AROUND TOWN
Meetings & Lectures
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Nearly 20 years ago, two local men proposed that the canyon of El Charco del Ingenio, an area of great natural beauty of ecological, scenic, and historical value, be preserved from being swallowed up by the already rapid growth of San Miguel. At this week’s meeting, Bob Haas relates how El Charco del Ingenio Botanical Garden became a reality and the story of its development since.
Haas, a 25-year full-time San Miguel resident, is a founder and longtime board member of El Charco, now a government-designated ecological preservation zone. He also founded and directs Amigos del Parque. He and his wife, Jennifer, own Rancho Jaguar, the home of her Museo del Arte Popular and a venue for many nonprofit fundraisers.
The UU Fellowship meets every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at La Posada de la Aldea, Ancha de San Antonio 15, and welcomes people of all ages, races, religions, sexual orientation and gender identity. Visitors are invited to attend the service and then join the UUs in the hotel restaurant for brunch.
Midday Rotary Club
On Tuesday, October 7, psychologist Dr. Christopher Davis explains “The Four Psychologies,” clearing up confusion over what psychology really is and what practitioners do.
The term “psychology” is used and misused by so many in so many ways, one needs a map or a guide to know what is meant by the term and, more importantly, what one is likely to get when visiting someone using that name.
“Oversimplifying,” he admits, Dr. Davis uses a four-part classification to be our guide, a map to the domains of psychology.
Christopher Davis, Ph.D., holds a joint degree in psychology, and physiology and biophysics from the University of Washington. He has taught and researched various aspects of psychology at the University of Hawaii for one year, California State University at Long Beach for five years and spent 28 years at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC. His specialty in later years had been in the cultural context of psychology as it developed.
The Rotary Club of San Miguel de Allende-Midday meets every Tuesday at Hotel Real de Minas at the intersection of calles Ancha de San Antonio and Stirling Dickinson. Check-in time is 12–12:25pm and the meeting starts promptly at 12:30. For more information, visit
www.rotarysma.org.
Bereavement Support Groups
Hospice San Miguel sponsors two free bereavement support groups for area residents who have lost loved ones. The groups are small, so reservations are necessary.
Anne Howells, a Hospice board member and an experienced counselor, leads the first group. It is for English speakers and meets on Mondays, 2–3:30pm at Hospice San Miguel, Manuel Rocha 35 in La Lejona. Contact her directly at 185-8218 or email anne_howells@yahoo.com to arrange to attend the group.
Leticia Gonzáles, a Hospice staff member and experienced psychotherapist and thanatologist, leads the group for Spanish speakers. This group meets on Thursdays, 5–6:30pm at Hospice San Miguel. Contact her directly at 044 (415) 114-8331 or email
lego_2000_mx@yahoo.com.mx to arrange to attend the group.
For more information about the groups or any Hospice service, call the office at 154-4287, email
mail@hospicesma.org or check the website at
www.hospicesma.org.
Classes & Workshops
Chess in the patio and on the terrace
 |
 |
Adults meet Mondays 5–6:30pm in the north portal of the Biblioteca Pública’s central patio. The library closes at 7pm, but Café Santa Ana lets players carry on for another hour or two. |
Players gathered Thursdays at Mama Mia in the spring and summer, but will take a break until the snowbirds arrive later this fall.
Chess players meet three times a week at Casa de la Cultura on Chorro: Saturdays, 10am–2pm, Wednesdays and Fridays, 5–8pm.
Stepping on the Shambhala Buddhist path
Are you interested in a spiritual path that relates mind, heart and everyday life? Have you wondered about the possibility of making every moment of life an artistic expression? Are you curious about meditation practice? Have you wondered what it really means to become a Buddhist?
Shambhala Senior teacher Achyra Allyn Lyon, a colleague of Pema Chodron, leads meditation practice and discussions on these questions at the Shambhala Meditation Center, Terraplén 34, Friday–Sunday, October 3–5. All are welcome to attend. To learn more about Acharya Lyon, see http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/acharya/alyon.php.
