From: Cullen Kowalski <wakeup@samsarahouse.org>
Sent: Friday, November 22, 2013 1:05 AM
Subject: Handgun Yoga at Samsara House 2023, 12/14/2013
Sent: Friday, November 22, 2013 1:05 AM
Subject: Handgun Yoga at Samsara House 2023, 12/14/2013
Handgun Yoga
Saturday, December 14th, 10:00AM – 3:00PM
Address: 36 R Street NW (approx. half-block from Big Bear Café)
Telephone: 202-505-0735 (iPhone)
e-mail & Google Calendar: wakeup@samsarahouse.org
Sign-up here: http://handgunyoga1.eventbrite.com
Cost: $16 (At least a buck goes to Samsara House 2023 *)
(on-line ticket mandatory for access, no tickets sold at the door)
The Event:
In commemoration of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting of December 14th 2012, Samsara House 2023 invites you to participate in the first of a series of dialogues humanity desperatly needs to have..
Using logic to change the firearms culture of America is like trying to use a screwdriver to slice roast beef. It’s simply the wrong tool for the job.
Handgun Yoga leads the student through a series of koan-like meditative inquiries for understanding the root causes of gun violence at their non-rational, non-logical source. Most of us have deeply ambivalent feelings about guns; few of us have any understanding of how guns actually work, who buys them, who uses them, why and how often. Through lecture, discussion, personal reflection and hands-on experience you'll begin to understand firearms in America in a radically different way. Once learned, the method of inquiry employed (seeking paradox, pairing of opposites, embodied exploration, radical inclusion and transcendence) can be applied to other seemingly intractable problems in personal growth and societal evolution.
The Sanskrit root of the word yoga literally means “yoke” or “unite” and can refer to the uniting of mind, breath and body to achieve higher states of consciousness. In its outward or active form, Handgun Yoga can refer to the gross physical practices that teach coherence of mind, body and breath. This form of Handgun Yoga is therefore a martial art similar to Zen Archery. In its inner or receptive form, Handgun Yoga refers to the Tantric Yoga practice of finding harmony and balance through the inclusion of opposites in ourselves; in 21st Century America we can employ handguns in a safe manner to intentionally provoke feelings such as powerlessness or fear of death. Once a feeling (such as fear) has been explored and made conscious we can include and embrace that feeling to become free from its unconscious stranglehold over us.
Taking both inner and outer senses at once, Handgun Yoga is the radical inclusion of handguns for their eventual individual and societal transcendence.
Working together we can discover and untangle the knots that seemingly divide us as we attempt to weave together a new fabric of society, one where guns are no longer needed or desired.
The 4-hour class provides no easy answers to the problem of gun violence. But we cannot hope to solve the problem before understanding it, and understanding requires a broader view than politicians and special interests can provide us. We the people must be the ones to consciously solve a problem of our own unconscious creation.
Jim Cox is one of the first Concealed Carry Instructors licensed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, as well as a Reiki Master/Teacher and a lifelong meditator in a non-dual Tantric Kundalini Yoga tradition. Over the past 17 years he has taught deadly force to thousands of students while simultaneously healing thousands more as a volunteer in the worldwide Distant Healing Network. He is both an NRA Life Member as well as an avid practitioner of Waking Down in Mutuality, embodying the paradoxes he brings to the classroom. Jim is 51 and the father of 3 girls, all of whom enjoy the meditative state of shooting.
Saturday, December 14th, 10:00AM – 3:00PM
Address: 36 R Street NW (approx. half-block from Big Bear Café)
Telephone: 202-505-0735 (iPhone)
e-mail & Google Calendar: wakeup@samsarahouse.org
Sign-up here: http://handgunyoga1.eventbrite.com
Cost: $16 (At least a buck goes to Samsara House 2023 *)
(on-line ticket mandatory for access, no tickets sold at the door)
The Event:
In commemoration of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting of December 14th 2012, Samsara House 2023 invites you to participate in the first of a series of dialogues humanity desperatly needs to have..
Using logic to change the firearms culture of America is like trying to use a screwdriver to slice roast beef. It’s simply the wrong tool for the job.
