Alternatives: Autumn 2012

A LTERNATIVES St James’s Church / Piccadilly / London Autumn 2012 Programme

CELEBRATING 30 YEARS

Events inspiring heart, mind and soul

WELCOME

alternatives.org.uk

Alternatives Friends Membership

Become an Alternatives member and you will gain many benefits. You can become a member at our website. We have four categories: Friend - For £25 a year you will receive the programme three times a year and have priority entrance to our busiest talks.

Good Friend - For £50 a year you receive free entrance to three talks per year, a Soul of Coaching event and 15% discount on workshops. Plus same benefits of being a Friend. (Total worth if you book three workshops a year of over £100). Of course the more workshops you attend the more you save.

You also will receive our CD ‘Eternal Delight: Songs For The Soul.’

Business Friend - For £100 a year.

Same benefits and savings as Good Friend. Plus discounts (worth £125) on online advertising.

Life Friend - become a Life Friend for one payment of £1000. Free entrance to our talks and Soul of Coaching events for life plus 3 free workshops per programme for life.

About Alternatives Gabrielle Bernstein speaking at Alternatives, June 2012

Welcome

We warmly welcome you to our Autumn programme. We have a wonderful selection of inspirational events for you with leading presenters in world spirituality and personal growth.

In December, Steve Nobel is stepping down as co-director after 12 years to focus on his writing and freelance career. Steve has made a huge contribution to Alternatives and we will greatly miss him. Thanks Steve for everything you have done and given us. We wish you many blessings and much love for your ongoing journey.

As Steve leaves, our workshop coordinator Mary Daniels is becoming co-director. Mary has outstanding organisational and personal qualities and brings a wealth of experience to Alternatives.

Richard Dunkerley Co-Director

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Cameron McCool

Free Online Resources

We have lots of fabulous resources freely available on our website: * You can download over 300 past talks and podcast interviews with leading presenters. * You can print e-tickets for events booked online (although an e-ticket is sent automatically sometimes it gets lost in cyber space). * You can print certificates of attendance for workshops and soul of coaching events. * You can leave feedback for events. * You can send beautiful e-cards. * You can amend personal details.

Alternatives explores world spirituality and personal growth through regular events and online resources. Based at St James’s Church, Piccadilly since 1982, Alternatives is an independent not-for-profit organisation serving a global audience.

A Friendly Disclaimer

We take great care in selecting our presenters and equally we ask you to use your discernment regarding opinions and information presented. We recognise that quick solutions to some issues are not always possible. Although St James's Church, in its openness of heart and mind, includes Alternatives, the ideas in this programme are not necessarily representative of the church itself.

And finally if you book online for a Monday talk you receive for free the recording as an MP3 (at the discretion of the presenter).

Cover: Ranga Krishna Tipirneni

Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter at alternatives.org.uk

TALKS

London: City of the Red Bus

Brian Whelan

“I greatly admire what Alternatives is seeking to do in widening horizons.

I have attended several talks and have always come away with new thoughts and ideas. So keep exploring, keep questioning, keep pushing the limits.We need you.” – Michael Meacher MP 7pm Talks at St James’s Church Pay on the door for our Monday talks or book in advance via our website.

Our talks are in St James’s Church unless stated otherwise. Doors open at 6.30pm. The talks start at 7pm and end at 8.30pm. Vegetarian food and books are available afterwards.

Concessions are for full-time students, over 60s, jobseekers and DLA. Please bring proof to show at the door.

Alternatives Friends have priority entry at our busiest talks where stated. Please show your Friends card at the door.

Getting to St James’s St James’s Church is on the south side of Piccadilly, opposite Swallow Street and 200m from Piccadilly Circus.

Nearest tubes are Piccadilly Circus and Green Park. Free car parking is available after 6.30pm in St James’s Square.

Access St James’s is accessible to wheelchairs via a ramp at the Piccadilly entrance. If arriving by car, wheelchair users may find it more convenient to alight in Jermyn Street, and move via Church Place at the side of the church to the main Piccadilly entrance. There is an accessible toilet in the church foyer and an induction loop for those with hearing impairments.

Monday 3 September The Mindful Manifesto JONTY HEAVERSEDGE & ED HALLIWELL Each moment of our lives is so precious yet many of us spend our time anticipating the future, fearing, planning and worrying, or dwelling in and regretting the past. Studies have found that mindfulness training can protect people from depression, reduce their stress levels, help them manage chronic pain, drop compulsive behaviours such as smoking or over-eating, and even cope better with cancer and other serious illnesses.

Join Ed and Jonty will bring us up to date with some of the latest findings on mindfulness and discuss how we might apply this in our lives to improve our own health and wellbeing.

Dr Jonty Heaversedge is an inner city GP in South East London. He has also become a familiar face on the television, having presented 3 series of Street Doctor for BBC1. He is the coauthor of The Mindful Manifesto. www.drjonty.com Ed Halliwell is a mindfulness teacher and writer. He is co-author of The Mindful Manifesto and writes regularly for The Guardian on meditation and well-being. www.edhalliwell.com £10/£5 concs

Pay on the door for talks or book online

Monday 10 September Living Without Regrets BRONNIE WARE Living in a society that puts a lot of effort into the denial of death, we have created a world driven by fear and irrational thinking. It takes courage to break free of this mentality. Then following the heart becomes the most natural thing in the world. After eight years of working as a carer with people who had gone home to die, Bronnie realised it was the regrets of the dying people that had left the most profound effect on her personally. Drawing on these conversations she wrote a blog titled The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. Within two years, the article was viewed by more than eight million people. In this talk, Bronnie Ware will explore the way we look at life and how essential it is to fully choose life regardless of the opinions of others or the challenges that life throws our way.

