Universalism

We are meeting at the Multifaith Centre every Friday evening from 7 pm to 9 pm in the Third Floor Quiet room, for periods of 8-fold moving exercise, sitting meditation, and walking meditation in the tradition of Chan Buddhism. The session ends with a tea-sharing and discussion. All are welcome and this event is free of charge!

Join us the 4th Friday of every month at 6 pm at Cherie Bistro for another Toronto Humanist & Atheist get-together! Catch up with friends and welcome new people.

**Docker on AWS: Containerize Your App & Deploy Serverlessly with ECS Fargate** **2-Hour Hands-On In-Person Workshop** **Details** **📅 Date:** Friday, March 27, 2026 **🕕 Time:** 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM **📍 Location:** J-102, Sheridan College Trafalgar Campus 1430 Trafalgar Road, Oakville, Ontario L6H 2L1, Canada **Open to Sheridan College students only** **Free to attend \| Limited spots — RSVP now\!** **AWS Cloud Club swag for all participants!** 🚀 Ready to level up from VMs and basic serverless to modern containerization on AWS? **In this fast-paced, practical session you'll:** * Containerize a simple Python Flask web app using Docker * Push your container image to **Amazon ECR** (Elastic Container Registry) * Deploy it serverlessly to **Amazon ECS with Fargate** — no servers to manage! * Get a live public URL of your running app in the cloud **By the end of the evening, you'll have:** * A fully containerized app running publicly on AWS * Hands-on experience with **Docker + ECR + ECS Fargate** * A cool demo you can share on LinkedIn or add to your portfolio **Workshop Flow (≈2 hours)** * Docker basics: Build & run locally * Push to ECR * Deploy to ECS Fargate with an Application Load Balancer * Cleanup, showcase your live apps, Q&A & celebration! We'll work step-by-step with live demos, pair programming, and real-time troubleshooting. **Bring your laptop** — we'll provide starter code via a public GitHub repo right at the start. **Open to anyone who wants to learn!** See you there — let's containerize and deploy!

### Thursday Evening Discussion Group **In\-Person \| Starts at 8:00 PM \(Doors open at 7:30 PM\) \| Drop\-In** **Starting material:** *[Network of Thought](https://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/Network-of-Thought-Krishnamurti-ebook.pdf)* by **Jiddu Krishnamurti** This weekly discussion group offers a reflective and open space to explore themes of **mysticism, spirituality, and inner transformation** through selected writings and talks by Jiddu Krishnamurti, Annie Besant, Alice Bailey, and other thinkers whose work invites deep **inquiry into consciousness, freedom, truth,** and **the nature of self-understanding**. Rather than promoting a particular belief system, the group emphasizes **shared reading, thoughtful reflection, and respectful dialogue**. Participants are welcome to engage at their own pace—whether through listening, contemplation, or open discussion. While there is **no requirement to commit before attending**, *the intention is to gradually build a group of participants who are interested in returning regularly and engaging sincerely with the material* and the group process. Newcomers are very welcome, and those who feel drawn to ongoing study are warmly encouraged to continue attending. This is a **drop-in group**, and no prior background or preparation is required. **All are welcome.** Come as you are, reflect together, and take part in a spirit of openness and mutual respect.

Welcome ! OM Chanting is a group practice that uses the transformational power of OM to activate the self-healing potential of participants, promote inner peace and purify the environment. OM Chanting is a free practice, however, donations are welcome to help cover the rent of the studio. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- EVENT DETAILS: address: 283 Spadina Avenue; 3rd floor. ( SE corner of Spadina and Dundas). We will start at 6:30 pm. Please plan to arrive 5-10 minutes earlier. We will be sitting on chairs; you can also sit on the floor if you prefer. You are encouraged to bring a bottle of water. Looking forward to seeing you ! For more information about Om Chanting, please visit: [https://bhaktimarga.org/yoga-meditation/](https://bhaktimarga.org/yoga-meditation/) Much Love, Veda Cell: 416-845-9375

