Saturday, January 21, 2012

Stepping Stones Books and Gifts Raffle Event


              KUAN YIN STATUE


She is gracing the stage in The Center for Spiritual Living Santa Rosa right now, and she is Kuan Yin, one of the most universally beloved of deities in the Buddhist tradition, and we are giving her away in a Stepping Stones Books and Gifts raffle event.  She is the embodiment of compassionate loving kindness.  As the Bodhisattiva of Compassion, she hears the cries of all beings.  Kuan Yin enjoys a strong resonance with the Christian Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and the Tibetan goddess Tara.

This Kuan Yin statue is pouring a stream of healing water, the "Water of Life," from a small vase.  With this water devotees and all living things are blessed with physical and spiritual peace.

Her left hand is poised in the Vitarka Mudra which symbolizes one of the phases of the preaching of the Buddha, that of discussion or teaching of the dharma.  The circle formed by the thumb and the index, a complete form, having neither beginning nor end, is that of perfection;  it resembles the Law of the Buddha, which is perfect and eternal.

It is said that anyone who calls on her will be rescued from harm and bad health.  When placed in a room she cleanses the home of negative influences, including arguments, marital problems and illness.  Kuan Yin is also the protector of all children and women, and brings compassion and love into your home.  She is a must for anyone looking to strengthen or enhance a relationship with their partner or children.  She also is said to enhance fertility.

We will begin selling raffle tickets for the Kuan Yin Statue Sunday, February 5, and the drawing will be held on Sunday, March 11, at 1:30pm.

Written by Sanna Rosa, RScP


Thursday, January 19, 2012

March Program

Stepping Stones Books and Gifts Presents a Free Seminar


Connecting the Dots
between a Health Community and Food

Date:  Friday March 2, 2012
Time:  7:00pm
Center for Spiritual Living Santa Rosa, 2075 Occidental Road

The statistics are telling:  1 out of 2 men and 1 out of 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer this year.  What can we do about it?


The authors of Nourishing Connections, the Healing Power of Food and Community address the link between what we eat and our health, with simple suggestions about how to improve your own diet with whole foods.  With the experience of cooking for seriously ill people, many of The Ceres Community Project's teen chef volunteers are doing just that.


Join Cathryn Couch, Ceres Project's Executive Director and JoEllen DeNicola, Ceres Project's Nutrition Director, for this inspiring talk.  There will be sample treats from the cookbook for you to enjoy.



Cathryn Couch, M.B.A., is a professional chef and activist.  Her work centers around helping people connect with local, seasonal and whole foods, discover the joy of cooking for themselves and others, and find meaningful ways to engage in their communities.  She is the founder and executive director for The Ceres Community Project, a non-profit organization working to restore whole, local, and organic food to its place as the foundation of health for people, communities and the planet.  Cathryn's past experience includes 10 years running an organic home delivered meal service and 4 years as the Director of Communications for The Hunger Project-U.S., an educational organization focused on changing our understanding of the causes of, and solutions to, hunger in the world.

JoEllen DeNicola, BS,NE, is the Nutrition Director for The Ceres Community Project, a respected speaker, teacher and the author of Nourishing Connections, the Healing Power of Food and Community.  Her educational background as a certified Nutrition Educator and Polarity Therapist, along with 30 years of organic gardening experiences, provides her the experience to assist people in making healthy dietary choices for longevity.  JoEllen developed and teaches the Healing Foods Cooking Courses for The Ceres Community Project.  She has presented for Kaiser Permanente Oncology Unit, West County Health Services, the Fermentation Festival, and Macy's.


More information about the The Ceres Community Project may be found on the Ceres Project website.


Wednesday, January 18, 2012

February Program

Stepping Stones Books and Gifts Presents a Free Seminar

The I AM Foundation


Building Life Skills for Life
for Children and Adults


Date:   Friday evening, February 3, 2012
Time:  7:00pm
Center for Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa, 2075 Occidental Road


  Come and hear authors Steve Viglione and Dr. Marilyn Powers who will be presenting an introduction to their book The Bridge:  A Seven-Stage Map to Redefine Your Life and Purpose and sharing about The I AM Foundation.


 Steve Viglione (pronounced Veal-Yo-Knee) and Dr. Marilyn Powers are Co-Founders of The I AM Foundation and Co-Creators of The Love~Wisdom Series which is designed to help children and adults build life skills for life.

 Steve Viglione is the Founder and CEO of The I AM Foundation, whose mission is empowering children and adults worldwide through publishing and gifting The Love~Wisdom Series. Since 1998, his vision has led The I AM Foundation to gift and distribute over 1.1 million books around the globe.

 Steve Viglione’s love for children and his unwavering commitment to building a positive self-esteem are at the heart of his mission. He is a global visionary who desires that all children throughout the world know their self-worth, that they are part of the global community, and that their talents and gifts are of vital importance to the future of the planet.
   
 Dr. Marilyn Powers is Co-Founder of The I AM Foundation. She has her Ph.D. in psychology and religion. She studied psychology at the C. G. Jung Institute in Zurich, Switzerland and at the Gestalt Institute in Cleveland, Ohio. She is a graduate of The High School of Performing Arts and studied dance at the Juilliard School of Music. Marilyn Powers is a visionary leader, author, and speaker.

 Marilyn believes that when children discover their value they bring their value to the world. Equally true, she believes that when parents, teachers, and adults discover their value, they bring their value into the family, the classroom, and the community.

More information about the I AM Foundation may be found on  The I AM Foundation website.


Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Book Review: It’s Easier Than You Think - The Buddhist Way to Happiness, by Sylvia Boorstein


This is a very sweet little book at 145 pages and Boorstein brings the Buddhist way right into daily life by sharing short vignettes illustrating the dynamics of mindfulness and illumination in simple, routine activity. Within each chapter are 1-2 page stories and writings that are very easy to read. This works well for me because my reading style is to read a couple of pages, then put the book down to assimilate what I have read.

She gives examples of the Buddhist Way through her stories that has a way of staying with you. I will always remember her story about her grandfather, who in his 90s had a routine of walking everyday around the block. While this was a short walk in distance, it was a long walk in time due to his frailty. The author joins him on one of his “long” walks and asks him, “What do you think about when you walk?” His reply illustrates the Buddhist Way when he says, “What do you mean, what do I think about? When I walk, I walk!”

The author does us a great service by bringing the spiritual way to earth, to our humanness. No person who walks in illumination or wisdom leaves his humanness behind by doing so. She shows us this. I feel a sense of relief as I read her book as she removes the separation between those we consider “spiritual” and those who have yet to see themselves in this same light. This book is like a friend who in easy conversation levels the field in a way that eliminates any sense of “other” on the spiritual path.

You will enjoy reading It's Easier Than You Think.


Review by Sanna Rose, RScP

Monday, January 9, 2012

Recommended Reading for 2012

January's recommended book to supplement the in-service program "Sowing Seeds of Greatness" is Silvia Boorsteins It's Easier Than You Think.

We are very interested to hear feed back from customers and community about these books selected for our spiritual study.  The process of selecting these books is organic, based on recommendations from readers, selections that match monthly theme focus at the Center, newly released books by popular authors and so on.

If you are the type of person who likes to read ahead, there is a complete listing of all the recommended books for 2012, month by month here which you can download or access at your leisure.

If you do read one or more of the monthly recommended books, please take a moment to send us a review that we can share on this blog.  Whenever we post user-written reviews we get a lot of visitors I'm guessing because we appeciate hearing from regular readers like ourselves.

Happy New Year.

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