Cacao Ceremony with Iemanjo

Saturday, November 19, 2016 at 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM PST

The Center SF

548 Fillmore Street

San Francisco, CA 94117

Cacao is a gentle, heart-opening medicine used ceremonially by Mayan and Aztec peoples for centuries. In addition to the health benefits of its many active compounds, cacao can be used as a vehicle for prayer and an opportunity to connect with one’s true purpose. IEMANJO's cacao ceremony is a continually evolving offering, including guided meditation, voice activation exercises, sound healing, group singing, and live ecstatic dance music.

Cacao provided by local chocolate maker Jonas Ketterle of Firefly Chocolate.

Cost: $30

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cacao-ceremony-with-iemanjo-tickets-29056267077

Meditation and Visualization Workshop in San Francisco

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

Christopher Willits is a musician, artist and teacher based in San Francisco who believes that music and art can catalyze inner change. Willits focuses on meditative ambient electronic music created with guitar, immersive audiovisual experiences, and landscape photography. Awarded a masters in electronic music from Mills College, he has been dubbed ‘the Picasso of sound’, using his self-designed software tools to paint sound pictures with his guitar, crafting mesmerizing, intricate electronic soundscapes and lush audio-visual performances of weaving patterns, texture, and harmony. Willits creates immersive experiences of overlapping sound and light that speak to listeners on a spiritual yet down-to-earth level. His music on labels such as Ghostly International has garnered critical acclaim, sending him on continuous tours around the world for over a decade. Multiple solo albums and collaborations with the likes of Japanese legend Ryuichi Sakamoto and Tycho, have accounted for a diverse catalog with over 25 releases over the last 15 years. Willits is the founder of the creativity catalyst Overlap, and ENVELOP, a 3D immersive audio platform currently constructing a venue in San Francisco that is positioned to influence the future of music production.

Cost: $65

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/overlap-education-meditation-and-visualization-1-tickets-26315633769

More November 2016 events:

http://mindfulwatch.blogspot.com/2016/10/november-2016-Bay-Area-Events.html

Hathara Sound Healing: Deep States - The Sound of Your Light

Friday, November 18, 2016 at 8 PM - 10 PM

Yoga Flow SF

385 Ashton Ave,

San Francisco, California 94112

An experiential workshop designed to provide you with the tools for self-healing through sound, with intentions to help you find and listen to the sound of your inner light and higher self.

Silvina Vergara channels melodies that transport and guide participants on a healing soul journey.

Her work emphasizes the importance of accessing deep states of consciousness to transform emotions, change perceptions, and create new realities. Learn specific and easy to use techniques for accessing higher spiritual awareness utilizing brain oxygenation, and pineal gland activation. Reawaken your inner wisdom, cultivate profound awareness, and gain valuable tools in this transformational session of sound, meditation, and body movement.

What to expect in the workshop:

- Explore your inner light through sound

- Release old patterns and emotions

- Connect to your intuition and body innate wisdom

- Reawaken to you natural Creative Potential and personal expression

- Awakening spiritual ecstasy for deep inner work

- Release stuck emotions

- Attune the body resonate with your truth

What to bring and be prepared for:

- Be ready to do breath work and meditate, as well as move the body in dance and ecstatic movement!

- Wear comfortable, light clothing that you can sit and move freely in, and bring water to hydrate because the room tends to be a bit warm and we will be moving the body at the end of class.

- And you are welcome to bring your drums, and any other instruments you have that you feel would resonate with this workshop.

Cost: $20 - $25

https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/home?studioid=35258

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.

Venerable Jampa Sangmo is a Tibetan Buddhist Nun. She was born in Hermosa Beach, California. In 1966 she was first introduced to meditation at the University of California at Los Angeles. Her practice began with Vipassana Meditation where she did numerous long retreats. She came to Tibetan Buddhism in 1993 and began her studies with several Buddhist Masters including Lama Zopa Rinpoche, H.E. Choden Rinpoche, Ribur Rinpoche, Thich Nhat Hanh, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She took robes with her teacher Khensur Jampa Tegchok Rinpoche in 2008. She has lectured and led meditation groups and retreats for Chevron International, Facebook Menlo Park Campus, Road Scholar (formally Elder Hostel), Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Ocean of Compassion, Land of Medicine Buddha (LMB), and Vajrapani Institute. She facilitated a Cancer Support Group for four years at LMB.