Bronnie Ware is the author of The Top Five Regrets of the Dying – A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing. It tells of her own personal and painful journey and how it was transformed by the wisdom shared with her by dying people, in particular, the regrets that dying people took to the grave. This inspiring memoir is now in the process of being translated into 25 languages. www.bronnieware.com £10/£5 concs

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TALKS Monday 17 September Practical Wisdom in Precarious Times CATHERINE INGRAM We are hungry animals. Hungry for food, drink, emotional and physical stimulation, things, experiences, sex, lovers, kids, money, power–there is literally no end to our collective longings.

We come from a long ancestral heritage of hungry creatures. Our ancestors could be said to share one overriding characteristic: a driving will to survive.

They were full of desire, and so are we.

Yet we are living in a time where there is more choice available, everything is speeding up and change is happening must faster. Catherine Ingram will explore practical wisdom in these times of great change. This evening is an opportunity to enter a meditative space that allows conversations to arise that embraces the important life experiences of being human and alive right now – work, romance, parenting, loss, and death.

Catherine Ingram is a dharma teacher who has led Dharma Dialogues internationally since 1992. She is the author of Passionate Presence, In the Footsteps of Gandhi, and A Crack in Everything. She is a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. www.catherineingram.com £10/£5 concs Catherine Ingram is leading a workshop Passionate Presence on Saturday 22 September – see page 9.

Wednesday 19 September Soul of Coaching: Spiritual Intelligence for Deep Change NIGEL GRACE Soul of Coaching is a continuous, monthly professional development group for anyone interested in learning more about different approaches to coaching. You do not have to be a coach to attend.

To induce real change we need to develop the ability to behave with wisdom and compassion, while maintaining inner and outer peace, regardless of the circumstances. This evening will introduce you to the 21 skills of Spiritual Intelligence.

7pm–9pm £15/£10 concs The October Gallery 24 Old Gloucester St, WC1N 3AL

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Michael Howe

Monday 24 September Dying to Be Me ANITA MOORJANI Anita Moorjani was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and doctors told her family she was just hours away from death. It was at this point that she 'crossed over' and returned again into this world with a clearer understanding of her life and purpose on earth. Anita chose to return to life when she realised that ‘heaven’ is a state, and not a place.

This understanding subsequently led to a total recovery of her health. Tonight Anita shares her amazing experience of entering another dimension and being given a choice of whether to return to life or not.

Anita Moorjani had been working in the corporate world for many years before being diagnosed with cancer in April 2002. Her fascinating and moving near-death experience in early 2006 hugely changed her perspective on life, and her work is now ingrained with the depths and insights she gained while in the other realm. She is the author of Dying to Be Me. www.anitamoorjani.com £10/£5 concs

Alternatives Video We have produced a short video about our Monday talks which aims to give a flavour of what we do especially for people who are new to Alternatives.

You can view it from our website home page.

Monday 1 October The 10 Secrets of Healthy Ageing PATRICK HOLFORD The big myth about getting old is that there’s nothing good about it. The future is frailer, weaker sicker. It’s downhill all the way. The really good news is that you have choices. The first baby boomers hit 65 last year – a silver tsunami that is going to keep on coming.

Bad for pension providers but great for us. We are the first generation that can choose how well we age. This talk explores: How a nutrition/lifestyle programme will increase your chances of staying healthy; the kind of information and knowledge you need to achieve the wish list of good general health; advice to help you cut your risks of developing the common chronic disease and ailments of ageing; and safer, healthier and effective options to prescribed drugs.

Patrick Holford is one of the world's leading authorities on new approaches to health and nutrition. He is founder of the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in London and heads the Food for the Brain Foundation which pioneers nutritional approaches to mental health. Patrick has authored over 35 books including the Optimum Nutrition Bible and his latest The 10 Secrets of Healthy Ageing. www.patrickholford.com £10/£5 concs

Only from the heart can you touch the sky – Rumi

TALKS Wednesday 17 October Soul of Coaching: Shine Your Light JACQUIE MOSES Soul of Coaching is a continuous, monthly professional development group for anyone interested in learning more about different approaches to coaching. You do not have to be a coach to attend.

This evening, Jacquie Moses will present a coaching model to help you shine your light and move beyond self-sabotage. Discover the 5 biggest forms of self-sabotage and how to overcome them - this then allows for success to unfold naturally for yourself and also your clients.

7pm–9pm £15/£10 concs The October Gallery 24 Old Gloucester St, WC1N 3AL

Lisa Ratcliffe

Monday 8 October Healing Transcendence NORMAN ROSENTHAL Transcendental Meditation (TM) is an ancient form of meditation, which is a powerful technique for improving physical health, promoting personal growth and boosting performance.

Extensive research documents the benefits of TM on the body and brain.

Specifically, TM can lower blood pressure, reverse cardiovascular disease, prevent heart attacks and strokes, and prolong life.The effects of TM on the brain are equally remarkable, causing the brain to shift to calming alpha-wave rhythms and become more coherent.

Research also shows that TM can reduce anxiety and depression, and help people with post-traumatic stress disorder. Tonight Dr Rosenthal will illustrate these principles with colourful stories of individuals from many different backgrounds who have experienced transformation through this technique.

Norman Rosenthal MD is the world renowned psychiatrist who first described Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and pioneered the use of light therapy at the US National Institute of Mental Health. He is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine and the author of Transcendence: Healing and Transformatio Through Transcendental Meditation and Winter Blues. www.normanrosenthal.com £10/£5 concs

“In all my travels around the world and all the organisations I have ever worked with, Alternatives is my favourite.”

Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way Monday 15 October Creating Happiness From the Inside-Out JOHN WHITEMAN Imagine a life where you are able to self-manage how you feel and create happiness from the inside-out. A life where by taking simple steps each day you will be able to shift from feeling ok…to feeling good…to feeling fantastic! Well the simple answer is – you can!

During this inspirational talk, John will explain how to increase your energy vibration, creating the momentum needed to manifest your dreams. John has discovered 9 Elements which, when brought into your life will do exactly that. Based on his experiences as a troubleshooter helping people and companies in crisis, he found that these 9 Elements when applied to his clients lives made such an improvement to how they felt that their personal and business lives benefited amazingly.

