Well….today in this brief interview, Jerry Petell manages to address so many great points! He talks about being sure to set intentions for peace, and about how The Albany Peace Project has inspired him to think about meditation in a much more grand view of the potent power of this work.
I mean think about it…through the Albany Peace Project, all of us from different religious, political, and socioeconomic backgrounds come together each day to hit one note…the note for peace. We can’t all agree on dogma or politics but we CAN agree to lessen human suffering. That is powerful. How else will peace come about if we don’t contemplate it…together!
When we get enough people voting for peace like this, the evidence suggests that we could actually override political, religious, and economic limitations and see the peace in the world we would like to see. That will be a great day. Let’s be sure we do it!
Listen to Jerry’s inspiring insights below…
Get Inspired All year Long!
If you would like to be notified of Numinous talks that offer similar content, Please click on the enter your email to the right of this link where it says “Get Inspired!” www.NuminousOnline.com
If this meditation helped you, please consider donating to Numinous, sponsor of the Albany Peace Project by clicking on the donation button to the above to the right of these words.
If there are other ways you would like to contribute, or if you have comments or suggestions, we would like to hear from you.
Today, you will meet Rev. Crystal Muldrow, the new senior minister at Unity Church of Albany. Rev. Crystal has a heart of great service as she holds three ordinations from both the Zen and Christian traditions. She beautifully demonstrates how different faith traditions can blend seamlessly in one person. I had a lot of fun chatting with Rev. Crystal both on and off camera as she shared her path with me. I learned she was raised in the Unity tradition of practical Christianity, and how her mom piqued her interest in Buddhism by having her having read a texbook on World Religions to help Rev. Crystal overcome dyslexia. Rev. Crystal also started her own ministry geared toward young adults.
Rev. Crystal has a gentle nonassuming presence, and she is looking forward to getting to know individuals in the Unity Community to learn what their vision is for Unity Church of Albany.
Today you get to meet Jerry Petell. Jerry has contributed greatly as an APP volunteer and mentor from the project’s beginning. His energy just puts you instantly at ease, and helps the group get things done while having fun.
In this talk, Jerry shares some great insights he received from a week long meditation retreat he just experience in Costa Rica with some leaders in the mindfulness field. As a Tai Chi teacher, Jerry is skilled at combining subtle energy practices along with meditation techniques through movement. In this talk he also discusses a unique technique for stopping unwanted racing thoughts!
Jerry and I got into such a lively conversation that we forgot to mention that he works with Anne-Marie Serre to offer the Albany Peace Project Meditation Leader Certification program. If you are interested in becoming an APP certified meditation leader, please look out for future trainings. We will most likely be offering a program in the spring of 2016.
Thank you so much for your participation, and if these meditations have been helpful to you, we would greatly appreciate your support to help us continue to offer such extensive content.
NUMINOUS LECTURE SERIES FOR JANUARY Programs are held weekly, on Wednesday evenings, at Unity Church of Albany, 21 King Ave, Albany, NY.
DONATION APPRECIATED OF $20 EACH SESSION.
Mindfulness For Busy People Anne-Marie Serre, IT Specialist/Corporate Meditation Leader Wednesday January 20 at 7:00 PM, Unity Church of Albany
This session will help you apply the transformative power of mindfulness to your busy life, helping you find the coherent calm space within you, as you focus yourself for whatever challenges you face.
Mindfulness is not mystical or magical, it is actually somewhat methodical. There are basic techniques you can use to broaden your perceptions at any moment, which enables you to resource a much broader palette of elevated feelings, including greater joy, clarity and sustained well-being.
As an IT consultant, Anne-Marie Serre, has had to hone her ability to stay calm under pressure. In this talk, she will share the best mindfulness techniques she has cherry picked to help us work gracefully under periods of intense stress. She will discuss how mindfulness techniques do not actually take any “time” at all, because brief periods of mindfulness actually improves focus, energy, efficiency and creativity all which yield greater results in less time.
Programs are held weekly at Unity Church of Albany, 21 King Ave, Albany
Challenging Our Agreements, and How They Shape Us Bryce Pullano, IT Specialist Wednesday January 27 at 7:00 PM
One of the four agreements in the wildly successful book “The Four Agreements” by Don Miquel Ruiz, is “Don’t make assumptions.”
If we all took a moment to pause and consider how many assumptions we make in life, and how much these assumptions shape our destiny, we may become awestruck by their significance. These realizations have the potential to be so profound, they may inspire us to make lasting change in our behavior, changes that can effect the entire trajectory of our lives.
