The LIGHT lecture series is normally held on the first Tuesday of the month at Charisma restaurant (83D Sherbrook St.) and is an important part of LIGHT's efforts to share spiritual ideas and teachings with the community. The presenters are writers, artists, storytellers, educators, academics, psychologists, spiritual teachers and alternative health practitioners. The themes of the talks cover a wide compass and deal with spiritual and personal growth in the broadest sense as well as the application of spirituality to the community and larger world.
May 2011
Victor Popow: “The Ancient and Hidden Meaning of Freemasonry”
April 2011
Alan Green: “Introduction to Jewish Mysticism”
March 2011
Ervin Bartha: “The Architects of Transformation”
February 2011
Gerry Kopelow: “Where The Buddha Walked”
December 2010
Nancy Hall III:“Aromatics and the Body, Mind and Spirit of the Indian Buffet”
November 2010
Doug Staley: “Sacred Geometry”
October 2010
John Tozeland: “The Marriage of Personal and Spiritual Growth”
September 2010
Jules Lavallee: “Aboriginal Wisdom and Spirituality”
May 2010
Chad Cornell: “Holistic Healing: The Wisdom of Nature”
A presentation on the holistic model of healing, which embraces the sacredness
and inter-connectedness of life and the natural methods used for healing body,
mind and soul.
April 2010
Doreen Holmes: "The Healing Power of Sacred Medicine Stories and Mystical
Poetry"
March 2010
Doug Tataryn: “Implications of the Triune Brain on Human Development and Spirituality”
February 2010
Ervin Bartha, Lubomyr Melnyk and Deborah Judith: “What Is Conscious Music?”
A presentation, including musical demonstrations, about the principles underlying
conscious music.
December 2009
Marianne Johnson: “Dreams of the Cat”
This presentation used the example of cats that appear in dreams to illustrate
some of the principles of Jungian dream interpretation.
November 2009
Tara Maniar: “Finding Peace in the Chaos”
An experiential presentation about how to be at peace in the chaotic, violent
world that we live in.
October 2009
Doug Staley: “The Shadow Side of Spiritual Groups and Teachers”
A presentation on how to distinguish between an authentic spiritual teaching
and a cult, between a false and a real spiritual teacher.
September 2009
Beth Martens: “Creativity at the Source”
Learn to become aligned with your source of inner creativity using ancient
yogic techniques.
June 2009
Darci Adam: “Art as Spiritual Practice”
A highly interactive presentation on connecting with the personal and collective
unconscious through art-making and meditation.
May 2009
Doug Tataryn: “Mindfulness: From Bodhi Tree to Boardroom”
This talk presented a conceptual and experiential overview of Mindfulness
within a developmental psychology framework.
April 2009
Anne Nesbitt: “The Path of the Labyrinth: From Native Petroglyphs to Carol
Shields”
A presentation on the historical and spritual context of the labyrinth, with
special reference to the Carol Shields Memorial Labyrinth.
March 2009
Mark Burch: “Beyond Consumerism: Voluntary Simplicity and a New Local Order”
This talk offered a cultural vision of voluntary simplicity as a “re-orientation
of the human experiment.”
February 2009
Christel Kraft: “Discovering Passageways Into Your Inner Treasures”
A presentation on the technique of focusing, developed by Dr. Eugene
Gendlin.
December 2008
Marianne Johnson: "Glimpses Into the Beyond"
The presentation, done from a Jungian perspective, explored the stories, dreams
and visions of individuals who are dying or have experienced the loss of a
loved one which offer glimpses, often reassuring, into the beyond.
November 2008
Anna Olson: "On the Nature of Life After Death"
A presentation on how we interact with the spirit level from this side, the
importance of preparing for death, and clues about what it's like on the "other
side."
October 2008
Doug Staley: "Exploring Sacred Art"
The presentation, featuring beautiful images from the diverse spiritual traditions
of the world, explored the fundamental principles and underlying themes of
sacred art.
September 2008
Victor Popow and Lisa Thibeault: "The Mystery and Spirituality of Chartres
Cathedral"
A presentation plus film on one of the world’s great achievements of sacred
architecture.