These 9 practical tools form the foundation to a philosophy of life that John calls The Way. John Whiteman is a business troubleshooter and creator of The Way. His work inspires people to fulfil their dreams. His is author of 9 Days to Feel Fantastic. www.johnwhiteman.com £10/£5 concs Pay on the door for talks or book online

Monday 22 October Choice Point – Film Screening VARIOUS Each of us has the potential to be agents of change, and Choice Point is a film that weaves together fascinating personal stories by public figures about the dynamics of change. The film features major visionaries and inspirational figures of our times, every one of whom has overcome challenges and obstacles in his or her personal life or field of endeavour to reach the pinnacle of success. In addition, Choice Point presents scientists and philosophers who explain in layman’s language revolutionary theories of about the dynamics of change.

Presenters include: Richard Branson, Jack Canfield; Gregg Braden; Desmond Tutu; His Holiness the Dalai Lama; Barbara Marx Hubbard; Tony Benn and many others. After the screening there will be a Q and A session with David Hamilton and Alison Pothier who are both featured in the film.

David Hamilton is a scientist and author of several books Quantum Field Healing.

Alison Pothier is an intuitive and transformational healer www.choicepointmovement.com £10/£5 concs

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Your Pictures – Celebration

Monday 29 October Songs of the Prophet – Concert SARAH WARWICK & GUESTS When love beckons to you, follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep.

And when his wings enfold you yield to him… Kahlil Gibran Sarah Warwick has spent the last two years creating a haunting and beautiful musical interpretation of Kahlil Gibran's timeless masterpiece The Prophet. Tonight’s concert will be the world premiere of Sarah's new album, Songs of The Prophet and will magically bring Kahlil's text to life. The evening will be an opportunity to experience the wisdom of The Prophet which is deeply pertinent in our troubled world, tuning in to its spiritual message and allowing the music to touch your heart.

Some of the themes faithfully followed are love, marriage, pain, children, friendship, and good and evil. Sarah will be joined this evening by guest musicians including Peter Coyte and Malcolm Stern.

Sarah Warwick is a singer and songwriter whose journey has taken her through pop stardom in the 1990’s, through three bouts of breast cancer, to running highly successful personal development workshops in singing, song writing, recording, sound therapy, corporate energising and teambuilding. www.lifesong.co.uk £10/£5 concs

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Mark Hemley

Monday 5 November Myth and Transformation JANE MEREDITH Every culture has myths of Gods dying, only to be reborn a season or two later, or Gods or Goddesses descending into the realms of death or the Underworld to emerge - changed - a few days or months later. As mortals we also have times where we disappear from our ordinary lives - in crisis, depression, illness and grief. What if we were to understand these times as not only inevitable, but also valuable teachers, that will guide us as surely as those ancient myths into the depths of ourselves, allowing us to return not just changed but reborn? This evening, Jane Meredith will share her own experiences of travelling these mythic paths into the mysterious Underworld; including the descent and return of Inanna and Persephone.

Monday 19 November Celtic Visions CAITLIN MATTHEWS For the people of the ancient Celtic world, seership opened windows into the otherworld, awakening the true vision and wisdom known by poets as the gléfiosa or ‘the bright knowledge.’

What we see and what we imagine has one connected life, but it is only when we enter into dialogue with the otherworld that we understand that. The primordial condition of the human soul is based upon metaphors of perception: the symbologies of this primal language of the soul are received by the inner senses and conveyed primarily through the images and metaphors of storytelling, song and poetry. The evening will include a participatory demonstration of the Celtic soul-singing method used by poets, seers and druids in the ancient world.

Jane Meredith is an author, ritualist and teacher who lives in Australia and works internationally. She is a regular presenter at the Glastonbury Goddess Conference. She is the author of Journey to the Dark Goddess: How to Return to Your Soul and Aphrodite's Magic: Celebrate and Heal Your Sexuality. www.janemeredith.com £10/£5 concs Jane Meredith is leading a workshop The Deep Power of Myth on Sunday 18 November – see page 14.

Caitlin Matthews is acknowledged as a world authority on Celtic wisdom, the Western Mysteries and the ancestral traditions of Britain and Europe. She is the author of over 50 books including Celtic Visions and Singing the Soul Back Home. She has had a shamanic practice in Oxford for the last 22 years and teaches worldwide. www.hallowquest.org.uk £10/£5 concs

Monday 12 November No talk today as there is a music festival all week in the church

Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions – Albert Einstein

TALKS Wednesday 21 November Soul of Coaching: Energy 4 Life CAROLINE SHOLA AREWA Soul of Coaching is a continuous, monthly professional development group for anyone interested in learning more about different approaches to coaching. You do not have to be a coach to attend.

This evening is led by Caroline Shola Arewa.You will explore four powerful ways to elevate your energy for health and wellbeing.

7pm–9pm £15/£10 concs The October Gallery 24 Old Gloucester St, WC1N 3AL Monday 26 November A Species with Amnesia?

GRAHAM HANCOCK Myths and legends from all over the world insist that a great civilization that was technologically advanced, powerful and wise existed in deep antiquity but was wiped from the face of the earth when it ‘angered the gods’. In this talk, Graham Hancock makes the case for a lost civilization destroyed in a global cataclysm at the end of the last Ice Age around 12,500 years ago. As the sun approaches the centre of the Milky Way at dawn on the winter solstice, 21 December 2012, the end of the current 5,126 year cycle of the Mayan calendar, he considers the possibility that our civilization, too, despite its technological prowess, may be poised on the brink of becoming the next Atlantis. Yet at the same time, we are confronted by tremendous opportunities and hope is more appropriate than fear.