In this talk, Bryce Pullano will ask us to challenge our most basic social contracts, and examine how much we assume things that simply are not be true at all. He will help us expose these flimsy mirages for what they are, which can help us find the truth that we need to experience real-world growth. These non-truths are best eliminated, so that we can proceed confidently in life with clear unwavering vision that sustains us in times of darkness. Come to this talk ready to challenge all areas of your life, and to mine new insights for positive change.
Spiritual Conversations For Men Facilitated by Glenn Hogue & Tim Moon, MA – CASAC Wednesday February 3 at 7:00 PM
Most spiritual programs are predominantly attended by women, which often causes women’s issues to be the focus of such programming. However, at NUMINOUS, we wanted to provide new programs that would specifically support Men’s spiritual discoveries as they do the significant work of pioneering how to blend ancient spiritual teachings with contemporary culture’s expectations of masculinity.
This is critically important work, as we seem to be in a time in history when all sorts of established paradigms are falling. The rugged individualism of the late 20th century is being challenged on all levels, especially in relationships. The traditional roles between male and female are also being blurred as well.
How do we maintain the integrity of our yang (masculine) energy while assimilating the gentler aspects of spirituality and still be effective in this world? How do we learn how to connect, while maintaining our individual authenticity and truth? Many of us have learned that we don’t need to do life alone, but we are unsure of how to skillfully include input from Spirit, women, and other men, without loosing connection with ourselves.
Learning how to skillfully partner, listen, and still assert our truth seems to be a huge piece of the mission of our generation of men. These Spiritual Conversations For Men will give us an opportunity to gain answers to the some of the most distracting questions of our lives. In a quiet environment, we can safely discuss what matters to us most, and obtain invaluable insights from other men who have grappled with the same questions. Through this exchange, we learn that we don’t have to do “life alone.” Also, we learn how good it feels to be supported and to provide the same meaningful support for others. These discussions offer us clarity and direction as we learn to connect, and yet still hold individual balance.
We are extremely fortunate to have Tim Moon, Counselor, and Fo Castle Owner/Operator Glenn Hogue facilitate these discussions. These two have over 55 years of combined spiritual understandings to chart this prosperous territory.
Prosperity – Living a Life You Love Living Dr. Karin Reinhold Wednesday February 10 at 7:00 PM
Can you imagine a life full of purpose and passion that you naturally enrich the lives of others around you and yourself? Do you wake up each morning feeling energized and ready to start your day? Do you enjoy higher levels of vibrant health, deep love, financial abundance, time freedom? Do you experience the confidence that you can accomplish anything that you want?
There are predictable, repeatable, spiritual and scientific method for turning dreams into reality. I first learned of these steps from Mary Morrissey – a world renowned author and coach – and her program “Dream Building”
We’ll review the 10 keys of the manifestation process, and how these are rooted in spiritual principles.
Get Inspired All year Long! If you would like to be notified of Numinous talks that offer similar content, Please click on the enter your email to the right of this link where it says “Get Inspired!” www.NuminousOnline.com
Now that the focused intention and meditation portion of the Albany Peace Project is drawing to a close for 2016, I wanted to share with you our hopeful vision for the coming year. Meditation research is now expanding into a new area of study – the exploration of wisdom and how it is generated. This field of study is a natural extension of meditation research. When we take our minds and anchor them down to the heart, a greater compassionate wisdom emerges that yields answers more comprehensive than those that only come from our analytical intellectual mind.
As Albert Einstein said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
If we are going to generate compelling results, we need to shake things up, and think about things from an entirely different perspective. It is my hope that, through our willingness to cultivate heart-mind wisdom, we will uncover real solutions for humanity’s long-term challenges.
My dream for the Albany Peace Project is that people from all religions and ethnicities will contemplate peace, shoulder to shoulder, at an event for the benefit everyone in greater Albany. We are already focusing our efforts in this direction, so stay tuned. We are working to organize an interfaith prayer meditation research study this summer, to coincide with other community events scheduled in the heart of Albany during late June and early July.
The Albany Peace Project was conceived with the acknowledgement that not all faiths can agree on doctrine, not all political viewpoints can agree on policy, and not all races can agree on what changes should occur in society. But we all can agree to employ focused healing intentions to reduce human suffering.
Throughout the year, I put out several calls for people from diverse ethnic backgrounds to participate in the Albany Peace Project. I know they are out there, but they just haven’t found their way to me yet. I asked Glyne Griffith if he could contribute to our guided meditations again this year, but he was unable to, although he said his heart and spirit was still very much with the project, . This was my interview with Glyne two years ago, and all that he shared with me then is still pertinent.
Please, for the next year, if you know of someone, or if you are a person of color, please reach out to me, so that next year we can have the Albany Peace Project better reflect the demographics of Albany. The message of the project will have the greatest impact when it reflects the authentic hopes and dreams of the residents of Albany.
