Ethical Humanism

Join us for a deep dive into Christian doctrine through the lens of the Bible. This evening sessions will provide a unique opportunity to explore key theological concepts, discuss spiritual growth strategies, and enhance your understanding of the teachings of Jesus Christ. Whether you are new to Christianity or a seasoned believer, this event is designed to enrich your faith journey and strengthen your relationship with God. This meetup is open to all members of the DMV Bible Study Meetup Group, regardless of age or background. Come prepared to engage in meaningful discussions, ask questions, and connect with fellow Christians in a supportive and welcoming community. Let's grow in faith together as we delve into the timeless wisdom found in the scriptures.

**Tired of surface-level conversations?** Join us for *Ditch the Small Talk*—an evening of deep, real connection with strangers who are down to go there. We’ll meet at the church (we are a secular group), break into small groups, and draw questions from a deck of cards designed to spark vulnerable, honest conversations. ***Rules:*** 1. Don't debate politics. 2. Keep what is shared in the group within the group. 3. If you need to use your phone, step away from your group first. \*\*If you show up late, please hop into a group and don't interrupt the speaker. Just sit down in a group of your choice, and they'll bring you up to speed when whoever is talking finishes. Community of Christ church: 3526 Massachusetts Ave.

Please note the updated location for this event! Instead of competing with trivia and loud music at Greene Turtle, since we wouldn't be in the Party Room that week, we're testing out this new venue. (To be clear, GT is still home base; this change will **only** affect a few games throughout the year!)

**The Inner Path: Meditation, Wisdom, and Spiritual Guidance** **Wednesdays, 7:00pm-8:00pm** **With various Kadampa Teachers** True happiness and freedom comes from training the mind in meditation and wisdom. In this series, based on The New Meditation Handbook by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, we will explore essential meditations that lead us to lasting inner peace and spiritual realization. We begin with the meditation on Tranquil Abiding, learning how to develop strong mindfulness and concentration and overcome the obstacles that prevent inner calm. We then turn to Emptiness, Buddha’s profound wisdom that reveals the true nature of reality and frees us from ignorance and self-grasping. Finally, we conclude with the meditation on Reliance on a Spiritual Guide, the foundation of all spiritual attainments. Each class includes guided meditation, practical advice, and discussion. Everyone is welcome — from beginners to experienced meditators. **Schedule** March 4: Learning to Meditate: Finding Focus and Peace March 11: Mindfulness and Concentration: The Tools of Tranquil Abiding March 18: Overcoming Obstacles to Meditation March 25: Abiding in Stillness: The Joy of a Concentrated Mind April 1: What Is Emptiness? Understanding the True Nature of Reality April 8: Emptiness of the Body: Letting Go of Attachment *April 15: No Class: Celebration of Buddha’s Enlightenment Day- Special Prayers* April 22: Emptiness of the Self: The Key to True Freedom April 29: The Power of Spiritual Guidance **REGISTRATION** Standard: $12 \| Financial Hardship $6 \| Free for [Members](https://meditation-dc.org/membership/) [Pre-Register Here](https://meditation-dc.org/lamrim-meditation/) Each class is available by drop in. Everyone is welcome to attend, no previous experience is required. **LOCATION** Kadampa Meditation Center DC 1200 Canal St\. SW \| Washington\, DC 20024 **Metro Stop:** Waterfront or Navy Yard

We have taken more than a year off due to the pandemic. Our old favorite cafe in Bethesda is now closed so lets try the Panera Bread down the street on Wisconsin Ave. Please come and join us for some double deck pinochle, assuming (of course) that you have been inoculated for Covid-19 and you are willing to follow the current guidelines of the business on mask wearing. We will start the first game about 6 pm. We play 300 point games so the second game will likely start just after 7 pm, and we will rotate tables if we have more than 4 players. Card players of all level are welcome. We play primarily 4-handed double deck Pinochle but other variants are have been tried on occasion. Games go from 6 pm until Panera closes, which currently is 9 pm. This event is scheduled to repeat every other Wednesday night. Please don't wait until the last minute to RSVP.