Handgun Yoga leads the student through a series of koan-like meditative inquiries for understanding the root causes of gun violence at their non-rational, non-logical source. Most of us have deeply ambivalent feelings about guns; few of us have any understanding of how guns actually work, who buys them, who uses them, why and how often. Through lecture, discussion, personal reflection and hands-on experience you'll begin to understand firearms in America in a radically different way. Once learned, the method of inquiry employed (seeking paradox, pairing of opposites, embodied exploration, radical inclusion and transcendence) can be applied to other seemingly intractable problems in personal growth and societal evolution.
The Sanskrit root of the word yoga literally means “yoke” or “unite” and can refer to the uniting of mind, breath and body to achieve higher states of consciousness. In its outward or active form, Handgun Yoga can refer to the gross physical practices that teach coherence of mind, body and breath. This form of Handgun Yoga is therefore a martial art similar to Zen Archery. In its inner or receptive form, Handgun Yoga refers to the Tantric Yoga practice of finding harmony and balance through the inclusion of opposites in ourselves; in 21st Century America we can employ handguns in a safe manner to intentionally provoke feelings such as powerlessness or fear of death. Once a feeling (such as fear) has been explored and made conscious we can include and embrace that feeling to become free from its unconscious stranglehold over us.
Taking both inner and outer senses at once, Handgun Yoga is the radical inclusion of handguns for their eventual individual and societal transcendence.
Working together we can discover and untangle the knots that seemingly divide us as we attempt to weave together a new fabric of society, one where guns are no longer needed or desired.
The 4-hour class provides no easy answers to the problem of gun violence. But we cannot hope to solve the problem before understanding it, and understanding requires a broader view than politicians and special interests can provide us. We the people must be the ones to consciously solve a problem of our own unconscious creation.
Jim Cox is one of the first Concealed Carry Instructors licensed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, as well as a Reiki Master/Teacher and a lifelong meditator in a non-dual Tantric Kundalini Yoga tradition. Over the past 17 years he has taught deadly force to thousands of students while simultaneously healing thousands more as a volunteer in the worldwide Distant Healing Network. He is both an NRA Life Member as well as an avid practitioner of Waking Down in Mutuality, embodying the paradoxes he brings to the classroom. Jim is 51 and the father of 3 girls, all of whom enjoy the meditative state of shooting.
No previous firearms experience or knowledge is assumed. Live firing practice at a nearby indoor range is available before or after class for an additional fee; send e-mail to wakeup@samsarahouse.org to contact Jim for details.
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* Samsara House 2023’s strategy is to exemplify a gift-economy over the current market economy, one that values giving over having. While all events cost at least one dollar to cover our utilities, any additional contribution you make will go towards periodically giving half back to a socially responsible organization or cause in the community in need that you also help identify. Going together as a river, we build a thriving community of communities and pave the way for a new world. Samsara House 2023 was founded by Cullen Kowalski at his DC row house in Bloomingdale, New Washington, D.C. and is dynamically governed by Holacracy.
You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. ~ Buckminster Fuller
Be the change you wish to see in the world. ~ Gandhi
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* Samsara House 2023’s strategy is to exemplify a gift-economy over the current market economy, one that values giving over having. While all events cost at least one dollar to cover our utilities, any additional contribution you make will go towards periodically giving half back to a socially responsible organization or cause in the community in need that you also help identify. Going together as a river, we build a thriving community of communities and pave the way for a new world. Samsara House 2023 was founded by Cullen Kowalski at his DC row house in Bloomingdale, New Washington, D.C. and is dynamically governed by Holacracy.
You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. ~ Buckminster Fuller
Be the change you wish to see in the world. ~ Gandhi
Can anyone please report back after attending one of these Samsara House events? Some sound interesting, but the description implies sitting and lounging about around the floor with your neighbors just doesn't read well in some of the flyers. How is this staged, who attends, what is the atmosphere, are you encouraged to become a "member" of the group?
ReplyDeleteJust curious, in a very positive and supportive way, as the concept sounds new and intriguing to me, but also just a bit "out there."
Please share some reviews/experiences so we can be better informed about participating in the future. Thanks much.