Vibing Vajrasattva"A Psychedelic Glimpse"

With Chris Dingman, Dr. Erika Rosenberg
& Doc Kelley

8-WEEK COHORT BASED PRACTICE &
VIBRAPHONE JOURNEY

New York & California
June - July

REGISTRATION CLOSES MAY 27th

Please watch a recording of our online info session here

If you dig that video and want to learn more, we invite you to submit an application here.

Once you've done all of the above, we'll contact you to schedule a Zoom meeting with the instructors.

DESCRIPTION
Vajrasattva (rDo-rje sems-dpa’) practice is a tantric meditation done for the purification of karma. As a Mahayana practice, it is undertaken with a bodhichitta aim to purify all our karma in order to reach enlightenment as quickly as possible in order to be best able to help all limited beings (sentient beings). On an ultimate level, Vajrasattva practice is non-conceptual meditation on voidness (emptiness). On a provisional level, it entails repeated recitation of a hundred-syllable mantra (yig-rgya), accompanied by opponent states of mind and complex visualizations. -Berzin Archives

Vibing Vajrasattva is a musical journey into the Vajrasattva sadhana that aims to facilitate a cohort-based approach to learning and practice through "sonic sadhana," and a daylong psychedelic retreat.

This program is not intended to substitute the traditional Vajrayana Buddhist Preliminary (Ngöndro) but to facilitate inspiration for those on the Path.

It is open to both Buddhist and non-Buddhists—anyone who might want to get acquainted with Vajrasattva for the very first time, as well as those more experienced practitioners who might benefit from a sonic-psychedelic reacquainting with the deity.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Vajra (or “diamond”) is a poetic metaphor for śūnyatā, emptiness. Therefore, enacting the practice or sadhana of Vajrasattva is a purifying communion with one’s non-dual nature, one we think can be glimpsed through a program of cohort-based practice and psychedelic sonic sadhana.

There is no empowerment or refuge ceremony for this program. We adopt a decentralized cohort-based approach to learning without a traditional guru. However, we invite guest lecturers Lama Mike Crowley and Lama Justin von Bujdoss to share their wisdom and knowledge.

Our approach to sādhanā ("the instructions for practice") is non-sectarian and “open-source.” We examine several sadhana and welcome participants to share whatever they might already use or find familiar.

PROGRAM
This online bicoastal cohort starts in June and culminates with an in-person, daylong psychedelic retreat 6-8 weeks later in the Bay Area of Northern California (for West Coasters) and New York (for East Coasters).

We follow a three-phase program of INCUBATION, INVOCATION, and INTEGRATION.

Phase One: INCUBATION
Online
Sundays: 10-11 am Pacific / 1-2 pm EST
Mondays: 4-6 pm Pacific / 7-9 pm EST

This phase lasts about six weeks and consists of biweekly online meetings to study and meditate on Vajrasattva. We focus on the emotive phases of the sadhana in preparation for the psychedelic Invocation. Our goal in the Incubation phase is to facilitate the cultivation of a deep phenomenological connection to Vajrasattva through meditation and music.

Monday, June 3: Sadhana Study session #1
Sunday, June 9: Sunday Sit

Monday, June 10: Sadhana Study session #2
Sunday, June 16 (Father’s Day): Sunday Sit

Monday, June 17: Sadhana Study session #3
Sunday, June 23: Sunday Sit

Monday, June 24: Sadhana Study session #4
Sunday, June 30: Sunday Sit

Monday, July 1: Sadhana Study session #5
Sunday, July 7: Sunday Sit

Monday, July 8: Last Sadhana Study session #6

Phase Two: INVOCATION
In-person
10:00 am - 7 pm local

This is a in-person daylong retreat we model after the tantric feast, or ganacakra, the occasion for Buddhist psychedelic invocation of the deity, also known as tsok. Whether you are psychedelic or not, Tsok in Vajrayana Buddhism traditionally refers to a feast of the senses in which practitioners assemble to dance, sing, make offerings, and partake of taboo substances and practices in the context of various tantric rituals as part of a sādhanā. We regard it as the day of invocation and communion with the archetype through a psychedelic vibraphone group ceremony.

We host two in-person Invocations per bicoastal cohort—one in New York and one in the Bay Area of California. The New York retreat may be either in or outside the city. We will share details with registrants as they materialize.

Sunday, July 14th, California
Sunday, July 28th, New York

Phase Three: INTEGRATION
In-person & Online
5:00-7 pm West / 6:00-8 pm EST

This is the process of integrating the psychedelic experience into one’s daily life. We hold space for an in-person peer-support sharing circle the day after the ceremony. We also offer free monthly online and in-person integration every first and third Thursday.

Monday, July 15: California
Monday, July 29: New York

THE VIBRAPHONE AND VIBRAPHONIST
The vibraphone is a percussion instrument that looks like a xylophone but has aluminum bars instead of wood. The vibraphone player uses one or two mallets (beaters) in each hand. There are tubes underneath each bar. These “resonators” make the sound louder. There is also an electric motor that a pedal can switch on. This makes fans go round and round in the ventilators and creates a powerful, vibrating sound, hence its nickname—“vibes.”

In the hands of sonic shaman Chris Dingman, the vibes become a powerful tool for subtle bodywork that is both incredibly intimate and non-physical.

