Hello everyone,

I have really enjoyed what it feels like to have a newsletter that’s more about events and gatherings. I notice it’s easier to write on here and to share the link with people I’ve just met. While I’ve always struggled to accept the quality and meaningfulness of my writing, I really believe that I host and attend pretty cool events! And it’s just fun to be inviting people to stuff.

There’s some internal tension about doing this via a newsletter vs. just inviting folks directly. I love the intimacy of a direct invite, and some of you reading this are dear friends and will likely get a text or call from me anyways. But I also realize that the work I’m doing is reaching wider and wider shores, and I want to attend to that as well. Even if we don’t know each other super well, you are welcome to join these spaces <3

Community building has always been a deep spiritual home for me. I want to tune in, more and more, to the experience of togetherness, especially as the world changes and we might need to lean on each other in new ways.

If you’re struggling with the growing sense of uncertainty in our larger collective experience, you’re not alone! Please reach out and say something, I’d be happy to exchange emails or have a call :)

Aside from these existing events, I’m currently having conversations about creating a new space for men, specifically to talk about our grief and shame around sexual desire. In my experience, the ways that men tend to bottle up desire creates the conditions of patriarchal harm, and I think we might uncover much from looking at that together. If this tugs at you in any way, let me know!

Public Conversation with Lakshman Sankar
Thursday, August 28th | 930-1030am Pacific | Online

1. There is a zoom
2. There are hosts (Lakshman & me)
3. We all have a conversation

Lakshman and I went to college together, and then I moved into his house and joined the startup he was working at. Here we are ten years later. Both of us got started in tech but are now interested in group dynamics and how culture forms. Probably we’ll reflect on the last decade and maybe look forward into the next one.

Invite link - or email me and I’ll put it on your calendar.

The Creative Field - playing with aliveness, & emergence, and transformation
Saturday, August 30th | 2-530pm Pacific | Berkeley

This is a one-off event previewing the larger Creative Field course that I am hosting in September and October.

I just spent two weeks doing dance, song, storytelling practices around the topic of arts + social change. It feels so nourishing (and important) to share this energy back and create something new!

Invite link

Fierce Vulnerability: Healing, Spirit & Action in Times of Collapse

Saturday, September 6th | 10am-4pm Pacific | Oakland

Kazu is an incredible facilitator, and more importantly to me a beautiful soul moving with a lot of compassion and accountability. I’m very sad to be missing this, because I love Fierce Vulnerability and everything this work stands for. But I can send loved ones there! Check it out.

Invite link

I wish you more ease and rest as the sun starts to set earlier in the day (northern hemisphere gang). I wish you ease as the daily news continues to offer an onslaught of information about global and local happenings. I wish you ease in whatever stage of the journey you are in today.

Be well, be well, be well.

Rishi