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Toronto
Toronto Premiere of:
MANITOU API--WHERE THE SUN
RISES
Tuesday, August 10 · 6:30pm -
9:00pm
The Revue Cinema
 400 Roncesvalles - 3 Blocks South of Bloor and
Dundas W
Toronto
Turtle Lodge and the Institute of Traditional
Medicine Present... Toronto Premiere of MANITOU
API--WHERE THE SUN RISES. From the Director of The History
Channel's Nostradamus 2012. Featuring Speaker Elder Dave
Courchene (Neeghani Aki Innini). Advance tickets $10, $12 at
the door.
"ONE NIGHT SCREENING ONLY "
Advance Tickets:
Ronalda Laird @
ronaldalaird@yahoo.com
Kim Mitchell @
kymmerlynn_kinsella@hotmail.com Advance Tickets:
Contact 416-695-0780 OR Institute of Traditional Medicine, 416
537-0928
View Trailer: http://the8thfire.org/manitou_api/video.htm
Film Website: http://www.the8thfire.org/manitou_api/
Turtle Lodge/Dave Courchene: www.theturtlelodge.org
Frank Albo: www.frankalbo.com
SYNOPSIS:
This extraordinary documentary features Dave
Courchene, a First Nations Elder
and
Frank Albo , an architectural historian, as they
take the viewer on a mystical
journey and together uncover ancient symbols in a
Canadian government building,
symbols that validate a present day First Nations
Prophecy.
READ
FULL SYNOPSIS ALONG WITH FURTHER
INFO
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Toronto
Golden Rule
Retreats!
LEARN TO FACILITATE GOLDEN RULE
RETREATS
“Scarboro Mission Centre has seen some 4,000 high
school age students come through its doors annually for the
past number of years.
 We are known city-wide for our popular Golden Rule
and World Religion retreats for
youth.
In response to a demand from the local community,
we have decided to offer Golden Rule training days for
frontline youth workers, educators, Boy and Girl Scout Leaders
and pastoral students in an effort to make our retreat work
accessible to more youth.
As such, we are offering comprehensive,
residential training for those who already work with youth in
their current jobs, or who are preparing to work with youth in
a spiritual or social justice
capacity.
Aug. 22, 7:00 p.m. — Aug. 24-1:00
p.m.
Cost: $300 for residential, $250 for commuters (cost
includes meals and snacks)
Register: Phone 416-261-7135 and send $50 two weeks prior to hold your space
to:
Scarboro Missions 2685 Kingston Road, Scarborough
ON M1M 1M4 Attention: Kathy
Murtha”
www.scarboromissions.ca
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THE DALAI LAMA
IS COMING BACK TO TORONTO!
 “The exiled Tibetan leader will return to
Canada this
October to make a series of speeches at the Rogers Centre in
Toronto.
His visit marks the opening of a new Tibetan Canadian
cultural centre in the city.
The Dalai Lama is no stranger to Canada — last fall he visited
Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. He was last in
Toronto in
2007.
He was named an honorary citizen in
2006.”
For more information and a listing of events go to:
www.dalailamatoronto2010.org/
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ONTARIO
WIDE
EVENTS
Waterloo
EDUCATION TO GLOBALIZE THE HUMAN
MIND
ANNOUNCEMENT: weekend of August 20-22,
2010
“Spiritual
Heritage Education Network Inc. (SHEN, website:
www.spiritualeducation.org) is
a non-profit charitable organization based in Waterloo,
Ontario in Canada with the single purpose of education in the 
all-inclusive and unifying spiritual heritage of humanity to
engender global unity.
Modern science and technology has shrunk the world
to a global village, but the human mind is still out of sync
with this development. To close this gap, SHEN is proposing
all-inclusive spiritual education curricula to be integrated
in the global educational systems. This initiative is hoped to
help bridge our hearts and minds building one human family
living in the wider global community.
Towards this end, SHEN plans a series of meetings
to focus on the promotion, development and delivery of the
proposed curricula. The first meeting is timed to mark SHEN’s
10th anniversary year and is scheduled for the weekend of
August 20-22, 2010 in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The title
for this event is Education to Globalize the Human Mind.