June 2008
Victor Popow: "Learning to Die Before Death as a Model for Enlightenment"
The lecture speaks to the practices employed by shamans, mystics and initiatory
societies to awaken and enlarge human consciousness.
May 2008
Chad Cornell: "The Elementals: Fundamentals of Ayurveda"
A discussion of the ancient science of Ayurveda and its application to the
modern world with an emphasis on the integral nature of mind, body and spirit.
April 2008
Doug Tataryn: "Ken Wilber's Integral Spirituality: Transcending and Including
the Perennial Wisdom Traditions"
The lecture summarizes the basic framework and contributions of Integral Spirituality,
a model of transpersonal psychology developed by Ken Wilber, and how it can
be applied to enhance people's lives and spiritual practices.
March 2008
Link Phillips: "Finnegans Wake: How To"
An exploration of James Joyce's most controversial and least understood book.
Joyce consciously chose a unique language whereby his words and phrases contain
multiple layers of meaning, challenging readers to transcend ordinary conditioned
categories of thought and perception.
February 2008
Brian McLeod: "Buddhist Principles and Meditation Practice"
The Buddhist tradition uses meditation to investigate the nature of the mind
through direct moment-to-moment observation of consciousness. The talk discusses
the basic premises of meditation and the Buddhist path of transformation.
December 2007
Christine Bennet-Clark: "Enaction: An Embodied Theory of Consciousness,
Cognition and Learning"
A presentation on a new theory of cognition that has evolved from the complexity
sciences. Enaction is an emergent embodied consciousness that bridges the
dominant biocultural views of human cognition.
November 2007
Christina Wheelwright: "Write Away: Finding Your Creative Voice"
The creative process is mysterious and sometimes difficult to activate. Where
does it come from? Does everyone have a creative voice? How can you find your
creative voice? What will you do when you do find it?
October 2007
Doug Staley: "The Journey to Enlightenment"
A slide show presentation featuring ideas, aphorisms, allegories, images and
models from the world's spiritual traditions which depict the journey from
ordinary life to an awakened understanding of our higher purpose and being.
May 2007
Joan McLaren: "Your Body Speaks Your Mind: the BodyMind Connection"
The presentation discusses recent advances in working with molecules of emotion
along with a series of everyday practices that will help maintain the free
flow of information that is the essence of a whole and healthy self.
April 2007
Marianne Johnson: "Mandalas: Images of Healing and Wholeness"
The psychological meaning of mandala images is explored from a Jungian perspective
as universal symbols of the Self archetype. In dreams and visions, mandala
imagery points to themes of protection, healing and spirituality in one's
personal path toward individuation.
March 2007
Doug Tataryn: "Emotions, Individuality and Human Development: The Relevance
of Deep Psychology to Spiritual Transformation"
The talk applies the framework and insights of Bio-Emotive Integral Therapy
to understanding the development of our individual sense of self over time.
This healing journey takes us from being victims of our accidental conditioned
history to consciously evolving human beings.
February 2007
Doug Staley: "Is Winnipeg a Spiritual Power Spot?"
A multimedia lecture exploring the possibility that Winnipeg is an important
"power spot" on the North American continent. The lines of evidence
are considered through photographs, images, diagrams, maps and illustrations.
December 2006
Victor Popow: "Esoteric Symbolism of the Manitoba Legislature"
The Manitoba Legislature building is one of the most distinctive works of
architecture in Canada. The illustrated lecture by Victor Popow, a Freemason,
discusses the esoteric design and symbolism of the building.
November 2006
An Evening of Spiritual Poetry
Lovers of poetry and spiritual wisdom are invited to share an evening of poetry
reading and discussion. Attendees have the opportunity to read from their
own poetic works or from classic books of poetry drawn from the world's spiritual
traditions.
October 2006
Doug Staley: "Is Winnipeg a Spiritual Power Spot?"
A multimedia lecture exploring the possibility that Winnipeg is an important
"power spot" on the North American continent. The lines of evidence
are considered through photographs, images, diagrams, maps and illustrations.
