Poetry

​The **BuildHers+ Mentorship Initiative Graduation** marks the culmination of the first-ever mentorship program of AWS User Group BuildHers+ Philippines — a milestone celebration honoring the growth, achievements, and resilience of our mentors and mentees. ​This event brings together the entire BuildHers+ community to recognize the meaningful connections formed, the skills developed, and the breakthroughs made throughout the mentorship journey. Over the past months, mentors generously shared their expertise while mentees embraced opportunities for learning, confidence-building, and career advancement. ​The graduation program will feature the awarding of certificates, reflections from mentors and mentees, special messages from community leaders, and a final gathering to celebrate the success of completing this transformative journey. ​As we conclude the inaugural run of the BuildHers+ Mentorship Initiative, we honor not only the accomplishments of every participant but also the collective commitment to uplifting women and LGBTQIA+ individuals in the tech industry. ​Together, we celebrate how far we’ve come — and the brighter, more inclusive future we are building. 🎓👩🏻‍💻

Let’s hang out and journal together, trade stationary and stickers, and have a good time! Please note, we do not have a reservation, so we will do our best to find some good spots when we get there.

Hey Poetry Lovers! This group is on a roll. Here’s the gist: We meet at the **Capital One Café in Chinatown** from **12pm - 2pm** every other week. For enrichment, we start by reading and reflecting on a **“published poem”**, suggested by someone in the group. No advance preparation is necessary. But feel free to check out some of the poems we’ve read [here](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSyE_wCLQCPHRrKmN5F9tOIeeRQUZESxjRXGVBoCF2uU8Gm0_d0uECiCBCQXEy6ksxfsBOhtRIOpW3T/pubhtml?gid=0&single=true&widget=true&headers=false%22%3E%3C/iframe%3E). Or submit suggestions for future meetings [here](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSexGc2Z2Kp6bZW0D3_hfJ7NUUkfNHf7TXX-43FglCeBd9EF2Q/viewform?usp=send_form). Next, we **share our work and offer feedback**. Depending on attendance, everyone gets \~10 minutes to use as they like. (No need to share, though; you’re welcome to come even if you prefer just to listen.) We maintain a **Discord server** to help share our work and communicate outside our bi-weekly meet-ups. If you haven’t used Discord before, take a moment to download it and create an account before arriving. When we meet you on Saturday, we will add you to our server, the “DC Poetry Workshop”, and can help you navigate the app if you have questions. Finally, if you plan on sharing a poem, consider how you will do so. Some options include: * Print 5-10 copies to distribute in person * Take and share screenshots in the Discord chat. * Copy the poem into a google doc, change sharing settings to “anyone with link”, and copy the google doc link into the Discord chat. Most importantly, we’re excited to meet you! Catch you on Saturday, Diego / Ian / Cayden / Nate / Otasha / Lia / An

