Conscious Living Radio

July 18, 21-23, 25-30

Fri 8:30, Mon 7:00, Tues 8:45, Weds 8:30, Fri (Jul 25) 8:45, Sat (Jul 26) 7:00, Sun (Jul 27) 8:45, Mon (Jul 28), 7:00, Tues (Jul 29) 8:45, Weds (Jul 30) 7:00

TOUCHED BY TIBET

VANCOUVER PREMIERE // VANCITY THEATRE EXCLUSIVE

Winner of audience awards in Berlin, Palm Springs and Los Angeles, Blindsight captured the gripping adventure of six Tibetan teenagers who set out to climb the 23,000 foot Lhakpa Ri on the north side of Mount Everest. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Himalayas, a dangerous journey soon becomes a seemingly impossible challengemade all the more remarkable by the fact that the teenagers are blind. Believed by many Tibetans to be possessed by demons, the children are shunned by their parents and rejected by society. Rescued by Sabriye Tenberkena blind educator/ adventurer who established Lhasa's first school for the blindthe students invite mountain climber Erik Weihenmayer to visit their school after learning about his conquest of Everest. Erik inspires Sabriye and her students to let him lead them higher than they have ever been before, and the resulting three-week journey is beyond anything any of them could have predicted.

The idea for the film came from Erik Weihenmayer (a blind mountaineer). Erik was put in contact with movie producer Steven Haft who thought this story would likely resonate with film producer Sybil Robson-Orr because of her interest in Tibet and mountain climbing. (She met her husband Matthew climbing Kilimanjaro, the same mountain on which Erik got married.) It only took one meeting with Erik before she decided to make the film.

"Erik told me climbing mountains gave him confidence as a blind teenager and he wanted to share that experience with these blind Tibetan kids. He asked me if I thought taking 6 blind Tibetan teenagers up a 23,000 foot mountain in the Himalayas sounded like a movie. I told him it did and decided to make it," says producer Robson-Orr. Sybil and Steven Haft had liked Lucy Walker's Devil's Playground, the critically acclaimed documentary feature about Amish teenagers, and asked her if she'd be interested in directing this project. Lucy connected with the material personally, and thus the filmmaking unit was complete.

Official Site: http://www.blindsightthemovie.com/index1.html
View Trailer: BLINDSIGHT
View Audience Reactions and hear directors comments at various Film Festivals: BLINDSIGHT

July 18, 20, 21, 23, Fri 7:00, Sun 7:00, Mon 9:00, Weds 7:00

THE UNWINKING GAZE: THE INSIDE STORY OF THE DALAI LAMA'S STRUGGLE FOR TIBET
VANCOUVER PREMIERE // VANCITY THEATRE EXCLUSIVE

SPECIAL GUESTS:
Prof. Tsering Shakya will attend the Friday & Sunday 7:00pm screenings.
Prof. Jeffrey Hopkins will attend the Wednesday 7:00pm screening

The Unwinking Gaze offers a unique, behind-the-scenes insight into the recent working life of the Dalai Lama. Filmed over a period of three years with exceptional access, it shows the daily agonies of the Tibetan leader as he tries to strike a balance between his Buddhist vows and the realpolitik needed to placate China. David and Goliath is played out in front of us as the world's emerging superpower and the Dalai Lama walk a tightrope over an issue of global importance. The Unwinking Gaze is not three years in the life of the Dalai; it is his life's work in three years.

Notes from Director Joshua Dugdale: I had seen a number of films on the Dalai Lama, but I felt they didn't show who he really was. It seemed that he was being wheeled out for the cameras, for stage managed set pieces. Knowing that the rhetoric from Beijing claimed that the Dalai Lama was a canny political operator, intent on conning the West into backing his efforts to split off Tibet and weaken China, I wondered whether there was a way of showing his actions and reactions on camera. I hoped to be able to reveal his true intentions and character and I wanted to create a film, which would show the real world of the 'splittist' Dalai Lama so that those in power in Beijing might be able to make more informed decisions about how they deal with him. With such an enigmatic figure, the only way to achieve this was to treat him like any other politician, showing the world he inhabits and the challenges he faces. The result is extraordinarily rare access into the world of one of the great spiritual leaders of our time.

SPECIAL GUESTS:
Prof. Tsering Shakya will attend the Friday, July 18 & Sunday, July 20 7:00pm screenings
Tsering Shakya is a holder of Canadian Research Chair in Religion and Contemporary Society in Asia, at the Institute of Asian Research at UBC. He is the author of The Dragon in the Land of Snows, A History of Tibet Since 1947.