May 2006
Joan McLaren: "The Spiritual Dimensions of the Tarot"
Dr. Joan McLaren explores the symbolism and meaning of the deck of Tarot cards
from a spiritual perspective, linking them with a variety of other models
of human development and transformation.
April 2006
Michael O'Malley: "Perfume and Essential Living"
Michael O'Malley, the owner of La Parfumerie (145 Evanson St.) discusses the
spiritual dimension of perfume. The presentation includes opportunities to
stimulate the senses by directly experiencing a variety of scents.
March 2006
Sharon Wisemyn and Doug Staley: "Astrology and World Events: Understanding
Planetary Influences"
The talk explores the nature of planetary cycles on past and future world
events, and how individually and collectively we can consciously participate
in creating a new world based on love and respect for all existence.
February 2006
An Evening of Spiritual Poetry
Attendees read their own favourite spiritual poems at an "open mike"
and share their love of poetry with others.
December 2005
Doug Staley: "Sacred Gardens East and West"
A multi-media slide show exploring the design and spiritual meaning of Western,
Taoist, Zen and Islamic sacred gardens.
November 2005
Carol Ann Gotch: "Meeting the Stranger: Conversation and Community"
An experience in 'conversation' where energy flows between those who truly
encounter each other, as the transforming of fear into self disclosure yields
fruits of enchantment and delight.
October 2005
Robert Pasternak: "Symbolism and Spirituality"
The primal shapes locked in our collective unconscious are strong indicators
of who, what and where we are as a species. Through Robert Pasternak's spiritual
art it is possible to travel along the intuitive and logical path of reinventing
these primal shapes so that they reflect a more holistic visual dialogue that
will speak to and inform a new sense of being.
May 2005
Ervin Bartha: "The Enneagram Unveiled"
The presentation unfolds some of the deeper implications and applications
of this popular, yet mysterious symbol. The ground of Presence, from which
the enneagram and other transcendent symbols arise is the starting point for
this exposition.
April 2005
Louise May: "Art and Ecology"
Louise May, the artistic director of the St. Norbert Arts Centre (SNAC) for
the past 12 years, provides a framework for understanding the connections
between art, culture and ecology.
March 2005
Jane Powell: "BodyTalk: Communicating With Your Innate Wisdom"
BodyTalk is a way of helping one's mind to help one's body, using tapping,
breathing and focusing techniques that synchronize and balance its parts,
opening pathways to communications and health.
February 2005
Judee Regan: "Meaningful Work: The Choice is Yours"
Judee Regan, a storyteller and author, champions taking responsibility for
our own life through action, contribution and work-life wholeness and well-being
through awareness, vision and choice.
December 2004
Mark Burch: "Simplicity and Spirituality"
The presentation explores the relevance of voluntary simplicity to spiritual
growth and practice. The choice to adopt a materially simpler way of life
as a support to, and expression of, spiritual practice has been a perennial
theme across many spiritual traditions.
November 2004
Ervin Bartha: "Walking the Walk with Death"
A discussion on fearlessly coming face-to-face with the single most important
event of a lifetime through conscious death and dying.
October 2004
Doug Tataryn: "Emotions and Spirituality"
A presentation on the close relationship between emotion and spirituality
based on Dr. Tataryn's practice of psychotherapy and study of many different
spiritual traditions.
June 2004
Joe McLellan: "Aboriginal Spirituality and Christianity"
Joe McLellan, a Roman Catholic Deacon who also has a strong foundation and
understanding of Aboriginal spirituality, shares his knowledge and experience
of the meeting place between the two spiritual traditions.
May 2004
Sharon Wisemyn and Doug Staley: "Astrology in Your Life"
A discussion of the difference between 'newspaper astrology' and humanistic/spiritual
astrology, which aims at self-knowledge and personal development.
April 2004
Darlene Tataryn: "Dance and Organic Movement as Healing"
A discussion of the use of dance and organic movement as a form of healing
and expression, including a sharing of experiences related to physical posture
and tension followed by an experiential exercise of deep relaxation.
March 2004
Connie Phelps: "A Season for Non-Violence"
A presentation in a 'Consciousness Cafe' format on the theme of non-violence,
stressing alternatives to violence and the importance of peaceful conflict
resolution.