Executive Board of Consciousness Club

Because we have been an event-driven organization, we have naturally had different people involved over different periods of time, depending on the interests of those people and the particular events we were organizing. Next year we plan to have a more formalized board. Before this year we were mostly a group of friends who put on events, and these events were very unique, wellattended, and viewed as beneficial by a wide array of students who attended, as well as Penn faculty/staff who witnessed what our vision was all about. The past board members who have been the most involved in event planning over the years have been listed. Executive Board for 2012-2013 * Lina Hashem (SAS14) Cole Korporary (SAS14) Katie Malykhina (SAS14) Siddharth Ashokkumar (SEAS13, WH13)
* roles to be determined, as well as additional members, during the application process

Past Board Members Danielle Heitmann (SAS10) Allie Carroll Goldman (SAS11) Reiko Sakai (SAS11) Natalie Tse (WH13) Margaret Ferrigno (GSE11) Lina Hashem (SAS14) Siddharth Ashokkumar (SEAS13, WH13) Club Founders and Co-Presidents Justin Broglie (SEAS12) Lauren Reifsnyder (NURS12)

List of Our Past Events and Initiatives

Since the start of our club in Fall 2009, we have held over 30 of our own events at Penn (and collaborated on many others), including having group meditations, introductions to mind-body and preventative health practices, film screenings, guest speakers, life-skills training retreats, and stress reductions sessions. Our most successful events are listed below. For a full list of our events, please visit our Facebook group at: http://www.facebook.com/groups/consciousnessclub/events/

Yoga Rave | March 31, 2012

Yoga Rave is a party like none other in the world; a new concept in fun where the mind and body respond to a uniquely crafted sequence of high-energy music, movement, yoga & meditation. It gives individuals a new way of having fun in a drug-free, alcohol-free environment. The Yoga Rave party consists of a number of exciting components such as an exotic cuisine, a non-alcoholic bar and number of fun events including the So What Project, black light performances and dance. All proceeds go to developing stress management programs for youth in Philadelphia through the YES! for Schools program. Video: http://vimeo.com/39659461

Occupying A New Narrative: Interdependency and Social Justice, with Jerry Simotas | February 11, 2012
Join us for a discussion about how our culture of individualism, accumulation of private ownership, and addiction to convenience and security has created unnecessary suffering and pain in our communities and the world at large. Jerry Simotas, from Veterans for Peace, will lead us in discussing how the beliefs we've been taught have produced unnecessary divisions endemic to our culture and how to transcend the fallacies which perpetuate disillusionment and feeling at odds with each other. Differences need not produce the divisions which keep us from making this a far better world. Following this will be film screening of I AM, an utterly engaging and entertaining non-fiction film that poses two practical and provocative questions: what's wrong with our world, and what can we do to make it better?

Networking for Alterprenuers | February 2, 2012

Do you feel that your value system is too important to compromise for your career? Do you hold relationships and community to be more important than profits? Have you been frustrated by the quality of jobs offered during OCR? It's not too late to create your own job! We are smart people: let's start from scratch and build new business ideologies. This event will bring together students from universities such as UPenn, Drexel, and Temple, as well as community members. We will also be inviting designers, engineers, business and finance people interested in alternative business, to come offer their perspectives and advice. We will begin with an introduction of ourselves, then have a discussion about bringing human values back into business, and finally we will allow anyone who has an idea, whether for a start-up, product, or ideology, to pitch to the group for 3-5 minutes each.

Your Enlightened Side: Personal and Community Wellness Retreat September 16-19, 2011 (we also had one this past Feb 2012)
The YES+ course is a fun, innovative, and experiential life-skills training program that empowers young adults to develop a relaxed, stress-free mind and an energetic, healthy body, using tools such as meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, self-exploration, and emotional development. There will also be optional educational sessions on the weekend nights featuring films and presenters on social justice, sustainability, food systems, alternative economies, and education reform. The goal of the course is to help make Penn and West Philadelphia healthier and more open communities. The course happens over 5 days, and all sessions are mandatory if you wish to participate. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_XFihQMlhc

Penn Alternate Spring Fling | April 13, 2011

ASF is the fling for dreamers, unconventional thinkers, and philosophers. Aiming to bring more meaningful and conscious interactions into Fling, ASF hopes to allow us to connect at deeper levels with our fellow students. Activities will take part throughout the weekend; some samples include yoga, meditation, arts, music, philosophizing/discussion, tribal dancing, and an interfaith gathering. More info: http://www.pennasf.com

