Sanskrit Mantra:
Theory and Practice
Jim Ryan

Sanskrit has been called the Indian “language of the gods,” and isunderstood to have always existed. The nature of the universe is saidto exist as the language of Sanskrit congealed into form. When onechants or simply speaks Sanskrit, one is understood to be making adirect connection to all of reality, with both what is here and whatlies beyond. In this way, the chanting of Sanskrit is seen as a path ofliberation or salvation in and of itself.

This workshop will introduce students to the Sanskrit alphabet and its proper pronunciation, as well as the primary theories of language and mantra that underlie the practices of Sanskrit chanting. Sanskrit chanting will be a central part of this workshop.

Jim Ryan, PhD, Cochair of the Asian and Comparative Studies program at CIIS, has taught Sanskrit and Indian philosophy for more than 24 years. He teaches courses on the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and Hindu Tantrism, and has a special interest in the integral philosophy of Haridas Chaudhuri. Ryan’s focus in teaching yoga involves the issues of embodiment and the intersection of worldly and transcendental aims.

Workshop
Saturday, December 6
CANCELLED

Is America Possible:
Wrestling with the Angel of Democracy
Vincent Harding, Susan Griffin, Don Hanlon Johnson

The lecture will weave together strands of diverse experiences, aiming at different ways to realize the possibilities of democracy in America, a theme that has occupied the lifework of these three scholars. Vincent Harding describes his vision of deepening the American dream as a task of maturing and honing this nation’s capacity for becoming “the land that never has been yet.” Susan Griffin and Don Hanlon Johnson have described the American dream as the intense struggle of developing a truly egalitarian sensibility, a quality whose attainment is not easily realized. As our nation faces the challenges of an election year, join these three thinkers for reflection on “wrestling with the angel of democracy.”

Vincent Harding, PhD, is professor emeritus of Religion and Social Transformation at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. He is founder and chairperson of the Veterans of Hope Project which he and his late wife, Rosemarie, began in 1997. Harding is the author of many books, and collaborated in the past as a friend and coworker with Martin Luther King, Jr.

Don Hanlon Johnson, PhD, is the founder of the Somatic Psychology Program at CIIS where he is a professor. His lifetime of writing and teaching has been focused on the role the body plays in social transformation. His latest book is Everyday Hopes, Utopian Dreams: Reflections on American Ideals.

Susan Griffin is a well-known writer and poet. Her latest book, Wrestling with the Angel of Democracy: On Being an American Citizen, is about the inner life of democracy. She has published 19 books, including Woman and Nature, a classic work that inspired ecofeminism, published in a new edition by Sierra Club Books in 2000.

Yoga for Grief Relief
Antonio Sausys

In this workshop, participants will learn about the physical symptoms of grief, its psycho-neuro-immunological bases, and a set of simple yoga exercises to address them while aiding the psychological transformation of grief into a resource of personal growth. A comparative analysis is made of Western and Eastern models of the psyche that state the importance of the psychic center’s involvement–particularly the heart chakra–both physically and emotionally and especially in regards to the yogic theory of attachment. Workshop methodology alternates theoretical lectures with experiential work.

This workshop is appropriate for health care professionals, social workers, marriage and family therapists, counselors, body workers, hospice staff, yoga teachers and therapists, clergy, first responders, and any others who work in settings with individuals facing loss and grief or who are going through a grieving process themselves and whose loss has occurred at least six months prior to the workshop dates.

Participants will bring home an improved understanding of the somatic aspects of grief and increased awareness regarding their own grief and grief reactions. The yoga exercises provide a set of skilful tools to assist participants and consequently their clients or students in managing the most common psycho-physical aspects of this intrinsically human reaction.

