Public Lectures and Events   ~  Fall, 2011                                                        Home

Public Lecture Series ~ Sunday Afternoons  4:00–5:30 pm   
Suggested Donation:   $5.00–$10.00       (special events vary)

All events are held in the lending library, at:

717 Broadway East, Seattle, WA 98102 (206) 323-4281

Get directions   Parking Advice   GPS   Lat: 47.62557 Long: -122.32143 (W) 

 Parking may be difficult, so please allow extra time to arrive.
    * * *   Unless otherwise noted, all events are on Sunday afternoons  4:00–5:30 pm   * * *


Our non-profit library is largely funded by donations. If you would like to support us in keeping our library active, please consider sending a donation to the Library Manager Fund.  For a limited time, all donations we receive will be matched by a member donor. We appreciate your support.

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Second Saturday Meditations with  Sue Prescott
9:30-10:30am ~  $2 suggested donation each session
 September 10, October 8,  November 12, December 10

This monthly meditation group is open to the public on a drop-in basis and is for those experienced in meditation as well as those who are just beginning.
Sue Prescott, a long-standing member of the Theosophical Society and meditator for over 30 years, will use a combination of guided meditations and silence which will be augmented by brief discussion. Come meditate with us in the sacred space of Seattle’s Theosophical Library.
 

Sunday, September 18, 2011 4-5:30pm
Public Lecture: $5 - $10 Requested Donation
A Paradigm Shift Toward Emptiness
Rodney Smith

The belief in a self separate from everything else distorts the perception of unity that is inherent to life and relegates our spiritual life to self-improvement. Once our spiritual journey is allied with the truth of our selfless nature, the wonder and mystery of life quickly unfolds.

Rodney Smith is the founding teacher of the Seattle Insight Meditation Society. He was ordained as a Buddhist monk in Asia in the 1980's, and teaches classes and retreats throughout the U.S. He is the author of Lessons from the Dying and Stepping Out of Self-Deception: The Buddha's Liberating Teaching of No-Self.

SPECIAL EVENT
Tuesday, September 20, 2011 7-8:30pm
Public Lecture: $5 - $10 Requested Donation
The Eye of the Storm: Exploring The Role of the Ageless Wisdom in Navigating This Turbulent World
Tim Boyd

The evolution of the industrial era has brought great wealth and great gifts for much of humanity, along with great disparities, risk and peril. We now find ourselves reacting to the emerging outlines of a different era, uncertain of what tools or strategies to invoke. Whether the nature of the change that confronts us is economic, ecological, moral, or something much deeper, we can instill within ourselves the capacity to have immediate access to appropriate responses. In this talk, Tim will discuss the insights that the ageless wisdom offers for such times.

Tim Boyd is the President of the Theosophical Society in America. He is a founding member of a spiritual community which was active for more than 25 years in Chicago’s inner city. He has lectured and conducted workshops throughout North America and in Asia. He is also past President of the Theosophical Order of Service.

Sunday, September 25, 2011 4-5:30pm
Public Lecture: $5 - $10 Requested Donation
Meditation with Tibetan Singing Bowls
Danyo Syoum

Using bowls of different dimensions, Danyo will lead the group in deep meditation and chakra alignment. Let the sound of the bowls resonate through you.

Danyo is an architect, violin builder, and student of the bowls for 25 years.

Sunday, October 02, 2011 4-5:30pm
Public Lecture: $5 - $10 Requested Donation
Karma and Reincarnation: Engines of Liberation
Ed Alden

These two ideas lie at the heart of the Ancient Wisdom teachings about how we humans evolve. This talk will examine “how they work” to promote our inevitable liberation.

Ed Alden is a long-time Theosophist and a member of the Seattle Lodge.

Sunday, October 09, 2011 4-5:30pm
Public Lecture: $5 - $10 Requested Donation
The Power of Emotions: Understanding their nature and using them to effect healing.
Dirk Hein, M.Ac (UK), L.Ac

This lecture will look at the emotions as an expression of the Five Elements of Chinese Medicine and provide an understanding of the associated organs from a psychological perspective. Participants will leave with a deeper sense of how we function energetically. Instead of seeing emotions as a hindrance to personal growth, we can use them as gifts for transformation.

Dirk P. Hein is the founder and director of Wu Hsing Tao School. He has been in private practice in Seattle for 27 years, holds a "Master of Acupuncture" from the College of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture in England where he studied under the tutelage and guidance of the late Professor JR Worsley.

Sunday, October 16, 2011 4-5:30pm
Public Lecture: $5 - $10 Requested Donation
The Egg of Creation
Sue Prescott

Creation myths from around the world have traditionally used the egg as a metaphor to describe the process of manifestation. Sue Prescott, MSW, will explore the meaning behind the symbolism in cultural legends that include native tribal folklore, nursery rhymes like Mother Goose, the “Stanzas of Dyzan” that H.P. Blavatsky writes of in the Secret Doctrine, and traditional religious teachings.

Sue Prescott, MSW, is a social worker, theosophist and frequent lecturer at the Seattle Lodge and surrounding area. She is author of Realizing the Self Within—an overview of the concepts of spirituality that can be applied to relationships and self-improvement.

