Table of Contents

CIIS SPONSORS CONCERT CELEBRATING WOMEN'S SACRED ARTS

The Institute is proud to sponsor a concert celebrating women's sacred arts on February 6, 2000. The concert is a live presentation of ReTurning, the new recording by Jennifer Berezan. Jennifer, Women's Spirituality faculty and musician, recently recorded exquisitely moving chants and musical improvisations in one of the world's most ancient sacred sites, the Hypogeum at Hal Saflieni, in the 6,000 year-old, underground Oracle Chamber. She was joined by Linda Tillery, Sharon Burch, and others.

The event will feature musicians, dancers, ritualists and well-known authors and artists in women's studies and arts-Donna Read, Starhawk, Joan Marler, Vicki Noble, Z Budapest, Arisika Razak, Carolyn Brandy, Jami Sieber, Sharon Burch, Krissy Keffer, and the Dance Brigade, Terry Sendgraf, Riffat Salamat, Mary Youngblood, Luisah Teish, Miri Hunter Haruach and Project Sheba, and others. Tricia Grame-a student in the Individualized doctoral program, artist, and internationally known curator of women-centered arts-will present an exhibit of sacred art honoring the Goddess and the ancient temple cultures of Malta.

Hosted by the Women's Spirituality Program, this prayerful and participatory event will be held Sunday, February 6, at the Scottish Rite Temple, 1547 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $20 advance, $25 door, available at your local booksellers or through the mail. Mail checks payable to Edge of Wonder Records, P.O. Box 6181, Albany, CA 94706.

For information about becoming a sponsor of this benefit for the Women's Spirituality Program, or about advertising in the concert program, contact Mara Keller, Director of WSE at CIIS, 415-575-6268.

CIIS SAGE ADVICE - LYNNE TWIST, ANCIENT WISDOM FOR A NEW MILLENNIUM

There is an ancient and sacred prophecy in South America called the prophecy of the eagle and the condor. This prophecy foretells of a time when the people of the eagle and the people of the condor will fly together-wing to wing-in the same sky, and the world will come into balance.

The people of the eagle are the people of the intellect and aesthetic-the people on earth who will have developed technology to such an extraordinary level that it will have brought them material wealth beyond their wildest dreams. They will also find themselves spiritually impoverished to their peril.

At the same time in history, the people of the condor, people who live from their heart and experience life through their five senses, will have an unparalleled depth of intuition, spirit and wisdom that is an expression of the profound integrity of the natural world. Those people will be spiritually rich beyond their imagination, but materially impoverished to their peril.

The people of the eagle represent those of us living in the modern, technological world. The people of the condor represent the indigenous people of the world living close to the land with the heart and wisdom that come being attuned to the natural world.

Lynne Twist, one of the founding executives of The Hunger Project, vice-chair of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and trustee of Fetzer Institute, is also the co-founder with her husband of The Pachamama Alliance, an organization dedicated to the fulfillment of this prophecy. (Pacha means Earth or nature, and Mama is the nurturing Goddess of wisdom and spirit). The Alliance is dedicated to preserving the Earth's tropical rainforests and its indigenous cultures, and to the creation of a new global vision of sustainability for us all.

Lynne says, "I am privileged to work with indigenous people and modern-world people in the fulfillment of this great prophecy. I believe that new and profound wisdom is available to be heard as never before-wisdom that heals the wounds of the modern world and complements our extraordinary knowledge. In parallel, the nearly unbounded technological knowledge of the modern world is critical to indigenous people in complementing the extraordinary depth of their ancient wisdom. This is a time of great transformation, possibility, and truth. This is the time of the fulfillment of the prophecy. This is the time for the eagle and the condor to fly together in the same sky, wing to wing."

MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT SUBBIONDO

Dear Colleagues,

The Student Alliance recently held a forum to identify strengths and weaknesses of the Institute and explore ways to improve our student-centered learning environment. The candid dialogue and constructive spirit of the meeting impressed me that we have talented and dedicated students who seek an education that will transform not only themselves but also their society. The students intend to take a proactive role in building community as well as advancing the Institute's mission, educational integrity, and financial vitality.

We identified the following strengths: institutional mission (including the seven ideals), academic quality, commitment of faculty and staff, and renewed collaboration between students and administration. We cited a variety of areas that need attention including the new tuition structure, student housing, cultural diversity, communication, financial aid, support of international students, and student governance.

Because CIIS students have a wide range of knowledge and experience, we need to engage them in planning and decision making. I urge faculty and staff members to encourage students to stand for election and participate in the election process. I assured the students that the President's Council would act upon the resolutions of the Student Alliance, and that the agenda for the meetings of the Board of Trustees will include a report from the Alliance. Also, the students will have representatives on the Strategic Planning and Budget Committee.

