November 2016: Best Holistic and Entertaining Events in San Francisco Bay Area and Around




RHAPSODY: Drum, Chant, Dance

Wednesday, November 2, 2016 at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Center for Creative Living
1460 Koll Circle # C,
San Jose, CA

Express yourself at our artfully facilitated drum, music, and dance circle!

Attune to the rhythm of your heart, the song of your soul, and the dance of life. Our drum, music and dance circle creates a safe and inviting container to play within.

Each evening we will explore drumming, music, song, chant, and dance! Easy-to-learn drum rhythms, circle songs & chants, and dance techniques from around the globe are interwoven into shared moments of fun and community connection. No experience necessary – and we mean that!

Drumming:
* Good listening practices and making space for music to happen
* Techniques for “Jamming” with other drummers and music makers
* Simple games for interacting (verbally, non-verbally, musically, etc.)
* An enhanced feeling of musical comprehension as you deepen your practice

Chanting / Singing:
* Find resonance with each other and listen with our hearts
* Encourage others to share their voices and make space for them
* Take risks and stretch creatively
* Develop a strong self-awareness in body, mind and spirit

Dancing / Movement:
* Incorporate yogic and shamanic ‘movement tools’ for personal growth and expression
* Further explore authentic movement with witness/reflection exercises
* Express ourselves fully, letting our own Light shine from within

Cost: $5 - $15 (sliding scale)


Emergent Themes of Love and Agape in Psilocybin-Facilitated Mystical Experience Research

Friday, November 4, 2016 at 7 PM - 9 PM

CIIS Public Programs & Performances
1453 Mission St,
San Francisco, California 94103

FDA-approved clinical trials at Johns Hopkins University and NYU School of Medicine have evaluated the effects of a psilocybin-facilitated mystical experience with diverse populations including individuals diagnosed with cancer experiencing psycho-spiritual and existential distress-many of these patients at the end of life. Subjective features of a mystical experience include unity, sacredness, transcendence, and a greater connection to deeply felt positive emotions including that of love.

This evening presentation and panel discussion explores the prominent, meaning-making, and transformative experiences of love and agape (spiritual, transcendent, or highest form of selfless love) that frequently emerge in psilocybin sessions. The panel discussion includes background information on psilocybin research and clinical case vignettes on the emergence of love within the psilocybin-facilitated mystical experience and its role in cultivating compassion and promoting healing. This event includes time for panel question and answer period moderated by Janis Phelps, Director of the Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research.

This event is an educational program of the CIIS Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research in collaboration with CIIS Public Programs & Performances.

Cost: $15


Chakra Inspiration Series (for Consciously Creative Women)

Friday, November 4, 2016 at 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM

Palo Alto, California

Inspired by the recent circles of creative women Hemla Makan-Dullabh and Lottie Ryan have hosted here in Silicon Valley, we have listened to your requests and created the first in our Chakra Inspiration Series for Consciously Creative Women. A sacred day spent in a circle of women who are open to exploring more deeply their creative Being.

Drawing on the needs of the Root Chakra (Sanskrit name: Muladhara) for inspiration, we have created a safe space for you to connect with your divine feminine. A space in which you will relax, and dive into deep personal exploration around the important foundations for your creativity.

We invite you to fully connect with, harness and value your creative knowledge, skills, talent, ideas and desires. Together we will explore the importance of self-care, love and forgiveness, so you can fully tap in and further develop your creative expression/s.

We will create a sacred space for you, filled with music, fragrance, art, meditation, and connected conversation to take you on a journey of self-discovery.

We will support you to put down strong roots through a variety of fun, enlightening exercises and deeply connected experiences within yourself and with the women in the circle.

At the end of our time together you will:
∞ Have a deeper understanding of how to love yourself fully and honorably with integrity and without guilt.
∞ Know what you need to add, put into place, or change, to be fully supportive of yourself in order to create.
∞ Be Inspired and motivated to move forward in your creative endeavors.
∞ Own a deep sense of connection with yourself, mother nature, the Divine Feminine and the beautiful friendships you create within our circle.
∞ Feel relaxed, at peace with and excited about your creative desires, ideas and callings.
∞ Know that you’re ready to build on what you already have or are doing, and further creating from a space of knowing.
∞ Have connections and friendships with women who “get it’ and are open to sharing their love, knowledge and support with you.
∞ Receive worksheets and information to support you to expand on what you learn during our time together.