To everyone who has supported the Albany Peace Project, please accept my heartfelt apology for the cancellation of this years Closing Concert. Bottom line – we are still a very young organization, with extremely tight resources and limited people power. We could certainly use more volunteers, and definitely more donations. With more support in the coming year, I may be able to outsource some routine work, which will free up my time to organize these important events. This work may look easy, but it is actually a very very heavy lift, and given our tight resources, more hands would make it much lighter work. I am, and will always be, very grateful for your support and interest.
We will be doing a version of the closing concert at the Unitarian Church on February 6 at 7:00 PM with Dr. Michael Wayne, who will conduct the keynote presentation titled “Quantum Revolution: The Power To Transform”.
Donations help us meet expenses to offer this work. If you would like to donate, please click on the donate button or send donations to: Numinous c/o Bethany Gonyea (be sure to include this) at PO 1322, Clifton Park, NY 12065.
Interview :
Today’s Meditation:
NUMINOUS LECTURE SERIES FOR FEBRUARY Programs are held weekly, on Wednesday evenings, at Unity Church of Albany, 21 King Ave, Albany, NY.
DONATION APPRECIATED OF $20 EACH SESSION.
Spiritual Conversations For Men Facilitated by Glenn Hogue & Tim Moon, MA – CASAC Wednesday February 3 at 7:00 PM
Most spiritual programs are predominantly attended by women, which often causes women’s issues to be the focus of such programming. However, at NUMINOUS, we wanted to provide new programs that would specifically support Men’s spiritual discoveries as they do the significant work of pioneering how to blend ancient spiritual teachings with contemporary culture’s expectations of masculinity.
This is critically important work, as we seem to be in a time in history when all sorts of established paradigms are falling. The rugged individualism of the late 20th century is being challenged on all levels, especially in relationships. The traditional roles between male and female are also being blurred as well.
How do we maintain the integrity of our yang (masculine) energy while assimilating the gentler aspects of spirituality and still be effective in this world? How do we learn how to connect, while maintaining our individual authenticity and truth? Many of us have learned that we don’t need to do life alone, but we are unsure of how to skillfully include input from Spirit, women, and other men, without loosing connection with ourselves.
Learning how to skillfully partner, listen, and still assert our truth seems to be a huge piece of the mission of our generation of men. These Spiritual Conversations For Men will give us an opportunity to gain answers to the some of the most distracting questions of our lives. In a quiet environment, we can safely discuss what matters to us most, and obtain invaluable insights from other men who have grappled with the same questions. Through this exchange, we learn that we don’t have to do “life alone.” Also, we learn how good it feels to be supported and to provide the same meaningful support for others. These discussions offer us clarity and direction as we learn to connect, and yet still hold individual balance.
We are extremely fortunate to have Tim Moon, Counselor, and Fo Castle Owner/Operator Glenn Hogue facilitate these discussions. These two have over 55 years of combined spiritual understandings to chart this prosperous territory.
Prosperity – Living a Life You Love Living Dr. Karin Reinhold Wednesday February 10 at 7:00 PM
Can you imagine a life full of purpose and passion that allows you to naturally enrich the lives of others around you and yourself? Do you wake up each morning feeling energized and ready to start your day? Do you enjoy higher levels of vibrant health, deep love, financial abundance, and time freedom? Do you experience the confidence that you can accomplish anything that you want?
There are predictable, repeatable, spiritual and scientific method for turning dreams into reality. I first learned of these steps from Mary Morrissey – a world renowned author and coach – and her program “Dream Building”
We’ll review the 10 keys of the manifestation process, and how these are rooted in spiritual principles.
The W/Holeness Continuum: Moving from ‘Having a Hole to Fill’ to ‘Being Whole and Feeling Full’ Tim Moon Wednesday February 17 at 7:00 PM Unity Church of Albany
What are the conditions in our lives and in our thoughts about our lives that leave us feeling empty, lonely and in search of ways to fill the Hole?
There are an endless number of ways we attempt to fill the Hole; money, relationships, alcohol and substances, sex, new clothes, new cars, busy-ness, television, food…the list goes on. Deep down we all know that we are supposed to feel good, which is the root of all substance abuse issues. As we progress on the spiritual path, we learn that we need less and less of these external things, because we as we feel more spiritually whole, we learn to bask in the sweet satisfaction of that wholeness. We don’t just know this intellectually, we feel this on a profound level as the truth of our whole being.
This workshop will explore paradigm shifting ideas from past and present spiritual teachings and our current understanding of the science related to happiness, mindfulness, and empathy to assist us in moving from Holeness to Wholeness (without necessarily having to change our circumstances!!! Wow!).