Graham Hancock has become recognised as an unconventional thinker who raises controversial questions about humanity and its history. He is the author of many international bestsellers including The Sign and The Seal,Fingerprints of the Gods, Heaven's Mirror and Supernatural: Meeting the Ancient Teachers of Mankind. His books have sold more than five million copies worldwide and have been translated into 27 languages. www.grahamhancock.com £10/£5 concs

Angus Ford-Robertson

Monday 3 December Evolutionary Darkness AMODA MAA JEEVAN The collective darkness so many of us are experiencing right now is a monumentally pregnant moment in the evolutionary journey of humanity. How do we face the increasing personal and global challenges that are part of today’s changing world? How do we allow the ‘dark night of the soul’ to be a doorway to spiritual growth? How do we find peace amidst intensely turbulent times?

How can we anchor ourselves within this light when everything appears to be falling apart. Whether we’re experiencing the end of a relationship, the loss of death, a crisis at work, or terror about the ‘end of the world’, these situations when seen from a new perspective - are precisely the catalysts we require to awaken our evolution.

Monday 10 December Civilized World – Concert PRAYING FOR THE RAIN This evening we welcome back Praying For the Rain for another amazing concert. Tonight's performance will feature songs from their latest album, Civilized World. The new album is an inspired collection of songs that bridges the years of the Praying for the Rain sound.

From the opening song, you will be drawn into experiencing beautiful melodies, harmonies and rhythm, which sets the contemporary mood of the album. Always known for their innovative approach to music and sound, this new album blends traditional and modern cultures, world music with folk/roots, creating a rich, intriguing tapestry of acoustic ambience.

Come prepared to be enchanted and uplifted.

Amoda Maa Jeevan is a leading light and a powerful feminine voice in the new consciousness movement. Author of How to Find God in Everything and Change Your Life, Change Your World: Ten Spiritual Lessons for a New Way of Being and Living, she is a frequent radio & TV show guest and travels widely to offer her Radical Awakening teaching to a growing global audience. www.amodamaajeevan.com £10/£5 concs

Praying For the Rain are one of the most dynamic and compelling bands performing today. Their unique style combines contemporary acoustic music with an eclectic mix of world sounds and rhythms, together with beautifully crafted harmonies and emotive lead vocals. Co-founded by Domenic and Vince DeCicco, the band continue to maintain an alluring excitement with their live performances. www.twinarrowsmusic.com £15/£10 concs

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life – Steve Jobs

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Angus Ford-Robertson

Monday 17 December Winter Solstice Celebration ALTERNATIVES TEAM & FRIENDS Winter Solstice has been celebrated in cultures the world over for thousands of years. This start of the solar year is a celebration of light and the rebirth of the sun. The Winter Solstice is the time of longest darkness and shortest light north of the Equator. It is the traditional time to celebrate the truly important things in life: your family, your children, your home and looking forward to a wonderful year to come. Yule is a time throughout time that honours love and new birth, as well as the collective unity of humanity. Just as Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ, Yule celebrates the birth of the sun god - child of the goddess in the Pagan belief system.Yule is primarily the celebration of the rebirth of the sun. Tonight we will have a magical invocation to the directions, a releasing ritual so you can let go of the limiting energies of 2012 and welcome in 2013. This evening we have some amazing guests including the drummers of Drum Jam £10/£5 concs

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Monday 7 January Eight Auspicious Symbols – New Year Concert MICHAEL ORMISTON & CANDIDA VALENTINO We celebrate the New Year with a concert specially created by Michael Ormiston and Candida Valentino for Alternatives with the eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism. They will play many instruments including Tibetan singing bowls, Mongolian khöömii overtone and undertone singing, symphonic gongs, conch shells, Tibetan bells, shaman drum to invoke the wisdom of the Wheel of Dharma.

Michael Ormiston is the UK’s foremost Mongolian khöömii overtone singer. He has been travelling to Mongolia since 1993 where he was initiated into this amazing way of connecting to the power of the voice by the senior keeper of the Mongolian tradition, Tserendavaa.

Candida Valentino is the only British woman to perform khargyraa, an undertone style of singing that has strong connections with shamanistic practices of Mongolia and Tuva. www.soundtransformations.co.uk £10/£5 concs

Your Pictures We are always looking for pictures to use in our programme and on our website which in some way illustrate some of the aspects of what Alternatives is about. So we invite you to send us your images, either photographs or art.

We pay £25 for pictures used in our programme. Each programme will have two themes for your submission which for the Autumn are: Sacred Places Freedom Hi-res digital images only please and a maximum of 3 pictures per theme.

Email your pictures by 1 November to Richard at richard@alternatives.org.uk

facebook Follow Alternatives on Facebook and Twitter.

Click on the links from our website homepage.

We know what we are, not what we may become – William Shakespeare

WORKSHOPS Saturday 15 September

The Tao of Love UTA DEMONTIS

We are living in a very yang-oriented masculine world.

Many of us women have strongly cultivated our yang side and compromised cultivating our yin, our feminine essence.

The Tao is essentially a philosophy that honours the feminine. The Tao of Love is about walking your own path – a path rooted in love. Taoist meditations and practices enable us to connect with our own inner wisdom, cultivate our radiance and open us to a richer experience of life.

Taoists have always understood that sexuality is an integral part of our health and wellness. Sexuality is not suppressed but embraced.When sexual energy is combined with the loving energy of the heart it becomes the greatest healing force in the world.

In this workshop you will learn meditations, qi gong exercises and the jade egg practice to open your heart, connect with your feminine essence and cultivate your sexual energy. The exercises are practised wearing loose comfortable clothing. This workshop is for women only.

