Process Pop-Up: Yoga, Experience, and the Vagus Nerve
2024-02-08 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Yoga, a spiritual practice from the Hindu tradition, provides gentle and consistent contributions to the practitioner’s wellbeing. This conversation will introduce participants to recent research on the Vagus Nerve, Pranayama Breathing practices and Asanas, or flows of movement. In addition, Whitehead’s notion of “experience all the way down” is particularly relevant for vagus nerve research.

Pranayama or breath is at the heart of yogic strength and somatic or body awareness. In this event, we’ll look at ways in which process thought on the primordial and consequent natures of God can be deeply applied through pranayama and its effect on various bodily regions. Leslie King will introduce simple chair yoga movements or asanas and each participant will learn more about their range of movement and how yogic practices best make sense for the body.

Students will be invited to join a follow-up Learning Circle to explore the practices even more deeply.

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John Cobb & Friends Gathering: Celebrate John Cobb's 99th/100th Birthday
2024-02-13 10:00 - 12:00 | Online Via Zoom
Topic: Celebrate John Cobb’s 99th/100th Birthday

Presenters: Many Tributes Will Be Offered

According to custom in China, one’s 99th birthday is counted as 100 years. Zhihe Wang and Meijun Fan will share a portion of a China-centric audience’s tribute to Dr. Cobb, “the Eco-Sage of our time,” on this auspicious birth anniversary. Over a hundred persons experienced the celebration live, and over 4000 have viewed the recorded tribute. How has John Cobb impacted your life? We’ll hear from several who have known John well. Come prepared to share your own word of greeting. Perhaps Jay McDaniel’s affirmation, shared on Open Horizons, will prompt some thoughts you’d like to share. The Open Horizons link also includes John Cobb’s thoughts on his own vocation in response to the Call of Abba.

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Course: Whitehead's Process Philosophy
2024-02-14 16:00 - 18:00, 2024-02-21 16:00 - 18:00, 2024-02-28 16:00 - 18:00, 2024-03-06 16:00 - 18:00, 2024-03-13 16:00 - 18:00 | Online Event
Diving Deeper Into Whitehead’s Philosophy of Organism

While “process philosophy” is wider than the work of Alfred North Whitehead, the depth and dynamism of his thought principally inspire its modern expression. This five-part course introduces students and life-long learners to the central themes, contours, and ideas of Whitehead’s “philosophy of organism.”

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Learning Circle: Process & Coffee
2024-02-15 08:00 - 09:00, 2024-02-22 08:00 - 09:00, 2024-02-29 08:00 - 09:00, 2024-03-07 08:00 - 09:00, 2024-03-14 08:00 - 09:00, 2024-03-21 08:00 - 09:00
Process & Coffee is about spiritual integration and exploration. We meet weekly to dive into books by mystics and sages. The discussion that follows helps to deepen our own spiritual lives.

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Process Pop-Up: Process Philosophy & Design
2024-02-17 10:00 - 12:00
In this pop-up, William Wilding and Matt Segall will explore the lack of philosophy in general and process philosophy in particular in design. In so doing, they will ask what design is, why techno-rationalism continues to dominate it, and how process relational thinkers can reshape design science and education.

Conflict Invites Resolution, 2016, digitally printed mural, 12x6m. Portraiture, Rebeccah Power; Concept design, W.Wilding.

DESCRIPTION

This event will begin with a presentation by William Wilding. In it, he identifies gaps in the philosophy of design that reveal the need for philosophers in design. He locates these gaps in design philosophy, science, education, history and methodology, and he shows how philosophers can help determine what design is, why it is an unresolved field and how it unfolds in research and practice. Progressing through a dialectical narrative focusing on design and creativity, he outlines process philosophy in meta-philosophy, recounts process metaphysical views of Kantian thought, and emphasises the productivity in post-Kantian dialectics. Having established this process metaphysical position, he thereafter asks why the philosophy of design is under-developed and how it is limiting concept designers from redirecting the trajectory of organisations. To address this issue in the light of the environmental crisis, he studies the state of design science, the claims of speculative design theorists in critical design practice, and a phenomenological interpretation of design history that clarifies the placement theory of design. While he concludes with a discussion of a philosophical codesign project, he ultimately questions whether designers can really emerge into any domain of experience, redesign the orders holding it in place and thereby chart new pathways into the future?