Cost:  $85 (snacks, lunch and materials included).


Dance Your Life - A Cocréa Retreat

November 4 – 6, 2016 (Friday – Sunday)

Camp Cazadero
22175 King Ridge Rd,
Cazadero, California 95421

Join us for a 2.5-day immersive dance and learning experience, deepening with yourself and others.

~What You Get~
*Three days and two nights of impeccably held, heart-opening facilitated dancing
*10+ hours of dance instruction
*Nightly live musical performances
*Six delicious, organic & locally-sourced meals from chef Martin Bullo
*Body nourishing morning yoga with Usha Rose
*Beautifully curated space to learn and commune in
*Cozy, heated small group cabins to sleep in
*1,000 acres of open meadow with groves of redwoods, madrones, firs and oak trees
*Time, space, freedom to relax, unwind, and explore

Take a deep dive with us into the metaphor of Life as a Dance.
Engage the foundational core of Cocréa Conscious Partner Dance technique in somatic inquiry around how we relate to the moments when life pushes and pulls us on our path of self discovery. Spend 3 days creating community, building dance skills and deepening connection. Explore kinetic intimacy and delight in the bliss that comes from moving with others without expectation.

Learn trust, surrender, impeccability and confidence.
Practice authenticity and presence in every moment.

Instructional/facilitated component includes five 2.5 hour segments engaging technique based in Blues-Fusion, contact improvisation and bio-mechanics for dynamic, expressive, conversational partner dance exploration.

How will you move when the brambles catch you to avoid ripping your clothes?
How do you dance in delight with the dishes?
When your partner erupts at you to stay in love?
When you get triggered by them?

Cocréa is more than a dance modality. It is a life practice.

Cost: $375 - $445


A Healing Women's Campout

November 4 – 6, 2016 (Friday – Sunday)

La Honda Creek
22100 Skyline Blvd.
La Honda, CA 94020

Join us for a truly Transformational and Magical Women's Gathering among the Majestic Redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains for a Peaceful weekend of Healing and Spiritual Self-Discovery.
Our ancient indigenous traditions remind us that Fall is a time for renewal. Just like the trees shed their leaves this time of year, this Fall season opens the energy for dropping the old and allowing space for the new. It gives us the opportunity to renew our energy and clear out and release old negative patterns and behaviors. The Fall season is a time to turn inward and let go of things that hinder our growth. And that is exactly what this weekend will do for us, aid our growth.

This gathering will provide an opportunity for you to embody your feminine wisdom and honor your body and soul.  You will leave feeling more grounded, connected, rejuvenated, present and loved.  This is a weekend to relax and connect with your inner self, nature, and other mindful women. 
No cell phone, no internet, no distractions. Just you, some seriously magical redwood trees and the opportunity to "clear the clutter," and welcome in what serves your most Essential-Self.
This is a weekend where you will experience real transformation as you expand your inner-world through  powerful ancient healing practices and circle sharing activities that will nourish your mind, body and soul.
Embark in this beautiful journey with us to uplift your spirit, open your heart and experience deep awareness of yourself.

What you would get from joining this gathering:
~ Attain more lasting Physical and Emotional Healing.
~ Get more in tune with your own Spirituality.
~ Connect more to "Source" and to your own Divine Guidance.
~ Experience more Self-Control and Re-Awaken your Zest for Life.
~ Establish more Harmony in challenging relationships, especially the one with Yourself.
~ Be more Patient and Maintain Inner Peace in the midst of outer chaos.
~ Release Anger, Resentment, Depression and Negative Thought Patterns.
~ Design Powerful and Clear Intentions for Your Life using the “Law of Attraction.”
~ Go beyond your Perceptions, Fears, and Judgments in a Loving and Supportive environment.

