Category: Meditation and Movement

meditation classes and gatherings including yoga, sacred circle dance and study groups

UCV Small Groups: Fall Start-up and Refresh

September 8, 2022 • Director RE

Join, Create, or Register a Small Group

Do you want to connect with 6-12 people around a theme, interest, creative endeavor, or spiritual question?

Do you already organize, facilitate or participate in a Small Group, Book Discussion, Circle, or regular small gathering in-person at UCV or through UCV Zoom? Tell us about it! www.ucv.im/small-groups-form

Vancouver Unitarians vision is for a more compassionate world. At UCV we deepen our spiritual and religious lives, grow and enrich our congregation, and advocate for love and justice.

To connect folks, new and old members alike, to deep meaningful community, Kiersten and Derrick need to know what is already going on, what you are looking for, what possibilities you imagine, and what you want to create.

To re-vitalize our directory of small groups, join an existing group, or create a new one, please use this form: www.ucv.im/small-groups-form

Circle Dance

May 19, 2022 • Mary Bennett

Before covid, UCV hosted 3 sometimes more circle dance gatherings every month.

Since then we’ve shared two or three at the start of Earth Spirit rituals and a couple of us have met informally and now we’d like to start offering at least one 2-hour circle dance session each month.

You may find Mary’s blog http://sacredcircledance.wordpress.com of value, especially if you’re new to circle dancing.

Forest Walk – September 2020

September 23, 2020 • AnneD

Contact the Enviro Team | Join the Enviro Email Group

Photo:Pacific Spirit Park

Above: Pacific Spirit Park, Sept 12, 2020 | The haze in this photo is not a typical West Coast mist or fog in early Fall, but rather smoke from forest fires burning in Washington State, while California is experiencing its worst forest fire season ever, reminding us of the looming climate crisis and the need for climate action.

Reconnecting To Why We Are Environmentalists

by Tamiko Suzuki

A dozen Enviro Team members met on a cool, smokey September morning and followed a path into Pacific Spirit Park …

It started with a callout by the Sierra Club to organize a Forest March to protest the loss of old growth trees. After some discussion, a trio from the UCV Environment Team decided they would organize a visit to the forest but it would not be in protest of anything. Rather it would be a meditation on Nature and our love of her.

A dozen Enviro Team members met on a cool, smokey September morning and followed a path in Pacific Spirit Park, specifically chosen for its beautiful views. As was planned, the first and last part of the walk was a socially distanced time to chat and reconnect. The middle part of the walk was done in silence and alone to awaken the senses, re-energize zoom-fatigued brains, and re-connect with our thoughts and feelings.

The ancient trees are long gone (logged in the 1940’s according to Hanno) but stumps and nurse logs remain to remind us of what was lost. Haze from forest fires in Washington obscured the sun reminding us that Climate Change is a looming threat despite our preoccupation with COVID. Still, the forest filtered out a lot of the smoke and traffic noise and brought a sense of calm and peace. It felt so good to get outside and be among friends again.

The walk was organized by Hanno Pinder, Tara Bonham and Tamiko Suzuki.

Proposed: Recreational Forest Walks
Join us for a walk thru Pacific Spirit Park
email Hanno at the Enviro Team

NOTE: At present, the Walking Group is not officially part of the Enviro Team, but we share an appreciation for trees and forests

Photos by: Tamiko Suzuki and Mary Bennett

UCV’s Fourth Compassion Circle 2020

May 7, 2020 • C Malcolm

Do you want to communicate with more compassion and connection? Join UCV’s Fourth Compassion Circle (practicing Compassionate Communication, CC) using the Compassion Course Online 2020 by Thom Bond, (receiving 52 weekly emails covering CC concepts we then practice in the Circle). Registration is required to the online course by May 31, 2020; https://www.compassioncourse.org/ The 2020 Circle’s 1^st session will be an introduction by Zoom in June, date TBA. Please contact Cindy Cashin to sign up or for more info.