Join Lawrence, your top hatted host, for a tour of Women Art and Culture in the Annex Area. Our adventure begins at 1 pm at the Women's Art Association of Canada, where we will see two exhibits. https://womensartofcanada.ca/ 23 Prince Arthur Ave, Toronto, ON M5R 1B2 All Around the World by Selda Twzol. Reflections on leaving, arriving, and finding yourself inbetween. https://womensartofcanada.ca/calendar/all-around-the-world/ Women's Voices curated by Elaine Fleck. Celebrating the breadth of women's artistic contributions while fostering connection between artists and audiences. https://womensartofcanada.ca/calendar/womens-voices-second-show/ Then we will walk to the Italian Cultural Institute to see Pink: Women in Italian Graphic Design. https://iictoronto.esteri.it/it/ 496 Huron St, Toronto, ON M5R 2R3 Our next stop is Alliance Francis Toronto gallery to see Reflection by Metis artist Nathalie Bertin. https://www.alliance-francaise.ca/en/ 24 Spadina Rd, Toronto, ON M5R 2S7 Then we will walk to the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto for a guided tour of their site. https://www.ncct.on.ca/ 16 Spadina Rd, Toronto, ON M5R 2S7 Our last stop is our Social at the Madison Pub, where we will enjoy some refreshments and good conversation. https://madisonavenuepub.com/ 14 Madison Ave, Toronto, ON M5R 2S1 If you want to explore some more post event. There is some totems in the Spadina subway station. Ukrainian Museum https://www.umcontario.com/ BMV Books https://www.bmvbooks.com/

**Join us for Dinner and Stations of the Cross** Friday March 27, 2026 @ 6PM St. Patrick's Hall, 139 McCaul St $5 for Dinner Stations of the Cross to Follow in the Church **Register Now** - [https://bit.ly/Ignite-DinnerandStationsoftheCross](https://buy.stripe.com/aFa00jbu8eDy08wes7a7C0k) *All young adults are welcome!* Looking forward to seeing everyone! Spots are still open - invite a friend!

Toronto AI agent hackathon: build, deploy, transact on-chain. Mac Mini prizes, internships, mentorship, free food. Apply to get in: 👉 [https://luma.com/2bntw4vd](https://luma.com/2bntw4vd "https://luma.com/2bntw4vd") **The Vision** ​We’re bringing the **OpenClaw** and **GOAT Network** stack to Toronto students for a one-day vibe coding sprint with the support of the **CanCode** grant program from the **Government of Canada**. Your mission: Build an AI agent that doesn’t just talk but owns its identity, manages its own wallet and transact with other agents. Leverage Bitcoin’s 99.9% uptime and BitVM2’s mathematical security (viat GOAT) to build agents that handle high-value transactions with zero human oversight. ​ **🏆 The Stakes** ​We aren't giving out stickers and socks. We are giving away **Mac Minis** to the top-performing teams to power your future AI development. We also are looking for the bright minds to join our team and our partner projects as an interns to continue developing what they started at the hackathon. We also will be mentoring and helping those who would like to develop their hackathon projects further as their own startups. ​ **🚀 The Challenge** ​Deploy a "vibe-coded" autonomous agent using: * ​**OpenClaw:** The brain and framework. * ​**ERC-8004:** On-chain identity (Give your agent a soul). * ​**x402:** Agent-native payments (Let your agent get paid). * ​**GOAT Network:** The infrastructure for the agent economy. ​ **📅 Event Details** * ​**When:** 10 am \- 9 pm \|\| March 28 2026 * ​**Where:** George Brown College (exact address will be posted). * ​**Who:** University students * ​**Perks:** Fuel provided (Pizza, snacks, and drinks) + On-site technical mentorship. ### ​ ### **🏆Prizes** * ​Mac Mini + internship opportunities + entrepreneurship opportunities ​​ 🍕 **Food & drinks are on us** — snacks and drinks will be served throughout the event. ​​ **11:00 AM** — 🚀 Doors close. Hacking begins! ​​**11:00 – 11:15 AM** — Welcome & Kickoff ​​ ## ​**​🔧 Workshop Track** ​​11:15 – 11:45 AM \| Why we are building this ​​​11:50 AM – 12:10 PM \| ClawUp \+ Messengers \(Telegram\, Slack\) ​1​​2:10 – 13:20 PM \| Build on GOAT Testnet 3 — Deploy an 8004 & x402 ​​Go from zero to a live, AI-powered transaction on GOAT Testnet fully vibe-coded. ​​**Getting started:** 1. ​​Register on 8004 — link and instructions in the onboarding checklist 2. ​​Confirm your registration on the [GOAT Dashboard](https://goat-dashboard.vercel.app/?utm_source=luma "https://goat-dashboard.vercel.app/?utm_source=luma") 3. ​​Use the Telegram Bot Onboarder to set up your x402 merchant payment 4. ​​Watch live demos and join the idea brainstorming session ## ​**​🛟 Support** ​​You're never stuck. Here's who to reach out to: * ​​**GOAT support team** is available in person and across both Telegram channels throughout the event ## ​**​🔨 13:20 – 6:30 PM \| Build Time** ​​Heads down. Ship something real. Prizes announced mid-session — stay tuned. ## ​**​🏁 6:30 PM \| Submissions Close** ## ​**​🎤 6:40 PM \| Demo Time** ​​Each team gets **3 minutes** to present. Everyone who wants to demo gets a slot — just keep it sharp! ​​After demos, judges have **15 minutes** to deliberate, then prizes are announced live. 🏆 ​​Physical prizes handed out on-site. ## ​**​** ## **🎉 Socials** ​​We'll wrap up with open hang time — meet the builders, the GOAT team, and the community. Stick around! ### **🔥Let's get started!** Apply to get in: 👉 [https://luma.com/2bntw4vd](https://luma.com/2bntw4vd "https://luma.com/2bntw4vd")