Cost: $45

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/opening-the-compassionate-heart-one-breath-at-a-time-tickets-26744784370

Embodied Sacred Tantra & Cuddles

Saturday, November 19, 2016 at 1:45 PM - 5 PM

106 Woodleaf Way,

Mountain View, CA 94040

It has been an emotional time for many of us recently, so the format of this workshop will be different to concentrate on rest, sacredness, purpose, healing and intimacy. We will employ beautiful Tantric practices to go deep into those places.

This experiential Tantra workshop will be of value to complete beginners and experienced Tantrikas as we will revisit the roots of Tantra and play with deeply nourishing Tantrik practices. You will arrive into yourself more fully, clear your mental space, inhibit your own body more deeply, and from that place of wholeness connect with others through guided exercises. As a result of these practices your felt sense of intimacy with yourself and others is likely to deepen.

What you can expect:

- movement

- breathwork

- meditation

- toning

- eye gazing

- conscious touch

- hugs

- heart-centered communication

- cuddles

This is fully clothed event. Couples are welcome to stay together if they choose to. It is fine to come without a partner. If our gender balance happens to be off, we'll have triads, so please be aware that you might be doing an exercise with a person of your own gender. You can always choose to skip an exercise and just observe. Group size is limited to 20 people.

Cost: $30

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/intro-to-tantra-and-energy-play-tickets-28952782552
https://www.facebook.com/events/1086993964732017/

More November 2016 events:

http://mindfulwatch.blogspot.com/2016/10/november-2016-Bay-Area-Events.html

How to Boost your Immune System at Any Age: Dance Workshop (W22)

Thursday, November 17, 2016 at 7:30 PM - 9 PM

Li's Wushu Academy

10268 Bandley Dr, Ste 107-B,

Cupertino, CA 95014

“Optimal functioning of the immune system, it turns out, is dependent upon feeling good.”

― Marcey Shapiro, Freedom from Anxiety: A Holistic Approach to Emotional Well-Being

Dance therapy is offering numerous benefits for physical, mental, and emotional health. Music itself can be a very powerful tool. It can affect our moods and our state of well-being by triggering memories and other emotional experiences. When dance or any movement is set to music, it can create a stress relieving, joyful and sometimes healing moment for those involved, as well as increasing/releasing endorphins in the brain.

Please join us for the dance movement therapy workshop in Cupertino, where we will explore different attributes of the emotional and physical well-being through set of the creative and fun exercises, mixed with the episodes, filled with free-form dancing.

Main benefits you may expect:

- Getting a good ability to express suppressed emotions

- Establishing a positive and rejuvenating connection with your body

- Improving general physical fitness and gross motor skills development

- Processing internal negative beliefs, improving confidence and self-esteem

- Encourages creativity and imagination

- Connecting others people on emotional level

- Creating a positive life outlook, addressing stressful life events and depressive episodes

Every workshop is different, and the facilitator will follow the flow, adjusting the list of the exercises and free-form dance activities to the created team spirit and atmosphere.

Important notes:

- No partner or previous dancing experience necessary.

- All ages and physical capabilities are welcome. You choose you own level of participation and involvement.

- Please try to be on time, as it is easier to “catch a wave” if you are present from the class beginning.

- Clothing: anything that would let you move freely.

- Shoes: dancing bare-feet is the best, but you can also use soft flat shoes. Please no outdoor shoes on the floor.

- There is plenty of parking near the studio. Follow the GPS guidance, however as soon as you turn to the parking lot from Bandley Drive, you need to drive around the building to find the Li's Wushu Academy Entrance at the back. There are no entrances from the front or sides of the building.

