Suzanne M. Ambrose has served as Executive Officer of the five-member State Personnel Board since May 2007. Prior to then, Ms. Ambrose has served various positions in the State, including Director of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), Supervising Deputy Attorney General in the Civil Rights Enforcement Section of the Attorney General's Office, and Chief Counsel for the DFEH.

Ms. Ambrose received a BA in History and Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley and her Juris Doctor from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. She briefly practiced criminal law from 1991 to 1993 as a Deputy Attorney General in the Criminal Appeals, Writs and Trials section of the California Attorney General¢s Office.

Ms. Ambrose has served on the Executive Committee of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar since 2006. She is also on the Board of Directors of Cooperative Personnel Services, a joint powers agency established for the purpose of providing modern human resource and related management services for the common benefit of the State and local government agencies.

School of Holistic Studies Colloquium Series
presents

The Chakra System: A Tool for Healing and Understanding Our Bodies

Wednesday, November 5
3:30 pm
100 Ellinwood Way, Room S108, Pleasant Hill

First identified in ancient India, the word chakra derives from Sanskrit and means "wheel." The chakras are the body's energy centers through which life forces flow. The seven major chakras correlate with basic states of consciousness and, like feelings or ideas, influence the body as they embody spiritual energy on the physical plane.

When we begin the journey through the chakras, we encounter an opportunity to open the way for healing, psychological development, and spiritual growth. Awareness of and access to the chakras can be achieved through yoga, breathing, visualizations, meditation, movement, and hands-on healing.

Join Professor Fernandes-Osterhold as she explores gateways into the chakra system and discusses its main qualities, attributes, and identities that further personal development.

Gisele Fernandes-Osterhold, MA, MFT, CMT is a core faculty member in the Somatic Psychology program at JFK University and Adjunct faculty at CIIS. She has extensive training and clinical experience in body-oriented approaches to psychotherapy, using an integrative approach rooted in Gestalt Therapy and Family Systems.

ArtDate - Gifts & Gratitude: Altered Book Journals

Hosted by JFK University Department of Arts & Consciousness

Friday, November 14
7:30 - 10 pm
2956 San Pablo Ave, 2nd Flr - Studio 2, Berkeley

I feel the greatest gift we can give to anybody is the gift of our honest self. - Fred Rogers (aka Mr. Rogers)

November's ArtDate is an expression of gratitude for our own inherent gifts and life's blessings. Using a variety of collage and mixed-media techniques, we'll create an altered book-journal to hold the musings, memories and messages of your divine self and all that you love. An ongoing practice in presence (and presents!) from your soul to your self, the altered book is a gift of your own creativity, abundance and love.

ArtDate is a monthly, drop-in art-making party designed to inspire and connect you with your inner muse. Unwind after work or school and wake-up your wild side with experiential exercises and mixed-media experiments that will spark your imagination and refuel your creative fires!

This event is free and open to the public.

No experience necessary. All materials provided. Bring a friend, or make one here.

ArtDate is held the second Friday of every month, 7:30 - 10:00 pm in Studio 2*. See below for the December ArtDate.

Department of Arts & Consciousness
Community Arts Lecture Series
presents

Creativity as a Path to Enlightenment
with Nina Wise

Friday, November 21
8:00 p.m.
2956 San Pablo Ave., 2nd Flr, Berkeley

Free and Open to the Public

Join Ms. Wise for an engaging discussion of the vital relationship between art making and spiritual practice. During her decades of creating original performance pieces and practicing both Buddhism and Judaism, Ms. Wise has discovered that the three paths share many common elements and issues. She has distilled these into a list of eight practices that lead not only to good artmaking but also to an illuminated heart and mind.

This event is partially funded by a grant from the City of Berkeley Civic Arts Commission.

About the Speaker

Nina Wise is a member of a vanishing breed - artists who feel that emotional content and intellectual stimulation are not foreign ingredients to performance art. - High Performance

... She is able to plumb our depths and express our needs accurately and lovingly... a talent even rarer in performance art than in the movies. - Artweek

A captivating performance artist and teacher, Nina Wise has dedicated her life to investigating the relationship between art and spirituality. As well as crafting scripted work, Ms. Wise has invented a form of autobiographical improvised performance called "Motion eater." Taking note of the mundane as well as the more dramatic events of her life, she weaves compelling and moving narratives characterized by their humor, compassion, and depth. Her pieces have garnered seven Bay Area Critics' Circle Awards and three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. She holds degrees from the University of California in Religious Studies and the Aesthetics of Movement and is currently affiliated with Esalen Institute and Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She lives in San Rafael, CA. To learn more, visit her website: www.ninawise.com.

ArtDate - Divine Purpose & Passion: Dream Candles

Hosted by JFK University Department of Arts & Consciousness

Friday, December 12
7:30 - 10 pm
2956 San Pablo Ave, 2nd Flr - Studio 2, Berkeley

December's ArtDate explores our divine purpose and passion through dream-work, meditation and collage. While holding our deepest, heartfelt intentions, we'll create a Dream Candle to reflect our unique, divine purpose. The Dream Candle serves as a metaphorical vessel of our own inner light, shining the way if the path grows dark. Used in personal ritual, Dream Candles can remind us to keep our creative passions burning, even on the darkest nights.

ArtDate is a monthly, drop-in art-making party designed to inspire and connect you with your inner muse. Unwind after work or school and wake-up your wild side with experiential exercises and mixed-media experiments that will spark your imagination and refuel your creative fires!

This event is free and open to the public.

No experience necessary. All materials provided. Bring a friend, or make one here.

ArtDate is held the second Friday of every month, 7:30 - 10:00 pm in Studio 2*.

JANUARY 9 - Practicing Presence: Time Capsules
FEBRUARY 13 - Relationship & Ritual: Love Altars
MARCH 13 - Vibrant Energy: Ink, Brush, Paper
APRIL 10 - Sacred Earth: Collaborative Mandalas
MAY 8 - Playful Spirit: Body Improv* (NOTE: This artdate will be held in Studio 1)