Krotona School of Theosophy, Ojai CA
Spring 2009
Nurturing the Soul in the Contemporary World
Patron tickets include admission to all events of the term except the programs in Spanish: $130 (if purchased separately, $155).
To order audio-recordings of these programs please contact the School 805 646-1139 or shelly@krotonaschool.org
Amit and Uma Goswami
Weekend Exploration
Consciousness, Yoga Psychology, and Nurturing the Soul
April 17 - 19
Fri 7:30 - 9, Sat 10 - noon, 2 - 4, Sun 10 - noon
A paradigm shift in science is evidenced by the rediscovery, within science, of God and soul, accounting for the increasing popularity of yoga, promising to connect us to both the soul and to God. The Goswamis will discuss the scientific rediscovery of the soul and God within the framework of new science’s “soul nurturing,” and introduce the principles and practices of yoga psychology needed for the nurturing of our soul connection. Series $35, Single session $10
Amit Goswami, PhD, quantum physicist featured in the movie What the Bleep Do We Know, adroitly integrates philosophy, cosmology, religion, and psychology to create a new way of thinking about religion and science. In his book, The Visionary Window: A Quantum Physicist’s Guide to Enlightenment, Goswami goes beyond Fritjof Capra’s work in seeing how consciousness affects matter and demonstrates how the power of spiritual practice can be explained through the principles of physics.
Uma Goswami, MD, has practiced child psychiatry in Bangalore, India, for 12 years and is a pioneer of yoga psychology. During the course of her practice, Dr Goswami, an international lecturer, has conducted her own research on the transformation of emotions using yoga therapy, and has a forthcoming book on the subject. She is also an accomplished dancer of Bharatanatyam, a classical dance of India.
Amit and Uma Goswami
Two Week Program
Nurturing and Evolving Our Soul Connection:
A View from Quantum Physics and Yoga Psychology
April 21 - May 1
Tues - Fri 10 - noon
A scientific rediscovery of soul and God has led to the new “physics of the soul.” The Goswamis will explore the scientific techniques of yoga psychology for nurturing the soul and restoring dignity to the human birth, as well as the techniques for communing with the soul. They also will delve into the development of soul nurturing emotions and transformation from mind to supermind. Series $65, Week $35, Single session $10
Amit Goswami, PhD, quantum physicist featured in the movie What the Bleep Do We Know, adroitly integrates philosophy, cosmology, religion, and psychology to create a new way of thinking about religion and science. In his book, The Visionary Window: A Quantum Physicist’s Guide to Enlightenment, Goswami goes beyond Fritjof Capra’s work in seeing how consciousness affects matter and demonstrates how the power of spiritual practice can be explained through the principles of physics.
Uma Goswami, MD, has practiced child psychiatry in Bangalore, India, for 12 years and is a pioneer of yoga psychology. During the course of her practice, Dr Goswami, an international lecturer, has conducted her own research on the transformation of emotions using yoga therapy, and has a forthcoming book on the subject. She is also an accomplished dancer of Bharatanatyam, a classical dance of India.
Uma Goswami
Dance Performance & Lecture
Bharatanatyam, Classical Indian Dance, Yoga, and Mysticism
April 19,
Sun 7:30pm
Bharatanatyam is a classical Indian dance form revived in the 1930’s by Rukmini Devi, a well-known theosophist. Radha Burnier, International President of the Theosophical Society, has performed this form of dance professionally. The lecture will include the history and spiritual symbology of Indian dance, its esoteric meaning, and explanations of mudras and postures seen in the performance and their connections with yoga. This special program will be entertaining, delightful, and educational. $10
Uma Goswami, MD, has practiced child psychiatry in Bangalore, India, for 12 years and is a pioneer of yoga psychology. During the course of her practice, Dr Goswami, an international lecturer, has conducted her own research on the transformation of emotions using yoga therapy, and has a forthcoming book on the subject. She is also an accomplished dancer of Bharatanatyam, a classical dance of India.
Kira Ryder
Afternoon Yoga Series
Dates and times to be announced
While Amit Goswami opens our minds and Uma Goswami opens our hearts, Kira Ryder will teach yoga techniques to help us open our bodies in an series of afternoon sessions designed to complement the Goswamis’ morning classes. Tight spots in the body may be used as our guides to help us unravel that which is keeping us small. Through gentle stretches and focused breathing we will cultivate awareness and hone our ability to feel the immensity of our beings. These yoga techniques will help increase our capacity for love. The sessions are suitable for all ages and abilities; no experience is necessary. Wear loose comfortable clothing and bring a mat or towel. Donations welcome.