Official Site & View Trailer: http://www.unwinkinggaze.com/

July 20 and 22, Sun 8:30, Tues 7:00

10 QUESTIONS FOR THE DALAI LAMA

SPECIAL GUEST:
Prof. Jeffrey Hopkins will attend the Tuesday 7:00pm screening

How do you reconcile a commitment to non-violence when faced with violence? Why do the poor often seem happier than the rich? Must a society lose its traditions in order to move into the future? These are some of the fundamental questions posed to the Dalai Lama by filmmaker and explorer Rick Ray, who filmed His Holiness during a private visit to his monastery in Dharamsala, India. Part biography, part philosophy, part adventure and part politics, 10 Questions for The Dalai Lama conveys more than history and more than answersit opens a window into the heart of an inspiring man.

SPECIAL GUESTS:
Prof. Jeffrey Hopkins will attend the Wednesday 7:00pm screening
Jeffrey Hopkins is Professor Emeritus of Tibetan Buddhist Studies at the University of Virginia where he taught Tibetan Buddhist Studies and Tibetan language for thirty-two years from 1973. He served as His Holiness the Dalai Lama's chief interpreter into English on lecture tours for ten years, 1979-1989. He has published thirty-nine books in a total of twenty-two languages. He has translated and edited thirteen books by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the latest being How to See Yourself as You Really Are.

"...a warm and well-rounded portrait of his subject, his Buddhist philosophies and the painful circumstances of his exile to a modest monastery in Dharamsala, India." New York Times

"Enlightening... provocative... highly engaging." The Washington Post

Official Site: http://www.thedalailamamovie.com/
View Trailer: 10 QUESTIONS
Read reviews in: New York Times

Friday July 18 til Sunday July 20

Soundwave festival

Mussel Beach Wilderness Campground, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, BC.
Long Beach, the Pacific Rim National Park, and the towns of Ucluelet and Tofino are just a short drive away.

http://soundwavemusicfestival.ca

JUL 20-26

Gangaji: Vancouver Silent Retreat offers continuous support for resting your attention on the truth alive in your heart. At UBC. On campus residence and meal packages available, www.gangaji.org, 1-800-267-9205

July 21-25

The second annual Alchemy Summer Arts Camp for Grown-Ups....

Workshops with great facilitators in:

Meditation: with karen okun
Yoga: with jackie minns and lesley kovitz
Voice and Rhythm: with karla mundy
Tai Chi: with brian gohlke
Movement: with anna kemble, jackie minns
Sculpture: with craig sibley
Creative Writing: with ingrid rose
Jin Shin Do: with sylvia fockler
Bellydance: with gail bongalis

And more!!!
Day and night, two to 2.5 hrs long.
Soul Spa and Dance Party on Friday the 25th.
All abilities welcome!

For more information visit www.alchemycentre.ca

Costs between $30 and $50 per workshop: discounts available.

Register by July 16, 2008 with a phone call 604 220 9092 or email: jackie@alchemycentre.ca

Wednesday, July 30, 6:30 - 8 pm, FREE
EastWest Yoga, 3574 West 4th Ave. (1/2 block east of Banyen)

THE RULES OF VICTORY: How to Transform Chaos and Conflict

James Gimian uses Sun Tzu's The Art of War to find a better way to deal with conflict and chaos. He is also a senior editor of Shambhala Sun Magazine.

Thursday July 31, 7pm, FREE

Robson Reading Series: Free readings from Canada's finest writers (a mix of established and beginning authors)

Readings from 4 writers:
Sheri-D Wilson (a talented poet from Calgary)
Guy Babineau (who writes for the Georgia Straight)
Dave Deveau (a playwright and filmmaker)
Little Woo (performance artist)

By accessing a number of different communities, the Robson Square Reading Series brings people together for a common purpose: the broadening of minds. In that spirit of diversity, the UBC Bookstore and UBC Library at Robson Square are pleased to present a selection of writers from varying backgrounds with a particular emphasis on new voices. As a university, a centre for learning, it is our intention to foster our next generation of writers, giving them a place to reach out to the community, making a space for sharing, learning and growth. The UBC Bookstore and UBC Library at Robson Square offer this free series to challenge our understanding of Canadian living, and to expose us to fresh ideas from some of the country's finest writers.

All readings are held in the UBC Bookstore at Robson Square in downtown Vancouver.

Friday, August 8, 8 pm
St. Andrews Wesley Church, Burrard at Nelson, Price TBA, Tickets at Banyen (604-737-8858)

World Dharma presents - A REVOLUTION OF THE SPIRIT

Alan Clements will lead an evening of dialogues and meditations on the threats to Buddhism in its homelands.
A Tribute to Burma and Tibet on the 20th Year Anniversary of the Burmese uprising and an Invitation for Buddhists (indeed, everyone of conscience) to unite in support of Freedom, Dignity and Human Rights. Aung San Suu KyiFor more info: www.worlddharma.com