Tag Archives: GCU

Monks Closing Ceremony

Leave a reply

The Friday morning of the Monks Closing Ceremony was a beautiful day.

The crowd was definitely much larger than expected by the coordinators of the event. Many of the freshmen seminar classes joined us which was really great to see. In order to clear the Ballroom of chairs, we were all moved outside and treated to a chanting prayer outside the casino.

 

Here are some pictures of that amazing moment.

 

After the prayer outside, we all went inside to begin the closing ceremony. There were thank you’s to GCU, a story about Tibet, and the breaking up of the mandala which I have pictures and videos to share with you.

 

 

 

 

 

Closing ceremony
The sanda mandala is constructed all week with the intention to be destoyed at the end of the week. The destruction shows one of the monks messages while they were here of impermanence. The term expresses the Buddhist notion that all of conditioned existence, without exception, is in a constant state of flux. The beautiful mandala is built to show that nothing is permanent and all things chance. The love, compassion, and energy they put into the mandala should teach us all that we should put that into every aspect of our live even though things will changes, things will break a part, and things will be lost on our journey. The “things” are anything and everything in our life whether it be school,  job, or relationships. I hope you all can walk away really living out that message from here on out.
Enjoy!
Tracey 

Monks Debate and Snow Lion Dance

1 Reply

Hello!!!

Thursday night was such a joy with the monks.

First performed was the snow lion dance which we have video of thanks to the wonderful Christine Rochelle (I also have to attribute much of the success of this blog to her as well for being an amazing teacher and help).

Here is the video of the monks debate. This was so much fun to watch, especially if you had spent time with the monks. They were so calm, peaceful, and had a presence you really can’t describe with words. The monks use this debate in the monastery to strengthen their ability to communicate. I spoke with John who said what the monks are debating is not important, most of the time are argue over silly things like saying a white shirt is grey. The debate is used to show us how the monks are compassionate, loving, and expressive and we should use that in our own life. 

 

The snow lion dance was also performed which was really enjoyable for most of the audience. Sachiko’s young daughter was scared of the large size of the lion, especially his teeth. At the 40 second mark, you can see the lion go right up to Anna. She tried so hard to hide behind her Mom. To show how truly loving and caring the monks are, the monk who was inside the lion costume came right over to Anna after he was out of the costume to tell her he was in the costume. He told her he did nto mean to scare her and that she does not need to be afraid.

 

Enjoy!

Tracey

GCU Food Movement

1 Reply

Hello Everyone!

We had a great two days at GCU filled with bringing awareness to the power a person’s diet has over their health.

Meatless monday was a great success with the introduction of more vegetarian and vegan food options in both the dining hall and the court cafe. You can check out comments in the previous blog post about meatless mondays. If you took part in meatless mondays in any way, I would love to hear about it and share it on the blog with a post. Please email me about making a post of your own at ts89457@georgian.edu.

Dr. Campbell

We also had a screening of the movie “Forks over Knives.” The message of the movie is all about using food as medicine, rather than “knives” or surgical tools. It is based on the works of two well known researchers, Dr. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.  Both of these men,  grew up on farms raising dairy cows and cattle. They have found through years of research and clinical trials, that animal proteins found in food may turn on cancer genes in the body, while plant based proteins turn cancer genes off. The movie also shares the stories of people who are struggling with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic fatigue, and other ailments that occumpanying getting older in this country and their fight to reverse these problems with diet.

This movie definitely has the power to change your life. I hope you take the time to see it and think about attending other movies we plan on showing during the school year. While I believe a diet is a personal choice for everyone, I encourage everyone to take a look at their diet and see if there are better choices that could be made.

I want to leave this post with a quote that was posted in the movie. It is said by Hippocrates who is considered to be the father of Western Medicine and doctor’s still take the Hippocratic oath before the practice medicine.


Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy food.
                                                                                                                            -Hippocrates

Years ago Hippocrates saw that there was more to medicine and healing than taking pills, but some how that has gotten lost over the years. It is movies like “Forks over Knives” and movements like “Meatless Mondays” thanks to the Vegetarian Society and Sustainabilty that we can be reminded of this again.

Great job GCU and please keep up the work in making strides to better your health every day.

Tracey

Mandala Completion

Leave a reply

Hi Everyone!

Last Thursday, I was lucky enough to be in the ballroom right after the mandala was completed by the monks. It is customary to perform a ceremony of chanting prayer in honor of completion of the mandala. I am so honored to have been in the room for this.

Here are 2 videos of the ceremony. The first one is longer than the second.

The energy in the room was indescribable. You could feel all of the love and compassion just filling your heart.