Uta Demontis is an expert in the cultivation of sexual energy for both men and women. She is a Universal Tao instructor, teaching the Taoist practices brought to the West

by Mantak Chia. www.manawa.co.uk 10.30am–5.30pm £65/£55 Good Friends/£40 Concs Park Crescent Conference Centre 229 Great Portland St, W1W 5PN

Saturday 22 September

Passionate Presence CATHERINE INGRAM

White Tara

Anya Langmead

Sunday 23 September

Conscious Writing JULIA McCUTCHEN

Catherine’s retreats are an opportunity to relax and steep in the perspectives she offers in Dharma Dialogues. The retreat is an excellent way to normalise those perspectives such that being mostly in the quietness of heart becomes the natural way one experiences everyday life.

Living in this way is simply a habit, and this workshop is an excellent opportunity to deepen in that habit.

The day will be held in silence with the exception of two sessions of Dharma Dialogues with Catherine, morning and afternoon. The day will reveal the seven qualities of awakened awareness which are silence, tenderness, embodiment, genuineness, discernment, delight and, finally wonder.

We recommend that you bring your lunch with you so that you do not have to leave the workshop area during the day. In addition to the two sessions of Dharma Dialogues, we will also have two short sittings and two walks in silence through a nearby park. There is no practice, no effort, no beliefs.

Conscious writing is a new way forwards for writers at any stage of the writing process – even if you haven’t started writing yet. This powerful approach to writing with the voice of your soul is an intuitive yet structured technique for discovering and sharing your unique gifts.

As you work consciously with the full creative cycle, you release the old patterns of conditioned thought and behaviour that hold you back from being all that you are. You surrender your self-doubt, and just write! By the end of this workshop you will have completed your first piece of conscious writing and understand how conscious writing enables you to write the book(s) you are here to write; open the floodgates to receive an infinite stream of creative inspiration; learn the 7 step process to overcome resistance and transform it into fuel for your creative fire; discover how to access the true source of your authentic writer’s voice; and know how to give shape, form and structure to your richest ideas.

Catherine Ingram is a dharma teacher who has led Dharma Dialogues internationally since 1992. She is the author of Passionate Presence, In the Footsteps of Gandhi, and A Crack in Everything. She is a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. www.catherineingram.com 10.30am–5.30pm £65/£55 Good Friends/£40 Concs Columbia Hotel, 95 Lancaster Gate, W2 3NS

Julia McCutchen is a writer, conscious creativity coach and intuitive mentor. Formerly a publisher of spiritual and personal development books, she is author of The Writer’s Journey: From Inspiration to Publication and the founder of the International Association of Conscious & Creative Writers. www.iaccw.com 10.30am–5.30pm £65/£55 Good Friends/£40 Concs Rembrandt Hotel, 11 Thurloe Place, SW7 2RS

I searched for God and found only myself. I searched for myself and found only God – Sufi proverb

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Magic Forest

Herewood Gabriel

Saturday 29 September

Living Your Divine Purpose BRANDON BAYS

This day is dedicated to revealing your true passion, purpose and potential. Have you ever felt that ‘something’ is blocking you, holding you back from living your full divine potential – had a longing to uncover your soul’s true purpose, wishing you could get clear on who you are, why you are here?

Have you secretly longed to discover your heart’s deepest vision for your life, to experience real passion for life and felt you just couldn’t access it somehow?

In this dynamic and highly experiential day with Brandon Bays you will dive in and clear deeply held blocks, fears, old limiting beliefs, that have been holding you back and with powerful process work you will liberate your true divine potential - the natural passion, the joy that is your own essence. From this deepest place you will open into who you really are, uncovering your souls purpose, creating an inspiring vision for your life.

The day is jam packed with powerfully clearing, liberating process work, meditations, vision questing and there will also be time to interact personally with Brandon.

Brandon Bays is an internationally acclaimed speaker, mind-body healing expert and founder of The Journey. In 1992 she was diagnosed with a basketball-sized tumour.

Brandon put into practice everything she had learned about nutrition, herbs, kinesiology, meditation and guided visualization with a carefully planned natural healing regimen.

Amazing herself and her doctors, she completely healed in only 6 weeks with no drugs, no surgery, and no pain.

Brandon is the author of three books including The Journey. www.thejourney.com 10am–4.30pm £75/£64 Good Friends/£55 Concs Friends House, 173 Euston Road, NW1 2BJ

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Sunday 30 September

Melting the Ice in the Heart ANGAANGAQ

In this workshop Angaangaq introduces his work as a healer, medicine man and shaman. As he weaves the energy of the group through his stories and song into a circle of strength, beauty and healing the ice in the heart of each participant begins to melt. This workshop is designed for those ready to embark on a journey of personal growth and discovery, and for individuals looking to shift their beliefs about healing and change.

Our emotional and psychological blocks are lifted and we realign us with our higher selves. When a shift in awareness begins, healing occurs, allowing the best in the human spirit to emerge. You will embark on a journey within that will melt the ice in your heart through the transformative power of love. Through the exquisite melodies of Angaangaq’s native chants and the power of his healing drum (Qilaut), we are realigned with our higher selves, revealing the beauty we carry within and the love that we truly are.

Angaangaq is a shaman, healer, storyteller and EskimoKalaallit elder whose family belongs to the traditional healers of Kalaallit Nunaat, Greenland. Angaangaq conducts healing circles, intensives, and sweat lodges around the world and his work bridges the boundaries of cultures and faiths in people young and old. His teachings are deeply rooted in the wisdom of the oral healing traditions of his people. www.icewisdom.com 10.30am–5.30pm £65/£55 Good Friends/£40 Concs Columbia Hotel, 95 Lancaster Gate, W2 3NS

A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow – Charlotte Bronte

WORKSHOPS Weekend 6/7 October

Introduction to Healing Love MANTAK CHIA

This weekend join Grand Master Mantak Chia who will teach chi kung, Taoist meditation and sexual energy healing practices. He will teach four foundation practices in depth: The Micro-Cosmic Orbit - with your orbit open you can achieve better health, wisdom, healing and a better connection to Source.

The Inner Smile - a powerful internal meditation which dissolves physical and mental tensions that cause energy blockages. The Inner Smile enhances the energy of the organs, glands and our life force in general; it calms and focuses the heart and mind.

