September 23 - Music As Medium to Connect
Facilitator: Gary Diggins

While music isn’t always a universal language, certain practices of music making can enable individuals from diverse cultures to connect and experience degrees of belonging.  In this gathering, Gary Diggins will share several musical components that can raise a sense of community, especially when language or ideological beliefs are not common. Come willing to listen, sound, explore, and express.  No prior training with instruments or structures of music is necessary.

Prior to moving to Guelph, Gary Diggins maintained a private practice in Toronto offering a blend of counselling with the therapeutic side of music.  He has travelled extensively, especially working with communities affected by conflict in places ranging from Africa to Israel.  Gary is author of Tuning The Eardrums - Listening as a Mindful Practice. Along with his partner, Catherine Kormendy, he is deeply involved in Silence, a not-for-profit arts space near the downtown area. 

Braving the Wilderness: Quest for Belonging and Courage to Stand Alone

True Belonging does not require us to change who we are, it requires us to be who we are...  Brene Brown asks us to believe in and belong to ourselves so fully that we can find sacredness in both being a part of something, and standing alone when necessary. But in a culture that’s rife with perfectionism and pleasing, and with the erosion of civility, it’s easy to stay quiet, hide in our ideological bunkers, or fit in rather than show up as our true selves and brave the wilderness of uncertainty and criticism.

The wilderness is an untamed, unpredictable place of solitude and searching. It is a place as dangerous as it is breathtaking, a place as sought after as it is feared. But it turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it’s the bravest and most sacred place you will ever stand.

Join Melissa Horvath-Lucid for a morning of poetry, music and contemplation on the work of Brene Brown in the book, Braving the Wilderness.

October 7 - Gratitude and Giving in Our Lives

Service Facilitators: Margie Johnson and Lorna Wyllsun

In the busyness of our daily lives, it is often a challenge to set time aside for reflection and deeper meaning. Join us as we give thanks and reflect upon the ways in which we can practice gratitude. How can we use our gratitude to propel us into sharing our gifts with the world?