Your Healing Story Vicki Hart Wednesday February 24 at 7:00 PM Unity Church of Albany
Stories and myths have a way of reaching deep into the hidden places within us. Reoccurring themes from different times and places help us to know that we are not alone in our experiences. In this talk, we will discuss ”Warming the Stone Child” and other stories about abandonment and the unmothered child. Based on the work of Jungian psychologist Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Phd.
Learn through story how the psychology of abandonment in childhood affects us in later life. Uncover the special gifts and powers of the unmothered child.
In this talk, we can discern what you can learn from your favorite childhood fairytale, and learn that we a personal fairy tale story of our own.
Hearing Only One Voice – The Voice of Wisdom Bethany Gonyea, Founder Albany Peace Project Wednesday March 9 at 7:00 PM Unity Church of Albany
Do you ever wonder about the origin of that critical voice in your head?
Do you ever become curious about your internal dialogue….even why we have an internal dialogue? (who exactly are we talking to???)
Well, neuroscientists at Yale have discovered some startling facts about the brain regions activated while we are experiencing this internal dialogue.
The set of brain regions responsible for this internal voices is now referred to as the default mode network. It is most commonly shown to be active when a person is not focused on the outside world and the brain is at a wakeful rest, such as during daydreaming and mind-wandering. Researchers have determined that this default mode network is responsible for us ruminating about four general areas, when we are 1) thinking about others (what they think of us), 2) thinking about ourselves (how we are doing), 3) remembering (processing) the past, and 4) planning (worrying) for the future. This internal dialogue is vastly responsible for much of our mental health, either good or bad.
The good news is that not only are there cognitive strategies to help cope with the voice, but that skillful meditation actually silences it! Learn how to lower the volume of the critical voice, and hear only the voice of wisdom.
Get Inspired All year Long! If you would like to be notified of Numinous talks that offer similar content, Please enter your email to the right of this link where it says “Get Inspired!” www.NuminousOnline.com
Do you ever want to make a difference in the world, but feel too tired and overwhelmed?
Do you ever watch the news and feel discouraged that you can’t change it?
Do you often feel stressed and trapped with life’s challenges?
Then learn how to overcome all these challenges by participating in the third annual Albany Peace Project! The Albany Peace Project is a 10 year research study designed to determine if an organized group of trained meditators creating a peaceful “coherent state” in their bodies and then focusing these peaceful intentions outwardly can measurably reduce local violence. Our hypothesis is that focused peaceful intention has a real world impact, and dozens of other research studies suggest it as well. We are gathering data to determine if this approach can positively impact the city of Albany, NY.
Not only does achieving a coherent state dramatically enhance the lives of individuals, but it has remarkable applications for the workplace. As individuals achieve a coherent state, they are much more likely to work better in groups.
The Albany Peace Project (APP) team is currently working toward gathering 2,500 participants to meditate/pray/focus to achieve coherence together for 15 minutes a day for the month of January 2016 while sending peaceful intentions to the City of Albany. Simultaneously, research will be conducted to record any favorable changes in the Albany, NY crime rates.
Research Protocol
Albany Peace Project team, lead by founder, Bethany Gonyea, MS and State University of Albany Mathematics professor, Karin Reinhold, PhD, are drawing inspiration for their research protocol from the Maharishi University and from the impressive research team of Lynn Mctaggert, author of The Intention Experiment. To date, dozens of studies have been performed, many published in peer reviewed journals, that suggests when a relatively small amount of people meditate there appears to be a corresponding calming of the entire population. (See a brief summary is listed below)
For the past two years, we have been fortunate to be collaborating with the Institute of HeartMath which has graciously approved use of their evidence-based Heart Lock-In Technique.® This state of the art mind-body tool leads the body-mind into a state known as Coherence, which facilitates synchronization between the heart and brain. Coherence is a “sweet spot” in your nervous system, and Institute of Heartmath’s emWave instrument provides reliable feedback to individuals to help them achieve and sustain a coherent state. The coherent pattern is characterized by its regular, sine-wave-like waveform, as contrasted to the irregular, jagged wave form of frustration.
When this state of coherence is maintained, it allows individuals to distinguish between the voice in the head, often the critical voice, and the one in the heart, where positive feelings of love, caring, and appreciation originate. Learning how to “think” from the heart quickly transforms individuals in ways they may never have dreamed possible. Learn the steps of the Heart Lock-In technique in the powerful book The HeartMath Solution, by Doc Childre and Howard Martin or purchase an emWave device to be sure you are in coherence by clicking here.
