| SPIRIT QUEST: Discussion & Adventure Saturday 9:30 am – 11:30 am and 2 pm – 4 pm Biweekly, 1st and 3rd Saturday each month Our group was created to explore concepts and questions of a spiritual nature and to share outdoor adventures mainly in natural settings. The two founders are both members of the hiking group Chico-Go, and regular visitors to the Sky Creek Dharma Center. We believe that spiritual pursuits are in many ways parallel with enlightening experiences that can be found in nature. We wanted to bring two of our favorite activities together in one organization. Our thinking and beliefs are not exclusive to any specific doctrine, and it is our view that many religions and philosophies are connected by similar tenets such as a desire for a better world and a greater state of peace and well-being for people. We meet for coffee and discussions twice a month. The coffee and discussion last one hour and the time is meant to facilitate a cross pollination of ideas and experiences that pertain to an increase in mental, spiritual and physical well-being. We are interested in exploring traditional methods and to consider new and innovative approaches. We will also meet, when posted, for mostly outdoor adventure activities. SCHEDULE 9:45 am: Those who wish to have a beverage can have coffee or other drinks. 10:00 am: Discussion group begins. The Group Guide says a few words and this person lightly manages the discussion. People sit in the living room area and those who have a topic that they have previously submitted by email start the discussion. 11:00 am: Those who chose to participate will join a meditation circle with light chanting in the back yard area. 11:30 am: Adjourn for lunch. 2:00 pm to roughly 4:00 pm: Participants meet for a hike at a preselected trail mostly in the Chico area. DISCUSSION TOPICS Reincarnation, Mindfulness, Manifesting, Regression Therapy, Prayer, Walking Meditation, Mantra Meditation, Breath Awareness , Stoicism, Reiki, various books concerning spiritual matters. NOTE: We also encourage people to bring forward concepts that they want to share and to offer new topic ideas whenever an individual wishes to do so. ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES 2nd and 4th Saturday Each Month When Posted (times and places will change and we will not necessarily meet twice per month for these activities). Hiking, kayaking, meditation walks, backpacking, picnics, sailing, biking, moonlight meditation. All are welcome to join either the morning meeting at the center or afternoon outdoor events separately. A Note from Will Otey: Further Insight into our Vision for Spirit Quest I attend Sky Creek Dharma Center Sangha every Sunday that I can. At the beginning of the Sangha, before discussions, the group communally reads a kind of mantra about suffering. The first line is “We are here to end suffering.” I concur with this and many people I know do as well. This planet and the human race are suffused with suffering. Spirit Quest is intended to help, even in the smallest way, to decrease suffering (if only a tiny bit) because this is what we desire to see happen. Humans have become increasingly alienated from one another, polarized and a greater callousness has taken hold in my relatively short life. We want people of like mind to come together so that a cross-pollination of ideas and experiences can take place. New meditative techniques and meditation practices are appearing with greater abundance than I have seen before, and we want to understand and examine some of these techniques and practices. We want to promote an environment where people can share positive experiences without an overarching structure that is either narrow in scope or anything remotely similar to authoritarian. What we seek is to facilitate ideas and activities that can help reduce suffering and promote positive and even joyful experiences shared by those who chose to participate -Will WE WELCOME INQUIRY willotey1@gmail.com |