Topics and Presenters at SpiritKeepers for January and February 2012 January 8 – Lama Foundation with Jyoti and Willow Brook. Come join us for a slide show and discussion of Lama Foundation in New Mexico and our pilgrimages there. This Spiritual Community is home to the Dargah of Murshid Samuel Lewis who started the Dances of Universal Peace. Located on over one hundred acres, Lama is home to many spiritual practices, permaculture, and buildings constructed using natural building techniques. In 1970 Ram Dass published Be Here Now at Lama. Come share stories and learn more about Lama! Jyoti and Willow are frequent pilgrims to Lama and long time dancers in the Boulder/ Denver community.SpiritKids Sunday January 15 – Promoting Peace and Ending War with Marta Turnbull. The Colorado Peace Network is a state-wide association of peace and antiwar groups formed for the purpose of promoting peace and stopping war. Military forces have been drawn down in Iraq, but the US continues to be involved in numerous wars and conflicts. Over 50 percent of the US Federal budget goes to the Defense Department. Due to many factors, the US now is in a seemingly continuous state of war. It is time for people of peace to join together to move our world beyond war and violence. This morning, Marta Turnbull will discuss what the CPN doing, how she got involved, and how Dances of Universal Peace ties to CPN. Participants will form small groups to discuss specific peace topics. Marta Turnbull, a passionate peace activist, helped found the Colorado Peace Network; and leads the Boulder County Peace Group. January 22 – The Spirit of Service: Working with the homeless at Boulder Bridgehouse with Scott Medina. When we think of volunteering to help the needy, we often think of serving food at a soup kitchen. But is that the essence what service really means? This morning we will hear from Scott Medina about Boulder's Bridgehouse, which serves the homeless and low-income downtown. We'll get an overview of their services and then have a wide-ranging discussion of homelessness and service. Scott is the Volunteer Coordinator at BridgeHouse and has directed their dinner program for over a decade. SpiritKids Sunday. January 29 – Empathy Consciousness: A Key to Love of Self and Others with Robin Collins. Come explore one shift in attention and awareness that will bring you untold wonders in all your relationships and communication. We will explore being proactive in your relationships by attending to deeper messages. We will build a group knowledge base about the motivations of all action, and we will distinguish empathy from sympathy, enmeshment and manipulation. We will build an empathy vocabulary and we will experience giving empathy and also receiving empathy in a group participation game. Robin is a spiritual life coach committed to helping people transform their thinking, beliefs and attitudes so they may create spiritually fulfilling lives with others. She has been involved in weekly groups in Heart Centered Communication for 6 years. Her next ten week class ‘The Wisdom of Heart Centered Communication’ will begin in March. SpiritKids Sunday February 12 – Taoism with Patricia Kay Youngson. Patricia Kay has been studying Taoism and attended a three week Taoist retreat last July in Canada for Instructor certification. She will present the history of Taoism along with basic Taoist principles. Taoism is rooted in nature and teaches a series of techniques that increase physical, mental, and spiritual well-being through conserving, acquiring and circulating chi (energy). One of the beauties of Taoism is that it utilizes sexual energy for increased health and higher states of consciousness. Much of the time will be spent with a guided meditation of the Six Healing Sounds and the Inner Smile. The healing sounds expel negative emotions and build positive emotions while the inner smile helps bring optimal health and harmony to the body. SpiritKids Sunday February 19 – The Nature of Religion with Matthew Middendorf. Our culture has a problem. We live in a culture where the dominant worldview of science has upended the basis for all traditional religions. Our culture has been desacralized, the sacred has been removed. We are a culture adrift without a story or myth to live by. What is the result? Just look at the news: it’s a mess. I will use insights from Joseph Campbell, Mircea Eliade, science and modern analysis of religion to explore where this mess came from, the nature of religion, and whether we can get out of this mess. Religions make many claims about truth; in what sense are these “truths” true? Why is religion filled with so many contradictions (for example, love and war)? What is the real purpose of religion? February 26 – Hercules and the 12 Astrological Labors with Richard Hartnett. Hercules was a son of the divine Zeus, and just like the rest of us, his biggest challenge in life was to reach beyond his comfort zone. Unable to master his world by his strength alone, Hercules must develop other gifts and talents if he is to gain passage to Mount Olympus. In his path was the jealous and resentful Hera. But is she really his enemy? During this presentation, Richard will explore how the 12 labors are a Metaphor for Mastering Astrological characteristics. He will also give his unique perspective on how Zeus and Hera represent both the light side and the dark side of spiritual guidance. Richard has been a student of Greek mythology for over 30 years. He is a regular presenter at Spirit keepers and a long time participant in the local dance community. His first book on Greek mythology is due to be published in March of 2012. SpiritKids Sunday SpiritKeepers meets Sunday mornings (except for the first Sunday of each month) from 10:00 am – noon. On the first Sunday, we encourage you to find other forms of spiritual nourishment and to bring it back and share it with the fellowship.  Our location: The West Boulder Senior Center at the NE corner of 9th & Arapahoe, Boulder Are you interested in being a guest speaker at SpiritKeepers Interfaith Fellowship gatherings? Presenting can be a rich and rewarding experience. Please submit your ideas in a short, focused paragraph (80 words or less) to Timothy Dobson at PO Box 368, Boulder, CO 80306 and include a bit about your background. Embrace this opportunity to share your wisdom and passion with the community!