How The Albany Peace Project Will Add To This Inspiring Research…
The Albany Peace Project is a landmark historic effort. It is the first time that a city has organized from grass roots to invite people of all different religion, political and socioeconomic backgrounds to come together and simply contemplate and intend the common goal of peace.
Not just talk about peace…but become peace.
The Albany Peace Project has been created with the acknowledgement that not all faiths or political parties can agree on doctrine or political strategies, but they can certainly agree to employ focused healing intentions to reduce human suffering.
Political pundits can talk about peace, but how well are they actually doing? As hard as governing officials may work for the peace, they still need our support to help change the hearts and minds of people. Because until we shift as individuals, we will not shift as a whole. Establishing peace is work that needs to be done “by the people for the people,” which means we need participation from caring citizens such as yourself to do this incredibly empowering and promising research.
We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. Albert Einstein
Research demonstrates that when people become coherent, they become more empathetic, which enables them to more easily make wise and compassionate choices not only for themselves, but for the people around them.
We need to become the peace before we can beckon peace. How else will peace be accomplished unless we ourselves become peaceful, and from that peaceful state allow a greater compassionate wisdom to emerge?
Can this actually work? There is a growing amount of evidence to suggest it will and time is of the essence. Have you seen the news lately? Your participation is incredibly important both for ourselves and the next generation. How grateful our children will be when we leave them this research? This project will literally “make history” by empowering people to realize that how we focus our intentions influences what we experience.
But, We can’t do this research without your help.
Research suggests there is a “dosage effect”…which means we need a large enough “dose” of people participating before we will see a corresponding calming result. What is that percentage? We are not sure, we think at least 1%, but only time will tell. That is why this is a 10 year research study. We need to teach and train many many people.
Please tell your friends and family about taking advantage of this unique opportunity. If you think of any other tools we can offer, please send your suggestions to info@numinousonline.com, and LIKE AlbanyPeaceProject on Facebook and let us know you are there.
Help us encourage 2500 participants to take charge of their own health, by teaching people how to lead their own nervous system into states of much greater health and well-being, while simultaneously reducing the suffering of complete strangers…it is a Win-Win!
Thank you for your interest and support!
The Albany Peace Project Team
Sampling of Studies Suggesting that Collective Meditation Corresponds With a Calming Effect On The Entire Population
One Example: Transcendental Meditation Research Organization
Washington D.C.: June 7th – July 30th in 1993
For two months during the summer of 1993, up to 4000 people meditated twice a day. The maximum decrease in violent crime was 23.3% and it occurred when the the meditation group size was largest during the final week of the project.
As the number of meditators increased throughout the 8 weeks, violent crimes decreased
Source: Social Indicators Research, 47(2): 153-201
More Examples: Similar studies document a correlation between when a small percentage of people meditating lowered violence on the entire geographical population. They have been published in the following prestigious journals:
Journal of Conflict Resolution, 34, 756-768 (1990); 32(4), 776-812 (1988)
Journal of Mind and Behavior, 9(4), 457-486 (1988); 8,(1), 67-104 (1987)
Psychological Reports, 76, 1171-1193(1995)
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 36 (1-4), 283-302 (2003)
Psychology Crime and Law 2(3), 165-174 (1996)
Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 17(1): 285-338 (2005)
Journal of Crime and Justice, 4 25-45 (1981)
Social Indicators Research, 47,153-201. (1999); 22, 399-418 (1990).
Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science 95(1),1 (1988)
9/11 Peace Experiment on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11
Participants from 75 countries, from Iceland to Brazil, from California to Indonesia, and also every Arab country on the planet sent peaceful intentions to reduce violence in Afghanistan
From 9/11/11 to 9/18/11 participants all over the globe spend 15 minutes sent positive intentions, specifically to the southwest corner of Afghanistan, Helmand and Kandahar
Results Recorded: Decrease In Civilian Casualties In Afganistan
2011 Month
#Civilians Killed
% Drop In Deaths Compared to Prior Month
% Drop in Deaths Compared to Average Death Rate for 28 Months Prior
August
440
September
340
22% fewer deaths
10% fewer deaths
October
290
14% fewer deaths
23% fewer deaths
November
201
30% fewer deaths
26% fewer deaths
Decrease In Attacks By The Taliban In The Specific Areas In Afghanistan that were chosen to receive Peaceful Intentions (Helmand and Kandahar)
Month % Decrease In Attacks Compared To The Same Month in 2010
September 790% Decrease in Attacks
October 500% Decrease in Attacks
November 400% Decrease In Attacks
The NATO led security mission in Afganistan that was formed in 2001, The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) reported this time as the “longest sustained downward trend in enemy-initiated attacks recorded by ISAF” (since 2001). Source: UN and NATO Reports
Today, I am talking with Anne-Marie Serre, an IT consultant who has been an amazing help to the Albany Peace Project! Anne-Marie has contributed in so many ways – we are extremely grateful for her infectious enthusiasm, her technical assistance, and her creative ideas. In this interview, Anne Marie discusses the APP Certified Meditation Leaders program she established with Jerry Petell. Together, they created a basic meditation leadership program that only requires two evenings of formal training, and some dedicated homework. With the benefit of Anne-Marie’s and Jerry’s decades of mindfulness experience, the program certified 18 (!) new meditation leaders this year.