**SUBSCRIBE TO [THE MAILING LIST](https://torontorationality.beehiiv.com/). EVENTS ARE NO LONGER POSTED HERE.** ​Arguing about important things doesn’t usually lead to people changing their mind. Double Crux is a technique for making discussions more productive and understanding the actual reasoning of those who disagree with us. Sometimes it even helps to better understand the foundations of your own beliefs. Together, we'll learn about [Double Crux](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ya59PtGeYnCG25eWn/double-crux-in-a-box), and then break into pairs with someone we disagree with to practice finding out why our views are different and what might change our minds. ## Location Enter the Mars Atrium via University Avenue entrance. We'll meet at the food court in the basement. I'll be wearing a bright neon yellow jacket. ## Detailed Directions to the Food Court Enter from University Avenue and walk east until you see escalators. Take the escalators down. The food court is to the east of the escalators. If you are lost/confused, ask a security guard to direct you to the food court. [This event is cross-posted from LessWrong.](https://www.lesswrong.com/events/wuMwSJJEKZHfccoRs/toronto-acx-meetups-everywhere-spring-2025)

We experience and produce humour through the memes we spread and the inside jokes we share with friends, and we even use it when facing life’s most difficult challenges. Humour can help us bond, cope, and rethink our assumptions. But what makes something funny? Why do humour and the laughter it produces play an important role in our culture? One answer is that humour can help break down barriers and bring people together. As Victor Borge once said, “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” Humour can also be used as a social instrument to call out misconduct. How is it that humour fosters community and division at the same time? At our next Curiosity Café, we’ll revisit the silly and serious sides of humour, and explore the role that humour plays in how we connect, think and live. Together, we’ll discuss questions like: * How does humour help break down barriers and bring people together? * Does humour have a unique ability to help us find common ground and strengthen relationships? * On the other hand, does how we respond to humour have implications for our social capital? * How might jokes or humour be perceived by people from different backgrounds? * Is it possible to create humour that’s both provocative and inclusive? * How might humour give us a sense of control? * What is or should be the role of comedy in society? Join us for a lively and collaborative conversation moderated by Erik Ai and Dylan Michels, where we’ll explore questions, new and old, and (hopefully) share plenty of laughs along the way. **Space is limited!** **Please obtain a “Pay-What-You-Can” ticket from Curiosity Café at [this link (click here)](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/curiosity-cafe-revisited-no-laughing-matter-humour-in-our-lives-tickets-1985339500891) to attend this event. You need a ticket to be admitted.** See the above link for more info about tickets and other options including a limited number of free tickets. Come and hang out with us, grab food, and read through our handout from 6-6:30pm. Our structured discussion will run from 6:30-8:30pm with a 10 minute break in the middle. Hope to see you there! ***__________________________________________________________________*** This event is brought to you by [Being and Becoming](https://beingnbecoming.org/), a Toronto based non-profit. We aim to create community around exploring everyday concepts and experiences so that we may live more intentional, thoughtful, and meaningful lives. We use philosophy as a tool with which we can come to a richer understanding of the world around us. By offering activities, spaces, and other opportunities for conversation and co-exploration, we hope to enable the meeting and fusion of individuals and their ideas. Everyone is welcome, regardless of background: indeed, we believe the journey is best undertaken alongside explorers from a variety of disciplines, cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. Find out more about Being and Becoming [here](https://beingnbecoming.org/). About the Curiosity Café Series: For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to join us at our Curiosity Cafés and are wondering what they’re all about: every two weeks, we invite members of our community to come out to the Madison Avenue Pub to engage in a collaborative exploration of our chosen topic. Through these events, we aim to build our community of people who like to think deeply about life’s big questions, and provide each other with some philosophical tools to dig deeper into whatever it is we are most curious about.

