“Since everything is but an illusion,
Perfect in being what it is,
Having nothing to do with good or bad,
Acceptance or rejection,
One might as well burst out laughing!”

~Buddha

Looking at human beings as ecosystems that contain many collaborating and competing species could change the practice of medicine...

Even The Economist (!!!!) is now getting into this ..

read the article here

Follow the required actions and you will have the chance to receive a free conference passe, free online streaming access or SAND DVDs… You do NOT need to purchase anything to participate!!!

See you at SAND (Science and Nonduality) in California Oct. 24th to the 28th!

Click here to start!

Sign on FORA.TV and watch SAND12 from the comfort of your home.

SAND has partnered with FORA.tv again this year to bring the Science and Nonduality Conference 2012 LIVE and on-demand to audiences from around the world. Many of you requested us to show the event online due to the difficulties and cost of traveling to California to attend the event. We know it will not be the same as “being there” but it will be a way for you to connect and embrace your community.

Click here to REGISTER for discounted LIVE access and one year on-demand event pass. Please use the code "SAND" and receive 30% discount. Click here to read detailed instructions.

An extremely powerful short film... reminds us to never stop dreaming!

In addition to the amazing talks, workshops and experiential room presentations on Saturday evening we always have a fascinating performance and a party.

This year we are very happy to host an amazing Sufi Qawwali Music band named: “The Fanna-Fi-Allah Sufi Qawwali Party” which is the only American traditional qawwali group, performing continuously since 2001 in Pakistan, India & the USA. We saw "The Fanna-Fi-Allah" in a concert two years ago and since then we have been trying to bring them to SAND.

Qawwali is an ancient practice where in the fire of divine love (ishq) is ecstatically expressed through the mystical verses of Sufi poets, sung in Urdu, Farsi, Hindi and Punjabi. The origins of qawwali music date back about a thousand years to the first sufi mystics who came to India; Data Ganj-Buksh & Khwaja Mueen ud Deen Chishty. The sufi sama (sufi gathering) of Persia was recreated to suite the culture of India & qawwali was deseigned for this setting. 

Prior to concert we will have a performance by David Ellzey, who will show us his amazing miming talents embodying humorously enlightened characters with astute commentary on this human journey of awakening.

And afterward Dj Dragonfly will make us dance until the hotel staff kicks us out as it has traditionally happened in the past 3 editions of SAND... :-)

That is why the 2012 Sat night event is named: "The End of the Self Party!"

CIIS Public Programs & Performances: Information Sessions:

Saturday, October 20, 10:00AM–11:30AM - Tuesday, November 13, 6:30PM–8:00PM - Tuesday, December 4, 6:30PM–8:00PMMore info: www.ciis.edu/publicprograms or 415.575.6175

This eight-month certificate program features leaders in the research, practice, and application of mindfulness and compassion to the field of psychotherapy. This program has a unique emphasis on development of the internal state of the psychotherapist. The curriculum includes the acquisition of ideas and skills, but also addresses the deeper issue of how a psychotherapist can utilize compassion and mindfulness to create a healing relationship. Instructors include Sylvia Boorstein, Eugene Cash, Rob Fisher, Robert Rosenbaum, Leah Weiss, and more. CEUs/CEs available.

4 DAY RETREAT WITH JEFF FOSTER
Monday, October 29th - Friday, November 2nd, 2012   
At the Earthrise retreat center at IONS (Califo                                            This is a great opportunity to spend 4 intimate days with Jeff in the wonderful Earthrise retreat center at the foothills of Northern California (only 50min North of San Francisco). Maximum number of attendees will be 30!
THE DEEPEST ACCEPTANCE: RADICAL AWAKENING IN ORDINARY LIFE
How do we stop running away from “the mess of life”—our pain, our predicaments, our frustrations, our failures, even our longing for freedom and enlightenment—and start flowing with all of it?Is it possible to find an effortless “yes” to this moment, no matter how challenging our lives become?... click here to learn more and register

'Bioneers' are people, of all diversities, working collectively in crafting creative solutions to the world's environmental and bio-cultural challenges. At our 23rd Annual Bioneers Conference, you'll join global thought-leaders, experts and advocates in exploring breakthrough solutions for a sustainable world. Our visionary speakers are part of a culture creating the healthy, diverse, equitable and beautiful world in which we all want to live. Connect with them and others like you who want to build a legacy of global consciousness. Full access, day, half-day, and individual workshop passes are available. Conference attendance is in demand, so we suggest early registration. Learn more at www.bioneers.org/conference.  Bioneers is offering our network a 20% discount to attend with family, friends, and followers.  Just type in the code BC12AO5 on the registration site.

SAND Anthology Vol 1, 2, 3. NINE discs, 62 interviews, over 30 hrs of material, playable worldwide are now on sale for only $ 59.95

Groundbreaking collections of conversations with leading scientists, contemporary mystics, authors and teachers. Science and Nonduality Anthology Volume 1, 2 & 3 takes you on a journey into the most compelling questions of our time, ranging from the mystery of time, emotions, evolution to awakening.

Check few clips from the DVDs on our Youtube channel.

ORDER YOUR DVD HERE!

Saturday September 29 @ Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA

Buy Tickets Here General Admission: Only $29.50 Per Ticket

Three stages of diverse music, over 50 vendors in a dynamic world marketplace, a special yoga stage sponsored by Yoga Tree SF, Sustainable Living Roadshow and their off-the-grid eco-carnival, multiple art installations, delicious food, and so much more.

Artists confirmed to perform include The Shins, Tegan and Sara, Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, Beats Antique, Matisyahu, Jimmy Cliff, Kimbra, The Dirty Heads, Eric Hutchinson, Givers and more to be announced. For More Info:   www.harmonybythebay.net

ONLY FIVE SPOTS LEFT at this reduced rate!!!!

Registration for SAND Europe 2013 in The Netherlands is now open with an AMAZING deal...  We offer a 20% discount over the already heavily discounted Early bird rate of 345 Euros to the first 50 registrants from this newsletter.

Enter the code "willbethere" and get 3 and a half days of a mind blowing experience for only 276 Euros!

Spiritual maturity is being ready to let go everything. Giving up is a first step, but real giving-up is the insight that there's nothing to be given up, since nothing is your property.
~ Nisargadatta

Eight days ago our neighbor called and left us a message “You house is on fire.” Driving back to our home we could see the smoke from a distance and feel our hearts beating faster and faster… 6 fire trucks and 20 firefighters were fighting the power of the fire. We just sat on the side of the road and watched… It felt like a dream, surreal and yet very real because of all the smells and sounds… There was nothing we could do or not do…

For few days we were both expecting to wake up from this dream but even that hope soon faded, emotions of fear, sadness, despair, laughter, optimism came and went away and a feeling of complete surrender and a sense of aliveness came to being.

It has been a dramatic experience at times but there has been no drama, no story, no regret or desire to have things different then what they are...

Life goes on in it's impermanence and we do what we have to do. Having no possessions has been truly refreshing. The house was a beautiful SAND painting that blew in the wind and we'll do it again with the same joy and the same commitment as we did before... Our office is still functional and all “our” work has survived...

We have the joy to be able to share this story with you and if we look away from the computer the sun in shining, birds are singing, the wind is blowing and there is true sense of freedom in not having any desire or need for anything to be different from what is...

Isn't life marvelous???

Love, Maurizio & Zaya