 

 

Offerings that were added each day

These are the Buddhas that hund in the window all week. The Buddha on the right in blue is the Buddha of medicine. The Buddha on the left in white is compassion Buddha which is the mandala that was created specifically for GCU to match the GCU Mercy Core Values.

Don’t Forget Forks over Knives and Spa Day Tuesday!

1 Reply

Don’t forget to attend the “Forks Over Knives” Movie screening tonight at 6PM in the Little Theater.

Also, Spa day in Maria Hall at 8:30

Don’t forget to send me your reactions to both of these great events.

Learn how to change your diet and get some stress relief and relaxation all in one night!

Have a great night GCU!

Movie that Can Save Your Life!

1 Reply

I hope you have been inspired by the wonderful Tibetan Monks who spent the week at GCU to take a look at your own health and wellness. You have an amazing opportunity to educate yourself on the health crisis in this country by attending the movie showing of “Forks Over Knives.” GCU’s own Sarah Jane Lockenmeyer has truly been insprired by this movie and I hope you have been inspired by her post to attend.

Please RSVP to Sachiko Komagata at Komagatas@georgian.edu to recieve your FREE e-ticket. 

The movie will be shown at 6PM in the Little Theater on Tuesday night! 

 

Check out the movie trailer below

Sarah Jane Lockenmeyer Intro to Forks over Knives

3 Replies

Hello everyone!

I am so excited you have have found this blog, it’s is going to be an excellent space vibrant with great energy to inspire you on a healthy path to wellness and inform you of the amazing events happening right around campus!

I hope everyone can feel the amazing energy and excitement i’m feeling just by reading my words! I am just getting back from Yoga Fest where I sat as a Q&A panel member for the amazing documentary, Forks over Knives.

The showroom was packed with 100 plus people all filled with questions about adapting a plant based diet into their lifestyle. Something amazing happened during the questioning, this one women stood up and broke out in tears, the prompt handed her the mike and she began to speak, “You mean to tell me if I want to be healthy, I have to give up all the things I love and was raised on…meat,eggs, milk, CHEESE?!!!”

My fellow panel members and I were a bit taken by surprise, this had to be approached gently, I took to the microphone and replied.

“A journey to a plant based diet is a long beautiful journey, the things you love don’t all go away overnight, in fact they never go away, their just replaced with new loves.During the transition these foods are crowded out with more sustainable ones. It’s not that you will have to deny your body of the foods you crave, once you embark on a plant based diet the consciousness is heightened, the body no longer desires these types of food. How’s this for inspiration… every time you pick up a fork with plant based food on the end, not only are you nourishing yourself, you nourish the environment- it takes about 80% more water, land and fossil fuel to produce animal product. Your nourishing your fellow man- with the amount of grain it takes to just fatten a cow we could solve the issues of world hunger! That to me is reason enough to vote with my fork over the knives that slaughter and ultimately kill our environment, our bodies and our fellow man”

The woman came up to me as I was leaving the theater and said to me “I’m ready to begin my journey!”

 

 

 

Interested in embarking on your own journey? The screening of Forks Over Knives is coming to Georgian Court, Tuesday October 4 at 6pm in the Little Theater, please call or email Sachiko for your free e-ticket.

 

Sarah Jane Lockenmeyer is a holistic health coach currently practicing in Monmouth and Ocean County. She uses a mind, body, soul approach to both educate on proper nutrition and repair the relationship with foods. She believes in a primarily whole foods, plant based diet along with nourishing the spirit. Sarah Jane received her certification from The Institute of Integrative Nutrition, NYC and is currently enrolled in the Holistic Health program at Georgian Court University.

Welcome Message from Dr. Pelicci

2 Replies

Hi Everyone,

Please take a moment to watch this video Dr. Gabrielle Pelicci made to welcome all of you to the blog and the wellness programs offered on campus. You may have had class with Gabrielle or taken one of her yoga classes on campus last year. She is now living in San Francisco but still teaches on-line courses through the holistic health program.

Enjoy!!!

Dr. Gabrielle Pelicci

Gabrielle Pelicci, PhD teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in Holistic Health and Mind-Body Medicine at several universities including Saybrook University, California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), and Georgian Court University in Lakewood, NJ. From 2007 – 2009, she served as the Academic Director for a private school for young adult addicts in Los Angeles and taught at UCLA Health System Ethics Center. Gabrielle completed a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a Masters degree in Education at Columbia University and a Doctoral Degree in the Humanities with a dissertation on Women Healers. She is a Certified Massage Therapist, Certified Kundalini Yoga Instructor and Certified Healing Touch Practitioner. Since 1999, she’s maintained a private practice in Holistic Health in Los Angeles, Miami, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia. Gabrielle has also traveled to 20 countries in Asia, Africa, South America and Europe to study different cultural approaches to healing.