Tuesdays\, Wednesdays \| 12:15pm\-12:35pm Take an afternoon break and intentionally cultivate inner peace, mindfulness and concentration, No previous experience is necessary. No special clothing is required. Just show up! Each 20 minute session will include: * A short introduction to the meditation for the day * A guided meditation to relax and refresh body and mind * Advice for the day ahead No experience is necessary. Everyone is welcome! **REGISTRATION** Standard: $5 \| Financial Hardship Available \| Free for [Members](https://meditation-dc.org/membership/) [Pre-Register Here](https://meditation-dc.org/quick-class-registration/#top) Each class is available by drop in. Everyone is welcome to attend, no previous experience is required. **LOCATION** Kadampa Meditation Center DC 1200 Canal St\. SW \| Washington\, DC 20024 **Metro Stop:** Waterfront or Navy Yard

The Northern Virginia Ethical Society will be hosting a Stream Clean-up at the home of Jim Ball and Amy Anderson in Falls Church, VA on March 22 at 11:00 AM. This residential area is rich with deer, foxes, hawks, blue birds, and eastern box turtles, and many native plants. Adults and children are welcome. Parents must accompany any child under the age of 12. Water proof footwear is a must. You will receive the address once you register. Lunch will be included. Register at our website [NoVES.org](https://noves.org/event-6613869) and you will be sent the address of the clean-up.

Giambattista Vico (1668-1744) stands as one of the great dissenters from the Cartesian worldview that dominated eighteenth-century Europe, and as one of the first sociologists and philosophers of history and class struggle. While Descartes and his followers sought to extend the geometric method to all domains of knowledge, Vico insisted that human affairs require a fundamentally different approach. He grounded this approach not in mathematical certainty but in rhetoric, imagination, and historical understanding. Vico spent most of his life in Naples, working as a professor of rhetoric. From this position, he watched Cartesian science sweep the academies, displacing the ancient humanistic traditions he cherished. His early works defended the value of rhetoric and imagination against those who saw clarity and distinctness as the sole criteria of knowledge. Vico was developing the idea that cultivated imagination is its own, independently valid way of knowing. But his mature philosophy went further, expanding his concept of imaginative or poetic knowing into a comprehensive science of history that has been seen as fundamentally at odds with the Enlightenment project. At the heart of Vico's thought lies the *verum-factum* principle: we can truly know only what we ourselves have made. Since God made the natural world, only God can fully comprehend it. But the civil world—the world of laws, customs, languages, and institutions—is a human creation, and therefore deeply knowable by human minds. This insight reverses the effect of the mathematical philosophy, which had seemed to make physics knowable and human affairs unaccountable. In his great work, the *New Science*, Vico develops his insight into a comprehensive philosophy of history. He argues that all nations pass through an ideal eternal history—a cycle of three ages (gods, heroes, and humans) driven not by rational deliberation but by providence working through human passions and necessities. The earliest humans, Vico claims, did not think in concepts but in what he calls "imaginative universals"—mythic figures like Jove and Juno that organized experience through poetry and ritual rather than analysis. Understanding this "poetic wisdom" requires overcoming what Vico calls the "conceit of scholars": our tendency to assume that ancient peoples thought as we do or did not think at all. **Readings** *[The New Science](https://www.amazon.com/Science-Penguin-Classics-Giambattista-Vico/dp/0140435697?tag=ustxtaddt-20&asin=0140435697&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1)*, Third Edition (1744) * Book 1, parts 2-4 * Book 2, Introduction, parts 1-4, Part 5 paragraphs 582-661 * Book 4 * Book 5 * Conclusion **Further Readings** *[The New Science](https://www.amazon.com/Science-Penguin-Classics-Giambattista-Vico/dp/0140435697?tag=ustxtaddt-20&asin=0140435697&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1)*, Third Edition (1744) * Idea of the work (for an idiosyncratic precis of Vico's project in the form of an image * Book 3 (for an application of Vico's critical method to the Homeric corpus) [Vico, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy](https://iep.utm.edu/vico/) [Vico, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/vico/)

Join us for brunch and Freethinker discussion! We will meet at Caboose Commons at 11am (in the upstairs area of the building) to munch and chat. We'll organize into a handful of separate tables with 6-8 people at each table. Each person will write down ideas, drop 'em in a hat, and each group will pick 'em out at random to determine our topic(s). We'd love to mix the "louder" and "quieter" voices so that everyone has a chance to weigh in—we want to hear all perspectives! :) We're a very friendly bunch, and welcome participation from newbies and old-bies alike! Come with your best ideas—anything goes. Feel free to post interesting articles, videos or thoughts in the comments section beforehand to inspire our discussion. PLEASE NOTE: We have placed a cap on the event, so if your plans change, please adjust your RSVP, so someone on the Wait List can attend.