The Six Healing Sounds help to restore, balance, and cleanse the vital organs, stimulating chi flow throughout the body to enhance overall health and vitality.

Inner Sexual Alchemy - this practise takes sexual energy up to revitalise the brain and makes it healthier, stronger, bigger, to increase our knowledge and alertness; this is the major key to longevity.

Mantak Chia is a Taoist Grand Master and the creator of the Universal Healing Tao system. His main teacher was Vicarage GateWhite Cloud hermit Master Yi Eng. Master Yi transmitted to Master Mantak Chia the most sacred and closely held Taoist practices. www.taoyoga.co.uk 10.30am–5pm £150/£128 Good Friends/£110 Concs St Mary Abbots Centre, Vicarage Gate, W8 4HN Tom Olliver

Sunday 7 October

The Healing Power of Voice JAMES D’ANGELO

A key to our self-transformation lies in the vibrational spin of the chakras, the storehouse of our complex psychology and thus our soul life. The closer their frequencies are to the optimum the more our psyche becomes purified and we experience sound health at every level. Through the process of therapeutic vocal sound the chakras are stimulated and balanced, dissipating blockages and releasing fine energies.

To achieve this aim you will explore in this workshop the art of toning using both Eastern and Western traditions. This will include not only vowel, consonant and seed syllable intoning but also the practice of Taoist sounds for the organs, mantra, natural sounds such as laughter and chanting. Some of the work employs simple movements and gestures to encourage and direct the sounds. No previous experience is necessary.

James D’Angelo PhD is a composer, musician and leading authority on sound healing. He has been leading therapeutic sound workshops and courses in Europe and the USA since 1994. He is author of The Healing Power of the Human Voice and Seed Sounds for Tuning the Chakras and is a regular contributor to Caduceus magazine. www.soundspirit.co.uk 10.30am–5.30pm £65/£55 Good Friends/£40 Concs Park Crescent Conference Centre 229 Great Portland St, W1W 5PN

Saturday 13 October

The Return of the Divine Feminine ANDREW HARVEY

Andrew Harvey believes that the survival of humanity depends upon the fullest possible restoration of the powers, passions, and glories of the divine feminine. Today, Andrew will share his vision of the radical transformation of awareness and action that a reclaiming of the fullness of the divine feminine would engender.

In this vision is the sacred marriage: a full fusion of the sacred masculine and sacred feminine on every level, a union of the ‘feminine’ powers intuition, patience, reverence for nature, and knowledge of the holy unity of things with the ‘masculine’ energies of rule, reason, and passion for order and control to birth a new humanity and a new era of divine love in action.

Andrew will share the most potent practices of the realization of the divine feminine, drawn from Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, and indigenous traditions.

Andrew Harvey is a distinguished mystical scholar, Rumi translator, spiritual teacher and architect of Sacred Activism.

His books include The Hope: a Guide to Sacred Activism and Heart Yoga: the Sacred Marriage of Yoga and Mysticism. He was the subject of the BBC documentary The Making of a Modern Mystic. www.andrewharvey.net 10.30am–5pm £65/£55 Good Friends/£40 Concs Swiss Church, 70 Endell St, WC2H 9DY

Nobody can hurt me without my permission – Mahatma Gandhi

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Gemma Petherbridge

Saturday 20 October

Life-Changing Conversations SARAH ROZENTHULER

Relationships are crucial for happy and successful living.

When things go wrong in relationships then it is important to have the right attitude and skills to put things right. Are you stuck for words at crucial moments?

This is a life-changing workshop where you will find your voice and develop your capacity to listen deeply.

In conversation, we need to be true to ourselves while being open to the truth of another person. This delicate and demanding balance happens most easily in the presence of other people who are on a similar journey. Through experiential activities, whole group dialogue and individual reflection, you will learn how to: * Call up your courage and have that conversation; * Create a ‘container’ so that talking about the impossible becomes possible; * Speak your truth without rupturing a relationship; * Express your feelings without getting triggered; * Expand your skillset so that your intention and impact are aligned.

This workshop will give you the know-how to have more meaningful and inspiring conversations, whether at work or in your personal life.

Sarah Rozenthuler is a chartered psychologist, spiritual educator and author of Life-Changing Conversations. She has co-facilitated several retreats with Neale Donald Walsch, author of Conversations with God. She works internationally as a leadership development consultant for a diverse range of clients including the World Bank and the UK and US governments. www.sarahrozenthuler.com 10.30am–5.30pm £65/£55 Good Friends/£40 Concs Park Crescent Conference Centre 229 Great Portland St, W1W 5PN

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Weekend 27/28 October

Creativity Bootcamp JULIA CAMERON

“Creativity is God's gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God” – Julia Cameron In this two-day workshop, Julia Cameron will dedicate herself to helping you identify and unravel old and unworkable ideas that block your creative spirit. Your creative spirit can express itself in so many ways in the world, through music, dancing, play, singing, poetry, and painting. Your creative spirit can also show up in the ways you relate to others, handle difficulties, and find innovative solutions to your life's problems.

Our creative spirit has the ability to imagine and express from a deep place of authenticity. In this place we join with the divine in the ongoing creation of the universe. Julia believes that we often speak of God as ‘the creator’ without realizing that ‘creator’ is another word for ‘artist’.

Join Julia for an intensive two-day trek through your creative kingdom. Tools will include Morning Pages and Artist Dates, and the weekend itself will be a mix of talks, Q&A, and experiential work in small groups. Expect this course to jump-start your creative process, refresh your own thinking around creativity, and introduce you to a creative community.