Chris Dingman is a New York-based vibraphonist and composer. Chris Dingman is known for his distinctive approach to the instrument, which is at once sonically rich and conceptually expansive. In his captivating solo performances, he casts an enveloping atmosphere, creating layers of simultaneous sound that take listeners to a transcendent place. Chris has worked with the legendary artists Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter and many other of today’s jazz and world music luminaries. Based in NYC since 2002, Chris had been documenting his solo improvisations privately for many years. When his father entered hospice care in 2018, he created the 5-hour extended album Peace. This led to an ongoing evolution of his solo music and his critically acclaimed albums Journeys Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Chris actively tours and has performed worldwide. He has been profiled by NPR, the New York Times, AMNY, and many other publications. He has received fellowships and grants from Chamber Music America, New Music USA, South Arts, and the Thelonious Monk Institute.

PARTICIPANT INSTRUCTORS
Our instructors participate fully in the practice and daylong retreat. Both have received doctorate degrees in their respective fields of study--psychology and religious studies.

Erika Rosenberg, Ph. D., is a scientist, author, and educator who seeks to help people understand themselves, connect with others, find peace and joy in life, and suffer less. She received her Ph. D. In Psychology from the University of California, San Francisco, where she studied with facial expression of emotion pioneer, Paul Ekman. She was a professor at the University of Delaware and the College of William & Mary. Erika was a co-creator of the Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) program at Stanford University, with Thupten Jinpa, and she presented the CCT program to His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Stanford in 2010. Dr. Rosenberg is a faculty member at The Nyingma Institute in Berkeley and has offered meditation training at diverse international venues such as Lerab Ling Monastery, Upaya Zen Center, The Telluride Institute, and Burning Man. She volunteers in psychedelic harm reduction through such programs as the Zendo Project and the Psychedelic Survivors Group.

Dr. Rosenberg’s research focuses on emotion, emotion expression and meditation.  At the Center for Mind and Brain at UC Davis, Erika Rosenberg is a member of the Saron Lab, which conducts multi-disciplinary, pathbreaking research in contemplative science. Her books include What the Face Reveals (with Paul Ekman, now in its 3rd edition) and the widely used Introductory Psychology text, Psychology: Perspectives & Connections, now in its 6th edition). Dr. Rosenberg’s published scientific work on facial expression span basic affective science on research on emotional processes, social psychological research on facial expression recognition, studies of the effects of meditation on emotional behavior, and health psychological risk factors for heart disease. Erika is an expert in human facial expressions, with clients in academia, industry, and the arts, worldwide.

Christopher “Doc” Kelley is a scholar of Buddhism and a part-time professor in religious studies at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, The New School University, and Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara. He is also the co-founder of Psychedelic Sangha and lives in Brooklyn, NYC.

Doc received a Ph.D. in Religion from Columbia University, where he studied Indo-Tibetan Buddhism with Robert A. F. Thurman. Before attending graduate school, he was a “dharma bum” who traveled Asia and practiced Buddhism initially at Kopan Gompa in Kathmandu and later at Sermey Monastery in India. He did his first Heruka-Vajrasattva retreat at the FPMT Tushita Dharma Center in Dharamsala in 1997.

SOBER FACILITATORS
We employ male and female sober facilitators for the daylong retreat. These facilitators also participate in some Zoom sessions, so they are familiar faces by the time of the Invocation.

APPLICATION
Please submit your application and complete our intake interview before registering here. Click here to start the application process.

TUITION OPTIONS
“Reach out your hand, if your cup be empty
If your cup is full, may it be again
Let it be known there is a fountain
That was not made by the hands of men”
--Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia

If your cup is full, please consider becoming a benefactor and helping those whose cup is empty. Follow the appropriate link below to see pricing for Partial Tuition rates, or click on the link in the upper right corner of this page to register for the complete program.

Click here to REGISTER for Option 1: FULL ENROLLMENT
Open to all
Includes: Incubation, Invocation, and Integration

Click here to REGISTER for Option 2: PARTIAL ENROLLMENT
Open to all
Includes: online synchronous Incubation

Click here to REGISTER for Option 3: PARTIAL ENROLLMENT
Open to all
Includes: online asynchronous Incubation

Click here to REGISTER for Option 4: PARTIAL ENROLLMENT
Prerequisites
Includes: Invocation

REGISTRATION & WAIVER
By registering for Vibing Vajrasattva, you agree to the following:

REFUND POLICY
There are no full refunds. Instead, if a registrant cannot attend and we are notified 30 days or more before the event, we will give that person credit for a future Psychedelic Sangha offering.

GENERAL LIABILITY WAIVER
By registering for Vibing Vajrasattva: A Psychedelic Glimpse, I understand that practices and invocation may pose some natural risks, for which I accept full responsibility. Furthermore, I agree not to hold Psychedelic Sangha, its facilitators, or its organizers legally or morally responsible for any injury or mental discomfort I experience under any circumstance.

Therefore, I hereby waive any and all liability claims against Psychedelic Sangha, its organizers, and facilitators for any and all injuries which I might suffer during, and/or as a result of, my participation in the retreat and program of study. I also assume all responsibility and liability for any injuries I might suffer, or cause, during, and/or as a result of my participation in the retreat, and its surrounding areas.

Furthermore, I absolve Psychedelic Sangha, its organizers, and facilitators of any and all responsibility for future injuries I might suffer or cause as a result of my participation in the retreat, and its surrounding areas.

I realize that the online teachings will be recorded and viewed by both in-class and asynchronous online Psychedelic Sangha Vajrasattva students, and I give my permission for the recording to be used for those purposes.

By executing this waiver, I state that I am in good physical and mental health and know of no reason why I should be unable to fully participate in all event activities in which I partake.