**A Divine Connection to Nature (Free Event)** **Who is responsible for taking care of the earth?** **We talk about the environment in many contexts – politically, economically, socially and morally – but do we also have a spiritual responsibility to the world around us?** **Concern over the changing climate continues, with more and more questions about what it means for our future. And there doesn’t seem to be a consensus on what to do about it, leaving us overwhelmed and confused. But what if the way we’re treating the planet is really a symptom of something else? Is it actually an indication of how we’re treating ourselves and each other? How might our actions change if we wanted the best for others just as much as we do for ourselves? Can a spiritual lens help us see the way forward to having healthy and growing societies and also a healthy environment?** **Come join a different kind of conversation – one that welcomes every perspective in a search for the truths that unite us all – as we discuss the spiritual perspectives offered by the Bahá’í Teachings on the earth and its natural environment. Join us for a lively discussion as we explore how we can work together for the betterment of us all.** **“Consider how all created things eloquently testify to the revelation of that inner Light within them.” – Bahá’í Teachings** **\*\*\*This event is free and open to all regardless of background or belief. Donations will not be accepted.**

Right off of I-270, easily accessible. Join us for a fun and friendly pickup soccer game. Games will be held at Walter Johnson High School turf field every Saturday. Look for a red tote bag. When coming to the field. If the field is closed for the day. Backup location will be Stratton Local Park, a 5 min drive from the HS. We will group up and split into two teams to play. Preferably bring a light and dark shirt. To make organizing teams easier. No harsh language No harsh fouls Come to play for fun

**Join us in Falls Church for conversations that go beyond small talk.** Higher Grounds – Falls Church is where this growing network of gatherings began: a space for thoughtful, authentic dialogue about what matters most. Whether we’re exploring the nature of happiness, the challenges and possibilities of midlife, spirituality, culture, capitalism, parenting, or the role of art and travel in a meaningful life, every conversation is shaped by the people in the room. There’s no set leader or rigid agenda—just a shared commitment to listen as much as we speak. We start with brief introductions focused on what makes you *you* (not your LinkedIn bio), then dive straight into whatever is on people’s minds. The direction of each meetup emerges organically, making every event unique. MANDATORY: PLEASE REVIEW OUR COMMUNITY GUIDELINES IN THE GROUP DESCRIPTION. Everyone is expected to engage in respectful conversations and listen deeply as well as share. We have a zero tolerance policy of sexual harassment and hate speech. Come ready to share, reflect, and connect with others in Falls Church who are also seeking deeper conversations. **Suggested Questions: Life Stages & Transitions** 1. What did you think you'd have figured out by now that you're still completely winging? 2. When did you realize your parents' advice was for a world that no longer exists? 3. What are you finally old enough to stop pretending to care about? **Suggested Questions: Identity After the Roles** 1. Who are you when nobody needs anything from you? 2. What dream keeps resurfacing even though the "practical" time has passed? 3. How do you handle having the freedom you always said you wanted? **Suggested Questions: AI & Being Human** 1. What human experiences will AI never truly understand? 2. If machines handled all your have-to's, what would you actually do? 3. What becomes more precious as everything becomes automated? **Suggested Questions: Belief & Meaning** 1. What certainties have you given up, and what rushed in to fill that space? 2. How has knowing someone who died changed how you live? 3. What do you believe now that would shock your younger self? **Suggested Questions: The Modern Psyche** 1. What anxiety do you carry that previous generations didn't have? 2. Which of your survival strategies are you ready to retire? 3. What uncomfortable truth about happiness did it take you years to accept? **Suggested Questions: Work & Purpose** 1. When did you stop believing that your job would complete you? 2. What would you do for work if money and status weren't factors? 3. How has your definition of "making it" changed over the years? **Suggested Questions: Relationships & Connection** 1. What relationship dynamic do you keep recreating, and why? 2. When did you realize your parents were just people trying their best? 3. What kind of loneliness doesn't go away even when you're with others? **Suggested Questions: Time & Mortality** 1. What are you running out of time to say or do? 2. How differently do you spend your time knowing it's finite? 3. What will you regret not trying, even if you fail? **Suggested Questions: Society & Culture** 1. What social convention do you follow even though it makes no sense? 2. Which generation do you understand least, and what might you be missing? 3. What aspect of how we live now will seem insane in 20 years? **Suggested Questions: Personal Philosophy** 1. What rule for life did you create after learning something the hard way? 2. When did you stop believing that everyone else had it figured out 3. What paradox about life have you learned to live with?