This group is to discuss and practice our French . Everu

We will have a Meet and Greet at The Cherie Bistro on 538 Church Street in Toronto from 2 – 4 pm. The Cherie Bistro is a fully accessible restaurant. Please understand that each guest will be paying for a meal and/or beverages of their choice. Since the reservation is for six people, please RSVP to give us an idea of how many people will be attending this event.

Join your community of fellow Intuitives and MBTI nerds for a casual evening of engaging conversation. We get together every second Sunday – with a mix of regulars and new friends. There is no fee to attend, though we ask that you support the venue by ordering something to eat or drink. **Feel free to contact event host B. via Facebook/Meetup messenger, or text/call 416-712-8635 for directions**. About the venue: The Pint Public House Nearest Subway: Union Station Map / Directions: https://maps.app.goo.gl/G5GfXDSQXeifJ5ot5 We make an effort to find pubs that are quiet and introvert friendly, with a section to ourselves. We make no effort to muffle our extroverts, but should they get out of hand, our resident INTJ will use their death stare, to pull them back in line.

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. We will be hearing from Becca Powell, Director of Advocacy and Outreach at Unchained At Last, an organization whose mission is dedication to ending forced and child marriage in the United States through direct services and systems change. Unchained At Last's mission clearly meshes and addresses several of our Humanist Ten Commitments. Becca will educate us about an issue many of us may not be familiar with--but should be. 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

Bienvenue! Columbus French Conversation group invites you to our Saturday morning French conversation club. Expect a casual and welcoming atmosphere in which to learn french! I will bring my laptop so we can look up new vocabulary as needed! The venue is a beautiful French restaurant so you can really get into the zone :)

Jimmy V's Grill & Pub in Grandview Heights. You are responsible for your own meal/drinks. We usually don't have any agenda other than eat, drink and talk. :) If the weather is nice we will be on the back patio, otherwise we are in the cigar room. This group has been meeting every Tuesday evening for over a decade. Many attendees do not RSVP on meetup. Please don't let the small number here discourage you. Anyone/everyone is welcome to come. We'd love to have you join us. COTA bus #5 comes to W. 5th and Wyandotte Rd. And it's a minute walk to the restaurant. Did you know that there are atheists everywhere?!?! You may not know it, but we are! We're in your schools, diners, police force, military, government, and some are even still in your churches! So come and join us and meet other local atheists, along with agnostics, heathens, humanists, skeptics, and anyone else who's 'hell bound'! Vision: a Central Ohio that accepts atheism as a viable alternative in all areas of public and private life. Mission: grow, support, and provide community for atheists in Central Ohio. Social meetings held most Tuesdays at a local pub/restaurant at 7:00 PM (and often into the wee hours). Attendees call themselves agnostics, skeptics, humanists, non-theists, deists or even theists. All attendees are welcome but should support our vision. Atheists of Columbus (AoC) is part of Omnipresent Atheists (OA). AoC members are invited to join this OA meetup and/or OA Facebook group ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/omnipresentatheists/ ) but are free to continue conversations on the AoC Facebook group ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/columbusatheists/ ). AoC was founded in 2012 as a networking, social group for Central Ohio area humanists, skeptics, atheists, agnostics, nonbelievers, freethinkers, and the curious. It was a member of Columbus CoR and held weekly meetings, mostly on Fridays, for several years but then operated as an online only group for some time. In November 2018, Omnipresent Atheists (OA), a group that routinely meets on Tuesdays, invited AoC to merge. Omnipresent Atheists is a member of the Columbus Coalition of Reason (ColumbusCoR.org). Omnipresent Atheists is a member of the Columbus Coalition of Reason ( http://www.ColumbusCoR.org ). Omnipresent Atheists endorses the mission of the Secular Coalition for America ( http://secular.org ). This group has been meeting every Tuesday evening for over a decade. Many attendees do not RSVP on meetup. Please don't let the small number here discourage you. Anyone/everyone is welcome to come. We'd love to have you join us.