Cost: $150 - $250


Le Bal des Vampires

Saturday, November 5, 2016 at 6:30 PM – 12:00 PM

Alameda Elks Lodge #1015
2255 Santa Clara Ave,
Alameda, California 94501

Waltz the night away in a beautiful candlelit ballroom with the San Francisco Bay Area’s most glamorous Undead at the 23rd Annual Le Bal des Vampires on Saturday, November 5, at the beautiful Edwardian Alameda Elks Lodge at 2255 Santa Clara Avenue, Alameda, CA 94501, and there will once again be two separate dance floors: The elegant Edwardian upstairs ballroom for beautiful waltzes and other Victorian and vintage ballroom dance music by the early music ensemble Bangers and Mash; and the Nightfall Club, located in the Lodge's atmospheric Rathskellar, hosted by DJs Dark Moon and Persephone, playing dance music of a more modern nature for free-style dancing. Ball guests may wander to and fro between the dance floors as they please.

The event features two no-host bars for our mortal guests (and light snacks in the Nightfall Club only), an elegant Edwardian parlour for conversation and photo-op, and special performances by the Theater of the Vampires and Bella Donna.

Historical costume from the century of your rebirth, Gothic or Fantasy costume, or modern evening dress is admired but not required. There is no dress code for the evening but if you plan to dance, be sure to wear shoes you can dance in, and expect to see a variety of the most gorgeous costumes you’ve ever seen!

Cost: $35.00


Honoring Ancestors Dance at Dance Elemental

Saturday, November 5, 2016 at 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM

Center for Creative Living
1460 Koll Circle # C,
San Jose, CA

November 5th is a special dance journey to Honor our Ancestors.

We invite you to dress in clothing/costume that reflects your personal roots. This is an opportunity to embody the essence of where you came from, your uniqueness, and the cultural diversity of our chosen community.

We will also have altar space to honor our Beloved Dead of the past year, so please do bring any items, photos or artifacts you wish to place there.

Cost: $15


Tension/Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE) Intro Workshop

Saturday, November 5, 2016 at 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm

Emeryville Yoga Therapy Center
1240 Powell Street Suite D-1
Emeryville, CA

TRE® (Tension, Stress & Trauma Release Exercise) is an innovative series of exercises that assist the body in releasing deep muscular patterns of stress, tension and trauma. Created by Dr. David Berceli, PhD, TRE® safely activates a natural reflex mechanism of shaking or vibrating that releases muscular tension, calming down the nervous system. When this muscular shaking/vibrating mechanism is activated in a safe and controlled environment, the body is encouraged to return back to a state of balance.

Come to the TRE® Introduction Saturday, November 5 @ 1:00pm in @ Emeryville Yoga Therapy Center. Learn to resolve stress, anxiety and tension with TRE. We will explore the nature of stress and trauma/ You’ll experience and learn the seven simple exercises that lead to the gentle shaking that allows your body to relax with TRE. Time for questions and discussion.

Cost: $45 online, and $55 at the door


Relationship Matters: Navigate the Holidays with Connection & Purpose

Saturday, November 5, 2016 at 9 AM - 12 PM

Mela Yoga
851 N. San Mateo Drive, Suite G,
San Mateo, California 94401

Are you dreading the Holiday Season because certain family members always push your buttons?

You can feel present and empowered with family while reconnecting to what matters to YOU this Holiday Season.

In this workshop you’ll learn how to:

- Identify the soul sucking assumptions and fears that hold you back from showing up fully with family
- Communicate as your most assertive and empowered Self
- Discover how to create an engaging space that enables listening

Walk the Vocal Presence Path on Nov 5th to finally stop regressing to your 5-year old self and show up as the authentic, compelling adult you are today.

Cost: Free ($50 returnable no-show reservation deposit is required)


Sensuali-TEA: It's Not Your Grandma's Tea Party

Sunday, November 6, 2016 at 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM

SF Citadel
181 Eddy Street
San Francisco, CA 94102

This is so much more than just your average tea party. Sensuali-TEA includes so much:
* Mystic Tea Lounge with specially crafted aphrodisiac herbal tea infusions to arouse your senses
* Tarot card readers giving insight to your erotic past, present, and future
* Play in the exquisite dungeon play space
* Enjoy some sexy sensual play (or just watch, or enjoy relaxing in the lounge)

At this Sensiali-TEA we will feature a special fall bland as well as some of our usual tea blends.

