NEW! IN-PERSON MEETINGS ARE BACK Beginning June 2021, the Institute will be offering a variety of ways to participate in its activities, including in-person meetings, live webcasts, and online meetings via Zoom. The format for each meeting and information on how to participate will be included in the description of each event. If you would like to become a member, please click here. We would love your support and participation. UPCOMING EVENT The Lotus as a Symbol of Transformation and Renewal Saturday, July 17, 2021, 2:00 pm PDT Modes of participation: In-person and live webcast Link for live webcast (available on July 17, 2021): https://youtube.com/user/iwcinsantabarbara/live Click here for more information     STUDY CIRCLE The Study Circle is on summer break Please check back in September for the Fall Schedule! Juneteenth – African American Contributions to Music Just made a federal holiday to commorates the end of slavery in the United States, Rhiannona Giddens, folk singer, multi-instrumentalist, and classically trained opera singer points out African American contributions to music. Click here Unchained Melody Buskers Allie Sherlock and Cuan Durkin sing "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers on the streets of Dublin, Ireland Click here Chip Thomas – Physician and Street Artist Physician and street artist shares stories of his life as a doctor and social activist on the Navaho Reservation Click here Henry David Thoreau – Messages from the Imagination Observations on his book "A Week on the Merrimack and Concord Rivers" and his correspondence with Harrison Blake. Click here In The Hands of Artists What are our hands to us? Click here Tolstoy as Teacher The great Russian novelist, short story writer, playwright and essayist, Leo Tolstoy, became passionate about teaching in 1859, considering it to be, in his own words, "the most important work in the world because everything we dream of can only come to life thanks to the next generations." His hope was to bring together the nobility and peasantry, which he sought to do by teaching the younger generation. Click here more on Tolstoy as teacher Photo of Leo Tolstoy and local Russian children, taken in the 19th century Explore the Getty Museum Online In depth podcasts that cover a range of topics. Explore "The Year 1000: When Explorers Connected the World – and Globalization Began". Take a more inclusive look of India's history with Curator Naman Ahuja. Click here for links to podcasts Spaceshuttle Endeaver Take a virtual tour of the impressive exhibit at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, CA. Click here for link Poetry - "Epipsychidian" and LibriVox "True love in this differs from gold and clay, that to divide is not to take away." This remarkable poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, one of the world's greatest poets, plus many other of Shelley's works are read by Leonard Wilson on LibriVox. LibriVox is a Public Domain site in the USA and available for free. Click here Google Arts & Culture An online resource for exploring museums, works of art, places and more from where you are. Click here to begin On Being | Interviews with Krista Tippett On Being is a public radio conversation and podcast hosted by Krista Tippett. It examines the "animatiing questions at the center of human life: What does it mean to be human, and how do we want to live". Her programs pursue deep thinking and moral imagination, social courage and joy, in order to renew inner life, outer life, and life together. Click here for links to probing interviews on current topics Honoring John Lewis Civil Rights Hero John Lewis, a 17-term Georgia Congressmember, was a singular force for equality and justice in America. He was remembered July 30th at his funeral in Atlanta. Click here for links to his profound eulogies Bolero | Julliard Collaborations are taking new turns. View an exciting and inspiring video collaboration of Julliard students and alumni dancing in their own unique way to the music of Bolero. Click here for more information Paradigm Shift Happens Paradigm shifts happen, and they are not random. Human consciousness causes and shapes them. And we seem to be experiencing one right now.  Click here for more information Mount of Five Treasures (Two Worlds) For Nicholas Roerich, mountains are the physical embodiment of Enlightenment. Click here for more information The Overview Effect Astronauts are so overwhelmed by the view from space that they often experience radical alterations in their perspectives. Click here for more information Am I as Clever as a Squirrel? Squirrels were eating his birdseed. Can he outwit them with mechanical engineering? Click here for more information Wise Men of the East It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." How much it expresses! Click here for the fuller story The Man Who Planted Trees A tale of generosity – an inspiring story of what can be done by one man to restore life to an environment. Click here for more information A Call to Unite Message from His Holiness Special message from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama read by his friend, Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Click here for the message Botso, The Teacher from Tblisi The amazing story of nonagenarian Wachtung “Botso” Korisheli – musician, sculptor, beloved teacher to generations and an inspiring example of human resilience. View documentary for free through May 15 Ursula Le Guin's Comment on War as a Theme In the afterword of the pioneering novel, EarthSea: the Wizard of Earthsea, the author Ursula Le Guin explains why she does not use war or military heroes as a framework for her novels. Click here for the full essay Reflection An original poem by Ibrahim Ibn Salma Click here Outwitted A poem by Edwin Markham Click here Channel Islands Kelp Forest Experience one of the richest marine environments in the world with a virtual visit to the Channel Islands Ocean Webcam. Click here for Live Cam Lil Buck and Yo-Yo Ma Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and street dancer Lil Buck, perform Camille Saint-Saens' "The Swan" at China's National Center for the Performing Arts, part of the U.S.-China Forum on Arts and Culture. Click here for the video Where Nature Meets Culture A garden is where nature and culture meet. Descanso Gardens is a unique and magical Southern California landscape of rare natural beauty. Click here to view PBS documentary California Poppies at Their Best Live camera of the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve's stunning spring display. Click here to access Live Cam We Need to Talk About Justice In an engaging and personal TED talk, human rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson shares some hard truths about America's justice system, inspiring one of the longest and loudest standing ovations in TED's history. Click here to access the video Apollo 13 Moon Views IN 1970, the Apollo 13 spacecraft looped around the far side of the moon. New technology has increased the resolution, and it's completely amazing. Click here to access the video North Campus Open Space Have you ever visited UCSB's North Campus Open Space? The Cheadle Center for Ecological Restoration and Ecology (CCBER) is an unprecendented restoration project that currently has 1.4 miles of public trails. Click here for more information Metropolitan Opera Nightly Streaming During this extraordinary and difficult time, the Met hopes to brighten the lives of its audience members. Each day, a different encore presentation from the company's 'Live in HD' series is being made available on the Met's website. Click here to access performances (scroll down the page for the listings) Alma Deutscher Honors Beethoven's 250th Birthday This year marks the 250th birthday of one of the most revered composers who ever lived. Using themes from his own music, child prodigy Alma Deutscher has written, and plays two waltzes to honor this special occasion. Click here for videos Deep Ecology In April, 2020 the IWC Study Circle took up the study of Deep Nature. We discovered a number of ways to gain new perspectives and insights into the topic through an understanding of sound dynamics. Click here to watch videos Hope is the Thing with Feathers A poem by the English poet, Emily Dickinson who describes hope as "the thing with feathers", which keeps so many warm while asking nothing for itself. Click here for the full poem 'Keeping Score' with the San Francisco Symphony Explore the lives of eight influential composers from around the world wth Michael Tilson Thomas. Click here for demonstration and information People Who Talk Like Birds Kusköy, Turkey is a remote mountain village with an ancient form of communication–whistling. More than 70 groups around the world whistle to express themselves and it is giving neuroscientists a reason to rething the fundamental organization of the brain. Click here for demonstration and information Concerts at Home with Camarata Pacifica Camarata Pacifica, one of the world's finest chamber music groups, is offering Live Concerts each Sunday for free. Click here for how to sign up and for other offerings Rumi, Poetry and Sufi Mysticism The Rumi Education Center in Santa Barbara is hosting monthly webinars on Rumi's greatest work, which embraces the concepts of tolerance, pluralism, humanism and non-violence. Click here for the full poem Click here