Julia Cameron is the author of more than 30 books, both fiction and non-fiction. Best known as the author of The Artist’s Way, her bestselling works on the creative process have been translated into more than 30 languages and have sold over three million copies worldwide. An award-winning playwright and poet, Julia Cameron has distinguished credits in theatre, film and television. www.juliacameronlive.com 10.30am–5pm £150/£127 Good Friends/£110 Concs UCL Christopher Ingold Auditorium 20 Gordon Street, WC1H 0AJ

Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you – Maori proverb

WORKSHOPS Saturday 3 November

Womb Wisdom ANAIYA SOPHIA

Women have always known that the womb houses the greatest power a woman possesses: the power to create on all levels. However, because the womb stores the energetic imprint of every intimate encounter, loving or not, the creative voice of the womb is often muffled or absent altogether, affecting the emotional, mental, and spiritual health of women and their relationships.

This day for women includes practices that will: * Clear your (sexual) past, open the womb’s energetic pathways, remove intrusive cords and dis-empowering connections, and ignite creative potential; * Prepare you for the path of conscious relating and relationships that are fulfilling and deeply intimate; * Erase contracts and toxic bonds; * Establish an authentic connection with your pure and awakened womaness.

Anaiya Sophia is a kundalini yoga teacher and the creative director of The Soul Centre in Provence. She has been teaching worldwide for the last 15 years. She is author of Pilgrimage to Love, and Sacred Union: The Alchemy of Love and co-author of Womb Wisdom, www.pilgrimageoflove.com 10.30am–5.30pm £65/£55 Good Friends/£40 Concs Rembrandt Hotel, 11 Thurloe Place, SW7 2RS

Sunday 4 November

The Male Path NICK CLEMENTS & WILLIAM BLOOM

From the day we are born, we men are caught in two major and inescapable dynamics: our genetic drives and cultural stereotyping. Through the day we will fully engage with the question – what does it mean to be a man in the modern world? – and how the stereotypes of maleness and masculinity can be transformed and healed to serve us, our community and the generations to come?

This workshop for men is about building a safe and enjoyable container, that recognises the crucial importance of having a healthy connection with nature and the spirit of all life, staying fully grounded and mindful, and holding our hearts compassionately open to each other. The day is based on the Sami shamanic model of masculinity. We will explore through talk, sharing and exercises these different ways of being a man and emerge from the day with a more authentic sense of who we can be.

Nick Clements is a pioneer in the field of community arts, community building and new ways of being for boys, men and fathers. He has written two books on masculinity Using the Ugly Duckling and his latest The New Ages of Men. William Bloom is a leading educator in the field of modern spirituality and holistic wellbeing. His many books include The Endorphin Effect and The Power of Modern Spirituality. www.schoolofeverything.com/teacher/nickclements www.williambloom.com 10.30am–5.30pm £65/£55 Good Friends/£40 Concs Rembrandt Hotel, 11 Thurloe Place, SW7 2RS

Blue Moon

Puja Louise Brown

Sunday 11 November

Spiritual Solutions DEEPAK CHOPRA

Deepak Chopra has made clear his conviction that it is within the potential of every human being to live an enriching, self-aware, magnificent life. But to reach that state of empowerment is a difficult task, calling for courage, will power and often guidance.

In this seminar, Deepak Chopra offers that guidance, encouragement and solutions enabling you to take your life into your own capable hands. There is a spiritual solution for every problem you face whether that be job loss, financial difficulties, relationship issues, health problems or spiritual dilemmas.

Over the course of his career, Deepak Chopra has received thousands of questions like these from people facing all kinds of challenges: * Can a stagnant career be jump-started? * In a world full of distractions and stress, how does one find time for meditation? * How do I nurture more spiritual relationships? * How can awareness have long-term effects on body and mind? * How do I lead a fulfilling life?

Hidden inside all of these questions is an answer waiting to be uncovered. With wisdom and compassion, Chopra offers you the guidance and encouragement necessary to face adversity, transform obstacles into opportunities, and live a satisfying and enlightened life.

Deepak Chopra is a global authority on spirituality and personal empowerment. He is the author of more than 50 books, published in 80 languages on mind-body health, quantum mechanics and spirituality. His latest book is Self Power: Spiritual Solutions to Life’s Greatest Challenges. www.deepakchopra.com 10.30am–4.30pm £85/£72 Good Friends/£65 Concs Friends House, 173 Euston Rd, NW1 2BJ

Hope imagines the future and then acts as if that future is irresistible – Walter Wink

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Your Pictures – Light

Laurel Hart / Celine Gamble

Sunday 18 November

The Deep Power of Myth JANE MEREDITH

The Underworld is a place all of us have visited. It is called the dark night of the soul, it is called grief, it is called depression, it is called despair or crisis or loss. When we are in this Underworld place it seems as if we have died. In the outside world we may keep going as though nothing is happening, or we may stumble to a halt. But deep within ourselves, something is brewing. Transformation.

What if we were to deliberately choose to visit this sacred place, deep within ourselves and discover our truths, meet our nemesis and understand with clarity what we must do - without being forced there in the extremity of crisis? What if we learned how to descend into our depths, and ascend again; not helpless in the grip of crisis but as a spiritual and personal practice?

Ancient myths tell us we can prepare ourselves to travel within, seeking the divine spark. Stripping down to our essence and following the maps set down in myths of many cultures we travel into the Underworld, bringing our offerings and our willingness.

Jane Meredith is a ritualist and teacher who lives in Australia and works internationally. She is a regular presenter at the Glastonbury Goddess Conference, the Australian Goddess Conference and and is a Reclaiming teacher. She is best known for her innovative, powerful and interactive approach to myth, magic and ritual. Her books are Journey to the Dark Goddess: How to Return to Your Soul and Aphrodite's Magic: Celebrate and Heal Your Sexuality. www.janemeredith.com 10.30am–5.30pm £65/£55 Good Friends/£40 Concs Columbia Hotel, 95 Lancaster Gate, W2 3NS

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Weekend 24/25 November

Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself JOE DISPENZA

The great leaders and heroes in history all had one thing in common. They were able to dream of something that did not exist and make it happen. You can learn how to be become the hero of your own life. You may not want to change history, but you may want to change something else - your health, your emotions, your relationships, your home, your career, your finances - anything in your life.