What Participants In Last Year’s UCV Compassion Circle Have Said:

“UCV’s Compassion Circle was born in 2017 in response to enthusiasm of several UCVers taking the online course. Lynn Armstrong coordinated the Circle’s creation and came up with the name. The Compassion Circle is an intimate space for learning together, shifting how we listen and respond to others, and how we communicate with ourselves. It’s a special gathering! “

“The Compassion Course and Nonviolent Communication has had a profound impact on me. It is so subtle, yet such a powerful paradigm shift that it changes everything. It has taught me to look deeper in all those difficult communication situations to find the gold that transforms “us and them” to “we”, and in so doing it brings such powerful lessons of love and peace.”

“I could never have imagined this online course and the practice sessions provided at UCV could have had such a profound impact on my worldview. It has brought me clarity and a greater understanding of my (and others’) needs. I’m signing up again and look forward to another year of self-discovery.”

“This year has been my introduction to the concepts & practice of compassionate communication. Already I have seen a positive difference in the way I interpret & respond to events & people. I’m signing up again for next year, so that I can go deeper.”

Indoor Labyrinth Walking in Meditation Room

February 24, 2020 • Mary Bennett

We now have custody of an indoor labyrinth that fits perfectly in our meditation room. The plan is to have it out in the meditation room every 1st Tuesday for walking before circle dance and at the break.

Seven women who were part of the Women’s Spirituality Celebration and, along with a dozen or more others, met and walked it together in January. A discussion ensued that people would like the chance to walk it more often and share it with others as well..

The 10′ x 12′ canvas labyrinth was created by Barbara Bickel while on an artist residency on Toronto Island.

Barbara was, with Mary Bennett, and others part of a planning team for an annual Women’s Spirituality Celebration held at UBC Vancouver School of Theology.While the group hasn’t hosted an event in recent years, there are “circles of circles” of women who continue to connect in various ways, often around a labyrinth walk, shared food and conversation.

Barbara created it for the WSC and has wanted it to be available for borrowing by women who wish to use it for an event.

If you have a connection to Women’s Spirituality Celebration or a Unitarian congregation, you can arrange to borrow it from Mary Bennett.

We plan to have an open labyrinth walk every 1st Tuesday from 6 to 7 pm prior to circle dancing in the hall. Mary will book space and ensure the meditation room is open by ten to 6. Women involved with WSC will take turns laying out the labyrinth, welcoming new people and putting the labyrinth back after the walk.

We have a labyrinth facebook group.

There are also two outdoor labyrinths on the Unitarian Centre site.

Go to http://vancouverunitarians.ca/labyrinth to learn more.

Contact Mary through unitarianlabyrinth@gmail.com if you wish to arrange to borrow the indoor labyrinth.

Meditate with us

August 28, 2019 • Carolyn Grant

Vancouver Unitarians have a dedicated “Meditation Room” that has been in continuous use for over two decades. Each Sunday morning and Wednesday evening an eclectic group of both Unitarians and interested Vancouverites meet for a 45-minute meditation session.

For the past five years the group has been led by Victoria Oginski who has been meditating herself for over 35 years. As an enthusiastic student of Buddhism, Victoria has gone on long meditation retreats in Burma, studied in Bodh Gaya in northern India where the Buddha attained enlightenment, and Dharamsala, the home of the Dalai Lama.

While the group is loosely informed by the Vajrayana school of Tibetan Buddhism anyone interested in meditation is wholehearted welcome!

On Wednesdays, after the meditation from 6:30-7:15 we take a break and then at 7:30 begin our book study. Currently we are reading (out loud) The Mind Illuminated by Culadasa (John Yates, PhD).

submitted by Carolyn Grant

We have several circle dance gatherings every month

August 28, 2019 • Mary Bennett

If you’d like to get some gentle exercise, move to music from a wide selection of tunes from folk to contemporary and classical, we have several opportunities every month to try out sacred circle dance.

There has been a circle dance group at UCV for well over a decade and the opportunities keep increasing.

Usually it’s a small group of 5 to 15. We always teach the steps and welcome newcomers. You are encouraged to adjust the movements to your own needs. For instance, some people get dizzy when they spin, or find “cross-over” steps difficult on their body. Our mantra is: There are no wrong steps, only variations!