A public talk on Friday, 7–9pm, addresses Living Beyond Hope and Fear. The Saturday session, 9am–5pm, is Stepping on the Buddhist Path: two talks, meditation instruction and discussion/Q&A. On Sunday, 9am–2pm, in Diving into Meditation, Lyon gives meditation instruction and leads meditation practice. Lyon also offfers discussion and interview opportunities.
For more information, contact program coordinators John Perkins at jperkins@ca.inter.net or Patricia Gonzalez patriciafgonzalez@yahoo.com, or call 152-6336 or 120-0767.
To learn more about Shambhala Buddhism and the 160 centers around the world, see http://www.shambhala.org.
All meditation programs are by donation and translation from English to Spanish is available.
Tours & Excursions
Saturday Adventure Tours
No tour on October 4, to allow Adventurers to recover from La Alborada in the Jardín the previous night.
Amigos de la Presa kayak outing
On Sunday, October 5, at 10am, San Miguel residents and visitors are invited to join Amigos de la Presa on one of its regular kayak outings on Presa Allende. Mayan Kayaks, a kayak manufacturer in Querétaro, will have its full line of kayaks available for use. No previous experience is necessary as free basic instructions will be given. Each person will have an opportunity to try out the kayaks for free.
For those who want more than the basics of kayaking, more extensive instructions also will be given on the fundamentals of rolls, self-rescue and assisted rescue, forward stroke and handling a kayak in the wind. The fee for these instructions is 150 pesos.
Located only 4.8 kilometers (about three miles) from the center of town, this is a great opportunity to see and experience up-close one of San Miguel’s important resources.
Directions to the Presa: Follow calle Canal straight out of town past the bus station and past Immigration. Shortly thereafter the road enters the “parking lot” for the train station; bear left and cross the railroad tracks, go straight ahead on the cobblestone road (not the paved road to the right). Follow for about two miles; at the fork in the road, stay straight/bear right. When the cobblestone road turns to a dirt road, follow a chain link to the end and go about 100 yards more to a “bay” on the left. That’s where we’ll be!
Amigos de la Presa is a citizen-based organization whose object it is to promote the recreational use of the Presa and to work toward continual improvement of its water quality. Email
signup@amigosdelapresa.org
for more information.
Botanical Garden tour
El Charco del Ingenio (Jardín Botánico) offers two-hour tours on Tuesdays at 10am sharp. A hat, water and good walking shoes are recommended. Fees are 50 pesos for members and 80 pesos for nonmembers. Private tours are available for 150 pesos per person (minimum five).
The easiest way to Jardín Botánico is by taxi. Staff will call for a taxi for the return trip to town.
Reservations are not necessary. If you have any questions, email nzerriffi@yahoo.com.
Performances & Events
Register for San Miguel dog show by October 4
Registration is open through October 4 for the 21st Annual San Miguel Kennel Club Dog Show at the Hotel Real de Minas October 11–12.
All entries must be registered with Federación Canolfila Mexicana and have microchips. The 150-peso a day entry fee may be sent by fax to (01) (415) 152-2347 accompanied by a deposit slip from Bancomer 134 Account #044-307-5494, Club Canofilo de San Miguel. A late charge will be levied up to October 8. For further information, call (415) 152-0286.
CASA fall sale needs donations
Moving? Housecleaning? CASA needs used beds, stoves, refrigerators, televisions, electrical appliances and clothing for their grand fall sale October 11, 9am–2pm at the Santa Julia facility. For pick-up, call Elbeth at 152-2813. Visit www.casa.org.mx for more information.
Films & Videos
Meditation Center: Eckhart Tolle
On Thursday, October 9, at 5:30pm, the Meditation Center at callejón Blanco 4 presents Volume 1 of Eckhart Tolle’s The Flowering of Human Consciousness, in which the author of the bestseller The Power of Now explains, in clear, simple language, the process of entering this “miraculous” state of presence that is always available to us. We are lost, he says, in the maze of our own compulsive thoughts. Only by ceasing this “mental noise” can we dissolve our egos and enable the flowering to proceed toward a transformation that cannot be understood with the mind. From guidance about stress and career, to insights into the nature of the ego and the delusion of time, this far-reaching session documents the vision of a modern spiritual teacher and the truth he brings. There is no charge for presentations, though donations are gratefully accepted.
|