“When everything is going right, when the fundamental process is used well, what comes out is not only natural, not only living structure. It has, too, an archetypal quality—something savage … Technology changes continuously as society changes. Through the changing technology, the eternal forms are continually refreshed and given new character, new implementation. That is the temporarily changing part we know as style. But the core, the unchanging core, is the expression of ancient and eternal truths of unity.”
-Christopher Alexander, The Nature of Order

Following Dr. Wilding’s presentation, he will engage in a dialogue with Matt Segall about the topics discussed, after which there will be open conversation with the attendees.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Dr. William Wilding is a dialectical process thinker who operates in the intersection between philosophy, art and design. Drawing on the history of ideas and the philosophy of science, he works in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne. Active across industry and academy, he develops collaborative projects to research and realise philosophical ideas. In his PhD (2022), he created process metaphysical roots for design. Focusing on Plato, Kant, Goethe, Schelling and Whitehead, he integrated processual, speculative and dialectical forms of reasoning into design history, theory and methodology on the one hand, and environmental, conceptual and interaction design practice on the other. In the process he formed Studio Romantic, and he partnered with Education, Government, Industry, Philanthropy and Church to design, produce and exhibit abstract concepts in aesthetic forms. He is especially interested in the power of the imagination to reproduce the origins of the self in consciousness, and he strives to realise this power through the iterative processes of strategic design.

Matthew David Segall a transdisciplinary researcher, writer, teacher, and philosopher applying process-relational thought across the natural and social sciences, as well as to the study of consciousness. He is Associate Professor in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Program at California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, CA and the Chair of the Science Advisory Committee for the Cobb Institute.

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This event is sponsored by the Cobb Institute Science Advisory Committee.

Learning Circle: Processing Difference & Repetition
2024-02-19 14:30 - 16:00, 2024-03-18 14:30 - 16:00 | Online Event
A Collective Processing of Gilles Deleuze’s Masterpiece

Processing Difference & Repetition is a learning circle dedicated to exploring Gilles Deleuze’s seminal work, Difference and Repetition. Its goal is to collectively process the rich themes within the book, occasionally identify resonances with the larger process tradition, and foster insightful discussions along the way.

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John Cobb & Friends Gathering: Lynne Juarez
2024-02-20 10:00 - 12:00 | Online Via Zoom
Topic: Tule Elk Park: A Cautionary Tale

Presenters: Lynne Juarez

It’s about children and the environment, always an important focus for Lynne Juarez, who worked for 33 years with the San Francisco Public School District. Her B.A. was earned at University of San Francisco, and she has an M.A. in early childhood education from San Francisco State University. In 1991, the year of the Gulf War, she was working in an Early Education Program in a school that served over 300 children aged three through the third grade. Many images of that war were flashed on the TV screen each night…the black smoke coming from the burning oil fields, the eerie photos of soldiers, faces obscured by gas masks. The images that were seared into Lynne’s brain were those of the many oil soaked birds. In the face of so much death and destruction, she felt compelled to do something. But what? And so began a journey that lasted seven years, the building of Tule Elk Park. The school with an asphalt playground was turned into a park, and named after the animals that used to roam there. She takes great pride in creating something life-affirming despite the time of war. In her retirement she went to Namibia to work with young adults to work with lower income students who wanted to teach early childhood education.

Friends at the Institute for Postmodern Development in China encouraged Lynne to write a paper to be delivered at a Conference in China in 2014. Although a family emergency prevented her from doing so, a companion traveler did make the trip and presented the paper to Chinese educators interested in children and the environment. Lynne herself delivered the paper in 2015 for the Cobb Claremont conference on Seizing an Alternative. A resident of Pilgrim Place in Claremont, she is still active with its Environmental Concerns Committee, including creating booths at its annual festival to educate young people about environmental concerns.