The Mindful Revolution | Fall 2012

The Mindful Revolution is a student-run initiative at the University of Pennsylvania, exploring how mindfulness, positive psychology, and character development can transform our education system from the inside outat the level of the students themselves. Our goal is to raise awareness on the implications of minding one's internal healthemotionally, socially, and psychologically. We plan to do this through exploring the existing research available on this topic as well as helping to launch and study a pilot mindfulness-based program called YES! (Youth Empowerment Seminar) right in the city of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia. More info: http://themindfulrevolution.com/ Documentary Film: http://youtu.be/HSEC5RhyUnM

Global Oneness Project Film Screening | April 10, 2010

The Global Oneness Project is a group of beautiful films exploring how we as humans can embody oneness, through our actions, our relationships, our economy, our government, and our agriculture. We will watch the films of the Global Oneness Project, share an Indian dinner, and do several meditations throughout the night. More info: http://www.globalonenessproject.org/

The Mindful Leader, with Michael Carroll | February 21, 2010

A presentation and discussion on how we can bring mindfulness to our studies, careers, and lives in order to find lasting contentment, prosperity, and integrity. Carroll is the author of Awake at Work and The Mindful Leader and over his 25 year business career has held executive positions at top firms across the nation. Michael has been studying Tibetan Buddhism since 1976, graduated from Buddhist seminary in 1982 and is an authorized teacher in the lineage of the Tibetan meditation master, Chogyam Trunpa. More info on his work can be found at http://ww.awakeatwork.net

A Weekend of Meditation and Teaching by Lama Gursam May 7-9, 2010

Acharya Lama Gursam Rinpoche will lead us in a contemplation of the meaning and potential of our human existence from the Buddhas perspective, a critical question in all the worlds religions and philosophies. What the Buddha had to offer 2500 years ago on the state of enlightenment was an explanation and solution to the suffering of ourselves and all other beings. Resulting from deep personal transformation and meditation, this solution is based primarily on Compassion for All Beings Equally and Wisdom into the Nature of Reality. These two ideas which work together are sometimes called the Two Wings of the Bird in Buddhist philosophy, for they work in tandem and without them both , the result of perfect flight or balance cannot come to fruition. These are the two main pillars of Buddhist thought, and in this introduction, Lama will teach, discuss and guide a meditation on these basic principles of Buddhism to all those who are interested.

Enlightenment: Exploring the Roots of Alternative Spirituality in America, with Jeff Carreira | March 26, 2010

If you are passionate about Eastern Spiritual Approaches, Integral Theory or Evolutionary Philosophy, you are probably a Romantic. In this talk, EnlightenNext Director of Education Jeff Carreira will outline the exciting story of a view of reality that is probably central to your own thinking even if you dont realize it. In the 18th century German Idealists and English Romantic Poets became convinced that the universe is not a mechanism like a clock, but is actually a dynamic evolving organic whole system. The Romantics understood that human consciousness was part of the fabric of the universe and the expansion of consciousness was part of the universe's evolution. This explosive idea came to American and formed the foundations of the American Transcendentalism of the 18th century, the American Pragmatism of the 19th Century, and the Beat Movement, 1960s Counter Culture and East/West Spirituality of the 20th Century.

Discovering the Sacred in Everyday Life, with Elain Yuen | April 11, 2010
We often divide our experience into ordinary and sacred moments. This workshop will explore how we may discover wakefulness in the day-to-day activities of our life and how we may appreciate the qualities of this ordinary wakefulness. Elaine Yuen is a Senior Teacher at the Philadelphia Shambhala Meditation Center. She is clinically trained as an interfaith hospital chaplain, and teaches in the Public Health Program at the Jefferson School of Public Health.

Living in the Human Predicament: Meditation and Fearlessness, with Jude Robison | March 21, 2010
As human beings we are faced with a complex and unpredictable world. The practice of meditation is a path that can enable us to live fearlessly with uncertainty. Jude Robison has practiced and taught mindfulness meditation for 30 years. She was the director of Karme Choling Meditation Center in Vermont and is a student of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, holder of the Shambhala Buddhist lineage.

Suffering and the End of Suffering, with Prof. Justin McDaniel November 23, 2009
Come join us to learn about why we suffer and how we can collectively move out of suffering by dissolving it at its root! Meditation to follow. Dr. Justin McDaniel, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Undergraduate Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at UPenn, will join us to give a talk on the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. McDaniel spent three months in Thailand as a monk in a Buddhist monastery.