The Real Wealth of Nations:
Community, Nature, Spirit—Creating a Caring Economics
Riane Eisler

Riane Eisler first captured world attention with her international bestseller The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future, which has changed the way millions of people view themselves and their role in the world. Drawing from her compelling new book, The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics, Eisler shows that behind our most pressing individual and social problems lies the failure of economic models and policies to value and support the most essential work of all: the work of caring and caregiving. With the skill of a world-class therapist, she pierces through the smokescreens of prevailing myths, shows the powerful influence of our hidden system of gendered values, and lays out practical steps toward a way of living and making a living that is sustainable, equitable, and truly meets human needs.

www.rianeeisler.com

Riane Eisler, JD, is an eminent social scientist, attorney, and social activist best known as author of the international bestseller, The Chalice and The Blade: Our History, Our Future. Her newest book, The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics, has been hailed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu as “...a template for the better world that we have been so urgently seeking” and by Gloria Steinem as “revolutionary.” Her other books include The Power of Partnership; Tomorrow’s Children; Sacred Pleasure; and Women, Men, and the Global Quality of Life. Eisler, who teaches in the CIIS Transformative Leadership Department, is a consultant to business and government on applications of the partnership model introduced in her work, and has been selected for inclusion in Macrohistory and Macrohistorians in recognition of the lasting importance of her work.

The Bodily Sources
of Meaning, Thought, and Values
Mark Johnson

The traditional Western idea that mind and body are separate entities and that our concepts and reason are disembodied has been radically challenged over the past two decades. Empirical research on mind, thought, and language coming out of linguistics, psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience shows how all our meaning and conceptualization are grounded in aspects of our bodily engagement with our environment. We will examine the way meaning emerges from our sensory-motor experience and is extended via imaginative processes like metaphor to structure our understanding of virtually every aspect of human existence, including science, philosophy, art, politics, morality, and religion.

Mark Johnson, PhD, is a professor of philosophy and Knight Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Oregon. His research has focused on the philosophical implications of the role of human embodiment in meaning, conceptualization, reasoning, and values. He is coauthor, with George Lakoff, of Metaphors We Live By (1980) and Philosophy in the Flesh (1999), and author of The Body in the Mind (1987), Moral Imagination: Implications of Cognitive Science for Ethics (1993), and The Meaning of the Body: Aesthetics of Human Understanding (2007).

Frank Echenhofer, PhD, teaches in the Clinical Psychology Department at CIIS. His areas of specialization are Eastern and Western comparative psychology, philosophy,
and psychophysiology.

Introduction to Raga Singing
and Devotional Chanting
Silvia Nakkach

Ragas are the most important link to the essence of Indian classical music. The appreciation and experience of the raga becomes profoundly meaningful to spiritual seekers as well as to the trained musician. The word “rag” is derived from the Sanskrit “raga” which means “color,” or “passion.” Ragas, therefore, may be thought of as acoustic methods of coloring the mind of the listener with an emotion. Ragas are not just musical scales or modes—they are described by master musicians as divinely inspired melodic entities.

This workshop focuses on the main characteristics of several ragas by cultivating familiarity with the pitches and tonal movement of the alap, or their introductory melodic phrases. We will discover the beauty of the shrutis (micro-tones that are revealed in the space between the notes), and the transformational power of the rasa (rasa is that which gives “taste” to the mind), which relates to aesthetic sentiments such as love, joy, devotion, wonder, heroism, peace, and detachment evoked by the rendering of ragas.

We will experience raga-based styles of devotional chanting: dhrupad, saregam, khyal, and kirtan singing. Students will be able to appreciate different ragas, create a vocal practice, learn about vocal technique, and get acquainted with various modalities of music healing applications informed by devotional chanting.

www.voxmundiproject.com

See Nakkach’s bio below

The Mysticism of Sound
and Musical Mindfulness
Silvia Nakkach

Join composer and vocalist Silvia Nakkach on a journey through the transformative power of music, and experience firsthand ancient and contemporary sound tools as a healing modality. Since time immemorial, sound has been used as a gateway to transcendence and the exploration of consciousness by shamans, yogis, mystics, artists, and scientists. Sound expresses the relationship between human and cosmic orders, and it can deepen our experience of sacredness and love.

This course offers a comprehensive and systematic understanding of how sound underlies our most fundamental existence, and how music and intention can be used to assist psychospiritual insight and transformation. The coursework integrates the power of mantra to transcend the mind’s limitations. Participants also explore spiritual healing with sound, involving instruction in the music of the Sama Veda, Sufi teachings, Indian ragas, and Rudolph Steiner’s studies on the etheric tone. Through chanting and awareness practices, participants gain knowledge of how sound can induce ecstatic states of consciousness as it enhances ritual, shamanic journeys, and meditation.