Evenings

On the 1st Tuesday and 2nd Monday we meet in the hall from 7 to 9pm. We usually dance about 12-15 different dances with a short refreshment break in the middle.

GLAD – Gathering for Labyrinth Art and Dance

GLAD is now in its third year. Mairy, Mary and Darlene coordinate a mid-day creative retreat on the 3rd Thursday 11-1pm. We create art for a centerpiece to dance around; circle dance and then walk the labyrinth (time and weather permitting.

Circle Dance with Ease

On the 1st Sunday of each month from 2-3:30pm, we offer a “gentle” approach to circle dance, great for beginners or those who want to just relax into dancing. We select 4 dances and dance each one three times, the third time, with all four in sequence.

Pagan Ritual through Circle Dance

In summer 2019, we experimented with a new offering coordinated by Mairy Beam and Mary Bennett

We are not doing these as a regular monthly event now but may on occasion plan one to honour the turning of the seasons.

We will combine some earth spirit components with about 8 or so circle dances. We start out with casting a circle, calling in the four directions and honouring the divine masculine and feminine. We use a combination of readings, lighting candles and dances that correspond to this sequence. In the middle we will do more circle dancing related to the season and some earth-centred activity (planting, harvesting, making) and then end the evening with opening the circle with devocations and a closing dance/chant.

We dance to some or all of these pagan chants in each session.

Casting the circle

We are a circle within a circle

Calling the 4 directions/elements

Air I am, fire I am, water, earth and spirit I am
Tread Gently on the Earth (breathe gently of the air; lie gently on the water; touch gently to the fire)

Invoking Divine Masculine/Feminine

We all come from the Goddess/ Hoof and Horn
Mother of Darkness/Father of Darkness
Kore chant: She changes everything she touches

Opening/ending the circle

May the circle be open, but unbroken

For more details contact Mary Bennett at earthspiritucv@gmail.com

Or check out all earth spirit listings at vancouverunitarians.ca/earth-spirit

RSVP appreciated but not required.

Our Unitarian sixth source that acknowledges earth-centered traditions means we often dance to songs related to the turning of the seasons, for instance:

World Circle Dance Day 2020

July 7, 2019 • Mary Bennett

2020 world circle day will be July 5. See you then.

https://globalcircledance.com/world-circle-dance-day

On July 7th, 2019, 12 of us gathered to dance the three link-up dances that were being danced around the world. World Circle Dance Day coincides with the final day of the annual sacred circle dance festival at Findhorn, Scotland, where this version of circle dance originated over 40 years ago.

After emailing our photo, I received this update from the organization.

https://globalcircledance.com/world-circle-dance-day

Thank you, Gratidão, Merci, Gracias, Danke, Diolch, Dziękuję, 고맙습니다

Thank you to everyone! We have a record number of groups this year and this gives us GREAT HOPE. 279 that we know of and this represents even more groups, because several join together for this special day. We are so grateful for all the Love, Unity, Connection, Joy, Beauty, Energy, Blessings! We continue to share our joy around the world! If you have Facebook, please post all your photos to https://www.facebook.com/GlobalCircleDance, and select 1 photo and e mail it to diamundialdanzas@gmail.com Thank you so much!

Thank you! We will send you an e mail when yours is posted on https://globalcircledance.com/world-circle-dance-day.

When the video is ready we will post it on the website https://globalcircledance.com/world-circle-dance-day.

The world is dancing! Infinite Thanks and Love for participating in this wave of Joy!

——

To see past posts about our participation in World Circle Dance Day click here:

http://vancouverunitarians.ca/tag/worldcircledance

Painting with Pat on the Labyrinth

April 22, 2019 • Mary Bennett

Pat MacBain will be painting on the labyrinth again this year. And available to coach kids at 3pm.

We’ll have crayons and pastels for kids and others to use to create labyrinth art. You can create an art piece of the scene, a flower or learn to draw the labyrinth pattern.

Here are some photos from 2018 World Labyrinth Day.