* **Feeling overwhelmed or stressed?** * **Looking for inner peace, clarity, or spiritual connection?** * **Curious about spirituality—but not sure where to begin?** **HU, a sacred sound, an ancient mantra, can uplift anyone regardless of background or faith. Join us online or in-person and experience the Sound of Soul through Spiritual Meditation, followed by quiet contemplation, and a spiritual conversation. Participate at your comfort level, with no obligation.** **Some of the Benefits of the HU:** * **Inner peace and calm** * **Healing of the heart** * **Release from fear** * **Inner Guidance** * **Spiritual self-discovery and growth** **Two easy ways to participate!** 1. **In-person at: Central Maryland ECK Center,** **1738 Elton Rd., Suite 104, Silver Spring, MD 20903.** 2. **On Zoom at: [THE SOUND OF SOUL EVENT](https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89597899210?pwd=reKwx1zJtFNylttx8N4LKs3zYJN7a3.1)** **Meeting ID: 895 9789 9210** **Passcode: 978196** **Phone: 301-715-8592** **For more information:** **Call or text: (301) 439-2120** **Email: [MEC@eckankarmaryland.org](mailto:MEC@eckankarmaryland.org)** **Presented by the MD & DC Satsang Societies, Inc., Chartered Affiliates of Eckankar.** **Copyright © 2026 ECKANKAR. The terms ECKANKAR, ECK, EK, MAHANTA, SOUL TRAVEL, and VAIRAGI, among others, are trademarks of ECKANKAR, PO Box 2000, Chanhassen, MN 55317-2000 U.S.A.**

The Humanist Monthly Program is our longest running event and still a community favorite. In the old days it used to be called "Going to HCCO" and we still like to think of it as our flagship event. Food and drinks will be provided at the event. Feel free to show up a little bit early to hang out and talk. Going forward our meetings will be hybrid. You can meet us in-person or attend online Join Zoom Meeting [https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87836564953?pwd=4Mi57ElZkDIFlb1fnlNwOJ0NiOK4tP.1](https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87836564953?pwd=4Mi57ElZkDIFlb1fnlNwOJ0NiOK4tP.1) Meeting ID: 878 3656 4953 Passcode: 760812 One tap mobile +19292056099,,87836564953#,,,,\*760812# US (New York) +13017158592,,87836564953#,,,,\*760812# US (Washington DC) The formal presentation will start at noon

The Humanist Monthly Program is our longest running event and still a community favorite. In the old days it used to be called "Going to HCCO" and we still like to think of it as our flagship event. Food and drinks will be provided at the event. Feel free to show up a little bit early to hang out and talk. Going forward our meetings will be hybrid. You can meet us in-person or attend online Join Zoom Meeting [https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87836564953?pwd=4Mi57ElZkDIFlb1fnlNwOJ0NiOK4tP.1](https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87836564953?pwd=4Mi57ElZkDIFlb1fnlNwOJ0NiOK4tP.1) Meeting ID: 878 3656 4953 Passcode: 760812 One tap mobile +19292056099,,87836564953#,,,,\*760812# US (New York) +13017158592,,87836564953#,,,,\*760812# US (Washington DC) The formal presentation will start at noon

So this month's prompt is more general. I think we can all agree that we are living in "unique" times that require coping skills. I think that one role and/or purpose of philosophy is to help us deal with our daily lives and our "unique" times. So, let's share our feelings and thoughts about which philosopher/philosophy we turn to in order to deal with our crazy events. Who/what helps you stay focused in your daily life and helps you sleep at night. I find that Stoicism with a little philosophical pessimism mixed in goes a long way in helping me deal with what I see as very destructive, fearful and mean spirited public policies at both the state and federal levels. Hope to see you on March 28th!

Private Group. Closed to the Public Knowing ourselves and understanding our abilities is the first step toward wielding our gifts with control and accuracy. In subsequent classes we will verify and hone our talents with activities and discussion. These are hands-on workshops and participation is expected. The goal of our series will be to develop expertise in areas of particular interest such as mediumship, channeling, divination, healing and, etc.. Our ultimate directions will be determined by class members as we evolve. I look forward to sharing and discovering with you. - Cynthia

ASH is Atheists, Skeptics and Humanists of First Unitarian Universalists of Columbus Ohio TBD Snacks are usually available, and you are welcome to bringing something to share!

Main Library Join us for a welcoming evening of reflection, gentle music, and meaningful conversation. We’ll begin with a short grounding moment, followed by a brief reading from spiritual or philosophical traditions, and an open reflection circle where participants can share (or simply listen). Libera Animae is an interfaith community focused on inner growth, creativity, and authentic connection. This first gathering is a simple introduction to the spirit of the group and a chance to meet others seeking deeper meaning and community. All backgrounds are welcome.