Silvia Nakkach, MA, MMT, is an award-winning composer, therapist, and pioneer in the field of sound and transformation of consciousness. She is the founding director of Vox Mundi School of the Voice, which is dedicated to teaching and preserving sacred musical traditions. She is also a teacher and the academic advisor for the Sound, Voice and Music Healing Certificate at CIIS. For more than 25 years, Nakkach has studied Hindustani music with Maestro Ali Akbar Khan and dhrupad singing with Ritwik Sanyal, PhD. Nakkach leads retreats in sacred music in the United States, Brazil, India, and Spain.

Dimensions of Consciousness
Faisal Muqaddam

Our true nature is differentiated in many precious states of being we label as “essential states.” We experience those states as love, consciousness, will, joy, strength, etc. We lose most of them in childhood due to conflicts and scarcities in our environment, which leads to the build-up (or lack) of our personality structures and our ego identity.

Through objective understanding of our personality patterns, we can retrieve our essence and integrate it into our lives. In this workshop, we will explore different attributes of consciousness and the issues surrounding them. The workshop will include transmission, meditations, visualization, teachings, and exercises.

Faisal Muqaddam is the originator of the Diamond Logos Teachings and the co-originator and codeveloper (with A. H. Almaas) of the “Diamond Approach” to liberation. He is a psychospiritual teacher who has been teaching in the Middle East and the United States for the last 34 years, and has offered retreats in Germany, Italy, and Denmark for the last 12 years. He is a Reichian therapist who trained with Phillip Curcuruto, D.C., and has also studied different systems of growth with esteemed teachers such as Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche, Claudio Naranjo, MD, and Middle Eastern Sufi teachers. Currently, Muqaddam is practicing and teaching in California, Colorado, and Hawaii.

The Way of the Shaman:
The Basic Workshop
Michael and Sandra Harner
Susan Mokelke

Considered international authorities on shamanism, Michael and Sandra Harner introduce participants to core shamanism—the universal and near-universal basic methods that shamans use to enter a nonordinary reality for problem solving, well-being, and healing. During this experiential workshop, participants receive an initiation into shamanic journeying, aided by drumming and other techniques for experiencing the shamanic state of consciousness, as well as for divination and healing. This workshop is a prerequisite for advanced workshops and training courses given by approved faculty members of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies.

www.shamanism.org

Michael Harner, PhD, founder of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, pioneered the return of shamanism and shamanic healing to contemporary life. He has done fieldwork in the upper Amazon, western North America, Samiland (Lapland), and the Canadian Arctic. His books include The Way of the Shaman; Hallucinogens and Shamanism; and The Jivaro: People of the Sacred Waterfalls.

Sandra Harner, PhD, directs the Shamanism and Health Program for the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. She is the author of various publications on the effects of shamanic drumming and journeying on health.

Susan Mokelke, JD, is the assistant director of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. She currently teaches and assists at the foundation’s weekend workshops with Michael and Sandra Harner and assists at the three-year North American Program in Advanced Initiations in Shamanism and Shamanic Healing. She has more than 11 years of experience in shamanism and shamanic healing.

The Tomatis Method
Auditory Stimulation Programs
and Cross-Cultural Healing Music
Pat Moffitt Cook

Since the 1940s, auditory stimulation has been used for the reeducation of the ear. This field has grown to include a number of methods that address specific listening and learning disabilities in children and adults, including dyslexia, attention deficit disorders, speech problems, poor reading comprehension, and communication skills. This workshop explores the comparative research and clinical applications of the Tomatis Method and a number of Tomatis-based auditory stimulation technologies used nationwide in learning centers, schools, clinics, and homes.

The workshop encompasses a lecture, audiovisual presentations, and demonstrations; individual, dyad, and group exercises; and discussions. Participants will learn about both indigenous and traditional cross-cultural therapeutic techniques and sound/music repertoires used in Western health care settings today. Emphasis will be placed on transcultural themes and the needs of a multiethnic client/patient population. Students will investigate how sound and music are used as diagnostic tools, healing agents, and connectors to spiritual domains, and how each of these elements creates and constructs a dynamic healing session.

Pat Moffitt Cook, PhD, FAMI, CCMHP, is the founder and director of the Open Ear Center on Bainbridge Island, Washington. She is a pioneer in the use of cross-cultural sound and music in health care. Her doctoral work in music paralleled extensive practical training and certification in methods of Auditory Stimulation and Sensory Integration (Tomatis Method) and in guided imagery and music. Cook is the author and producer of the book and CD, Music Healers of Indigenous Cultures: Shaman, Jhankri, and Nele and the CD, Brainwave Symphony.