We ENCOURAGE all genders, orientations, races and body shapes/sizes to join our events. We are delighted to hear that people find our events to have some of the most sexually diverse crowds around.
We have a zero tolerance policy for anyone being disrespectful of the boundaries of others.

Warning! Heavy adult content!

Cost: $25 - $35


Resolve Anger, Resentment & Depression

Sunday, November 6, 2016 at 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM

IntaHealth
21020 Homestead Rd., Suite 2,
Cupertino, 95014, CA

In this fun and profound workshop, you will discover the causes of these painful, negative emotions, and learn how to quickly release them, so that you can improve every area of your life. Then you can be healthier and happier, and actualize your professional and personal goals.

Anger is often denied, misunderstood, and misused. Learn about the specific physical problems that this unexpressed negative emotion can cause in your body.  Find out how to resolve your anger, resentment and depression so that you can experience inner peace, which is your greatest contribution to world peace.

Bring a pen and pad.

Helene Rothschild, MS, MA, LMFT, is a Licensed Marriage, Family Therapist (MFC 16586), intuitive counselor, workshop facilitator, speaker, and published author for over 30 years. She has developed a unique HART process which stands for Holistic And Rapid Transformation.

Cost: $25 online; $30 at the door


Sound Mandala Experience with Loriel Starr

Thursday, November 10, 2016 at 8:00pm - 9:30pm PST

St. John's Episcopal Church
1661 15th St.
San Francisco, CA 94103

A Sound Mandala is a journey into the power of sound for healing, well-being and rejuvenation.  Sound baths are an easy and effective form of meditation for experiencing deeply restorative states.  Waves of sound will encircle you in healing frequencies that bring balance and harmonization to the body, mind and spirit as you rest comfortably, either lying down or seated. 

BENEFITS:
* Calm your body’s stress cycle
* Boost your natural opiates
* Rest and restore your nervous system
* Connect with a deep sense of inner peace and well-being
* Enjoy an internal journey that is visionary and expansive
* Feel greater self-attunement and more “tuned in” to life
* Experience a blissful trance-like state equivalent to a good night’s sleep

The Sound Mandala Experience will immerse you in an intriguing array of sounds from an extraordinary ensemble of sound meditation instruments:
* Over 50 singing bowls - Including a rare and beautifully resonate set of over 30 antique Tibetan singing bowls and the ethereal sounds of over 20 crystal singing bowls 
* Five Gongs (including three Planetary Healing Gongs) that offer a rich blend of overtones and harmonic layers of sound
* An assortment of soundscapes and ancestral sound healing instruments, including Peruvian Whistling Vessels, chimes, flutes and more

Cost: $30


Mindfulness in Relationships: A Workshop for Men

Saturday, November 12, 2016 at 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM

The Enlightened Mind
1925 Winchester Blvd, Suite 106,
Campbell, CA

This workshop is for men who are interested in becoming their best selves in relationships. We will explore the practice and application of mindfulness and how this can benefit our relationships to others, including partners, children, parents, friends, co-workers, etc. Some of these benefits are:

* The ability to give the gift of Presence ·
* A deeper connection to self and others
* Improved communication and listening skills
* The capacity to love another as they are

Cost: $50 (please register by November 5th)


Falling in Love with Meditation: A Daylong Workshop with Sally Kempton

Saturday, November 12, 2016 at 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Harmonia
2200 Marinship Way
Sausalito, CA 94965

For many of us, meditation is a duty—something we do because we know it's good for us.

In this class, you'll explore what it means to fall in love with your meditation—led by an expert in the meditation practices that awaken love. This meditation course will take you directly into the Shakti—the subtle energy—within your own mind and nervous system, and show you how to make life itself a meditative experience.