You have seen some of those newly certified meditation leaders share the benefits of their training in our meditation series this year. We would always appreciate more leaders, and we welcome the opportunity to help our volunteers develop new skills and accelerate their personal growth. If you are interested in participating, please let us know!
As an IT professional, Anne Marie experiences a substantial amount of stress in her job, and her meditation practice helps her maintain a calm presence in difficult situations. She will be offering her best mindfulness techniques in a unique class, “Mindfulness for Busy People”, on Wednesday, January 20 at 7:00 at Unity Church of Albany. For more information about this special Numinous program, please view the details below the meditation.
In this meditation, Anne-Marie asks us to stretch a little. She asks us to pause and offer peace to those people we see in the newspaper who commit criminal acts, and that we may want to pass judgement on. She gently invites us to see our own light and darkness, so that we are more likely to see the dark and light in others.
I have never met a meditation I didn’t like! There are so many different approaches to meditation, and it can often be helpful for people to cultivate a wide range of meditation tools. Practicing different techniques offers meditators several options to choose from, depending on the circumstances they are facing.
Sometimes, a verbal mantra approach is needed to balance our brain, but at other times we may require a more sensory based approach. For some people, guided visualization works well to help reduce mental chatter, and for others pure silence does the trick. Each day, the winds of consciousness may guide us along our path differently. We can draw upon different meditation practices to to help with these changing situations, similar to the way a dentist selects a specific instrument for a particular procedure.
Pam Lunz Medina brings this topic to life in this interview. It is so much fun introducing you to Pam Lunz Medina today. Pam is such an exceptionally great human being. She will often spontaneously reach out to support the Albany Peace Project, because she is so passionate about the mission.
In this video, Pam discusses the upcoming 8 week meditation course that she is offering through the Yoga Lily, starting February 16. Her course would be a wonderful follow-up to the Albany Peace Project. During the program, Pam will be introducing participants to a variety of different meditation techniques.
Pam is so enthusiastic about the Albany Peace Project, she is offering an exclusive discount to APP meditators, to encourage participation in the second half of January! Participants who email each of the remaining daily meditations to discount@theyogalily.com , beginning January 15th, will receive 15% off of any Yoga Lily program. This generous gift to APP contributors works similar to another APP special benefit – the 10-30%% discount for a float-session at requiescent.com, which rewards meditators for each meditation they send to floatationmeditationdiscount@juno.com.
If these meditations have been of benefit to you, please consider donating to APP, to help continue to grow this project moving forward. There is still much work to do, and our efforts will have a measurably greater effect with greater support.
NUMINOUS LECTURE SERIES FOR JANUARY Programs are held weekly, on Wednesday evenings, at Unity Church of Albany, 21 King Ave, Albany, NY.
DONATION APPRECIATED OF $20 EACH SESSION.
Mindfulness For Busy People Anne-Marie Serre, IT Specialist/Corporate Meditation Leader Wednesday January 20 at 7:00 PM, Unity Church of Albany
This session will help you apply the transformative power of mindfulness to your busy life, helping you find the coherent calm space within you, as you focus yourself for whatever challenges you face.
Mindfulness is not mystical or magical, it is actually somewhat methodical. There are basic techniques you can use to broaden your perceptions at any moment, which enables you to resource a much broader palette of elevated feelings, including greater joy, clarity and sustained well-being.
As an IT consultant, Anne-Marie Serre, has had to hone her ability to stay calm under pressure. In this talk, she will share the best mindfulness techniques she has cherry picked to help us work gracefully under periods of intense stress. She will discuss how mindfulness techniques do not actually take any “time” at all, because brief periods of mindfulness actually improves focus, energy, efficiency and creativity all which yield greater results in less time.
Programs are held weekly at Unity Church of Albany, 21 King Ave, Albany
Challenging Our Agreements – How They Make or Break Us Bryce Pullano, IT Specialist Wednesday January 27 at 7:00 PM
One of the four agreements in the wildly successful book, The Four Agreements, by Don Miquel Ruiz, states “Don’t make assumptions.”