Everyone interested in this endeavour is invited to
participate. “
An
information package for this event is available at our website
at the following link: www.spiritualeducation.org/Events/Info/Meet2010/Frame.htm.
Please address any questions and correspondence
to:
SHENMeet2010@spiritualeducation.org
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ONTARIO
GAIA'S COSMIC CAMP
August 6, 7,
8
Eco-Spirituality, Meditative Arts,
and New
Cosmology
Friday 2 pm till Sunday
2 pm
12 adults only
$225 plus
accommodation
www.gaiacentre.org
 “ Have you ever longed to go back to camp? Enjoy
the beauty of the Haliburton Highlands. Explore
your place in Gaia's conscious evolution through body
prayer, analogue drawing, visioning, drumming, a
candle-lit woodland labyrinth. This is camp, but with a
twist. In co-creative community, we
will explore the New Cosmology, earth-centered
spirituality, and our own emergence as
Universal Humanity.
Join with inspiring leaders
from the University of
Creation Spirituality and Wisdom University who
will share the teachings of Thomas Berry, Brian Swimme, Matthew
Fox, Rumi, and others.
Maybe we'll even
have s'more(s)!”
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AGONQUIN PARK
13TH ANNUAL SOCIAL JUSTICE SUMMER
RETREAT
August 26th-29th,
2010
Registration is now
open
Registration includes accommodations in cabins, all
your meals, and full access to camp facilities.
Early Bird (ends July 31)- $200
Regular Registration (after July 31) -
$220
Children 5-12 years - $95
Children 2-4 years -
$65
Children 0-2 years -
Free
Transportation from downtown Toronto
(round trip via coach bus) -
$46/passenger
http://www.socialjustice.org/index.php?page=summer-retreat
This year's theme:
The
collapse of financial institutions worldwide has thrown
economies into prolonged recessions or minimal growth.
Jobs have disappeared and lives suddenly and uncontrollably
altered. Government revenues have fallen with the
decline of economic activity and the loss of jobs.
Declining revenues, recent tax cuts and modest spending to
create jobs have all produced budgetary deficits. A
further assault on public sector spending is the only policy
alternative neo-liberal governments will countenance.
This will mean more public sector job cuts, wage restraint,
the contracting out and cutting of more services, and growing
inequality. The future looks as grim as the recent past
for growing numbers of citizens whose livelihood has vanished
and whose plans will depend on precarious employment and
reduced government assistance. How can we organize to
anticipate the coming cuts? How can we build coalitions
to protest cuts and the loss of democratic
controls?
This annual event brings together people from a
variety of social movements – activists from all walks of
life. You, friends and family are invited to join us for a
wonderful time of relaxation and renewal.
Here’s
how your days might be
filled:
- workshops and plenary sessions on how to build a
strong culture of activism
- free time at the waterfront
with swimming, boating and nature trails
- evenings with
music and film, story tellers and campfires
- being as
solitary or as social as you wish
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INTERNATIONAL
EVENTS
9-DAY MINDFULNESS
(VIPASSANA) MEDITATION
RETREAT
When: August 13 - 21st,
2010
Presented by: Spring Rain
Sangha
 Location: Chapin Mill Retreat Centre,
Batavia, NY (just 2.5 hours from Toronto)
Cost: $600 (please consult our website for
other payment options)
Facilitators: Philip Starkman, Jim Bedard,
and Randy Baker
Registration: Please register in advance in
the "Retreats" section of www.SpringRainSangha.com
Contact: Email questions to
angelina9@springrainsangha.com
or call Angelina at
416-314-7176
“This retreat introduces Buddhist practices that
help us achieve deeper levels of insight into who and what we
are, while promoting peace in our daily lives. By
focusing moment-to-moment awareness on body sensations,
feelings, and thoughts, we begin to experience for ourselves
the impermanence of all conditioned phenomena.
Mindfulness meditation, and the greater wisdom and
equanimity it brings, allows us to relate to life with
less fear and clinging. People of all faiths are
welcome to attend this
retreat.
