NEWEST New Options Community Group Calendar ~~ February-March 2010
Since 1997 the IONS New Options Community Group in Amherst, MA has been exploring pros and cons of a wide variety of research findings, concepts, practices, and ideas . . . for more integrally conscious, healthful, wise, mutually empathetic living, aging, dying, and thereafter . . . as they newly emerge from scientific, humanistic, and spiritual communities worldwide. No topic is out of bounds.
February 3 - MINDFUL MOVEMENTS. Through this video the renowned Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh guides us through a series of gentle exercises created specifically to cultivate a joyful awareness of the body and breath. These are the same "meditations in motion" that the monks and nuns of Plum Village Monastery use daily as complement to their sitting meditation practice.
February 10 -The MYSTICAL IMPACT OF NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES. Once regarded as meaningless hallucinations, near-death experiences (NDEs), this Shift article reports, have become the subject of serious study by medical and various other researchers. Psychologist and author Bruce Greyson is Professor of Psychiatry and director of the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia Health System.
February 17 - OPEN TO REVISIONS. Sam Kean writes in this article, "Some religious entrepreneurs have adopted an "open source" model, where rituals and doctrines can be rewritten as easily as computer code. For example, pagan symbols drawn in the sand, soon to be washed away. Scholars argue that pagan religions are inherently more open source than other faiths." What do you think?
February 24 - LOVE'S DESTROYER. "Jealousy has long been deemed the guardian of love," says psychology writer Hara Estroff Marano. "But more often it's love's downfall. We typically blame our partner for paying attention to another, but the real issue may be what jealousy teaches us about ourselves."
March 3 - UFO'S: ARE WE ALONE? This PBS NOVA video advertises itself as "The Truth Behind UFO Sightings." What do you think? Do UFO's exist? Or can they be scientifically explained? This video takes us on a fascinating search for UFO's using actual rare UFO footage and interviews with people who claim to had alien contact. NOVA investigates the claims, the photos and the films in an in-depth study of their true validity. They say their revealing findings will astonish us whether we believe in them or not.
March 10 - WORLD CHANGING IDEAS. In this special section Scientific American magazine discusses twenty (20) ways to build a cleaner, healthier; smarter world. For example: What would happen if solar panels were free? What if were possible to know everything about the world -- not the Internet, but the living, physical world -- in real time? What if doctors could forecast a disease before it strikes?
March 17 - A NEW SCIENCE OF ASTROLOGY will be presented by Bruce Scofield, C.A. NCGR, who is an astrologer with a private practice in Western Massachusetts. He is the author of fourteen books and over two hundred articles. His interests include psychological astrology, electional astrology, Mesoamerican astrology and the history of astrology. An astrologer since 1967, Scofield holds a Ph.D. in the Geosciences.
March 24 - WHAT IS 'NORMAL'? Diagnostic labels are proliferating, and mental disorder seems to be annexing ever more territory. At the same time many people with diagnosable conditions, seeing their own disorders as anything but dysfunctions are forging their own original takes on what's normal. Physician and blogger Peter D. Kramer, M.D. thinks diagnosis seems more threatening because of the availability of drugs. Debate now rages constitutes malady -- statistical aberration or human dysfunction.or some of both?
March 31 - THE MINDSHIFT INSTITUTE is devoted to introducing life-positive knowledge - from new science and other crucial ways of knowing - that has the power to transform fundamentally how we see reality and how we live our lives. Co-founders Patricia B. Corbett and Michael Mannion will present their mission, values, and programs including a sample program with plenty of discussion time.
Coordinated by Bob Johnston, all our meetings, unless otherwise designated, are on Wednesdays from 2:00 to 4:00 PM in the Bangs Community Center, Room 101. Our discussions are limited to twenty people. Seating in the discussion circle is on a first come basis. Latecomers, if all seats are taken, may sit on the periphery and listen. Should you have any questions please feel free to contact Bob at 665-8920, or you may Email him at: omnimind@admin.umass.edu
OUR MEETINGS ARE GUIDED BY THE FOLLOWING INTENTIONS, PRINCIPLES, AND PROCESSES:
IONS’ and NOG's Common Mission: “Exploring the frontiers of consciousness to advance individual, social, and ecosystem transformation to an integrally aware, healthful, cocreative, and full functioning state of being.”
“What is needed is skeptical scrutiny and, at the same time, a great openness to new ideas.” – Carl Sagan
“If you view situations from your inner ‘place’ of centered, balanced, transparent timeless awareness, every perception can be viewed as an option, every interpretation as an option, and every response as an option with consequences for more or less health or ill. Each consequence may be controllable, only influenceable, or utterly uncontrollable relative to realizing mutual integral health, empathy, wisdom, and full functioning as one consciously evolves.” -- RWJ
The following affirmational meditation process can be useful for clearing one's soul of unwanted attachments and for transcending dualities relative to involuntarily learned beliefs, values, biases, and behaviors blocking one's expansion of consciouness, health, free thinking, creativity, effectiveness, and respect for the inherent worth and dignity of others:
1) I am a conscious transparent ageless center of our infinite timeless primordial Source of all individuals, societies, our ecosystem, cosmos, values, beliefs, and behaviors;
2) I am not any temporal feeling, thought, behavior, identity or possession;
3) I transcend, own and include in my repertoire all my temporal feelings, thoughts, identities, values, behaviors and possessions as conscious options for health or for ill;
4) I intend to co-creatively manage the use of my options in a way mutually respectful and healthful to myself, other entities, and our ecosystem;
5) I am open to feedback from my body, dreams, psychospiritual consultant, other entities and our ecosystem on how well I am doing in realizing my integrally healthful intentions.
6. I make adjustments to my intentions and actions as I desire for expanded conscious awareness, integral health, cocreative action, strength, and full functioning. -- RWJ