You will learn the following in this course:
* The 5 secrets of enjoying your meditation practice.
* What it really takes to open the heart—and practices for doing it.
* How to maintain heart-centered awareness throughout the day.
* Meditations on Awareness
* Bringing together the paths of knowledge and love in meditation
* The true empowerments of mantra
* How to recognize the subtle meditative doorways within your inner body
* Thoughts are not a problem - How to forge a loving relationship with your own mind
* Meditation with a Partner: The gift of shared meditative consciousness
* How to empower your capacity for ecstasy.

Cost: $75 - $85


Full Moon Concert in San Jose

Monday, November 14, 2016 at 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM

The House Of Soul Tones
1573 Hemingway Rd.,
San Jose, CA

This full moon is known as The Full Beaver Moon and is also called the Frosty Moon. The name Beaver Full Moon comes from the fact that the beavers are now active in their preparation for winter. We intend for this to be a celebration of the peace that warms our hearts & Souls this season.

Let the alchemy & Tibetan singing bowls, take you on a journey of gratitude, peace, and joy.

We look forward to this time of celebration with you.

Cost: $20


Opening the Compassionate Heart — One Breath at a Time

Saturday, November 19, 2016 at 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Ocean of Compassion (Gyalwa Gyatso) Buddhist Center
1550 La Pradera Drive
Campbell, CA 95008

Meditation has the capacity to maximize our potential by opening our awareness to a heartfelt investigation of compassion. This simple, profound practice has been utilized for over 2500 years. The practice of meditation is a learned skill that allows the individual to explore the mind in the present moment with openness, and curiosity to be with what arises. During this last decade significant medical research has shown this practice to increase attention and focus, foster well-being, and lessen emotional reactivity.

​Participants will learn tools to develop clarity of attention that allows grasping, judgment, and fear to fall away. This practice can lead to the cultivation of qualities such as compassion, equanimity, wisdom, and joy. There will be instructions for sitting meditation and walking meditation. We will have time for sharing, community, questions, and answers.

This retreat is appropriate for beginners as well as experienced meditators.

Cost: $45


Meditation and Visualization

Saturday, November 19, 2016 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM (PST)

The Dojo
3435 Cesar Chavez,
San Francisco, CA 94110

The word meditation means something different to many different cultures and religions.
The meditation that I teach is free of any religious practice and I define it as "a devoted time to be present, neutralize, and connect to the earth and cosmos".

Meditation is a tool for calibrating and refreshing your own energy system. The clarity, balance and grounding that we can achieve through a basic meditation practice can be used to deepen our own personal evolution.

It gives us a time to be still, and be at peace, observing everything that is happening within us and around us. Through meditation and visualization we can gain perspective about our emotions, the situations that trigger those emotions, and begin to confront personal issues and challenges that arise through life's many adventures.

Instructor: Christopher Willits

Cost: $65


Pan-Sensual: A Sexy and Sensational play party for ALL (Thanksgiving Edition)

Sunday, November 27, 2016 at 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM PST

1060 Folsom Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

This is a sensation play party for everyone. Come and celebrate all of your senses.

Like to have someone lightly tease you with feathers? Wonder how much fun you can have with an electric toothbrush? Have you ever looked around your house and thought of all the fun things you could do with some of your household items? At PAN-SENSUAL! you can explore all of these things and more. 

At this very unique party you will find the dungeon transformed into a Pervertables Play Room ready for you to explore some fun items. Provided for you will be an array of everyday items that can be used in amazing perverted ways. Take one for some play. Or ask our Sensationalist to try it on you to see if you enjoy it.

Featuring:
- Dungeon tours (if you are new and want someone to show you around)
- A relaxing environment perfect for deep sensation play or sensual sexy encounters
- Pervertables for you to use and keep
- A fully equipped dungeon with lots of places to explore sensation play
- And much more

This party is perfect for novices and veterans alike.

We ENCOURAGE all genders, orientations, and body shapes/sizes to join our events. We are delighted to hear that people find our events to have some of the most sexually diverse crowds around.

Warning! Heavy adult content!

Cost: $25 - $35