Games at the Soup

Authentic Relating (AR) Games – the ongoing gathering to go beyond surface conversations established in Santa Barbara by husband-and-wife Simon D’Arcy and Tamra Rutherford – returns from an extended three-month hiatus (due to the Thomas Fire and a change is schedule) next Friday, February 23. This month’s theme is “And, What’s Underneath That?”, a provocative title meant to kindle a process of digging down for the core expression, the sharing of our own individual “world” with another. So, the games will explore and play with the feelings, the needs, the motivations, and the desires that are often located a couple layers beneath what comes out of our mouths.

Rutherford, sans D’Arcy, is joined by the newest member of the AR team, Deneen Elizabeth, whose identifying line says that she “is excited about being with what is (and) plays and works in the field of what wants to happen now by embodying curiosity and the willingness to meet the moment.” All of which sounds exactly like what the evening is about. Game time is 7 to 9:30 pm, and admission is $18 in advance, $25 day of.

Sounding off

HEAL Community: Montecito Disaster Fundraiser brings together Yoga Soup’s regular sound bath creator Shane Thunder with Ida Resi Alit, the youngest ordained high priestess of the Balinese Hindu religion, who is visiting the U.S. on an international tour. She’ll offer a water purification ceremony and sound meditation with ancient Balinese mantras and chants while Thunder will share the transformative vibrations and tones 432hz gemstone bowls, planetary and elemental gongs. Immerse yourself from 7:30 to 9 pm on Wednesday, February 21. $25 to $50 suggested donation, though no one will be turned away because of lack of funds, and all proceeds will support Montecito relief efforts.

Write from the Heart

Like Authentic Games, Paul Zakrzewski‘s “Writing for Our Lives” workshop has also been on hiatus for a few months, for similar reasons. A two-hour workshop this Saturday aimed at writers of all levels will reintroduce the “spiritual scribing” sessions to the community. Created to provide a safe and supportive space to write deeply and authentically about important life events – the recent twin tragedies would certainly qualify for many of us – the two-hour gathering features fun, creative writing exercises, plus time for questions and enjoying refreshments while meeting fellow writers. Held 3 to 5 pm on Saturday, February 17, at Yes Dance! in Paseo Nuevo, the introductory workshop will be capped at 15 participants, so preregistration at www.pzak.info/lives is recommended. The only requirement is a desire to write. Lots more info is also available on the website.

Getting to the Core of Recovery

Paseo Nuevo and CorePower Yoga are teaming up for an evening of restoration benefiting Unity Shoppe’s Thomas Fire and Montecito Mudslide victim’s fund. Participants will have an opportunity to leave a message of gratitude for First Responders, enjoy refreshments, and connect with others from 4 to 7 pm on Sunday, February 18. Those who want to partake of the one-hour silent yoga practice at 6 pm are asked for a $25 minimum donation ($15 for kids 12 and under). Reserve a spot online at www.paseonuevoshopping.com.

Hack My Brain

The Consciousness Hacking Meetup, which had its mudslide-delayed debut session at the end of January, is back with “Frontiers in Neurostimulation: A Direct Current for Brain Change” this Monday, February 19, back at Fishbon Pescadrome. The lecture/demo addresses the possibilities of working directly with the brain’s electrical system, drawn from the knowledge that our brains have a roughly 100-billion, electrically conductive, biological wires network that is employed to shape our thinking and experiences such as love, touch, and sense of meaning. Turning brain circuits up or down affects our behaviors, resulting in perhaps feeling motivated or anxious. Neurostimulation is a new field of research that was pioneered to help people with debilitating physical and psychological conditions by applying small amounts of electricity to the brain. Moving beyond rehab, the process may also help people discover seemingly superhuman potential. The evening will be led by Nicholas J. Dogris, Ph.D., the CEO and cofounder of NeuroField, Inc. who is a California Licensed psychologist, neurotherapist, and neurodiagnostician in private practice. He is board certified in neurofeedback and a diplomate in quantitative EEG, and has been practicing neurotherapy for 30 years. The talk will the art and science of Neurostimulation, how it is being used by clinicians, and how it is used to enhance mental performance, including the practices of transcranial direct current and alternating current stimulation, random noise stimulation, and pulsed electric field stimulation synchronized with EEG biofeedback. Volunteers can also try it out. Visit www.neurofield.org for details. RSVP at http://bit.ly/2FSVCMM.

Surgeon or Shaman

David Cumes, the longtime Santa Barbara-based urologist, trained as an M.D. and a surgeon in Johannesburg and later initiated as a sangoma (Zulu for shaman) in Swaziland. Doctor Cumes learned to integrate ancestral insights with modern medicine and in his practice and beyond serves as a bridge between western medicine and indigenous healing wisdom. His newest book, The Source: Tshisimane, The Story of an Indigenous Healing Center in Remote South Africa, an account of Cumes’s encounter with the indigenous medicine of South Africa, also delves into the ancient, hidden knowledge from the ancestral realm.

“Nature is in fact the source of all healing and the principles that apply to the healing she gives can help us understand healing in whatever form and wherever it occurs,” he writes. “The healing of the sangoma is primal, ubiquitous, and nature-bound and as such constitutes humanity’s original medicine.” Cumes shares stories and healing wisdom in a book-signing event at Chaucer’s at 7 pm Thursday, February 22. Call 682-6787 or visit www.chaucersbooks.com.