Sunday, October 23, 2011 4-5:30pm
Public Lecture: $5 - $10 Requested Donation
Emotions: Friends or Foes?
Terry Hunt

HPB told us to "kill out desire," but there is little theosophical literature giving practical "how-to" information. This talk will cover: the origin of emotions, their purpose, why we should learn to control them, practices to help the process, and emotions in the future.

After university studies and years as a missionary, Terry Hunt realized he really wanted to learn the key to self-transformation. In 1975 he discovered the Theosophical Society and since has studied theosophical works and raja yoga. In 1979 he had a spiritual experience resulting in a change in his consciousness. He has taught classes in Theosophy and self-transformation since 1978.

Sunday, October 30, 2011 4-5:30pm
Public Lecture: $5 - $10 Requested Donation
“God's Will” is “You Choose”
Stanton Stevens

The esoteric teachings say that, in advanced human evolution, we work with the Will, even to commanding the forces of nature. But first we must train the will, choosing thoughts, words, and actions that purify the personality. Understand your will, and you have started on the path to self knowledge and to becoming a benefactor of the world. The writings of Henry T. Laurency are main source for the information in this talk.

Stanton Stevens is a long time student of the esoteric teachings, and has spoken before on esoterics and Laurency particularly. He leads two Rainbow Bridge meditation groups, in Seattle and Port Townsend, and is a software engineer.

Sunday, November 06, 2011 4-5:30pm
Public Lecture: $5 - $10 Requested Donation
Meditation: Pathway to the Soul
Mark Ray

In this program meditation and its process will be discussed and practiced. Meditation is the fundamental way we can get in touch with the "higher" parts of our being and experience union with all life. We will experience some simple and more complex meditations together and see how meditation can be used for self-understanding, healing and service.

Mark Ray is a third generation Theosophist, and a long-time member of the Theosophical Society.

Sunday, November 13, 2011 4-5:30pm
Public Lecture: $5 - $10 Requested Donation
Awakening: Nisargadatta Maharaj and Other Masters of Enlightenment
Andrew Barker

“Each Entity must have won for itself the right of becoming divine, through self-experience.” -Secret Doctrine (Vol. I, p. 106).

In this presentation, we will look at the teachings of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, some of the early and recent teachers of enlightenment, as well as in Tibetan Buddhism, Zen, Hinduism, and Sufism, and discuss what is meant by “awakening”, “non-duality”, “inner divinity”, and “I am That”.

Andrew Barker is a long-time student of Theosophy, as well as being involved in a variety of Buddhist and Hindu traditions.

Sunday, November 20, 2011 4-5:30pm
Public Lecture: $5 - $10 Requested Donation
Reincarnation
Susan Brown

Do we live again? If so, will I be me? Susan will share the Theosophical theory of life beyond physical death, including references from some recent books about rebirth.

Susan Brown has been a member of the Theosophical Society since 1948.

Sunday, December 04, 2011 4-5:30pm
Public Lecture: $5 - $10 Requested Donation
Partnering with Subtle Worlds
David Spangler

The world we see regularly with our five senses is only a small part of the planet we inhabit. A vast subtle world of spirit surrounds us, and together, the physical and non-physical dimensions form the wholeness of the Earth. Increasingly, intelligences within these subtle realms reach out to embodied humanity to form collaborative partnerships in response to the challenges of our time.

In this presentation, David Spangler, author of Apprenticed to Spirit and Subtle Worlds: An Explorer's Field Notes, offers his perspective on the non-physical dimensions of life based on over sixty years of his own experiences in partnering with subtle beings.

Sunday, December 11, 2011 4-5:30pm
Public Lecture: $5 - $10 Requested Donation
Learnings from my Near Death Experiences
Deana Chase Moore

No two near-death experiences are the same. Deana’s observations about leaving her body, and the differences between the humans and animals moving towards the Light is very interesting. Her description of the paradisiacal realm she found herself in is wondrous, including the harmonious tones from trees, flowers and grass, as well as the beings preventing further entry. Of note are the insights from her deceased husband when she finally met him.

Deana’s account is transformative enough that Chicago IANDS has flown her out on three occasions to speak. Many have said her ability to connect with one’s guides is about as good as it gets.

Sunday, December 18, 2011 4-5:30pm
Public Lecture: $5 - $10 Requested Donation
Gustav Mahler - Beyond the Notes
George Hoyt

To many people the music of Mahler seems overly complicated and in many cases just plain bombastic at times. In this program I hope to go beyond the surface and reach into the depths of Mahler's Spirituality and the Mysticism behind his music.

George is a native of the Puget Sound region having grown up on the Kitsap Peninsula. He holds a BA in Music and teaching credentials from Washington State University and a Masters of Music from Portland State University. He is now retired from 35 years of teaching and devotes a good deal of his time to composing. He is a long-time Theosophist and member of the Seattle Lodge.
 

* * *   Unless otherwise noted, all events are on Sunday afternoons  4:00–5:30 pm   * * *

Our non-profit library is largely funded by donations. If you would like to support us in keeping our library active, please consider sending a donation to the Library Manager Fund.  For a limited time, all donations we receive will be matched by a member donor. We appreciate your support.

SERVICES OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN SEATTLE    

Theosophical Lending Library
Our research library and learning center are now inviting new members and patrons. (Library member fees are $30/year) This service is included in your lodge membership, should you join the TS in Seattle.