This is a free, in-person meeting on the subject of betrayals, losses and how to get over them so you can build lasting relationships. Burdened by a stressful relationship? Unhealthy relationships can trigger feelings of anger, despair or self-doubt. They can create dwindling spirals of fights and seeking to make-up, or trying to “pin the blame” on someone or something. If you don’t find the RIGHT reasons, or select the correct sources of the problem, the problem can just get worse and worse. Whether in love or personal ties, with friends or at work, our life really IS affected by the quality of our relationships. Good ones can promote pleasure and survival while less optimum ones can lead to annoyance, anger, self-doubt, stress, or even affect our health and ability to survive well. Whether you are suffering from a divorce, or a painful break-up, don’t know who to trust (or who to CHOOSE) as a partner, friend, boss or employee - the anxiety of relationship troubles can really make a mess of things. Maybe you’ve suffered a betrayal, or are dealing with hostility or criticalness or invalidation. Dwindling relationships can involve destructive behavior, where we hurt those we love, or start succumbing to self-destructive thoughts, attitudes or behaviors that spiral out of control and affect much more than our immediate relationship. Past losses in love or life can affect how we act or react to new people and situations and hold us back from even starting to create new, possibly great relationships! How can one get back onto a saner course of action? Come to our Meetup, where we can introduce you to some of the knowledge, tools and techniques of the breakthroughs in the field of the mind that we can apply to this ever important area of life: human relationships! Break free from self imposed limitations Here we will discuss: • How to “erase” the trauma of past hurts and betrayals so that one isn’t always repeating past mistakes. • Why and how do the negative emotions of others affect you? • Why is my partner withdrawing and what can I do about it? • Why do we sometimes feel compelled to hurt the ones we love? • Fights & arguments - what's really behind them? • What underlies “corrosive criticism” or the need to invalidate self or others? • How one can stably change one’s outlook on life so they can affect positive change? • Where do compulsive destructive behaviors come from and what can be done about them? • How to form closer bonds & keep growing the relationships with the people you care about? • How to enhance one’s own ability to survive and create positive healthy relationships whether in love, family & friendships or in work, business or one’s career? Relationships can be hard and life itself IS challenging. Why not arm yourself with the knowledge and breakthroughs that have been made about the mind, mental reactions & interpersonal relationships, so that one has better awareness and control over themselves and life in general. Learn where painful experiences are “stored” and how they can unknowingly affect us. You will also find out how one can “erase” those past painful experiences so that one is free to move forward without being tripped up by the past. Learn too, about what can lead some people to become “toxic” personalities and how to identify those traits in others so you won’t be tripped up trusting the wrong person. Our free Meet-ups occur in a safe environment where one can learn, without fear of judgment or criticism, and without the recommendation of harmful mental techniques or therapies, just how YOU can get yourself onto a happier & more successful path: in love & in life. We look forward to having you join us! This class is sponsored by the Dianetics & Scientology Life Improvement Center of Central Ohio.

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!

If you are interested in selecting investment choices for your 401(k) or other workplace savings plan, minimizing your income tax liability, or identifying the most effective investments for your brokerage account, we are the group for you. We are a local chapter of Bogleheads**®**, whose investment strategy can be found here: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bogleheads%C2%AE_investment_philosophy Or you can peruse the Boglehead forum here: https://www.bogleheads.org/index.php I look forward to seeing you there. Mark Vonder Haar

We will have our certified mediums available and you can receive 3 10-minute readings for $20. To keep you safe, we will be following all CDC and Health Dept. guidelines at our psychic fair today. Sitters and readers required to wear a mask. We will maintain a minimum of 6 foot physical distance during readings. Please, if you can, bring your own portable chair to use during your readings. Please note that we are at our wonderful new home at Unity of Columbus, 4211 Maize Road, Columbus, OH