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John Cobb & Friends Gathering: Evaggelos Vallianatos
2024-02-27 10:00 - 12:00 | Online Via Zoom
Topic: The World’s First Computer of Genius

Presenters: Evaggelos Vallianatos

Science historian and environmental strategist Evaggelos Vallianatos will tell the story of the Antikythera Mechanism, a device discovered in 1900 that has become a window into the genius of ancient Greeks. In the second century BCE, the Greeks brought together the knowledge and philosophy they had been gathering for millennia into an astronomical computer designed primarily to predict the eclipses of the Sun and the Moon. The Cosmos was sacred to the Greeks, but they had a special affection for the Sun and the Moon because these two stars gave them life and light. Besides, like the rest of the stars, the Greeks considered the Sun and his sister, the Moon, to be gods. Further, the Sun and the Moon arrange the time of the day, month and year. So, the metal astronomical computer with toothed gears was very important. Predicting the eclipses of the Sun and the Moon had a psychological virtue as many Greeks were frightened by the temporary disappearance of these two stars from the sky. In addition, the computer had a 19-year Meton accurate calendar and an 18-year Saros eclipse predictive dial. In fact, the computer also predicted the Olympics, so it united the heavens and Earth.

The Antikythera device was discovered in 1900 in the deep waters of the tiny Greek island of Antikythera in the Aegean. International scientists have been studying its fragments for more than 120 years.

Evaggelos Vallianatos, a frequent participant in our Cobb & Friends conversations, earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Wisconsin. He also did his postdoctoral studies in the history of science at Harvard. He worked on Capitol Hill and the US Environmental Protection Agency. He taught at several universities and authored hundreds of articles and 7 books, including The Antikythera Mechanism: The Story Behind the Genius of the Greek Computer and its Demise.

He has published several articles about this marvel of Greek civilization, including:

1: https://skepticalinquirer.org/2022/10/the-antikythera-mechanism-the-greek-computer-of-science-and-reason.2: https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/12/05/why-was-the-antikythera-mechanism-so-far-ahead-of-its-time/.

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Learning Circle: Process Thought 101
2024-03-04 13:00 - 14:30, 2024-03-11 13:00 - 14:30, 2024-03-18 13:00 - 14:30, 2024-03-25 13:00 - 14:30 | Online Event
A Learning Circle Exploring a Process Worldview For Newcomers

Want to learn more about process thought? Join our learning circle, as we read and discuss together various essays on important themes to process thought. The topics will include the interconnectedness and relational nature of the universe, the idea that nature is alive and has value for itself, and process and beauty.

The learning circle will begin with a general introduction to process thought and a process worldview by a close exploration of those topics using the “Educator’s Toolbox” found on the Cobb Institute website. Jay McDaniel has provided 20 Key Ideas as a springboard for discussing process thought as well as thoughts on a process worldview. The circle will conclude with a 90-minute question and answer session (Going Deeper) with Dr. McDaniel.

No prior knowledge of process thought is required.

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John Cobb & Friends Gathering: Jonathan Foster
2024-03-05 10:00 - 12:00 | Online Via Zoom
Topic: Indigo: The Color of Grief

Presenters: Jonathan Foster

Jonathan Foster, the first to graduate under Thomas Jay Oord’s supervision in the doctoral program in Open and Relational Theology at Northwind Theological Seminary, has created indigo: the color of grief, which he calls “my newest writing on life, loss, love, theology, beauty and being a human in the midst of it all.” Peter Rollins calls Jonathan’s writing “a stunning reflection on loss and suffering.” Catherine Keller says, “The dark beauty of grief working as art glows through every stanza of this long, slender epic.”

Brian D. McLaren called the book “poignant and profound.” “If you’re considering loss you’ll be grateful for this book. . .which is simultaneously heart-breaking, heart-opening, and heart-expanding.” To learn more see jonathanfosteronline.com, where you can connect to his many podcasts or subscribe to his substack publication, “at the intersection of mimetic theory, open and relational theology, grief, and life.” In October, 2022, Jonathan Foster shared with Cobb & Friends his dissertation, published by Sacra Sage Press as Theology of Consent, combining the mimetic theory of Rene Girard, and the Open and Relational theology so strongly influenced by Thomas J. Oord.

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Interweavings: indigo, the color of grief
2024-03-07 17:00 - 18:00
In a world that Alfred North Whitehead described as one of “perpetual perishing,” grief must certainly be a universal human experience. In this conversation, Jonathan Foster will read excerpts from his book, indigo: the color of grief. From the book’s description:

indigo is thejoy and lament of ahuman beingtheologianfather

fashioning new ideas about the divinewithin the painful loss of his daughterwithin the constraints of his own intelligencewithin the constraints of what religionhad been telling him his whole lifesome of which was good andsome of which wasn’tgood

it’s a way forwardwhere forward means theinteraction ofpast choicespast eventsand personal agencyin this momentand this momentand … yes, this moment

After the readings, chaplain Kathleen Reeves will respond, sharing thoughts and tools on our movement through grief.