Workshop Facilitator: Tanya Pekker, LMFT

Cost: Recommended donation $15 (cash, at the door).

https://www.facebook.com/events/1318884798145123/

https://www.meetup.com/Cupertino-Dance-Therapy/events/235371647/

More November 2016 events:

http://mindfulwatch.blogspot.com/2016/10/november-2016-Bay-Area-Events.html

Stories of Orgasm

Wednesday, November 16, 2016 at 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM PST

OneTaste SF

1446 Market Street

San Francisco, CA 94102

People from all backgrounds and walks of life coming together to share their intimate stories of orgasm, desire, sexuality, shame, and vulnerability in a casual performance style. It’s an opportunity to feel immersed and saturated in a vibe of connection, with the added flare of seeing a show.

Come share your first experience of orgasmic meditation (OM), first orgasm, relationship between desire and orgasm, sad stories, shame, turn on, heat, vulnerability, electricity.

Cost: Free

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/stories-of-orgasm-tickets-28566475096

Full Moon Fire Ceremony - Biggest moon in 70 years

Monday, November 14, 2016 at 7 PM - 11 PM

1763 Fallbrook Ave,

San Jose, CA 95130-1726, United States

Fire allows for rapid transformation. It provides the avenue to let go of the old story and drama, to allow healing to transform, all of the subconscious programming to be renewed, and to be reborn. Through fire ceremony, you will learn how to honor your lessons and old belief structures by placing them in the fire and turning them over to Spirit. By releasing these old patterns and beliefs into the fire, you heal deeply at the level of the soul without having to experience them at the literal and physical levels. Fire ceremony, one of the core ceremonies in many medicine traditions, is typically held around the full or new moon of each month when the veils between the worlds are the thinnest.

Schedule:

7:00 - Mingle

7:30 -” The Akashic Age” by Amor Luz

7:50 - Pyramid & arcatron by David Wood

7:55 -Meditation by Maria Kouzmenko

8-9:30 - FIRE led by Luis Emilio

Opportunity to share, give thanks and throw what you no longer need into the arms of the fire

9:30 - Musical performance

10:00 – Mingle

Cost: $22

https://www.facebook.com/events/1768023143453136

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

http://www.meetup.com/InfinityEnergetics-SoulTones/events/235134479

More November 2016 events:

http://mindfulwatch.blogspot.com/2016/10/november-2016-Bay-Area-Events.html

Sema Gathering and Whirling Workshop

Sunday, November 13, 2016 at 4 PM - 5:30 PM

Center for Creative Living

1460 Koll Cir, Ste C,

San Jose, California 95112

Join us on a path for healing and self-growth through the power of meditative whirling and sacred dance to live music, mystical poetry, and Zikr (prayer). With us create a sacred supportive space where we can all open our heart, body, and mind.

Included will be a short Sufi training and dance workshop helping people of all experience levels to whirl for a sustained period.

Sema is a powerful meditation ritual with music, poetry, and movement that originated over 700 years ago with the Sufis. Whirling is the customary dance of Sema whereby one attempts to abandon ego, pain, and personal desires and reach the source of all perfection. Whirling connects us with our center, our heart. There are no spectators when we enter this sacred gathering together. “Sema” means “listening”. Participate with us in this practice of deep listening, become filled with the energy of blessing, and create a channel of healing for all of creation.

We will open with sacred and mystical Persian poetry and meditation, journey into whirling, healing, and Persian and Near Eastern healing dances/rituals with live music, then close our gathering with chanting, drumming, and sharing.

Please wear comfortable clothing (white or light colored if possible) and bring socks or soft soled shoes to wear. If you choose to turn avoid eating a large meal 2 hours prior. Feel free to bring a poem, story, or music to share. Our gathering welcomes musicians and other spiritual or healing teachers to come and share their art.

Cost: $15-25 sliding scale donation.

https://www.facebook.com/events/708826922598516/