Movement Ritual and Dance Exploration
Anna Halprin

Anna Halprin’s “Movement Ritual” is an objective approach to movement that was developed and refined over many years of physiological study and creative exploration. Regular practice facilitates a thorough understanding of one’s particular skeletal structure, patterns of tension, flexibility, range of motion, strength, awareness, and creative choices—like an individualized map of the physical, emotional, and mental territories of the body. A simple, expansive series that opens a space for one to approach any movement with his or her own imagination and sensitivity, “Movement Ritual” is a moving meditation and a powerful catalyst for healing.

This is an ideal workshop for those who want to develop body awareness beyond form, as well as for those who wish to deepen their body awareness and enliven a creative approach to dance based on sound and integrated movement.

Anna Halprin has worked in the field of dance since the 1930s, creating works that have gathered numerous awards and five honorary doctorates. She was honored with a major exhibition of her work at the Contemporary Museum in Lyon and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. She has authored Movement Ritual, Moving Toward Life: Five Decades of Transformational Dance, and Returning to Health with Dance Movement and Imagery. Recently, Janice Ross, PhD, published the most comprehensive biography of Halprin called Experience as Dance. Halprin continues to teach and perform with fervor.

Lady of the Sunset
Luisah Teish

Autumn is the season of harvest and of the ancestors of the world. In the West African diaspora, Oya is the Lady of the Sunset. In this workshop, participants will perform ancestral stories, build an altar, pour libation and invoke the ancestors, participate in a masked parade, sing, and dance.

Wear seasonal clothing, bring small instruments, objects, photos, and craft supplies. This workshop is part of the 13th annual Festival of the Bones.

www.luisahteish.com

Luisah Teish is the author of Jambalaya: The Natural Woman’s Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals, a women’s spirituality classic. She is the director of Ile Orunmila Oshun and the School of Ancient Mysteries/Sacred Arts Center in Oakland, California. Teish is well-known for her ritual theater performances and public ceremonies such as the Festival of the Bones, a celebration of the Earth and the ancestors of the world. Presently she teaches classes in women’s spirituality, mythology, folklore, and the ritual arts online at www.luisahteish.com/samsac.

Nondual Psychotherapy:
Listening and Speaking from No-Mind
Peter Fenner

This workshop focuses on how to listen and communicate from the space of no-mind, or nondual awareness, in ways that create bridges for clients to enter the same state. In this context, the function of a therapist is to offer mind-to-mind transmission through a natural yet precise interplay of speech and silence.

Participants will learn about:

• Accessing nondual awareness within themselves
• Unconditioned listening: exploring listening from no-mind
• Creating an unconditioned space: allowing therapy to unfold without anticipating the next moment
• Seeing the constructed nature of conditioned experience
• Deconstruction: introduction to various ways to deconstruct reified beliefs and feelings
• Nondual inductions: guided contemplations that invite people into the space of natural meditation

www.radiantmind.net

Peter Fenner, PhD,completed his doctorate degree in the philosophical psychology of the Madhyamika school of Mahayana Buddhism in 1983. After nine years as a celibate monk, he handed back his ordination. In 1986, he began offering adaptations of Mahayana wisdom to mental health professionals. Fenner subsequently founded the Center for Timeless Wisdom, a Californian nonprofit organization, which offers contemplative dialogues and retreats in Australia, the United States, Europe, and Israel. Fenner’s books include Radiant Mind; The Ontology of the Middle Way; Reasoning into Reality; Essential Wisdom Teachings: The Way to Inner Peace; The Edge of Certainty: Paradoxes on the Buddhist Path; and Sacred Mirror: Nondual Wisdom and Psychotherapy.

What Is the Wonder of All Wonders?
Pure Awareness: On Becoming the Field
Rudolph Bauer

In this workshop, participants will learn to hold the awareness state by entering the innate, immediate field of awareness, and at moments becoming the field of consciousness. One’s awareness is not one’s mind, but, rather, a field. By becoming the field of our own awareness, we can directly experience nondual oneness. The seminar will be intensely experiential. Everyone will be invited to enter and hold the primordial field of awareness together, learning to generate and sustain this consciousness both for oneself and others. We will then practice extending, to expand this ongoing continuity of being. The role of nondual practice in healing and psychotherapy will be addressed throughout the workshop.

Rudolph Bauer, PhD, a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology and a consultant to the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, has written more than 30 papers on topics in psychotherapy. His postdoctoral studies include work in Gestalt therapy, phenomenology, and psychoanalytic psychotherapy. He is director of The Gestalt Psychotherapy Training Center of Washington, DC, and codirector of The Washington Center for Consciousness Studies. Bauer sees individuals and groups in private practice, and teaches courses to psychotherapists in meditation and the phenomenology of awareness. He has studied for more than 30 years with masters of Dzogchen Tibetan Buddhism and Daoist qigong.