What if …
… we knew – “in our bones” knew – that all beings are an essential part of the ecosystem of Life on this planet?
… we recognized ourselves, everyone and everything as arising from the same flaring forth, 13.8 billion years ago?
… we sensed the flow of our lives and Earth’s changes as a form of active engagement in an ever-evolving field of infinite potential?
Experience the You-niverse, within and without, as we explore the cosmic dimension of everyday life in this engaging and transformative learning series. Interweaving scientific insights with contemplative, reflective, and relational practices, these virtual zoom sessions bring the wisdom and professional experience of three global experts to invite a new way of sensing ourselves and the world around us.
Through
experiential practices,
contemplations,
group reflections, and
guided meditations,
we ground profound scientific insights into our personal experience and begin to see the world through the "eyes of Universe."
No background in science is assumed or needed for this series … only an open mind and a willingness to explore your experience of yourself and the universe in a playful and engaging way.
"We are in the midst of vast destruction, but it is simultaneously a moment of profound creativity. We are involved with building a new era of Earth’s life. Our human role is to deepen our consciousness in resonance with the dynamics of the fourteen billion-year creative event in which we find ourselves.”
-- Brian Swimme
The You-niverse series is led by three teachers, contributing, augmenting and inspiring each other:
Stephan Martin (located in North Carolina, USA): astronomer, author and director of the Deeptime Leadership Program;
Marianne Rowe (located in California, USA): meditation teacher and psychotherapist;
Mark Westmoquette (located in London, UK): ex-astronomer, author and Zen teacher.
Stephen, Marianne and Mark invite you to turn your attention to the mystery of the cosmos as a way of opening the door to expanded perspective and universe of possibility.
Through Zoom, we will gather together across multiple time zones around the world for a simultaneous individual and collective experience of the You-niverse. We encourage you to be outside during the sessions if you can (no matter what time of day it is for you) listening via Zoom audio.
With Marianne Rowe, Stephan Martin, & Mark Westmoquette
Aug., 12, Sept. 30, and Oct. 28
9am PDT / 12pm EDT / 5pm BST (To find the session time in your time zone, go to World Time Buddy.)
(Each session will be around 90 minutes in length.)
$25 for single session / $65 for 3 sessions
Session 1: Just Another Day in the Life of the Universe
Sat., Aug. 12, 9am PDT / 12pm EDT / 5pm BST (To find the session time in your time zone, go to World Time Buddy.)
In this session we’ll be exploring how the simplest things of our daily life experience, like feeling the breeze on your face, have a profound cosmic dimension. Realizing this mystery changes everything about how we see ourselves and all beings. We recognize the interdependence of all beings on a vast scale, which leads to a sense of deep kinship and care.
Session 2: Cosmology of the Breath
Sat., Sept. 30, 9am PDT / 12pm EDT / 5pm BST (To find the session time in your time zone, go to World Time Buddy.)
On average we breathe about 22,000 times a day - and every breath we take-and-offer interrelates our life with every living being on the planet. In this session we’ll consider the profound and mysterious origins of the breath, as well as how the breath connects us with our local and global ecosystems in a relationship of reciprocity.
Session 3: Cosmology of Sensation
Sat., Oct. 28, 9am PDT / 12pm EDT / 5pm BST (To find the session time in your time zone, go to World Time Buddy.)
We experience the world around us through our senses - and each sense has an evolutionary origin stretching back to the beginning of the universe. In this session we’ll be immersing ourselves into the sensate experience of now, and what our experience of that ‘now’ really is. Through exploring this embodied relationship we will feel more engaged, alive and awake.
We will be connecting with each other through an audio-only Zoom call. You will be sent the Link a couple weeks before the Session.
from Mark Westmoquette
Stephan Martin is an astronomer, educator, and author who has taught astronomy, physics, and consciousness studies at colleges, universities, and learning centers across the US for over twenty-five years. Between 2003-2008 he studied directly with Brian Swimme and others at the California Institute of Integral Studies, out of which came his first book Cosmic Conversations, in which he held dialogues with scientists, spiritual teachers, and cultural creatives on the nature of the universe and our role in it. Since then he has led workshops on the New Cosmology at seminars and retreat centers across the US and Europe and has been active in exploring multidisciplinary approaches to exploring the universe. He is currently adjunct faculty in the Consciousness and Transformative Studies graduate program at John F Kennedy University where he teaches a course on “Cosmology and Consciousness.” Steve is also a co-director of the continuing care program at the Center for Spiritual Emergence in Asheville, NC where he assists clients in living more conscious lives from an expansive perspective.
Mark Westmoquette is an ex-professional astronomer (PhD 2007), but now full-time yoga and meditation teacher based in London, UK. He’s also an authorised Zen Buddhist teacher. Mark runs regular events and retreats around what he calls 'mindful stargazing’, bringing together the worlds of astronomy and inner awareness. He is the author of three books on the subject (Mindful Thoughts for Stargazers - 2019, The Mindful Universe - 2020, Stars: A Practical Guide to the Key Constellations - 2020).
Website: www.markwestmoquette.co.uk
Social media links: FB: /MWestmoquette; Insta: @mindfulstargazing; TikTok: @mindfulstargazing
Marianne Rowe is a Founding Teacher of Monterey Bay Meditation Studio, an Emergent Dialogue facilitator, and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Pacific Grove, CA. Her teaching, therapeutic work and leadership focus on healing, transformation and evolution through awareness and relationship — developing Integral consciousness through the physiological, cognitive, emotional, relational and spiritual aspects of being. She is dedicated to catalyzing and cultivating embodiment of a New Story for human beings (inspired by Charles Eisenstein) and playing a conscious role as part of the evolving Universe Story (inspired by Thomas Berry, Brian Swimme, and Duane Elgin). Marianne’s passions include inspiring reverence and reciprocity with Earth and Universe, spiritual activism, and conscious relationship with all beings. Read more.
This offering is part of the Spirituality/Evolution of Consciousness and Outdoors MBMS Pathways.