Spoken Word

Join us for conversations that go beyond small talk, diving into topics like the shifting nature of spirituality, the challenges and joys of midlife transitions, the impact of culture and capitalism, and the search for meaning in art, travel, and daily life. Our gatherings are about genuine, thought-provoking dialogue, with no set leader or strict agenda—just an open space to share ideas, perspectives, and experiences that matter to us. The direction of the discussion is shaped by everyone who shows up, making each event unique and enriching. Come ready to share, reflect, and connect with others who are also seeking deeper conversations. Let the conversation flow from topic to topic. Optional questions are listed below.

Optional 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?

Optional Questions: Identity After the Roles

4. Who are you when nobody needs anything from you?
5. What dream keeps resurfacing even though the "practical" time has passed?
6. How do you handle having the freedom you always said you wanted?

Optional Questions: AI & Being Human

7. What human experiences will AI never truly understand?
8. If machines handled all your have-to's, what would you actually do?
9. What becomes more precious as everything becomes automated?

Optional Questions: Belief & Meaning

10. What certainties have you given up, and what rushed in to fill that space?
11. How has knowing someone who died changed how you live?
12. What do you believe now that would shock your younger self?

Optional Questions: The Modern Psyche

13. What anxiety do you carry that previous generations didn't have?
14. Which of your survival strategies are you ready to retire?
15. What uncomfortable truth about happiness did it take you years to accept?

Optional Questions: Work & Purpose

16. When did you stop believing that your job would complete you?
17. What would you do for work if money and status weren't factors?
18. How has your definition of "making it" changed over the years?

Optional Questions: Relationships & Connection

19. What relationship dynamic do you keep recreating, and why?
20. When did you realize your parents were just people trying their best?
21. What kind of loneliness doesn't go away even when you're with others?

Optional Questions: Time & Mortality

22. What are you running out of time to say or do?
23. How differently do you spend your time knowing it's finite?
24. What will you regret not trying, even if you fail?

Optional Questions: Society & Culture

25. What social convention do you follow even though it makes no sense?
26. Which generation do you understand least, and what might you be missing?
27. What aspect of how we live now will seem insane in 20 years?

Optional Questions: Personal Philosophy

28. What rule for life did you create after learning something the hard way?
29. When did you stop believing that everyone else had it figured out
30. What paradox about life have you learned to live with?

**Sunday Texas Hold-Em Tournament** **Cost: no cost to play** **Time: 11:30am- 1:30 pm** **Starting Stack: 30,000 chips** **Bonuses: 5,000 for arriving early, 5,000 for new players, 5,000 for registering online** **Blind structure** **Level 1: 100 chips / 200 chips** **Level 2: 200 chips / 400 chips** **Level 3: 300 chips / 600 chips** **Level 4: 400 chips / 800 chips** **Level 5: 500 chips / 1,000 chips** **10 minute break / chip up** **Level 6: 1,000 chips / 2,000 chips** **Level 7: 2,000 chips / 4,000 chips** **Level 8: 3,000 chips / 6,000 chips** **chip up** **Level 9: 5,000 chips / 10,000 chips** **Level 10: 10,000 chips / 20,000 chips** **Level 11: 15,000 chips / 30,000 chips** **Level 12: 25,000 chips / 50,000 chips** **chip up** **Level 13: 50,000 chips / 100,000 chips** **Level 14: 100,000 chips / 200,000 chips** **Level 15: 200,000 chips / 4000,000 chips**

Enjoy a vibrant and engaging dance experience that blends global rhythms and diverse styles. This class combines elements of Bollywood, Latin, and other dance forms into a smooth, easy-to-follow flow designed to get you moving and grooving at a comfortable pace. Perfect for all levels, this class focuses on fun, relaxation, and connection with the music while giving you a gentle workout. Join us for a refreshing and enjoyable dance session! (Please wear socks). Friday, April 10th from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Held at the Brahma Kumaris Meditation Museum – Virginia, 14020 Thunderbolt Place, Suite 200, Chantilly, VA. **FREE EVENT - Registration Required at [https://shorturl.at/KJoXv](https://shorturl.at/KJoXv)** *Support the Brahma Kumaris Meditation Museum with your tax-deductible* *contribution.* **[CONTRIBUTE](https://www.meditationmuseum.org/contribute.html "https://www.meditationmuseum.org/contribute.html")**

