“Dawn and sunset are moments when the numinous source of all existence is experienced with special sensitivity.”
– Thomas Berry
A Front Porch Can Be Anywhere …
It Can Even Be in a State of Mind
It’s a space for human and other-than-human beings to gather together.
It’s a space to be in conversation, to sit in silence, to be free of lists and agendas, to be off-the-clock, and/or to simply let yourself be.
Our Front Porch is a couple of picnic tables and some benches, right on the Pacific Ocean, where we come together on Saturday mornings to be with each other, the birds, the otters, and the sunrise.
Someone might have a poem or quote to share … or not.
We might talk … or not.
There might be music … or not.
What we will do is … pause and be held in silence for a few minutes as the sun peeks over the mountains to the east, and the waves continue their singing to the north, the moon sets on the horizon to the west, while the gulls and pelicans soar above us.
What we will do is be-with the beginning of the day … together.
Then, we might sit-a-spell in conversation and sharing before heading-off-into the rest of our day, somehow re-set and re-freshed.
There is no schedule on a Front Porch.
Folks arrive and leave as they please.
“OK, But … Given All That Is Happening, Why Might I Add This to My Already- Overwhelmed Calendar?”
It’s very simple really.
People have been sittin’ on their Front Porch (whatever/wherever it is) for thousands of years. If you haven’t done it in a while, given all that is happening, maybe this is a really good time to remember what it’s like.
Being in silence and just breathing calms the nervous system.
Being part of a kind community opens the heart.
Being with a larger perspective settles the mind.
Being outdoors, sensing the sacred, nourishes the spirit.
For Your Comfort, We Suggest that You Bring …
Blanket and/or Warm Jacket;
Towel (benches are often wet from fog or ocean spray);
Coffee/Tea/Muffin, etc., if your body wants you to;
A friend (2- or 4-legged), if you like;
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We’ll have a donation basket available for those who would like to contribute to a community or organization that is dedicated to affirming and supporting Life. Each week the offering will be made to a different group that serves as a resource for farmworkers, BIPOC social justice, ecological regeneration, liberatory healing, protection for 4-legged/winged/no-legged ones, water beings, forest regeneration, … If you have a local organization/community that you would like to designate, just let Marianne know.
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Location
Turn-out #4 (“Asilomar”) off of Oceanview Blvd.
(Note: This turn-out is on the Monterey part of Oceanview Blvd., not at Asilomar Beach or the Conference Center).
Entrance to the parking lot is on the ocean-side, between 1247 & 1261 Oceanview Blvd. (across from Acropolis St.)
Exit from parking lot is caddy-corned to Pacific Grove Golf Course, (across from Asilomar Ave.)
Pacific Grove, CA
We will meet near the Exit of the Parking Lot
Picnic tables and benches are there.
Bring your own chair, if you would like.
Marianne will be there almost every Saturday.
No registration is required.
Rain cancels,
Or bring an umbrella and come anyway.
With: Marianne rowe
Saturday, March 7
6:10 AM Pacific
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Time-ishes for Gathering (about 10 minutes before sun-peeking).
Click here for a downloadable list.
14th - 7:05 am
21st - 6:55 am
28th - 6:45 am
11th - 6:25 am
18th - 6:15 am
25th - 6:05 am
9th - 5:45 am
16th - 5:50 am
23rd - 5:35 am
30th - 5:40 am
13th - 5:35 am
20th - 5:35 am
27th - 5:40 am
11th - 5:45 am
18th - 5:50 am
25th - 5:55 am
8th - 6:05 am
15th - 6:15 am
22nd - 6:20 am
29th - 6:35 am
12th - 6:35 am
19th - 6:40 am
26th - 6:45
10th - 7 am
17th - 7:05 am
24th - 7:10 am
31st - 7:20 am
14th - 6:35 am
21sth - 6:40 am
28th - 6:45 am
12th - 6:55 am
19th - 7:00 am
26th - 7:05 am
* The Porch will be closed on November 7 for a race that is happening that day.
For specific sunrise times, check here.
As a humane being, co-founding teacher of Monterey Bay Meditation Studio, and licensed marriage and family therapist, Marianne is dedicated to cultivating eco-systemic consciousness and living in-cahoots with Earth, Cosmos, and Life in all forms.
Much of her energy and inspiration is sourced in Deeptime perspective, community-building, and relationships of reverence and reciprocity with all living beings. She embodies multi-faceted bewonderment, spirited dedication, and a playful, sometimes peculiar, way-of-being in the world. For grounding and spaciousness, she is eternally grateful for daily meditation practice that she began in the last century. Read more.
This offering is part of the Mindfulness/Meditation, Outdoors, Relationships, and Spirituality/Evolution of Consciousness Currents.