Music and Meditation at the Music Academy

Carpinteria-based Jessica Kolbe, a Qigong/Tai Chi teacher and meditation guide, teams up with Santa Barbara pianist Antonio Artese for the debut of a series of intimate events where guided meditation meets live classical music. This journey of silence, breath, and sound, invites participants to quiet the mind to let the music in more deeply, and takes place from 2-3:30 pm on Friday, December 5, on the campus of the Music Academy of the West. The series is designed to open the senses and deepen people’s connection with music; the concept holds that by preparing the mind through meditation, each concert opens a door to heightened awareness, emotional connection and inner peace. No meditation or musical experience is necessary. 

The audience, limited to a maximum of 60 people, will encircle the performers in the minimal and softly lit environment at Weinman Hall, creating an atmosphere of focus and serenity to enhance intimacy and immersion in the program. Each one-hour installment includes a welcome and introduction, the guided meditation, a musical performance, and time for closing reflections. Artese will perform solo pieces by Bach, Grieg, Scriabin and Silvestrov. The event ends with sipping tea and further connection, including an invitation to the guests at the prototype to share feedback and help shape the forthcoming season.

Meanwhile, Kolbe is also marking the 10-year anniversary of her TVSB show, Qigong with Jessica Kolbe, which has been proclaimed a vital service to the community. 

Check www.TVSB.tv for up-to-date scheduling, or stream anytime at https://tvsantabarbara.org/livestreaming. 

Visit www.JessicaTaiChi.com and https://musicandmeditationsb.com for details.

Big Doings at Bodhi Path 

Bodhi Path Santa Barbara hosts special visiting guest Lama Jampa Thaye for a weekend course on November 1-2, when he will be teaching from Atisha’s The Jewel Rosary of a Bodhisattva, an important Mahayana text that offers both inspiration and practical guidance for the Bodhisattva Path. The Jewel Rosary distills the essence of the Bodhisattva’s training – uniting wisdom and compassion – and describes the qualities, practices, and stages of development that lead to awakening for the benefit of all beings. The text is clear and accessible for those new to Buddhist study while also offering profound depth for experienced practitioners, serving as a concise manual for living with altruistic intention. Lama Jampa will open the treasury of teachings, showing how its timeless message continues to illuminate and support our practice today. The classes take place 10 am-2:30 pm both days, with an hour lunch break.

Visit https://ezregister.com/events/42390. 

Just days later Dawa Tarchin Phillips, the resident teacher of Bodhi Path Santa Barbara, begins one of the center’s relatively rare non-residential retreats, entitled The End of Suffering. In a world of seemingly endless striving and subtle or more overt dissatisfaction, the promise of the end of suffering feels both ancient and revolutionary. The retreat, slated for November 6-10, offers an opportunity to explore that timeless truth in a deeply experiential and contemporary way, through guidance by transformational Dharma teacher Phillips; both a neuroscientist with advance degrees and former Buddhist monk who completed two traditional three-year meditation retreats within the Vajrayana and Mahayana traditions. 

In Phillips’ approach, the retreat is rooted in the Buddha’s original insights yet illuminated by modern science, inviting participants into a direct experience of freedom – from the habits of mind and heart that perpetuate stress, confusion and self-contraction. Through meditation, inquiry, and guided dialogue, retreaters will learn to recognize suffering at its subtle origins and discover practical pathways to awakening that not only bring genuine peace and clarity but activate the vast innate potential for wisdom, compassion, creativity, and resilience that are already within. More details and registration at https://ezregister.com/events/42465. 

Both events will be in person at the Bodhi Path Center in La Cumbre Plaza, and also available online via Zoom.

Visit https://bodhipath.org/centers/sb. 

Diving into Death to Expand Life 

Elysabeth Williamson, a Santa Barbara-based, internationally recognized teacher – and author of The Pleasures and Principles of Partner Yoga – has been deeply inspired by the transformational possibilities she has witnessed through the contemplation of death. This weekend, Williamson leads a day-long workshop at the Santa Barbara Yoga Center called “Exploring the Great Mystery and Befriending Death,” created to help participants explore and contemplate death with care in a safe and sacred setting, and to awaken the courage to live our lives with greater meaning and purpose. The October 26 event will create a safe space to honor feelings, cultivate a new relationship with death and discover what truly matters for each of us. Supported by live healing soundscapes from Margery McSweeney, participants will be guided through practices that nourish the body, mind and spirit, including Savasana, the ancient Yogic practice for death, which teaches us how to align ourselves in ways that encourage the deepest release and restoration on every level of our being. 

Visit www.elysabethwilliamson.com or www.sbyc.com. 

Soup Spooks Tricks for Ecstatic Dance

Ecstatic Santa Barbara held its last outdoor dance of the year earlier this week. Fortunately, the gatherings now move indoor to a monthly dance at Yoga Soup, with a special extra entry set for Friday, October 31. All Hallow’s Eve: A Dance Between Worlds is for those seeking a non-traditional Halloween experience, where music and movement blur the edges between the seen and unseen. Following a blindfolded connection warm-up, two DJs will employ deep, pulsing rhythms to support the exploration of weirdness, creativity and play as the dance floor glows under black light. At the same time, the center’s lounge will host other activities, including tarot card readings, crafted elixirs, snacks, UV paints, and a photo booth.  

Visit www.ecstaticdancesb.com or www.yogasoup.com