**Sunday Texas Hold-Em Tournament** **Cost: No cost** **Time: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm** **Starting Stack: 30,000 chips** **Bonuses: 5,000 for arriving early, 5,000 for new players, 5,000 for registering online** **Blind structure** **Level 1: 100 chips / 200 chips** **Level 2: 200 chips / 400 chips** **Level 3: 300 chips / 600 chips** **Level 4: 400 chips / 800 chips** **Level 5: 500 chips / 1,000 chips** **10 minute break / chip up** **Level 6: 1,000 chips / 2,000 chips** **Level 7: 2,000 chips / 4,000 chips** **Level 8: 3,000 chips / 6,000 chips** **chip up** **Level 9: 5,000 chips / 10,000 chips** **Level 10: 10,000 chips / 20,000 chips** **Level 11: 15,000 chips / 30,000 chips** **Level 12: 25,000 chips / 50,000 chips** **chip up** **Level 13: 50,000 chips / 100,000 chips** **Level 14: 100,000 chips / 200,000 chips** **Level 15: 200,000 chips / 4000,000 chips**

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Can Artificial Intelligence ‘See’?”** A look at how humans and artificial intelligence systems interpret the visual world in fundamentally different ways, with Arryn Robbins, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Richmond and cognitive scientist who researches visual attention, perception, and category learning. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-can-AI-see](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-can-AI-see) .] Artificial intelligence can now identify faces, categorize objects, describe scenes, and outperform humans on certain visual tasks. But does AI actually “see” the world the way that people do? Or does it arrive at correct answers using representations that differ markedly from human perception? Join Arryn Robbins of the University of Richmond for a fascinating exploration of how humans and AI construct meaning from visual information and a look at comparisons between human perception and AI that reveal just how dynamic and context-dependent our own visual systems really are. Dr. Robbins, who previously has given excellent Profs and Pints talks on flaws and biases in human visual perception, will draw from research in cognitive science, visual perception, and AI vision systems. She’ll explain how human perception is not merely a simple recording of the world, but an active process shaped by expectations, context, goals, and recent experience. You’ll learn how humans form flexible mental representations that allow us to recognize objects across changing environments and conditions, and why those representations continuously adapt as we interact with the world. Many AI systems, by contrast, learn visual categories through statistical patterns in data. They can produce impressive results, but sometimes they also produce strange and unexpected failures, and sometimes they classify images in ways that seem strange to us. Dr. Robbins will discuss what these differences reveal about the nature of perception itself, and why the mismatch between human and AI representations matters for technologies like self-driving cars, medical imaging, facial recognition, and automated surveillance. Important for anyone trying to understand the rapidly growing role of AI in daily life, this talk will explore one of the biggest questions in cognitive science and artificial intelligence: What does it actually mean to “see” and understand the world? (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: “Eye Farm” by Nevit Dilmen (Wikimedia Commons).

✨**Soul Awakening Collective: A Gathering for the Newly Awakened & Those Seeking Soul-Aligned Community**✨ **When:** June 20, 9:30AM-12:00PM **Where:** Light Works Spiritual Wellness Center 9321 West St Manassas, VA 20110 **Cost:** $25 Venmo:@destinationtarot Pre-Registration Required to ensure an intimate, supportive group. Hosted by Tina of Destination Tarot & Jennie of Ascending Dawn Doula Welcome to the Soul Awakening Collective - a community circle designed for those in the early stages of their awakening, the energetically sensitive, the spiritually curious, and anyone longing for a safe, heart-centered space to connect. No prior Soul Awakening Workshop experience is needed - simply curiosity, openness, and the desire to grow in community. **Who This Is For** ✨Newly awakened individuals ✨Those experiencing energetic or intuitive shifts ✨People craving connection and community ✨Spiritual seekers unsure where to start ✨Anyone wanting grounded, compassionate support on the path **What This Circle Offers** Each gathering blends grounding, connection, and supportive guidance: ✨A gentle energy check-in ✨A short guided grounding or breathwork practice ✨A tool, teaching, or technique (ex: energy hygiene, intuition development, tarot basics, boundaries, signs & synchronicities) ✨Open circle sharing (no pressure to speak) ✨Time for questions, validation, and shared wisdom **A community of people who truly “get it”** This isn’t a class - it’s a collective. A place where the early stages of awakening feel less overwhelming and a lot more supported. Together, Tina and Jennie create a grounded, compassionate space for exploration, connection, and soulful growth. **Meet Tina Neuhaus!!** Tina is a tarot reader and owner of Destination Tarot. Tina takes a therapeutic approach to readings, working with the shadow aspects of the self. She finds this to be essential for growth and empowerment, creating deeper self-awareness to engage with life from a place of strength. To learn more about Tina, or to schedule a session, please visit her on Facebook at www.fb.com/destinationtarot **Meet Jennie Sikes!!** Jennie is a corporate recruiter turned intuitive guide and “friendly neighborhood doula for every stage of life except the delivery room.” She is certified in C.Ht., Soul Empowering Hypnosis (SEH), and Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique (QHHT), blending hypnosis, energy work, tarot, and astrology to help people shift from autopilot into authentic alignment. Warm, grounded, and insightful, Jennie creates a safe space for soul-level guidance and transformation. To learn more about Jennie, or to schedule a session, please visit https://heal.me/jenniesikes

