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Here's what you'll find at our events: 

Chanting

Connect with the rhythms of sacred songs while singing in harmony together

Intimacy

Drop into communication, touch, deep listening, and the joy of reciprocity

Dharma Talks

Learn tools for how to walk the spiritual path in the modern world

MASSAGE

Deepen your connection with your body through the healing power of touch

EMBODIMENT
(contact improvisation, movement meditation, Ecstatic Dance)

Discover the joy and spontaneity of improv movement

Leadership Training

Integrate the qualities of Wisdom, Love, and Power to become a trustworthy leader

HOW TO BECOME A TRUSTWORTHY LEADER

with Autumn Turley

Everything we do, say, feel, and even think has an impact.  At the Monastic Academy, we train under the ethos that the integration of wisdom, love, and power cultivates trustworthiness.  This workshop explores how to integrate these qualities into every aspect of our lives in order to become trustworthy leaders.

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Intimacy: Gateway to Wholeness

with Autumn Turley

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A true “yes” comes from the practiced ability to say “no”.  A true “yes” lets people come closer in all intimate contexts; friends, family, romance, business, and so much more.  A true “yes” to intimacy allows us to come closer to ourselves.  Concepts like beauty, love, and divinity transition into visceral, physical, fulfilling experiences.  The subject of this course is active trust.

 

In this workshop we will be exploring communication, touch, positive space, and the joy of reciprocity.

Coming home to our Bodies

with Autumn Turley

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How can we experience our bodies as integrated systems?  What can our physical bodies teach us about our emotions and our minds?  This talk and meditation will guide us through a journey of how to inhabit our bodies with awareness.

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Contacting the Etheric Body

with Autumn Turley

This Contact Improvisation workshop leads us through an exploration of dancing in contact with each other while connecting with the aura before connecting with the physical body.  How can we dance through our physical bodies and into this energetic space, weaving this energy back into our bodies?  How can we use this new sensitivity to deepen our physical connection?

This class will offer tools for feeling our chi and using this internal energy to inspire our movement.  We will also learn tools for recognizing when we have taken on other people’s energies and clearing those energies out of our field.

Circling

with Autumn Turley

Circling is a practice of present-moment meditation and authentic communication with other humans. It develops our ability to notice what is true for us in the moment, express it, and be with others as they do the same. The format is massively open-ended but is rooted in sharing the personal and embodied experience of being here and now. What’s it like to be here, right now? What are you seeing, hearing, or feeling? What stories are you making?  Circling makes the claim that by responsibly and sincerely embodying and expressing what is true for us in relationship with others, more clarity, love, and power will come of it.

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The AI Cult: Intelligence is all you know, but not all you need

with Namgyal Schaltegger

AI alignment is often considered to be a field concerned with problems that can be solved by and within intelligence. That is, the problem of using artificial intelligence for the benefit of all is considered to be within the problems solvable by some combination of human and machine intelligence, and its solution is to be instantiated by some kind of human or machine intelligence. At the Monastic Academy, we offer a critique of this perspective. We claim that wisdom and compassion are real, and are indispensable concepts in AI alignment. We argue that AI systems can desire wisdom and compassion, and that it is not the case that wisdom and compassion are any kind of intelligence. This Dharma talk and group discussion will examine these three questions:
(1) Are AIs conscious?
(2) Should AI be aligned with human values?
(3) How can we teach wisdom and compassion to these entities?
 

We suggest that the belief that AI alignment can be solved by and within intelligence is a key driver of existential risk, both contemporary and through history.

Opening into Softness and Strength

with Namgyal Schaltegger

In this workshop, we’ll have the opportunity to explore supporting the muscles and joints associated with seated meditation as well as healthy posture through a combination of exercises and stretches designed to:

 

  1. Open up the joints

  2. Soften the body

  3. Strengthen the muscles

 

One of the fastest ways to progress in one’s spiritual journey is through seated meditation practice, but one of the challenges that can arise from a sitting practice is stiffness or pain in the body and weakness or instability in the joints. While proper meditation posture is the foundation for a sustainable, pain-free sitting practice, long-term practice can still result in wear and tear on the body. However, this shouldn’t be a block for practice. While the sitting posture can be physically challenging, we can also proactively use various exercises and stretches to support the body. Join Namgyal in this in depth exploration of exercise and movement to help soften, open up, and strengthen the body in support of seated meditation and healthy posture.

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