Co-sponsored by the following

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Learning Circle: Process & World-Building in Dune Messiah
2024-03-10 16:00 - 16:30, 2024-03-17 16:00 - 16:30, 2024-03-24 16:00 - 16:30 | Online Event
A 4-Session Book Group Exploring Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah Through a Process-Relational Lens

Through the intersections of environment, religion, self identity, and government, participants in this learning circle will explore themes of environment, terrain, and traveling through the religious life.

Our reading of Dune Messiah will consider process themes found in Whitehead’s Process and Reality, while engaging with care to not overlay process theology on Herbert’s work. Rather, the conversation series will consider elements of Herbert’s world-building that are shared with Whitehead’s philosophy of organism. In the consideration, careful attention will be paid to the impediments to process principles in the establishment of institutions of any type.

Some experience with Whitehead’s philosophy is preferred but not required. Dune Messiah will be read over four weeks, with excerpts from Whitehead coupled with each reading.

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John Cobb & Friends Gathering: Eugene Shirley
2024-03-12 10:00 - 12:00 | Online Via Zoom
Topic: Pando’s Civic Engagement Incubator for Sustainability

Presenters: Eugene Shirley

The invitation called it “the sustainability event of the year.” When Eugene Shirley, founder and director of Pando, sent us notice of the April 14 Pando Sustainability Awards we promptly invited him to bring us up to date on the activities of universities, middle schoolers, and common folks to promote and live into the Sustainability Goals of Los Angeles County. He says, “What I can talk about is our civic engagement model and how it emerged as a way of framing our work; what it means in terms of how we conduct our work; and what it implies re next steps. I’ll want to tie this into education — both formal and informal learning.”

While you’re thinking about Pando, check out Pando’s January interview, “Living in Strange Times,” with John Cobb and Mary Elizabeth Moore.

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John Cobb & Friends Gathering: Thomas Hermans-Webster
2024-03-19 10:00 - 12:00 | Online Via Zoom
Topic: Cooking and Eating with Love

Presenters: Thomas Hermans-Webster

Thomas Hermans-Webster is the son of Alabama Methodists whose experience of Christianity has led him to ordination and a PhD degree from Boston University School of Theology for more ecologically-just food ways rooted in Holy Communion. By academic training, he is a process theologian currently developing Norman Pittenger’s ecclesiology as a valuable tool for bringing about ecological justice and peace within our world through love-in-action. He is an active participant in the Open and Relational Theology section of the American Academy of Religion, in conversations with the Process & Faith planning group, and he was a presenter at the 50th Anniversary conference of the Center for Process Studies. We were intrigued by his article in the Process Studies journal (52:1): “Cooking and Eating with Love: A Whiteheadian Theology of Meals for Planetary Well-Being.” His current position as an editor for Orbis Press allows him to pursue his research interests in matters of ecojustice. Find his biodata at Linked In.

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John Cobb & Friends Gathering: The Raven Poets
2024-03-26 10:00 - 12:00 | Online Via Zoom
Topic: Perceptions and Occasions

Presenters: The Raven Poets

Process thinkers understand creativity as an active engagement with the world that generates new possibilities and actualizes them through a process of becoming. In this sense, creativity is an essential aspect of both human experience and the broader cosmos. Experiences often inspire art, music, poetry, and storytelling. The Raven Poets have been meeting and telling their stories since 2010; some are original members and they have picked up more poets along the way. A few names may be familiar to you. Over the years, they have become like a family. One reason for their deep bonds is that they have shared their hopes, pain, frustrations, joys, and inspiration with each other over the years. They have shared human experience of our interconnected world, opening themselves to compassion.

The Raven’s poetry shares an honest look at the events of life in its movement and changes. Please join Lynn De Jonghe, Veronica Michalowski, Ernie Tamminga, Georgette Unis, Kathleen Reeves, Ellen Livingston, Richard Luftig, Richard Bunce, Mary Elizabeth Moore.

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