Kira Ryder, recently named by Yoga Journal as one of the "Top 21 under 40 yoga teachers shaping the future of yoga in America,” takes inspiration from the incredible beauty and magic of the Ojai Valley. Her primary teachers include Erich Schiffmann, Paul Grilley, and Uma Goswami. Kira’s style emphasizes cultivating awareness and developing the trust to follow the inner rhythms. The owner of Lulu Bandha's Yoga Home in Ojai, Kira loves to learn and is continually amazed by the power of Yoga.
Maria Parisen
Weekend Retreat
The Mystery of Sacrifice
May 1 - 3
Fri 7:30 - 9, Sat 10 - noon, 2 - 4, Sun 10 - noon
The Law of Sacrifice is a compelling power in nature, calling forth the best in every creature. In its deepest religious sense, sacrifice is giving of ourselves and also receiving in a sacred manner. Such an exchange is participation in the self-sacrifice of God, through which all beings grow together in love. The spirit of sacrifice makes every action holy and creative. Our retreat includes shared inquiry, meditation, and silence in the beauty of Krotona’s springtime. Donations welcome.
Maria Parisen, MSN, RN, resident of Krotona, is a retired rehabilitation nurse who leads workshops and programs on meditation, the spiritual life, and healing. A national lecturer for the Theosophical Society, she also has taught and practiced Therapeutic Touch for many years. She is the compiler of the anthology Angels and Mortals.
Maria Parisen
Four-Morning Series
Teacher and Disciple: An Uncommon Love
May 5 - 8
Tues - Fri 10 - noon
Throughout our lives, spiritual guidance comes in many ways and forms. As our religious path becomes clearer we may find ourselves drawn to a spiritual teacher for training and service. Together we explore the essential qualities of both spiritual teacher and disciple, as we reflect on the purpose and on-going challenges of this unique partnership. Resources will especially include the writings of HP Blavatsky and The Mahatma Letters to AP Sinnettt, with related materials on discipleship and spiritual community. Series $35, Single session $10
Maria Parisen, MSN, RN, resident of Krotona, is a retired rehabilitation nurse who leads workshops and programs on meditation, the spiritual life, and healing. A national lecturer for the Theosophical Society, she also has taught and practiced Therapeutic Touch for many years. She is the compiler of the anthology Angels and Mortals.
Special Musical Performance
Cármelo de los Santos
An Evening of Music for Violin
May 9
Sat 7:30 PM
The wise ones have said that "Life is a Song ... that there is a deeper harmony in every human heart..." Music is a language of harmony which can be communicated to the soul in its inner and outer movement of conscious connection with the inner and outer life. This performance is an opportunity to connect with the universal concepts of Bach, the gracefulness of Kreisler, the depth of Ysaye, the humor of Ridout, and to the virtuosity of Paganini. Join us in the transformative power of music to elevate our state of consciousness and to share common inner experiences. $10
Cármelo de los Santos, DMA, has performed as soloist with major orchestras in Brazil and South America, as well as the prestigious Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall with the ARCO Chamber Orchestra, both as a soloist and conductor. He has numerous awards to his credit, including international competitions in Portugal, Argentina, and Brazil, as well as in the US. His recordings include many programs for radio and television. Dr. de los Santos, originally from Brazil, is currently Assistant Professor of Violin at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
Fall 2009
Reflections on the Human Journey
Priority registration will be given for students registering for two or more weeks; priority registration for the Fall semester ends August 15.
Patron tickets include admission to all events of the term. $225.
To order audio-recordings of these programs please contact the School 805 646-1139 or shelly@krotonaschool,org
Joy Mills, Shirley Nicholson, Maria Parisen, Dorothy Bell
Weekend Program
Annie Besant: A Voice that Calls Us Onward
Sept 18 - 20
Fri 7:30 - 9pm, Sat 10 - noon, 2 - 4, Sun 10 - noon
Annie Besant, world leader and social activist, envisioned the Ojai Valley as home to a community of spiritual seekers, creative artists, and innovative thinkers. President of the worldwide Theosophical Society from 1907 to 1933, Besant projected a transformative vision that was not only local but global in scope, foreseeing a time when the ideals of peace and brotherhood among all peoples would be realized. She wrote of a new civilization and of the need for a new kind of education that would liberate the human spirit in every individual. In her perception, “Born of spirit, we grow towards spirit.” During this weekend participants will explore Besant’s life and teachings, including her association with Ojai and her vision of its future. Through experiences designed to open us to new understandings of ourselves, we may gain a new vision of who we are. Weekend $35, Single session $10
Joy Mills, MA, world-renowned teacher for the Theosophical Society, has held numerous positions in the Society. She has authored and edited numerous books and her articles appear in theosophical journals throughout the world.