Set amid the natural splendours of a beautiful
135-acre country property, the Chapin Mill Retreat Centre
offers the ideal environment for calming the busy
mind.”
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PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
INTERPROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE IN APPLIED
MINDFULNESS MEDITATION: PSYCHOTHERAPY OR
EDUCATION
 “This Fall, the University of Toronto's Faculty of Social Work
(Con-Ed program) is offering one of North
America’s most comprehensive certificate programs
in Mindfulness Meditation, please check the following link for
more information.
www.socialwork.utoronto.ca/conted/certificate/mindfulnessmed.htm
Participants in this inter-professional mindfulness
program will have an opportunity to either begin or deepen
their own mindfulness meditation practice and its application
in psychotherapy and/or education. This inter-professional
certificate is grounded in the comparative literatures of
mindfulness, neuroscience, social and health sciences,
comparative religion and theology, educational theory, and
occupational health.”
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RESOURCES
RESOURCES
THE FUTURE OF
RELIGION
By Patheos.com
“For
centuries, Western thinkers assumed that religion would
decline throughout the world as scientific ideas spread and
replace "superstition" with modern, rational, secular ways of
life.
 In
recent decades, however, that assumption has faded. Across the
globe, religion remains an influential force, one that impacts
how we view ourselves, each other, and the world around
us.
As new
forms of worship and belief continue to evolve in the
twenty-first century, we have asked thought leaders from a
variety of religious traditions to talk about the future of
religion. What trends will influence how people across the
spectrum of faiths worship and practice? What are the
challenges and opportunities that will confront faith leaders?
What are the controversial issues? Will cooperation or
conflict between religions be dominant in the years ahead?
What reform movements will shape the future of
belief?
Essays
will tackle such subjects as race, interfaith relations,
blogging, theological controversies, gender issues,
proselytizing, music, emerging movements, politics, and
film.
The Future of Religion Series schedule
is:
June 28
- The Future of Hinduism
July 5 -
The Future of Buddhism
July 12
- The Future of
Judaism
July 19
- The Future of Christianity:
Catholicism
July 26
- The Future of Christianity: Mainline
Protestantism
August 2
- The Future of Christianity:
Evangelicalism
August 9
- The Future of Christianity:
Mormonism
August
16 - The Future of Islam
August
23 - The Future of Paganism
August
30 - The Future of Humanism
September 6 - The Future of
Religion
Each
week, we'll be featuring short essays by prominent thought
leaders, written for a general audience. Please join us for
this exciting new series.”
CLICK
TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE AND VIEW EXISTING
ESSAYS
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RESOURCES
Religion & Ethics
NewsWeekly
ETHICAL EATING
CLICK
HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO
 “Religious communities are part of a growing
movement across America that is
concerned with the ethics of how food is grown and how it gets
to our tables. Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly visits
Anathoth
Community
Garden in North Carolina, a project of Cedar
Grove United Methodist Church.”
“Having the experience of planting a seed and
having the faith that it’ll grow into a plant that will
eventually sustain me is a spiritual experience. And
ultimately I really, really feel like food is a sacred gift
from God and that’s something that we tend to forget about in
our culture.”
“Small faith communities like this one are
sprouting up all across the country to advance the cause of
ethical eating – teaching more than just good gardening
practices.”
“Going to the garden is part of a spiritual
practice for me. I use that time to think about what I’m
thankful for, and to try to remember people in my past that
I’m thankful for, and my family that surrounds me now. It’s
just my daily meditation. I feel I’m in a place where things
are really alive, and growing.”
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BOOK RELEASES
NEW BOOKLET REVEALS
MUSLIM ACTS OF HEROISM DURING HOLOCAUST
“The Role of Righteous Muslim Persons,”
Initiated by Faith Matters, an interfaith
organization.
This
article by: Jonny Paul , The Jerusalem Post,
07/07/2010
LONDON – A new publication highlighting Muslim acts of
heroism during the Holocaust will be published on Wednesday,
chronicling the role played by Muslims who defended Jews
during World War II.