Starting this month, we will focus on the seven ideals of the Institute as significant goals of the planning and budget process. To assess the climate of the Institute regarding these ideals, we will devote the first seven Town Hall meetings to the ideals, beginning with diversity on Thursday, November 11, 1999.

Thank you for your support.

EYE ON TECHNOLOGY

by Jon Morgan, Director of Information Systems Technology

The IST Help Desk (ext. 140) is the place to come for hardware failure, network trouble, printing problems, software installations/upgrades, E-mail questions, or new hardware requests. Desk hours are from 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (weekdays only). Feedback from staff and faculty helped us to get a "live voice" at the Help Desk. Please note: it is important to call the Help Desk at ext. 140, rather than individual extensions. We use an internal database to track problems and manage our workload (we are geeks after all!). That enables us to:

• Track Help Desk calls

• Assign calls to the proper technicians

• Maintain call history by each person and by each machine

• Identify training needs

• Identify and expedite hardware and software purchases

• Produce statistics on our response time and workload

Help Desk calls are managed in the order that they are received. When we are swamped, we first address problems that are preventing people from working. Due to resource constraints and liability concerns, we cannot attend to home computers.

Who are we? What do we do?

Bill Bailey - manages Help Desk, Student Lab, E-mail and general

software support

Scott Ciliberti - maintains AS/400 and PowerFAIDS

Michael Kender - handles phone and voicemail issues

Jon Morgan - processes new hardware requests

Chris Perron - keeps hardware ticking and printers humming

Mike Vincenty - focuses on network and internet services

Additionally, our Help Desk technicians include the following students: Olen Holm, Kristin Krupa, and Doug Phillips.

Remember, don't keep your (technical) problems to yourself. Share them with the Help Desk at ext. 140.

Gala Donors Support Institute

Donors to the Institute's second annual Gala, held last month at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, contributed nearly $40,000, according to Donna Blakemore, Vice President for Advancement. After expenses, the gala contributed $22,000 toward the unrestricted campaign, which contributes to the general operating budget. "We are beginning to plan for next year's Gala, and hope to develop the event into a significant fundraiser for the Institute," she said.

Our thanks to the sponsors for their generous gifts of $1,000 or more:

We sincerely thank everyone who made a contribution by volunteering, purchasing tickets, and attending this remarkable evening.

LOSING A COLLEAGUE -- SAYING GOODBYE TO MARYANNA ECKBERG

Maryanna Eckberg, a member of the Somatics faculty who devoted herself to working with trauma victims, died on October 10. Don Hanlon Johnson, founder of the Somatics program and Maryanna's long-time friend and colleague, wrote:

Maryanna Eckberg was my dear partner in shaping the Somatics program since 1985 . . . Her final months were a testimony to her feeling-filled life. She taught us all until the end, with many former students, faculty, and friends, gathering about her. In our last conversation, she said how full she felt, partly because so many loose ends of her life-relationships with family members, finances, old friends-had come together. But especially because her two children, Kristin and Eric, had grown into wonderful adults. She was a great light for me, and for many, by her courage to speak the truth and to remain close to feeling, and in recognizing the primary importance in life of our loved ones.

WHAT ARE FACULTY READING?

Fill in the letters of the books each faculty member is reading:

Sean Kelly ____, ____ & ____

Renee Emunah ____, ___ & ____

Connie Jones ___, ____ & ____

Ben Tong ____ & ____

Book Titles

A History of Hypnosis

B Clutter Control

C The Dark Side of Wisdom

D Multiple Blessings: Advice for Parents of Twins

E Religion of a Scientist

F Taking with the Left Hand

G How Dogs Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home

H Who Are you, Monsieur Gurdjieff?

I Attachment

J Consciousness Beyond the Margin

K Living the Simple Life

L Well Baby

STAFF PROFILE: EAHR JOAN, LIBRARY SERIALS& CIRCULATION COORDINATOR

Fashion designer and clothing store owner; instructor of design and fashion merchandising; library fund raiser; activist in public schools, Head Start programs, and politics in New York City; gourmet cook, wine and cheese buyer, caterer; mother of three and grandmother of three; interior designer and construction contractor-these are a few of the stories in the life of the Institute's Library Serials and Circulation Coordinator, Eahr Joan.

Eahr-whose name is from a Celtic word meaning 'the pursuit of wisdom' -has worked in the library since 1993; she manages the Rockefeller Library's 200 journal subscriptions, and supervises student circulation staff members who, in addition to checking out books for patrons, handle interlibrary loans, bar coding of books, reshelving, etc. She says, "We have a great circulation team, and I'm excited to be part of the library staff, which now includes two part-time reference librarians. It's an honor to work with Olive James, the library Director; she is inspiring as a mentor. Olive has made significant improvements in the services available to library patrons, and she has increased access to on-line databases."