Shirley Nicholson is currently Resident Head of the Krotona Institute of Theosophy. Author and compiler of several theosophical books, she is former chief editor for Quest Books and former Director of the Krotona School of Theosophy.
Maria Parisen, MSN, RN, Director of the Krotona School of Theosophy, leads workshops and programs on meditation, the spiritual life, and healing. An international lecturer for the Theosophical Society, she is the compiler of the anthology Angels and Mortals.
Dorothy Bell, MEd, a counselor, is a former Fulbright scholar in educational innovation and a retired high school educator. From Australia, Dorothy has lectured internationally for the Theosophical Society. Her special interest is making Theosophy practical.
Joy Mills, Shirley Nicholson, Maria Parisen, Dorothy Bell
Two-Week Workshop
Fulfilling Our Potential in an Evolving Universe
Sept 22 - Oct 2
Tues - Fri 10 - noon
This workshop will be an active inquiry into Annie Besant’s key teachings on the nature of the universe and our participation in it. Our life, Besant said, consists of an unfolding of consciousness as we grow toward knowing ever more deeply who we really are. In the first week we will consider our spiritual identity according to Besant’s vision of the evolving universe. In the second week we will look at the unfolding of our own consciousness in the real-life context of great contemporary concerns, such as finding peace in violent times. Through readings, discussion, meditative inquiry, and consciousness-stretching exercises, we will seek inner wisdom by which to live in today’s complex and often violent world. Series $65, Week $35, Single session $10, Weekend and 2-Week $95
Joy Mills, MA, world-renowned teacher for the Theosophical Society, has held numerous positions in the Society. She has authored and edited numerous books and her articles appear in theosophical journals throughout the world.
Shirley Nicholson is currently Resident Head of the Krotona Institute of Theosophy. Author and compiler of several theosophical books, she is former chief editor for Quest Books and former Director of the Krotona School of Theosophy.
Maria Parisen, MSN, RN, Director of the Krotona School of Theosophy, leads workshops and programs on meditation, the spiritual life, and healing. An international lecturer for the Theosophical Society, she is the compiler of the anthology Angels and Mortals.
Dorothy Bell, MEd, a counselor, is a former Fulbright scholar in educational innovation and a retired high school educator. From Australia, Dorothy has lectured internationally for the Theosophical Society. Her special interest is making Theosophy practical.
Pierre Grimes
Weekend Program
The Logos of Socrates in Plato’s Republic
Oct 2 - 4
Fri 7:30 - 9, Sat 10 - noon, 2 - 4, Sun 10 - noon
Two-Week Exploration
Oct 6 - 16
Tues - Fri 10 - noon
Each of us has a logos, our fundamental world view, which is an understanding of the nature of reality and the path that leads from ignorance to enlightenment. While some may have a more developed logos than others, we may benefit from understanding the Socratic logos. It begins from a simple philosophical position and unfolds an extended analogy drawn from the structural similarity between the visible realm and the realm of the mind. To understand this profound passage we need to grasp how image, thinking, belief, understanding, and knowing function to give rise to either ignorance or enlightenment. The use of analogy and allegory in the Republic gives expression to this mystery and culminates in the training of the philosopher king. In doing so it unfolds the roots of the type of ignorance that blocks one from that divine luminosity that is the mark of enlightenment. Series $65, Week $35, Single session $10, Weekend and 2-Week $95.
Each program is independent; the weekend will offer an introduction and beginning exploration and the two-week program will provide an in-depth exploration.
Pierre Grimes, PhD, founder of the Socratic Philosophical Midwifery movement, regularly leads workshops and presents lectures at Esalen Institute and at the Opening Mind Academy. He is widely published and has held positions as president of both the Noetic Society and the Opening Mind Academy, and as professor for the University of Philosophical Research.
Minor Lile
Weekend ProgramR
Relationship, Community, and the Seeker's Journey
Oct 16 - 18
Fri 7:30 - 9pm, Sat 10 - noon, 2 - 4, Sun 10 - noon
We live in profound relationship with each other and with the world around us: Our relationships condition us, comfort us, challenge us, and act as filters for how we perceive the world. The great spiritual traditions have long recognized and emphasized the central role that community, or sangha, plays in our spiritual development. Mindful relationships make real the invisible threads that unite all life and support us in achieving our highest, truest calling. Yet paradoxically, our relationships with others also present the greatest demands and confront us with choices that may seem to compromise our very essence. In this weekend program, we will explore these ideas through the prism of HP Blavatsky's Key to Theosophy, Secret Doctrine, and other writings. Participants also will explore ways of being both mutually supportive and true to oneself.
