Forums and Three-Day Intensive
The Sophia Center regularly invites from the community: artists, activists, ritual makers, theologians, ecologists and other contemporary spiritual leaders to share their wisdom and bring fresh perspective to the students and faculty.
Sophia Room (look for sign at Chapel level)
3500 Mountain Boulevard, Oakland, CA
510-436-1046 or 800-794-8813
FORUM ADMISSION: $10 AT THE DOOR
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FALL SEMESTER- 2008
THURSDAY AFTERNOON FORUMS
Thursday, August 28
Immersion Day
9:30 AM- 4:00 PM
John Fox, CPT
“The Poetry of New Beginnings”
John Fox will be examining the many ways poetry can be used as a healing art and in building community.
JOHN FOX, CPT is a poet and certified poetry therapist. He is adjunct associate professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, CA. He teaches in the Graduate School of Holistic Studies at John F. Kennedy University in Berkeley, CA and the Institute for Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, CA. He is author of Poetic Medicine: The Healing Art of Poem-making andFinding What You Didn’t Lose: Expressing Your Truth and Creativity Through Poem-Making and numerous essays.
Thursday, October 2
1:30-4:00 PM
David Richo, Ph.D, M.F.T.
“Releasing Our Inner Wisdom”
Most of us are quite aware of our need for advice and not so aware of our potential for wisdom. This potential is our true Self, an energy that contains the wisdom of the ages. When this power is activated, the archetype of the wise gui8de arises into consciousness and helps us make our decisions. Our inner wisdom may, however, remain a sleeping giant in our psyche, because we doubt our inner voice or no longer hear it. In this retreat day, we learn specific ways to contact our inner sources of wisdom through the art of discernment. Our decisions will then reflect our authentic needs and wishes and open us to our destiny of wholeness.
DAVID RICHO, Ph.D., M.F.T., teacher, workshop leader, and writer, works as a psychotherapist in Santa Barbara and San Francisco, California. He combines Jungian, transpersonal, and mythic perspectives in his work. He is the author of ‘Wisdom’s Way: Quotations for Contemplation,’ and ‘When the Past is Present: Healing The Emotional Wounds That Sabotage Our Relationships’; ‘When Love Meets Fear: How To Become Defense-Less and Resource-Full and ‘How To Be An Adult in Relationships: The Five Keys to Mindful Loving.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23
1:30 – 4:00 PM
Ralf Richter
“FREE SPIRIT”
It is a new, holistic success training which connects research of consciousness and consciousness. Expansion, mental integration of past hurts, the dissolving of emotional and mental blocks as well as the discovery and development of ones own medial abilities. It is the authentic and direct immersion into the flow of life. It comprises the discovery of why you are here and of what wants to be lived through you on this planet. Beyond that, it also strengthens you in your willingness to actually realize your inner life plan. It provides you with the necessary amount of courage and determination.
RALF RICHTER is a trainer in Free Spirit. A holistic success training is the evidence that nothing is unchangeable. It was developed by the well-known teacher of wisdom, researcher of consciousness, world peace ambassador and author, Bruno P. Wurtenberger.
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THURSDAY, Nov. 6
1:30-4:00 PM
and
FRIDAY, Nov. 7
9:30 AM-2:30 PM
and
Mon., Nov. 10
9:30 AM – Noon
“Thomas Merton and the Call of the True Self”
Merton’s life and work serve as a guide to help us understand ourselves, our relationships with the sacred, others and the world of nature.
TERANCE SMITH, M.A., is a priest from Cincinnati. Terry has been involved in spiritual companioning and retreats for close to twenty-five years. He is presently a pastor in Cincinnati while continuing to companion with others and be involved in retreats. He has done graduate work in the area of Spirituality at Fordham and Creighton Universities. Terry was a participant at Sophia Center in 2003.
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THURSDAY, November 20
1:30-4:00 PM
Edmund Coppinger
“Celtic Mythology, Enkindling Our Creative Fire”
In this conversation we will explore Celtic lore and art as a bridge which carries us back to the magical adventures of heroes and heroines, saints and sages, gods and goddesses. We will search for the connections which enliven our imaginations, and which enrich the connections to our deep self, our communities, and our world. Through stories, poetry and music we will savor the rich images and stirring dramas as told and retold by the poets, bards and storytellers who were, and continue to be, so essential to the Celtic heritage.
Edmund Coppinger, MA is a 1997 graduate of the Sophia Center Master’s in Culture and Spirituality Program at Holy Names University. As a life-long learner Ed also has attended numerous courses at the Sophia Center since 2003. Reflecting on his own heritage, Ed has undertaken an in-depth study and exploration of Celtic mythology and art since 1998.