For the past two decades, Eahr has devoted much of her time and energy to creating ReGenesis: The Mother-Line Archive of Feminist Spirituality, which she describes as "an engendered chronology of history from 64 million BCE to the present." ReGenesis will eventually become an on-line database consisting of hundreds of photographs (and associated research) she has taken at sacred sites around the world that reveal untold dimensions of the sacred female. Eahr says, "I have never known exactly what form this project would ultimately take, but I know it's my life work. In some way I have felt compelled to do this, and I've learned that if I do the work, the rest will follow." Selected images from ReGenesis may be seen on the Women's Spirituality Program section of the CIIS Website.

In her spare time, Eahr has completed work for her M.A. in Women's Spirituality at CIIS, and plans to graduate in January 2000. In the Spring 2000 semester, she will be co-teaching the course "Women Across the New Millennia" at CIIS.

STUDENT OPEN FORUM DISCUSSES STRATEGIC PLAN

by Kathy Gower

At the October 28 Open Forum, students from all academic programs met with President Joseph Subbiondo to collaborate on ideas for the future direction of CIIS. Students were invited to create an agenda addressing their concerns, issues and ideas; by the end of the meeting, we had made a number of specific suggestions to incorporate into the Institute's strategic planning process.

The following is a list of main topics that were addressed: the two-tiered system of tuition, and making tuition more affordable; communication channels; international students' need for a fully trained adviser; space for the entire community to come together; diversity; housing; greater focus on respect for and acknowledgment of the larger community of which the school is a part.

It was agreed that two essential elements for moving forward are 1) accountability, and 2) a structure that will ensure open, fair, and accurate dialogues. As a final note, President Subbiondo assured students that their voices will be heard.

For a more complete report of this and other SA meetings, subscribe to the student mailing list on the CIIS InnerGate portal.

To access InnerGate and subscribe to CIIS student mail list: sign onto an Internet provider [not AOL], type mail.ciis.edu in web browser, choose 'Bulletin Boards' from InnerGate, type in your name and E-mail address, then click on circle to left of "All Students."

"LET THE DREAM BEGIN"

STUDENT ALLIANCE INVITES COMMUNITY TO PARTY!

Friday, November 19

8:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.

Fort Mason, Building A

Internationally Renowned DJ Cheb-i-Sabbah -Africa, Arabia, Asia Mix

All students, staff, faculty, administration, and guests are invited.

Bounteous quantities of food, subsidized bar, creative decorations, foot rubs, flirting minstrels, fantastic dance music and free dance space, quiet room for gentle conversations and meeting old and new friends, Celtic harpist, flute, drummers, face painters, warming cups of Indian chai, masseuses, party games, and student performers and art work.

All for only $5 (CIIS community member), $10 (guest) in advance; $7/$12 at the door. Contact Student Alliance 415-575-6290 for more information.

THANKSGIVING DINNER RESCHEDULED

The Thanksgiving dinner formerly announced for Saturday, November 20, has been rescheduled to Wednesday, November 24, in the staff/faculty lounge, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Cost is $5.00. A fully prepared turkey dinner will be catered, so tickets must be purchased at the Front Desk by Friday, November 19. If you are interested in bringing a vegetarian dish to share in lieu of the meal cost, contact Cathy Coleman at ext. 160.

SAVE THE DATE-HOLIDAY CELEBRATION PLANNED

A holiday celebration is being planned for Friday evening, December 10. Mark your calendar now-details forthcoming.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Mondays in November

Walk-in hours for students with Janis Phelps, Dean of SCAT

Room 412, 4th Floor, 3-4 pm

Thursdays in November

Walk-in hours for students with President Subbiondo, 3-4 pm

Monday, 11/15 - Friday, 11/26

Student Alliance Elections

Thursday, November 18

The film, Brainstorm, Gainsborough Room (307), 6:15-8:15 pm

Friday, November 19

All-Institute Party!

Fort Mason, Building A, 8:00 pm

Monday, November 22

Tuition Meeting

Mahatma Gandhi Room (308)

10:00-11:30 am

Wednesday, November 24

Thanksgiving Dinner

Staff-Faculty Lounge, 11:30 am-1:00 pm

Monday, November 29

Meditation Room Keepers Meeting

Room 412, SCT Office, 5:30-6:30 pm,

Wednesday, December 1

SCA Works-in-Progress/Open to All

Haridas Chaudhuri Room (425)

6:30 - 9:15 pm

Friday, December 10

Holiday Celebration

Details TBA

Sunday, February 6, 2000

ReTurning-A Ritual Concert Celebration

Scottish Rite Temple, Oakland, 7:00 pm

415-575-6100 ext. 470

Friday-Monday, March 17-20, 2000

Ayahuasca Conference, San Francisco

Saturday, April 1, 2000

Open House

Namaste Hall, 10 am -2 pm

June 2000, Location TBA

Body Psychotherapy Conference

(Student discount/volunteer opportunities)

MAKING THE CONNECTION

STUDENTS - REMEMBER TO VOTE!