The 34-page booklet, titled “The Role of Righteous Muslim
Persons,” was initiated by Faith Matters, a
London-based interfaith organization that works toward
reducing extremism and fostering social cohesion in the
UK. The aim of the
booklet is to inform religious communities and the general
public about the little-known stories of courageous Muslims
who stood up against injustice, protecting Jews during the
Holocaust.
Guided by their Muslim faith and personal desire
to do what was right, they protected and saved the lives of
many potential victims. The publication also aims to counter
the narrative that no Muslims played a part in the defense of
Jewish communities during the
War.
The work focuses on people deemed ”Righteous
Gentiles” by Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem and highlights the role
played by individuals, families and communities in countries
such as Albania, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey, Croatia,
and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In Albania, Jews were
not victims of the Nazis because of a national code of honor
called “Besa,” a desire to help those in need, even those of
another faith or origin.
The booklet also tells the story
of Muslim lawyer Khaled Mahameed, founder and curator of the
first Arab Holocaust museum in Nazareth, who believes that by
understanding such atrocities, one can stand up for justice
and equality.
READ
THE FULL ARTICLE
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NEW BOOK ABOUT TRADITIONAL INDIAN YOGA AND YOGIS
DEBUNKS MODERN
CLICHÉS
‘Autobiography of a
Sadhu – a Journey into Mystic India’
by Rampuri
Destiny Books/Inner Traditions 04/10 Paperback
$18.95
ISBN: 9871594773303
Review by Frederic and Mary Ann
Brussat:
 “Rampuri was the first
foreigner to be initiated into the ancient Indian society of
yogis and shamans known as the Renunciates of the Ten
Names, or Sannyasis. He has been a
Naga Baba since 1970. The sect was organized in the 5th
century B.C., and they see themselves as the ultimate
protectors of the Sanatan Dharma or what we call
Hinduism.
The author grew up in Beverley
Hills and
kept hidden his yearning for secret knowledge, magic, and
buried treasure. He drops out of high school and sets off on a
quest for truth. On a voyage from Karachi, Pakistan, to India, he meets a
young man named Cartouche who recommends that he get in touch
with Hari Puri
Baba, a guru who speaks English and knows how to
read the world. Landing in India, the American
feels like he is meeting a blood relative. He is fascinated by
ascetics called sadhus and sannyasis, marginal
characters who have dropped out of society and spend most of
their time practicing various spiritual practices and
disciplines.
In his first encounter with Hari Puri Baba, the
author is astonished to learn that this holy man has been
expecting him and has prepared a homecoming celebration for
him. Hari Puri Baba has achieved mastery over a handful of
intellectual and spiritual traditions including astrology and
is considered by many of his peers as a genius in language and
mantra. He renames the American Rampuri and promises him that
he will teach him so that he may be initiated in the Tradition
of Knowledge. …”
SEE WEBSITE FOR DETAILS:
http://rampuri.com/
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WEBSITES OF NOTE…
CENTRE FOR CATHOLIC – JEWISH
LEARNING
At Kings
College, University
of Western
Ontario
http://kings.uwo.ca/ccjl/
"Inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue is a
necessity for building together this world of peace and
fraternity ardently desired by all people of good will."
(Pope Benedict
XVI,
09-25-2006)
A word of
welcome…
 “In
the forty years since the Second Vatican Council (1962-65),
the relationship between the Jewish people and the Catholic
Church has undergone a profound reorientation and renewal.
Centuries of hostility, misunderstanding and distance have
gradually yielded to a more positive, more respectful and
collaborative relationship, in which Catholics have been
challenged to revise their thinking and acting with regard to
their Jewish sisters and brothers, and vice-versa. A people
whom Catholics sometimes characterized as “faithless and
“blind” are now our “beloved elder brothers and sisters in the
faith,” and both Catholics and Jews have been energetic in
re-building that relationship, enabling both communities to
understand what they share—and where they
differ.
The
Centre for Catholic-Jewish
Learning at King’s University
College
is an interfaith initiative meant to celebrate
and further
that renewal. We hope to provide a forum in which academics
and other community members can discuss the many intersections
between Christianity and Judaism, can learn more about each
other, and can explore ways to cooperate in a fruitful and
respectful manner. We intend our work to be an authentic
expression of the transformation that began at Vatican II and
continues today. As Jews and Christians, university members
and community leaders, we hope to build an interdisciplinary
network of relationships involving shared research, teaching
and publication, and to offer resources to those who seek to
join in that conversation.