If we all took a moment to pause and consider how many assumptions we make in life, and how much these assumptions shape our destiny, we may become awestruck by their significance. These realizations have the potential to be so profound they inspire us to make permanent lasting change in our behavior that changes the entire trajectory of our lives.
In this talk, Bryce Pullano, will ask us to challenge our most basic social contracts, and how much we assume things that simply are not be true at all. He will help us expose these flimsy mirages for what they are, which helps us find the truth that we need to experience real-world growth. These non-truths are best eliminated so that we can proceed confidently in life with clear unwavering vision that sustains us in times of darkness. Come to this talk ready to challenge all areas of your life to mine new insights for positive change.
Spiritual Conversations For Men Facilitated by Glenn Hogue & Tim Moon, MA – CASAC Wednesday February 3 at 7:00 PM
Most spiritual programs are predominantly attended by women, which often causes women’s issues to be the focus of such programming. However, at NUMINOUS, we wanted to provide new programs that would specifically support Men’s spiritual discoveries as they do the significant work of pioneering how to blend ancient spiritual teachings with contemporary culture’s expectations of masculinity.
This is critically important work, as we seem to be in a time in history when all sorts of established paradigms are falling. The rugged individualism of the late 20th century is being challenged on all levels, especially in relationships. The traditional roles between male and female are also being blurred as well.
How do we maintain the integrity of our yang (masculine) energy while assimilating the gentler aspects of spirituality and still be effective in this world? How do we learn how to connect, while maintaining our individual authenticity and truth? Many of us have learned that we don’t need to do life alone, but we are unsure of how to skillfully include input from Spirit, women, and other men, without loosing connection with ourselves.
Learning how to skillfully partner, listen, and still assert our truth seems to be a huge piece of the mission of our generation of men. These Spiritual Conversations For Men will give us an opportunity to gain answers to the some of the most distracting questions of our lives. In a quiet environment, we can safely discuss what matters to us most, and obtain invaluable insights from other men who have grappled with the same questions. Through this exchange, we learn that we don’t have to do “life alone.” Also, we learn how good it feels to be supported and to provide the same meaningful support for others. These discussions offer us clarity and direction as we learn to connect, and yet still hold individual balance.
We are extremely fortunate to have Tim Moon, Counselor, and Fo Castle Owner/Operator Glenn Hogue facilitate these discussions. These two have over 55 years of combined spiritual understandings to chart this prosperous territory.
Get Inspired All year Long! If you would like to be notified of Numinous talks that offer similar content, Please click on the enter your email to the right of this link where it says “Get Inspired!” www.NuminousOnline.com
Today, I am talking with Anne-Marie Serre, an IT consultant who has been an amazing help to the Albany Peace Project! Anne-Marie has contributed in so many ways – we are extremely grateful for her infectious enthusiasm, her technical assistance, and her creative ideas. In this interview, Anne Marie discusses the APP Certified Meditation Leaders program she established with Jerry Petell. Together, they created a basic meditation leadership program that only requires two evenings of formal training, and some dedicated homework. With the benefit of Anne-Marie’s and Jerry’s decades of mindfulness experience, the program certified 18 (!) new meditation leaders this year.
You have seen some of those newly certified meditation leaders share the benefits of their training in our meditation series this year. We would always appreciate more leaders, and we welcome the opportunity to help our volunteers develop new skills and accelerate their personal growth. If you are interested in participating, please let us know!
As an IT professional, Anne Marie experiences a substantial amount of stress in her job, and her meditation practice helps her maintain a calm presence in difficult situations. She will be offering her best mindfulness techniques in a unique class, “Mindfulness for Busy People”, on Wednesday, January 20 at 7:00 at Unity Church of Albany. For more information about this special Numinous program, please view the details below the meditation.
In this meditation, Anne-Marie asks us to stretch a little. She asks us to pause and offer peace to those people we see in the newspaper who commit criminal acts, and that we may want to pass judgement on. She gently invites us to see our own light and darkness, so that we are more likely to see the dark and light in others.
Good morning… Today you get to meet the wizard who works behind the curtain to ensure these emails get to your inbox by 5:00 AM sharp each day, Bryce Pullano.
Bryce offers much insight and creativity behind the scenes, and he is always up for new challenges! His great heart and “can do spirit” (LOL – See clip from Big Bang Theory below…and see how we keep the mood light as we tackle the technical stuff) has helped move many APP projects along, all while we make each other laugh by sharing these video clips, and other geek humor.
In this interview, Bryce discusses how he experienced a violent crime at the very beginning of the first Albany Peace Project in 2014, and how it ignited his latent interest into the project. At the end of that first month, he felt so renewed he was compelled to “give back.” He has been a wonderful support person to the project ever since that time.