STUDENT ALLIANCE ELECTIONS IN PROGRESS

The Student Alliance (SA)-the Institute's student government, is holding elections from Monday, November 15 through Friday, November 26. Nominations will be taken through Friday, November 12. If you are interested in running for any of the positions listed below, please read the detailed descriptions on the SA bulletin board (3rd floor, near the entrance to the Café), and drop your name, contact information, and a description of your "platform" into the box next to the bulletin board. This information will then be posted on the board.

Open Positions for Student Representatives to:

Board of Trustees

Finance Committee

Faculty Council

Educational Policy Committee

Strategic Planning Council (one representative from each school)

Student Alliance Representatives to SCT and to SPP (minimum of two representatives for both schools)

ON CAMPUS

Tuition Fees Meeting

On Monday, November 22, Deans Janis Phelps and Leland van den Daele, and President Joseph Subbiondo will meet meet with students who would like to discuss the two-tiered tuition structure. The meeting will be held in the Mahatma Gandhi Room (308) from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.

Financial Aid Checks

Disbursement checks for excess financial aid funds for the Spring semester is January 31st, 2000; students may pick up checks in the Business Office.

Support Diversity

Keepers of the Meditation Room

There are seven sets of new black cushions (zafus and zabutons) in the meditation room. Please help us keep the cushions in the meditation room by not taking them to classrooms or other locations.

Faculty 3-on-3 Basketball Challenge

Our resident faculty team, rather ungenerously named by some as either the "Geezers" or the "Hazards," challenges any staff or student team to 3-on-3 basketball at nearby gym. Staff and students-get a team together and work out! Whether team or individual, contact Harrison Voigt, ext. 218 if interested.

Open House Fall '99

by Michelle Bava

On Saturday, October 23, CIIS held its semi-annual open house, organized by Beth Bremer and the Admissions staff. Nearly 150 prospective students attended the event. Dr. Rina Sircar and accompanying musicians offered a solemn opening meditation. In his welcoming address, President Joseph Subbiondo noted that many attendees traveled a long distance-from 50 to 500 to 5,000 miles-to come to the open house.

Prospective students came from throughout North America as well as from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia; many said they were attracted to the Institute by the school's academic credentials and student-centered teaching. They were introduced to the Institute's extraordinary educational and spiritual community, and met one-on-one with members of the faculty, student-body, and student services staff. Drama Therapy student Elayne Doughty closed with a unifying 'hands across Namaste Hall.' We look forward to welcoming many of our open house visitors as new students at the Institute.

InnerLight Bookstore

Calendars for 2000 now available-Tibetan, Feng Shui, Rumi, Call of the Goddess, WeMoon, astrological, and many more. Also, 20% off on books in Buddhist section. Coming up-store storewide Christmas shopping sale, beginning December 1.

COMINGS & GOINGS

Farewell:

Eric Broque, Vice President of Administration and Finance, who recently resigned. We are grateful to Eric for facilitating a smooth move to our current Mission Street location, for guiding us through a tight financial year, and for providing good direction for the administrative offices under his auspices.

Karen Hamilton, Director of Continuing Education, who is leaving in December to move to Connecticut to be near her family and care for her mother as she recovers from an illness.

John Hofmann, who will be leaving at the end of November to assume a new position at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Menlo Park as Admissions Office Manager.

Welcome:

Greg Canada, as Admissions Officer. Greg recently moved here from Boston, where he studied philosophy at Boston College. He previously worked in Admissions at Virginia Wesleyan College. He likes working at CIIS "because there are a lot of smiling people here."

Cory McKenzie, as Maintenance Assistant. Cory (formerly known as BJ) returns after working here earlier this year temporarily in this same capacity.

Barbara Vivino, as new faculty member in the Psychology Doctoral Program.

Transitions:

Roseanne Lurie, Field Placement Associate, is traveling while on a three-month leave of absence traveling. Filling in for her during this time is Rhonda Huffman, a CIIS graduate, who has worked at the Institute in recent years in the Library and in the Dean of Students Office.

Cathy Makunga was recently promoted from Associate Director to Director of Financial Aid. Congratulations, Cathy, and thanks for the many long hours you have put into your job the past few months due to the shortage of staff and high volume of work.

INNER EYE

Editor: Candice Chase

Editorial Board: Donna Blakemore, Alaina Bixon, Pamela Chaloult, Cathy Coleman,

Phaedra Valencia

The Inner Eye is published every 3 weeks by the Communications & Marketing Department.

Deadline for next issue: Tuesday, November 23

Next issue: Tuesday, December 7