
All of my lectures at the Osher Institute in the College of Extended Studies at San Diego State University and at San Diego Oasis sell out quickly, and are also restricted to those 50 years old and above. It's time to expand our reach and make this learning opportunity available to everyone in a new and welcoming venue.
Monday, May 4, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Thoreau, Gandhi, and King: The Politics of Right Action
The twentieth century was a time of unprecedented war, chaos and human suffering. But it also ushered in an unprecedented era of non-violence. In India, Mahatma Gandhi led a non-violent revolution defeating the most powerful empire on earth. In America, Martin Luther King led the civil rights movement and forever changed the racial and spiritual landscape of America. Both Gandhi and King cite Thoreau’s essential essay “Civil Disobedience” as a manifesto of moral political action. Join us as we trace the spiritual and philosophical roots of these three remarkable leaders and search for solutions to today’s vexing social and political problems.
Monday, May 11, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
The Masks of God
The idea of God is an archetype found all over the world. In one way or another human beings have struggled to conceptualize and personify the source of existence, the mystery of mysteries behind the veil of perception. Our concepts and personifications of God are masks that hide as much as they reveal. As we compare and contrast God-concepts from around the world we get closer to understanding the meaning behind the masks. Join us as we splash around on the edge of deep waters where the rivers of philosophy, religion and spirituality converge.
Monday, May 18, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
The Bhagavad Gita
Join us as we explore India’s most beloved sacred text, the Bhagavad Gita. Composed around the time of Christ, the Gita is the plain-talking culmination of the rich philosophical traditions begun in the earlier Vedas, Upanishads and Buddhist texts. Like all literature, it is best approached in layers. What does the Bhagavad Gita teach about God, duty, ethics, war, society, consciousness, human nature, violence and the beauty of being alive? A favorite book of Gandhi who carried chapter two in his pocket his whole life, and of Thoreau who brought only one book to Walden Pond, his copy of the Gita borrowed from his friend Ralph Waldo Emerson. Very few books have had this long a reach or this profound an impact. Let’s find out why.
Monday, May 25, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
The Nature of Love
For millennia, philosophers have wondered about love. It is obviously a central, formative and essential human experience. But what is it exactly? What are the different kinds of love? What kinds of errors occur when we mistakenly conflate or mistake one kind of love with another? Do we misuse the word “love?” What are the distinctions between compassion, altruism, aesthetic appreciation, erotic attraction, family or tribal bonding, personal need, pathological obsession, kindness, etc? Working with classical sources and contemporary examples we will examine the experience of love from a number of perspectives and bring clarity to the complex and multi-faceted phenomenon of love.
Monday, June 8, 6:30-8:30
Peter Bolland in Concert
Award winning folk singer and songwriter Peter Bolland brings his guitar to First Unitarian Universalist Church for a rare concert appearance. As a solo artist, an in-demand session musician as well as the leader of the San Diego Music Award winning Americana band The Coyote Problem, Bolland is an integral part of the renowned San Diego acoustic music scene. In this special appearance you’ll get a chance to get behind the songs, learn about the songwriting process and enjoy a unique musical performance.
First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego
4190 Front Street San Diego, CA 92103
Every Monday evening in May, and June 8, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
$10, and open to all ages
RSVP with Mike Dorfi at mdorfi@cox.net or 619-466-5952