Minor Lile, MBA, has a background in business and offers a blend of insights and understanding rooted in two decades of spiritual study and exploration. He served as a national director of the Theosophical Society in America and, with his wife, Leonie Van Gelder, was the manager of Indralaya, the theosophical retreat community in the Pacific Northwest, for over 11 years. Minor has presented programs nationally for the Theosophical Society.
Robert Ellwood
Four-Morning Series
The Afterlife in World Religions
Oct 20 - 23, Tues - Fri 10 - noon
Nearly every traditional religious culture presents belief in a life after death. But their pictures of the afterlife vary immensely, including heavens, hells, purgatories, reincarnation, spiritism and ancestrism. In this class we will survey and discuss these many fascinating views in shamanism, primal religion, the religions of the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Celts and Germanic peoples; then continue to the living faiths of Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Chinese and Japanese religion, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These transitions will be compared with the more modern afterlife models of Spiritualism and Theosophy, and the model suggested by near-death experiences. Series $35, Single session $10
Robert Ellwood, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Religion at the University of Southern California. He is an international lecturer for the Theosophical Society and has served as Vice President of The Theosophical Society in America and as Director of the School of Wisdom at the TS international headquarters in Adyar, India. He has authored numerous books, including Frodo’s Quest: Living the Myth in The Lord of the Rings and Finding Deep Joy, and his articles have appeared in theosophical journals.
Adam Warcup
Four-Morning Program
The World of the Mahatmas
Oct 27 - 30, Tues - Fri 10 - noon
The two Mahatmas, or “Great Souls,” who were the inner founders of the Theosophical Society, engaged in a lengthy correspondence with an Englishman. This correspondence contained metaphysical and moral/ethical teachings, but little information about the environment in which the Mahatmas lived, nor about their limitations. Although we tend to think of the Mahatmas as being all-powerful and in control of their own world, we find that, not only are they not “free,” but are bound by a set of conditions every bit as extreme as anything we all experience – by rules and by a “boss.” We will explore incidents contained in the correspondence, giving us insights into their lives and into the Anglo-Indian world of the 1880s. Series $35, Single session $10
Adam Warcup, past President of The Theosophical Society in England, has been a student of Theosophy for over 40 years. An international lecturer for the Society, he has published numerous articles on the core teachings of the Ageless Wisdom.
Adam Warcup
Weekend Program
The Birth of the Cosmos
Oct 30 - Nov 1
Fri 7:30 - 9pm, Sat 10 - noon, 2 – 4, Sun 10 - noon
The Proem, or introduction, of Blavatsky’s magnum opus, The Secret Doctrine, describes in symbolic terms the birth of a new universe. The symbols used to depict this universe are intriguing, beginning with
a picture of a white disc in a dull black ground, moving on to a white disc with a central point which develops into a horizontal line through the center of the disk. What do these symbols represent? How can such seemingly simple symbols depict a boundless and changing cosmos? The periodic manifestation of the universe with its cyclic evolution? The apparent dualities of spirit and matter, life and form, consciousness and its vehicles of manifestation? We will explore these symbols and, through them, the birth of our cosmos. Series $35, Single session $10
Adam Warcup, past President of The Theosophical Society in England, has been a student of Theosophy for over 40 years. An international lecturer for the Society, he has published numerous articles on the core teachings of the Ageless Wisdom.
Isaac Jauli Dávila
Estudio de fin de semana
Los Mitos: Transformación clave del alma humana
(This program will be in Spanish only)
6 - 8 de noviembre
Viernes 7:30 - 9, Sábado 10 - 12 y de 2 - 4 Domingo 10 - 12
En los mitos universales podemos encontrar un hilo común, que el Alma usa para expresar su transformación. Nuestra necesidad de significado nos lleva a crear y vivir un mito, desarrollando consecuentemente nuestro potencial inherente. HP Blavatsky expresó que es de gran importancia examinar los mitos en todos sus aspectos, e implementar cualquiera de las ´siete claves´ con la que podemos descubrir la verdad trascendental oculta en los mitos. Por medio de conferencias, debates y ejercicios prácticos, los participantes explorarán varios mitos, incluyendo los de Isis y Osiris, Demetrio y Perséfona, Ulises y Penélope. Seminario completo $35, una sola sesión $10
El Sr. Isaac Jauli Dávila, PhD, psicoterapista, humanista, e investigador de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, fue Presidente de la Sección Mexicana de la ST. Es co-autor de varios libros y artículos de investigación. Es un orador experimentado, y como tal da conferencias a nivel internacional para la Sociedad Teosófica.