We would welcome your feedback on our Web site;
please feel free to contact us if we can be of any assistance.
Please visit often, as we will be updating our site
regularly.”
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View Trailer:
http://the8thfire.org/manitou_api/video.htm
Film Website:
http://www.the8thfire.org/manitou_api/
WEBSITES OF NOTE…
WELCOME TO
PROSWASTIKA
 The Swastika
“The word swastika is derived from the Sanskrit
svastika (in Devanagari, स्वस्तिक), meaning any lucky or auspicious object, and
in particular a mark made on persons and things to
denote good luck. It is composed of su- (cognate with Greek
ευ-, "eu-"), meaning "good, well" and asti a
verbal abstract to the root as "to be"; svasti
thus means "well-being". The suffix -ka forms a diminutive,
and svastika
might thus be translated literally as "little thing associated
with well-being".
The swastika symbol is one of the
oldest symbols on the Earth and can be found in all religions
and traditions, on all
continents.”
www.proswastika.org/index.php
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NEWS
NEWS - OTTAWA
Canadian
International Peace
Project
JEWISH-SOMALI MENTORSHIP PROJECT ATTRACTS MENTORS
IN OTTAWA
“On Wednesday, June 16, 2010, professionals from
the Jewish community in Ottawa
participated in the Canadian International Peace Project's
mentor information session of the Ottawa
phase
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|
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Left toRight: Iman Salah,
Sara
Alimardani,
The Hon. Jason Kenney,
Monica Kugelmass and Mark
Zerecki |
of the Jewish-Somali Mentorship
Program at the Machzikei Hadas
Congregation. Over forty enthusiastic members
from different professional fields attended the session
where they heard Minister of Citizenship, Immigration,
and Multiculturalism, The
Hon. Jason Kenney, praise the program and described
it as "the single most important project that my
department is supporting."
CIPP Governor, Rabbi Reuven
Bulka, shared his thoughts about the Project
and stated that "this could arguably be a watershed
project," which leads to more social cohesion in Canada.
The Ottawa event was
organized Mark
Zarecki, Director of Jewish Family Services in
Ottawa
and Monica
Kugelmass, the Director of Canadian Parliamentary Coalition
to Combat Anti-Semitism, who chaired the event. Ms
Kugelmass is also a mentor in the project. The
Hon.
Irwin Cotler was unable to attend because of another commitment
but has volunteered to be a Mentor in the
Project.
The information session was a huge success given
the high number of individuals who are willing to sign on in
order to become mentors to the large number of mentees who
have already signed
up.
The Canadian International Peace Project recognizes
the critical importance of providing mentoring to the Canadian
Somali community - a severely economically and socially
disadvantaged community in Canada. According
to a study conducted by a number of agencies in Ottawa,
approximately 84% of the Canadian Somali community is under 30
years of age.
The Canadian Somali community is the largest
African Diaspora community and one of the largest Muslim
communities in Canada. It lacks a
critical mass of professionals that can mentor Somali
university, college and young
professionals. …”
CLICK
TO CONTINUE READING THE
STORY
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INSPIRATION
"I don't know what your destiny will be, but one
thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really
happy are those who have sought and found how to
serve."
-
Albert
Schweitzer
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DISCLAIMER:
We depend on
contributors and website listings for our information and
cannot guarantee its accuracy. Please confirm with the
contacts listed.
Inclusion of
an event, resource listing or news story in the newsletter or
on the website does not imply an endorsement or recommendation
on behalf of the
publishers.
You are welcome to
FORWARD this to interested persons and organizations, and to
send us their e-mail address and
name. (We keep the information
confidential.)
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| 
“World Faith is an interfaith community service
network. Conducting dialogue through action, we are currently
active in six countries and
counting! 
“How
do we honour new life, initiate our young people into
adulthood and support the dying and the feeding of our
ancestors?
“The Sisters of 
All members of the community are cordially
invited