Day 1: Understanding the Power of Your Mind In this day, Dr Joe will explain: why we keep repeating the same patterns in our life; how we change and why change is so difficult; how to break unwanted emotional patterns; the 10 steps to change and reinvention of self.

Day 2: Harnessing Your Potential for Freedom and Change Dr Joe will take you through a series of interactive exercises and intensive meditations that will deepen your practice and process of change, as he guides you through the process of: changing your energy; working with the subconscious mind; learning attention as a skill; living your future now; breaking emotional agreements; changing your biology, beliefs, perceptions and energy.

Dr Joe Dispenza is a neuroscientist, chiropractor, and expert on the brain, mind and human potential. He is the author of the bestselling book Evolve Your Brain – The Science of Changing Your Mind, and also featured in the movie What the Bleep Do We Know!? www.drjoedispenza.com 10.30am–5.30pm £150/£128 Good Friends/£110 Concs UCL Christopher Ingold Auditorium 20 Gordon St, WC1H 0AJ

Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love – Rumi

WORKSHOPS Weekend 24/25 November

Release the Writer in You ANNE AYLOR

What sort of writer are you? What sort of writer do you dream of becoming? Have you found your 'voice'? If you have not written creatively, do you want to find out what that voice might be? If you wish to put your ideas and experiences on paper, but don't know where to start, this two-day workshop will help you to free your imagination and give you the confidence to release the writer within.

This journey of self-discovery includes: writing exercises to access the conscious/unconscious mind; techniques to start writing; developing pieces which may lead to a short story or novel. This workshop will help you develop your creative skills in fact or fiction and explore your unique powers of expression. Conducted in a friendly, constructive atmosphere, it is open to anyone wanting to learn, from beginners to experienced writers.

Anne Aylor is an author, playwright and creative writing coach. She has had stories published by the Arts Council, The Literary Review and Stand Magazine and broadcast on BBC Radio. She is author of two novels No Angel Hotel, and The Double Happiness Company. She has been teaching creative writing for many years.www.anneaylor.co.uk 10.30am–5.30pm £130/£110 Good Friends/£80 Concs Park Crescent Conference Centre 229 Great Portland St, W1W 5PN

Sunday 2 December

Living Tantra JAN DAY

This one day workshop is an invitation to explore what it means to be sexually alive as a man or a woman. It’s an opportunity to explore more deeply into the realms of ecstatic loving, sexual intimacy and sacred union.

The workshop will focus on the ways that we love, relate and express our sexuality as man or woman. It aims to open participants to a deeper 'yes' to all that they are. In the process, you will discover the potential for ease, delight, playfulness and consciousness. The day will encourage and guide you into the rich experience of being fully in touch, with yourself and others. You will get the opportunity to: * Grow and heal your sexuality; * Bring more consciousness to the ways you shut down and open up; * Experience giving and receiving touch; * Explore practices to communicate your boundaries.

This workshop will include guided processes in small groups, meditations, dance, sharing circles and touch.

Jan Day is a relationship and tantra teacher and coach. She trained for 15 years with The Art of Being founder, Alan Lowen and has spent the last 10 years helping men and women learn to trust their own unique journeys and embrace their own wounds as well as their potential. www.janday.com 10.30am–5.30pm £65/£55 Good Friends/£40 Concs Columbia Hotel, 95 Lancaster Gate, W2 3NS

Michael Howe

Saturday 26 January

Plant Spirit Medicine ELIOT COWAN

For thousands for years, humans and plants have lived together. Like us, plants have spirit, and their spirit can nurture and heal us. Plant Spirit Medicine uses the spirits of plants to bring us into balance and harmony. Since the beginnings of humanity, shamans have been sharing guidance and healing found in the world of soil and sun, wind and water, plants and animals. The natural world is wise, they say, and plants offer special doorways to its wisdom. If the shamans are right, can you too learn from plants? What if the natural world was eager for your arrival, ready to teach you?

In this workshop you will explore your relationship with plants as wise elder guides to the knowledge and power of nature. Without ingesting any substances, you will take the help of household shamanic methods in your exploration and discovery. No prior experience in shamanism or herbalism is necessary.

Eliot Cowan undertook an apprenticeship with don Guadalupe Gonzalez Rios, a marakame, or shaman of the indigenous Huichol people of Mexico. Don Guadalupe initiated Eliot as a marakame in 1997 and subsequently recognized him as a guide to shamanic apprentices in that tradition. Eliot travels widely, teaching, healing, and promoting balanced relationship with the human and other-thanhuman world. He is the author od Plant Spirit Medicine. www.plantspiritmedicine.org 10.30am–5.30pm £65/£55 Good Friends/£40 Concs Park Crescent Conference Centre 229 Great Portland St, W1W 5PN

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The Tao of Love Passionate Presence Conscious Writing Living Your Divine Purpose Melting the Ice in the Heart Introduction to Healing Love The Healing Power of Voice The Return of the Divine Feminine Life-Changing Conversations Creativity Bootcamp Womb Wisdom The Male Path Spiritual Solutions The Deep Power of Myth Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself Release the Writer in You Living Tantra Plant Spirit Medicine

Uta Demontis Catherine Ingram Julia McCutchen Brandon Bays Angaangaq Mantak Chia James d’Angelo Andrew Harvey Sarah Rozenthuler Julia Cameron Anaiya Sophia N Clements / W Bloom Deepak Chopra Jane Meredith Joe Dispenza Anne Aylor Jan Day Eliot Cowan

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Our workshops are often full – if you have not booked, please do not turn up on the day without having first checked with us that there are places available.

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Our workshops Alternatives provides an educational space for personal and spiritual exploration. You may find that taking one of our workshops can facilitate a powerful experience and we encourage you to take care of yourself during and after the workshop.

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If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough – Meister Eckhart