Philosophy discussion club every first Friday of the month

The WHAT:

Philosophy discussion around an episode from the podcast “Yoga For Your Intellect” — like a book club, but a philosophy podcast episode club instead. We all check out the same episode of Yoga For Your Intellect (YFYI.co) and then bring thoughts, comments, questions to a group interested in the “perennial philosophy” (as Aldous Huxley called it) of advaita vedanta.

Though most of us have never heard of this philosophy in the West, we know of the great minds that have influenced our culture behind the scenes that took to studying this philosophy in the early morning hours each day; people like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Aldous Huxley, Alan Watts, Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, Eckhart Tolle, Ram Dass, and many more (an interest in the West that exploded as these philosophical texts became available in English just 150-200 years ago).

The WHY:

There are a million places to find, discuss, and connect on all of the other parts of our lives (career, dating, parenting, recreational hobbies, entertainment, religion), but it’s rare to have time to discuss the intellectual side of spirituality and philosophy in the unique way that Vedanta talks about it… where it deals with higher ideals and spirituality, but over 8,000+ years (going back to the Vedas, the first philosophical texts we know of in human history), there is no religious beliefs, no rituals, no shoulds and should-nots, just ideals and words of potential wisdom, put forth for any of us to take or leave, in parts or leave in whole. But the topics and ideas put forth by the oldest of all philosophies deep in the Himalayas certainly provides one thing: fun and interesting conversation on a Friday morning and practical responses to daily life, no matter who you are or what you do for a living.

The WHEN:

Every 1st Friday of the month (either in Santa Monica or Venice at 9am), usually in James and Cheney’s backyard pictured above.

Exceptional notes taken by Venice Vedanta Club attendee, Reva Reddy, for any that are interested: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_bhvYRIm06hXmH1djb8UGt5p0qhuBIOc5pIk_gMx8-8/edit?usp=sharing

The WHO:

The group is from all over LA and Southern California, some folks even flying in for it, and includes founders, artists, musicians, parents, philosophy post-grads of many religious and areligious backgrounds.

So WHAT NOW:

If you want to join this crew for coffee, bagels, and philosophy for an hour a month, come to the next one on the first Friday of the month and shoot an email to James letting him know you’d like to join: [email protected]