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Peace of Mind: Self, Sanity and the Pursuit of Happiness
An evening of contemplation and music to benefit Still Waters in a Storm and Mission 22.
- Monday, April 23, 2018 at 7:00pm
- Symphony Space
- Expected Run Time is 120 minutes
Featuring readings and conversation with Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness, and Susan Cain, author of Quiet and a keynote speech by Bob Kerrey, former United States senator, presidential candidate and veteran of the Vietnam War. The show closes with music by Dar Williams, guided meditation led by The Big Quiet and chanting by Nina Rao, accompanied by cellist Noah Hoffeld.
Still Waters in a Storm is a one-room schoolhouse, a reading and writing sanctuary for children ages 5-17 in the neighborhood of Bushwick, Brooklyn. The structure of our meetings is the same in English, Spanish, Latin and Musical Notation: children and grown-ups study a text together, each writes something inspired by the text, then they take turns reading their writings out loud while everyone listens in a sacred hush. The one rule is, “Everyone listens to everyone.” The simple grace of this ritual changes lives for the better.
Mission 22 is a non-profit who combats the ever-rising veteran suicide rate. Every day, more than twenty veterans are lost to suicide. Mission 22 wants to bring that number to zero. It does this with three main programs; veteran treatment programs, memorials and national awareness. Mission 22 provides treatment programs to veterans for Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury and other issues they might be facing. It organizes events and builds memorials to create social impact and awareness for these issues. Mission 22 also has an Ambassador volunteer program for people to get involved as well. Ambassadors educate the public on veteran issues, help get veterans into Mission 22 treatment programs and create resources in their communities. Through these three programs, it enables a push for the betterment of our nation’s heroes and stands united in the war against veteran suicide.
“In this quiet listening, a possibility arises for a better kind of community than the one we know.” -Wallace Shawn
Amanda Palmer
Amanda Palmer is a singer, songwriter, playwright, pianist, filmmaker, and blogger who simultaneously embraces and explodes traditional frameworks of music, theatre, and art. She first came to prominence as one half of the Boston-based punk cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls, earning global applause for their wide-ranging theatricality and inventive songcraft. Her solo career has proven equally brave and boundless, including such groundbreaking works as the fan-funded Theatre Is Evil, which made a top 10 debut on the SoundScan/Billboard 200 upon its 2012 release and remains the top-funded original music project on Kickstarter. In 2013 she presented “The Art of Asking” at the annual TED conference, which has since been viewed over 10 million times worldwide. The following year saw Palmer expand her philosophy into the New York Times best seller, The Art of Asking: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Let People Help. Since 2015, Palmer has used Patreon, a patronage subscription crowdfunding platform, to fund the creation of her artwork while enabling her to collaborate with artists all over the world with over 11,000 patrons supporting her creations each month.
Sharon Salzberg
Sharon Salzberg is a central figure in the field of meditation, a world-renowned teacher and NYT bestselling author. She has played a crucial role in bringing meditation and mindfulness practices to the West and into mainstream culture since 1974, when she first began teaching. She is the co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA and the author of ten books including NY Times bestseller, Real Happiness, and Real Love, her latest release by Flatiron Books. Acclaimed for her humorous, down-to-earth teaching style, Sharon is a columnist for On Being and hosts her own podcast: The Metta Hour. More details at www.SharonSalzberg.com
Susan Cain
I'm the Chief Revolutionary at Quiet Revolution and author of QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking and QUIET POWER: The Secret Strengths of Introverted Kids. These days, I’m hard at work on two new books, am dreaming up a new podcast, and also seem to play an awful lot of tennis.
Bob Kerrey
From 2001 to 2011 Mr. Kerrey was President of The New School, a university founded on democratic ideals and daring educational practices. From 1989 to 2001 Mr. Kerrey represented Nebraska in the Senate. His public service since leaving the Senate includes: the 9/11 Commission, advisory board of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association, co-chair of the Concord Coalition, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Mr. Kerrey served as a U.S. Navy SEAL during the Vietnam War. For his service, he received the Medal of Honor. While in Vietnam, he was wounded, permanently disabled, and received from this injury a great gift: sympathy for those who are suffering and an appreciation for the capacity of government to save your life.
Dar Williams
Described by the New Yorker as "one of America's very best singer-songwriters”, Dar Williams is a renowned folk musician and composer based in the Hudson Valley who has sold millions of albums and toured across the United States. Williams is also a well-known environmental and social justice advocate.
Nina Rao
Nina Rao learned traditional chants (bhajans) from her grandfather in a village in south India when she nine years old. The chants quietly stayed with her until she rediscovered chanting with Krishna Das in New York in 1996. For many years Nina has been Krishna Das' business manager and assistant, often touring with him playing cymbals and singing. In 2007, she recorded the track 'Nina Chalisa' on Krishna Das' CD "Flow of Grace " and in January 2013, she released her debut album, "Antarayaami - Knower of All Hearts". Nina regularly leads kirtan, chanting of the Hanuman Chalisa, and sings for yoga classes in her hometown of Brooklyn, NY and beyond.
Noah Hoffeld
Purpose-driven cellist, composer and producer Noah Hoffeld plays kirtan, scores films about spirituality, and sings rock songs with a message. His cello solos have been featured with artists like Natalie Merchant and Renee Fleming, and in films like A Walk in the Woods with Robert Redford. His playing is heard on the new album by Krishna Das, Trust in the Heart.
Still Waters in a Storm is one of the most beautiful collectives of human beings I’ve ever seen. It’s astonishing, peaceful, cozy, and intellectually vibrant, all at the same time. On the day I visited, the children wrote and read out loud their own stories and everyone listened to each other in a sacred hush, because that’s what kids at Still Waters are taught to do by their brilliant, loving teacher, Stephen Haff. One girl wrote about feeling too shy to talk on the phone with a grandmother in Mexico she’d never met, then feeling overwhelmed with regret when that grandmother died before they could develop a relationship. One wrote about his responsibilities at home, and also his dreams; another about her mother’s pain at being separated from a baby brother back in Mexico. The children are astonishingly self-aware and willing to express themselves; but even more than that, they are willing to listen. Stephen believes – really believes — that the world would be a different place if people stopped forcing each other to do stuff, and started listening. The entire world hasn’t yet accepted this vision. But this one group of children has. And maybe that is miracle enough. –Susan Cain, author of Quiet