Claiming Heritage for Healing

Over of the last several years, Unity of Santa Barbara has become a hub for non-church related spiritual and personal growth lectures, workshops, gatherings and more as well as ongoing meditation groups, “A Course in Miracles” study sessions and sound healing, among other offerings. Now that Unity is in search of replacement for its popular veteran Rev. Larry Schellink, who resigned effective at the end of March, the organization will be hosting a series of its own workshops over the next six months as part of the transitional process. They will be led by Rev. Phillip Smedstad, who is sharing transitional ministry duties with Rev. Cathy Norman, who herself recently retired from Unity Ventura.

Rev. Phillip Smedstad – who has been a New Thought minister for more than 40 years after having been ordained at Unity Village in 1976 and also founded and served for 13 years as president of Theophilus Divinity School in Minneapolis, a course in deep personal transformation – has a great deal of experience in the task ahead as he serves as a Certified Unity Worldwide Ministries Transitional Ministry Specialist. He’ll be bringing those skills and perspective to the workshops, entitled “Claiming Your Divine Heritage,” which begin on May 25 and continue every 4th Saturday from through October.

The events are aimed at helping the community to learn what it means to live a life consciously realizing and expressing what American homeopathic physician and author of New Thought spiritual writings Emily Cady called the Four Main Aspects of God: Divine Love, Divine Power of Creation, Divine Wisdom, and Divine Aliveness. Participants will gain experience and skills in such areas as identifying and releasing limiting personal beliefs, learning to find gifts in painful situations and relationships, and restraining from holding yourself back from fully expressing yourself in life. The workshops also promise to deliver powerful tool to continue to transform your life far beyond the end of the workshop.

There is no fee for 10 am to 4 pm workshops, as they are part of the transitional process, so inclusion is the most important value. In order to foster community, there will also be a potluck lunch, so attendants should bring a favorite dish to share with all. For details, call Unity at (805) 966-2239 or visit www.santabarbaraunity.org/claiming-your-divine-heritage-rev-phil-smedstad. 

La Casa, Downtown

Unity has also become a landing spot for a workshop with Taran Collis, the Yoga Therapist and Ayurveda Wellness Counselor who created the Yoga program at La Casa de Maria, where she regularly led yoga, nature retreats, and Capacitar and other workshops for more than a decade before the Montecito debris flows ravaged the popular retreat center in the Montecito foothills. Among the weekend events she led or co-led at the space in recent years are “The Healing Power Within,” “Developing the Heart of Compassion,” and “The Healing Power of Nature.” Similar to one of the popular shorter programs she offered periodically at La Casa de Maria, Collis’ “Nourishing Half Day Retreat,” slated for this Tuesday, May 28, aims to help participants explore multicultural healing tools for self-care and peace of mind, and to build resiliency in body, mind, and spirit. The mini-retreat includes breath awareness, acupressure, outdoor tai chi, and Capacitar International wellness tools for self-care. Geared toward caretakers looking for tools to prevent burnout and teachers interested in learning healing tools of indigenous cultures, the program is designed for participants of all levels to take home tools to teach to family and co-workers – or simply to implement for one’s own wellbeing. Be sure to dress comfortably with layers for outdoor sessions for the 10 am to 3 pm workshop, which costs $45. For details and registration contact Peggy Haskell at peggyh@santabarbaraunity.org or visit http://www.santabarbaraunity.org/nourishing-half-day-retreat-unity. 

Ecstatic Dance Everywhere

The modern version of an ancient spiritual practice in which dance and movement were employed to alter consciousness has exploded recently in Santa Barbara. The venerable Dance Tribe events held on Sundays are packed almost to capacity nearly every week, and such newer additions as Yoga Soup’s First Friday gatherings – which draws its DJs from among a similar pool – have gathered steam among the community. Now, the opportunity to engage in the free form style of dance in which participants move in whatever ways and direction they are inspired to by the music has another entry, one that extends the sense of community to the music-makers, too. 

Ecstatic Dance by the Expressway

Share the Love, Ecstatic Dance Co-op, held biweekly on Thursday Nights at Momentum Dance Company, has no live DJ at all, instead employing a playlist created by its own members. The 90-minute “mix-tapes” are personal expressions meant to create the sense of flow that approximates the 5Rhythms approach that helped kickstart the revival back in the 1980s. The next dance is this Thursday, May 23, from 7:45 to 10 pm at MDC, 316 State Street, near the 101 freeway underpass. Donation is $10. Visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/348680169122789, or for more info and to learn how you can share your music and dance with the co-op community, contact organizer Michael Love at mjlfilm@gmail.com. 

Falling Into Gratitude

Santa Barbara native Wyatt Dennett’s life changed in a single second when he fell nearly three stories from a Montecito balcony last October. Dennett suffered a severe spinal injury and the accident left him paralyzed from the chest down. Seven months later, Dennett will talk about overcoming pain, learning to accept help, reaching a place of gratitude, and changing perspectives on community and life at 6 pm this Thursday, May 23, at Impact Hub State Street. Also speaking is Susie Lynge, author of Network Now, who will give insights and explain how to create a network of strong mutually supportive connections as a way to give and receive support and be with us through good times and bad. She’ll touch on Dennett’s story to remind us how we must never take the simple things in life for granted, especially our networks that support us. The event serves as a donation-based fundraiser to support Dennett’s long-term care. All who donate will get a free copy of Network Now. Donations are also accepted at www.gofundme.com/donate4dennett, which has raised more than $38,400 of the original $45,000 goal. Visit https://impacthubsbnetwork.spaces.nexudus.com/en/Events/View/1010409411/falling-into-gratitude.

Coming Soon to Impact Hub

“Innovation in the New Paradigm: Creating for the Next Wave of Humanity” takes place at the 1117 State Street center on Wednesday, June 5. Internationally known channeler Rebecca Dawson and her team are returning to Santa Barbara to work with the next wave of “conscious pioneers” who are gearing up for a new era of creation on the planet. The workshop will event what innovation looks like and unlocking our potential in the new paradigm, new perspectives on the creation process and the role of the mind, and how to lead and co-work in this new era of co-creation, and will include time for Q&A. The 6-8:30 pm event costs $15. Visit www.rebeccadawson.net/product/innovation-in-the-new-paradigm-creating-for-the-next-wave-of-humanity. 

NVC in the Valley

Rodger Sorrow, who organized and spearheaded the return of the annual Nonviolent Communication Conference in Santa Barbara last month, is heading up the San Marcos Pass to offer a half-day workshop at St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley in Los Olivos. The 9 am to 1 pm event covers the foundations for nonviolent communication (NVC) as developed by Marshall Rosenberg, who himself led several workshops in Santa Barbara back in the 1990s and 2000s. The purpose of employing NVC is to connect with each other and ourselves in a way that allows our natural compassion to flourish via employing deep listening, respect and empathy, and allows the mutual desire to give from the heart to flow freely.

This seminar is for those who want to improve the quality of communication in personal, business, parental, education or community relationships of any kind. Participants will be offered practical tools for listening compassionately to others, expressing yourself with ownership and honesty, and transforming anger and conflict into trust and cooperation. Admission is by a $20 suggested donation. For information and registration, contact Benjamin Bottoms at (805) 325-1679 or visit http://chooseconnection.squarespace.com/nvc-workshops-with-rodger.