(2024) by Christof Koch, 288 pages [Psychology] • Hardcover • Kindle • Audiobook • Library: https://fcplcat.fairfaxcounty.gov/search/title.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.1&pos=1&cn=613100 Check the How To Find Us section for Zoom Link **(Remember, the Zoom Link is different each month, do not bookmark)** ### Review "A wonderful book."―Sam Harris, Making Sense with Sam Harris “a fun introduction to a number of debates… Mr. Koch’s book provokes questions… and counterarguments, but that’s what gives it life.” ―The Wall Street Journal “Easily the most current, thorough, and helpful exploration of consciousness available. Koch’s light, simple, yet authoritative writing style will appeal to general audiences as well as scientists and researchers. An essential, highly recommended purchase.”―Library Journal “magisterial… charming, sometimes beautiful, and almost always illuminating” ―Science Magazine “an impressive and sometimes exuberant work, showcasing decades of [Koch’s] research”―New Scientist “Koch’s adept use of analogies and entertaining anecdotes — complete with his own near-death experience and psychedelic drug trips — make the book a compelling and surprisingly light read.” ―Science News “undeniably compelling… a smoothly written must-read for anyone interested in a detailed introduction to the relationship between the brain, consciousness, and transformative experiences” ―Ars Technica “Expertly weaving in personal experience with science that few, if any, can speak more authoritatively about, Koch leads us on an amazing journey of consciousness—from birth to death. Deeply personal and infinitely digestible, Then I Am Myself the World is a remarkable must read for anyone interested in knowing their mind.”―Judson Brewer MD, PhD, New York Times–bestselling author of Unwinding Anxiety “Koch’s latest book brilliantly navigates the intricate landscape of our mind and our brain, offering insightful perspectives on the nature of conscious experiences, both ordinary as well as extraordinary ones.”―Hartmut Neven, founder and lead of Google’s quantum AI lab “Then I Am Myself the World is the new record of note for the scientific understanding of consciousness. This is an elegant tableau, a travelogue of subjective experience grounded in the latest neuroscience and philosophy traversing religion, science, and a life dedicated to the biggest questions. Filled with crystalline prose, lucid explanation, and revelatory honesty, this book will continue to be read centuries from now.”―Patrick House, author of Nineteen Ways of Looking at Consciousness “What would happen if a hardcore neuroscientist, with encyclopedic knowledge and four decades of experience in his field, were personally confronted with transformative mystical experiences carrying inevitable metaphysical implications? What would happen if the neuroscientist in question were open-minded, humble, but remained rigorously grounded in reason, evidence, and his hard-earned understanding of how consciousness relates to brain structures and function? What would he, the most preeminent professional of his generation, make of his extraordinary experiences? And what if, in addition, the neuroscientist was a modern renaissance man versed in physics, philosophy, the arts, the classics, and could pluck irresistibly evocative metaphors from the Western literary and artistic canon as if leisurely picking apples in early fall? This is what you will find in this treasured book, a whirlwind ride of insight after insight—so many they can’t possibly be all documented in footnotes—that will surprise and delight you from the get-go. ‘Primacy goes to consciousness, not to the objective world,’ he boldly states already on page two, in a prelude of things to come. ‘Everything else follows from there, including the realist assumption of the existence of objects, out ‘there,’ independent of my experiencing them.’ The book embodies the ever-evolving wisdom of a man whose intellectual prowess is only matched by his intellectual honesty. And this man, in the seventh decade of his scintillatingly productive life, has a lifetime of learning to share with you.”―Bernardo Kastrup, executive director, Essentia Foundation “Koch’s first book was entitled The Quest for Consciousness. And such has been Koch’s life, an adventurer’s pursuit of a distant goal, undeterred by the prevailing winds. The reader will learn where this quest has led and, like the author, will be enriched by it. Koch, one of the most accomplished scientists of our time, a mind singularly open to learning and changing, here opens his soul, revealing his vast, scintillating appreciation of nature in all its forms. It is a touching, profound book. Which is as it should be, since consciousness touches everything and is everything we touch.”―Giulio Tononi, University of Wisconsin-Madison ### About the Author Christof Koch is a neuroscientist at the Allen Institute and at the Tiny Blue Dot Foundation, the former president of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, and a former professor at the California Institute of Technology. Author of four previous titles, Koch writes regularly for a range of media, including Scientific American. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Greetings Soul Warriors! Let us gather at **2:30 PM** at the Trust Conference Room at the C Burr Artz Public Library and get our poetry on! This meeting will consist of chatting, reading, and reflecting. All styles of poetry are welcome, from conventional, to the slightly insane, to the completely bonkers. All levels of engagement with the poetical arts are welcome - don't be inhibited if you don't have experience in poetry, I myself am secretly a total neophyte with no credentials that would be relevant to leading a poetry group. Whether you bring something to share or just your winning personality, I hope to see you there!

Looking for a quiet, focused space to write? Come be part of our writing group—a dedicated time just for writing alongside fellow writers in your community. No readings, no critiques, no peer-review—just you writing within a supportive atmosphere. 7pm-7:15pm: Find your seat, set up your writing station, quick intro's. 7:15pm-8:45 pm: An hour and a half of silent focused writing. 8:45pm-9pm: Quick debrief, pack and head home. Can't wait to see you! :)

Greetings Soul Warriors! Let us gather at **2:30 PM** at the Trust Conference Room at the C Burr Artz Public Library and get our poetry on! This meeting will consist of chatting, reading, and reflecting. All styles of poetry are welcome, from conventional, to the slightly insane, to the completely bonkers. All levels of engagement with the poetical arts are welcome - don't be inhibited if you don't have experience in poetry, I myself am secretly a total neophyte with no credentials that would be relevant to leading a poetry group. Whether you bring something to share or just your winning personality, I hope to see you there!

Let’s meet again to share the joy of fountain pens with each other! Bring your spare inks to swap samples, if you enjoy that sort of thing. Journaling and art is welcome as well. See you there!