The Gift of Fire

Dan Caro

July 19, 2014

2 - 4pm

San Francisco Meditation Center

"Dan's story will introduce you to a new way of looking at the power of the human spirit. Within the soul of this young man, exists a kind of magical vision that allowed him to overcome the most challenging of circumstances and emerge as a role model for all of us. This inner vision not only made a survivor out of Dan, but gave him the ability to live life at a level that most people-especially those who have never been confronted by such challenges-couldn't imagine for themselves." - Dr. Wayne Dyer - best-selling author and inspirational speaker

"He truly is extraordinary...He's something that only comes from when you go into a place beyond excuses. He's a testament of spiritual attraction. Not shuckin' and jiving, slippin' and slidin', or making excuses...[He] elevated our consciousness into a place of spiritual courage." - Carlos Santana - Grammy awardee guitarist and recording artist

Giftivism

Pancho Ramos-Stierle

World Citizen

June 14, 2014

2 - 4pm

San Francisco Meditation Center

• How does a citizen of the World behave and look like in the 21st century? 
• What is the way to migrate from passports and visas to bioregions? 
• In this time of climate change and the discovery of new Earth-like Planets, how is "Terra Sapiens" manifesting in our lives? 
• In the age of internet and constant distractions, how do we "unplug" to speak authentically from the heart aligned with our mind?
• If "mirror neurons" --or "Gandhi neurons"-- are a reality, how do we embody the love in the Planet?
• How do we react to nothing and respond with love to everything moment by moment? 
• How does this love (giftivism} manifest in the neighborhood where we live? 

Experiences and lessons learned from working Suicide Prevention at Golden Gate Bridge

"Hey, What's Going On?"

Sgt. John Carman

CHP Peer Support Team

May 10, 2014

2 - 4pm

San Francisco Meditation Center

Sgt. John Carman, a twenty-six year veteran with the California Highway Patrol, spent eighteen of those years working out of the Marin Area office, which has Patrol jurisdiction over the Golden Gate Bridge. He has been intricately involved with Suicide Prevention - both in terms of helping the public on the Golden Gate Bridge and through Peer Support. He has evolved from handling suicide prevention in a purely reactive mode (responding to a call of a person over the railing) to a much more proactive mode - picking possible suicidal subjects out of a crowded sidewalk on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Sgt. Carman was recently featured as a "Notable Person" on KQED's First Person series for his suicide prevention work on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Being Human - The Science and Mystery of Human Experience

Peter Baumann
Musician, Tangerine Dream
Founder, Being Human

Date: April 19, 2014
Time: 2 - 4pm
Venue: San Francisco Meditation Center

Peter joined the musical group Tangerine Dream in 1971, toured with the band worldwide and recorded multiple Gold records until 1981. He moved to New York in 1982 and founded the record company, Private Music. He served as CEO of Private Music until 1994 when the company was sold to RCA.

Peter has been happily married for 27 years and is father to three grown children. He resides in San Francisco, California and serves as director of several privately held real estate and natural resource companies. For many years, he has focused on the exploration of well-being and quality of life from a philosophical, conceptual and experiential perspective. Peter co-authored EGO: The Fall of the Twin Towers and the Rise of an Enlightened Humanity with Michael Taft. He serves on the board of CIIS and is a Fellow at the Mind & Life Institute.

"I find human beings fascinating, especially our more or less endearing behavior. Bit by bit I've come to see us human beings not as autonomous agents in conscious control of our lives, but as incredibly complex biological organisms embedded in the process of our evolving culture. We created Being Human to foster exploration and conversation about the science and mystery of human experience." - Peter Baumann

Inner Transformation As Our Core Need

Guest Presenter: Rahul Brown
Entrepreneur, Filmmaker & Social Artist

Date: March 22, 2014
Time: 2 - 4pm
Venue: San Francisco Meditation Center

If anyone were to make a file on Rahul, it would go into the folder "unclassified". His interests and experiments reach far beyond his formal education and work experience. From working at a technology startup, advocating for alternative healthcare to working with a power company, and taking years off to volunteer in the slums of India, Rahul's journey is characterized by a sincere search for living a life aligned to values. 

  

Along the way, he self-educates himself on the state of the world in various dimensions of economics, politics, religion and non-profits without the biases and limitations that come with academic settings. This has enabled him to dive into a series of service projects (such as directing and producing films as a gift) and personal experiments (such as living gift-economy for one year) through which he tries to balance his social, spiritual and livelihood needs. His spirit shines through in his recent commencement address in San Francisco. On top of it all, Rahul finds joy in small acts and cultivating community. When serendipity invites him to have dinner at the White House, he compiled a series of kindness stories to gift to the First Lady. When a friend came under a series of unfortunate events, he and his wife Asha orchestrated anonymous gifting from friends who rose up in support. From consistently hosting friends and family for dinner, practicing generosity with his relatives, and-- as a new father-- giving and growing in love through his baby daughter, Rahul seeks to maximize truth, love, and happiness in life.

Rahul is also an active volunteer in the ServiceSpace ecosystem, works as Chief Solutions Officer for Infinote, is an award-winning filmmaker, and a student of Vipassana meditation.  

Welcoming Everything!

Date: January 25, 2014
Time: 2 - 4pm
Venue: San Francisco Meditation Center


Newt Bailey, a trainer with Bay Area Nonviolent Communication and founder of Communication Dojo, where he shares his approach Nonviolent Communication (NVC). In his private practice as a communication trainer and coach, mediator, and facilitator, Newt works with couples, and with organizations in the for-profit, education, and not-for-profit sectors. He has also taught NVC in San Quentin state prison. He also teaches yearlong conflict resolution programs in the USA and Europe. 

NVC informs and shapes Newt's spiritual life and he is persistently drawn to exploring the meeting point and overlap between NVC and other spiritual traditions, with a particular focus on non-dual spiritual teachings. 

Newt received an MA in Physics from Oxford University in England. He then worked briefly in sales, followed by seven years as a high school math teacher and department chair, before moving into software engineering and corporate management. After leaving the corporate world in 2004 Newt started to study NVC mediation, and has been studying and sharing NVC ever since.

Impressions from my journey to Working for Good and Conscious Capitalism

Guest Presenter: Jeff Klein
Activator, Author, Producer & Process Facilitator

Date: December 14, 2013
Time: 2 - 4pm
Venue: San Francisco Meditation Center

For the past 30+ years Jeff has pursued a "calling" to leverage the power of business for the greater good and to make my work his spiritual path. He will share stories, insights and milestones from his journey, and raise questions for the participants.

As CEO of Working for Good, Jeff Klein activates, produces and facilitates mission-based, Stakeholder Engagement Marketing™ campaigns and Conscious Culture development programs.

Jeff serves as Director of Marketing & Business Development for Conscious Capitalism, Inc. and producer of Conscious Capitalism events. He authored the award-winning book, Working for Good: Making a Difference While Making a Living and the newly released book, It's Just Good Business: The Emergence of Conscious Capitalism & the Practice of Working for Good, an introduction to Conscious Capitalism designed to be read in less than 30 minutes!

Jeff also serves as Executive Director of BeingHuman.org and producer of Being Human events.  He loves surfing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, ChiRunning and moving in general, and is an actively engaged father of a teenage daughter.

For more information, visit workingforgood.com