As usual, Bryce came up with a unique perspective to incorporate into his meditation. In this interview, we talk about how people are left with residual hurt after they suffer from a violent crime. This gave us the idea for all of us to take a moment to acknowledge the hurts that we feel…and to literally shed light on them to gracefully cleanse and let them go after we have usurped their wisdom.
If these meditations have been helpful to you, please consider helping the Albany Peace Project team continue offering this work by clicking on the donate button located at the top of this page.
Interview.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
Just for fun….we hope you enjoy this clip as much as we do – watch the first 26 seconds!
NUMINOUS LECTURE SERIES FOR JANUARY Programs are held weekly, on Wednesday evenings, at Unity Church of Albany, 21 King Ave, Albany, NY.
DONATION APPRECIATED OF $20 EACH SESSION.
Mindfulness For Busy People Anne-Marie Serre, IT Specialist/Corporate Meditation Leader Wednesday January 20 at 7:00 PM, Unity Church of Albany
This session will help you apply the transformative power of mindfulness to your busy life, helping you find the coherent calm space within you, as you focus yourself for whatever challenges you face.
Mindfulness is not mystical or magical, it is actually somewhat methodical. There are basic techniques you can use to broaden your perceptions at any moment, which enables you to resource a much broader palette of elevated feelings, including greater joy, clarity and sustained well-being.
As an IT consultant, Anne-Marie Serre, has had to hone her ability to stay calm under pressure. In this talk, she will share the best mindfulness techniques she has cherry picked to help us work gracefully under periods of intense stress. She will discuss how mindfulness techniques do not actually take any “time” at all, because brief periods of mindfulness actually improves focus, energy, efficiency and creativity all which yield greater results in less time.
Programs are held weekly at Unity Church of Albany, 21 King Ave, Albany
Challenging Our Agreements – How They Make or Break Us Bryce Pullano, IT Specialist Wednesday January 27 at 7:00 PM
One of the four agreements in the wildly successful book, The Four Agreements, by Don Miquel Ruiz, states “Don’t make assumptions.”
If we all took a moment to pause and consider how many assumptions we make in life, and how much these assumptions shape our destiny, we may become awestruck by their significance. These realizations have the potential to be so profound they inspire us to make permanent lasting change in our behavior that changes the entire trajectory of our lives.
In this talk, Bryce Pullano, will ask us to challenge our most basic social contracts, and how much we assume things that simply are not be true at all. He will help us expose these flimsy mirages for what they are, which helps us find the truth that we need to experience real-world growth. These non-truths are best eliminated so that we can proceed confidently in life with clear unwavering vision that sustains us in times of darkness. Come to this talk ready to challenge all areas of your life to mine new insights for positive change.
Spiritual Conversations For Men Facilitated by Glenn Hogue & Tim Moon, MA – CASAC Wednesday February 3 at 7:00 PM
Most spiritual programs are predominantly attended by women, which often causes women’s issues to be the focus of such programming. However, at NUMINOUS, we wanted to provide new programs that would specifically support Men’s spiritual discoveries as they do the significant work of pioneering how to blend ancient spiritual teachings with contemporary culture’s expectations of masculinity.
This is critically important work, as we seem to be in a time in history when all sorts of established paradigms are falling. The rugged individualism of the late 20th century is being challenged on all levels, especially in relationships. The traditional roles between male and female are also being blurred as well.
How do we maintain the integrity of our yang (masculine) energy while assimilating the gentler aspects of spirituality and still be effective in this world? How do we learn how to connect, while maintaining our individual authenticity and truth? Many of us have learned that we don’t need to do life alone, but we are unsure of how to skillfully include input from Spirit, women, and other men, without loosing connection with ourselves.
Learning how to skillfully partner, listen, and still assert our truth seems to be a huge piece of the mission of our generation of men. These Spiritual Conversations For Men will give us an opportunity to gain answers to the some of the most distracting questions of our lives. In a quiet environment, we can safely discuss what matters to us most, and obtain invaluable insights from other men who have grappled with the same questions. Through this exchange, we learn that we don’t have to do “life alone.” Also, we learn how good it feels to be supported and to provide the same meaningful support for others. These discussions offer us clarity and direction as we learn to connect, and yet still hold individual balance.
We are extremely fortunate to have Tim Moon, Counselor, and Fo Castle Owner/Operator Glenn Hogue facilitate these discussions. These two have over 55 years of combined spiritual understandings to chart this prosperous territory.
Get Inspired All year Long! If you would like to be notified of Numinous talks that offer similar content, Please click on the enter your email to the right of this link where it says “Get Inspired!” www.NuminousOnline.com