Antonio Sausys, MA, is a somatic health practitioner and yoga instructor specializing in one-on-one yoga therapy for people with chronic and acute medical conditions as well as emotional imbalance. He studied with yoga masters and teachers such as Indra Devi, Swami Shankaradevananda, Ram Dass, and Larry Payne. With a bachelor of arts in psychology and a master of arts in body-oriented psychotherapy, Sausys has continued his professional development with training in foot reflexology, Swedish therapeutic massage, the “degriefing process,” and reiki. He resides in Marin County where, in addition to his private practice, speaking engagements and workshops, he produces and directs the annual International Yoga Therapy Conference.

Sound Therapies
John Beaulieu

BioSonic Repatterning™ is a method of healing that uses tuning forks to attune the nervous system and repattern mind, body, and spirit. Through demonstration, we will witness how this form of energy medicine, based on sonic ratios inherent in nature, has practical applications in the healing arts.

Topics include the history of sound healing, the study of wave phenomena, sound and molecular science, sonic anatomy, voice and movement analysis, and sound as superconscious psychotherapy. We will also discuss the alchemy of mind, the art of still point, cranial anatomy, sonic fields, chaos theory, and sacred geometry.

Participants will learn the theory and practice of healing with Pythagorean tuning forks through direct experience and group exercises. In addition, they will explore techniques of ear reception, point stimulation, and overtone healing, and will also examine numerous case studies representing applications for children, relationships, psychiatric disorders, and addictions.

John Beaulieu, ND, PhD, is a naturopathic doctor, composer, sound therapist, and founder of BioSonic Repatterning. He also authored Music and Sound in the Healing Arts and has published numerous research papers. Beaulieu currently oversees molecular research on sound and the healing effects of tuning forks.

The Christian Contemplative Tradition and Centering Prayer
Father Thomas Keating

This workshop with Fr. Thomas Keating is an exploration of the Christian contemplative tradition, its origin in scripture and its development through the centuries by the mystics of the tradition. Also called the Apophatic tradition, it explores the simplification of prayer to a nonconceptual wordless consent to the presence of God within. Contemplative prayer is the necessary antidote to the wounds of the human condition that maintain the almost universal sense of separation from God.

As a modern expression of the tradition, Fr. Keating will teach the simple method of “Centering Prayer” and join participants in a period of practice. Time will be made available for questions about the tradition and the experience and development of “Centering Prayer.”

Father Thomas Keating is one of the architects of the Centering Prayer movement begun in Spencer Abbey in 1975. In 1984, he founded Contemplative Outreach, Ltd., now an international, ecumenical organization that teaches Centering Prayer, Lectio Divina, and the Christian contemplative tradition and provides a support system for those on the contemplative path through a wide variety of resources, workshops, and retreats. He helped to found the Snowmass Interreligious Conference in 1982 and is a past president of the Temple of Understanding and of the Monastic Interreligious Dialogue, among other interreligious activities. He is the author of many books and video/audio tapes series. His books include Open Mind, Open Heart; The Mystery of Christ; Invitation to Love; Intimacy with God; The Human Condition; Manifesting God; The Better Part; and Fruits and Gifts of the Spirit.

A Naked Heart:
Portal to Reality
Gayan Macher

How radical it is to actually trust our hearts as instruments of knowing, compasses that direct us unfailingly towards fulfillment. To serve us and the greater purpose of life, our hearts must become increasingly alive and perceptive. How do we cultivate this capacity?

Through a variety of meditative and interactive practices, we will explore the longing and inhibitions about meeting our self and another in the immediacy of an undefended heart. We will also practice presence which leads to the experience that, ultimately, there is no “other.”

A Naked Heart: Portal to Reality is cosponsored by Seven Pillars House of Wisdom.

www.sevenpillarshouse.org

Gayan Macher devotes his life to the spiritual unfoldment of souls. He has taught groups and guided individuals for 30 years from the perspective of universal Sufism and modern psychology. He has had a successful career as an organization development consultant to executives from General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, the United States Army, Amoco, and many others. Gayan is also a singer and a songwriter.