\*\*\*Meditation in our sacred space will begin promptly at 7:15 pm. Please refrain from entering after 7:15 pm. Additionally, space is limited to the first 35 attendees. Your RSVP here does not guarantee you a spot and tickets are available first come, first served.\*\*\* Donations are appreciated, and the average donation is generally $20, but all are welcome regardless of means! A portion of all proceeds will help fund the Crystal Ashram non-profit project where the Human Activation School of Expanded Consciousness will be located. A unique musical experience called a "Sound Bath" Sound bath! What's that? According to sonic specialist Monte Hansen from Annapolis MD, "A sound bath is an immersion in sound frequency that cleans your soul." Leave your rubber ducky at home. Bring your blankey instead, for this super relaxing immersion! According to cutting-edge doctors from Harvard, some of the deepest most profound healing in the body are accomplished with sound frequency. That's old news though. A 2nd century stone relief in the Himalayan mountains shows us that Buddha and his entourage knew this before Christ walked the earth. The stone relief depicts the Buddha and his buddies playing ancient Tibetan singing bowls. A sound frequency specialist from the [Human Activation School](https://humanactivation.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d88b4fea1b0f4ceaeb58f0e82&id=d6674b4603&e=465ba11f44), will be playing several of these rare Singing Bowls, some of which are over 200 years old. A magical alchemy of 7-12 different metals rings in the past, present, and future for our relaxing enchantment. Even modern doctors are using these old metal bowls for healing, and they are not practicing Buddhists! As a matter of fact, modern Buddhists no longer use the bowls in their practice. Come experience these gifts from the past in this NON-religious practice of our present. Come be rejuvenated or just captivated by this unique musical performance. Bring your pillows, blankeys, and yoga mats and snuggle into the comfort of the tranquil sounds. Feel free to sit, lay, or even stand! ***Did You Know?*** Singing bowls invite the mind and body into a tranquil state of being in which remarkable healing can occur, events that are unexplainable from a conventional biomedical perspective” *Music and the Meditative Mind: Toward the Science of the Ineffable*[Source](https://humanactivation.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d88b4fea1b0f4ceaeb58f0e82&id=9222616fc4&e=465ba11f44) "The sound bath meditation provides a nurturing space to connect and grow spiritually. The group atmosphere is welcoming and fun, and the meditation work is soothing and enriching. Loved it!"**-Cara** 7:00 pm - Meditation Reception\*\*\*Meditation in our sacred space will begin promptly at 7:15 pm. Please refrain from entering after 7:15 pm.\*\*\* 7:15 - Doors Close & Meditation Begins 8:15 - Meditation Ends, Followed by Community Reflection \*Please be respectful of Sticks and Stones employees and their instructions upon entering and exiting the space for the meditation\* A portion of all proceeds will help fund the [Crystal Ashram](https://humanactivation.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d88b4fea1b0f4ceaeb58f0e82&id=11664c3011&e=465ba11f44) non-profit project where the [Human Activation](https://humanactivation.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d88b4fea1b0f4ceaeb58f0e82&id=41699e76d8&e=465ba11f44) School of Expanded Consciousness will be located. Community sharing and engagement following after the meditation Questions? Please email [robert@humanactivation.com](http://mailto:robert@humanactivation.com/) or visit [crystalashram.com](https://humanactivation.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d88b4fea1b0f4ceaeb58f0e82&id=7d92f9b8f7&e=465ba11f44).