Category: News

Our event starts at 11 am on the 2nd floor of the Koffler House (569 Spadina Avenue).  Social 10:45am – 11:00am.

This Sunday our featured speaker will be Daryl Landau, Executive Director of Conserve Democracy.  Following a brief overview of the threats to, and core elements of, democracy, Daryl will open things up for discussion:  What threats do you see, and what would you be prepared to do to conserve our democracy?

Motivated by the recent decline in civilization, Daryl left a consulting career in human rights, governance in private companies, etc., to work on a pro-democracy non-profit.  His qualifications include a B.A. in politics, two unfinished Ph.D.’s, and an addiction to news.  He has belonged to and voted for all the major parties at some point in his life.  Look for Conserve Democracy (@ServeDemocracy) on Twitter and Facebook.  

Our musical guest will be Philosofree.  Phil ‘Philosofree’ Cheney is a Corporate, Executive and Life coach, author, consultant, poet and writer, composer, musician and builder.  He has published 8 books and 5 CDs of original music.  You can check out his music at https://philosofree.bandcamp.com and https://www.philcheney.com/music/.

Clive Hannah will do the Community Moment.  The Community Moment is a chance for one of our own to share their journey, thoughts about life, or something personal about themselves.  It could be light and silly or it could be emotionally heavy.  Either way, you’ll learn more about a valued person in our community.  Interested in presenting your own Community Moment?  Contact Tania at 416oasis@gmail.com.

You can RSVP for this on our Meetup page at:
https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/jdmkqqyzhbjc/

Our event starts at 11 am on the 2nd floor of the Koffler House (569 Spadina Avenue).  Social 10:45am – 11:00am.

This Sunday our featured speaker will be Michelle Edmunds.  Michelle was taken from her mother in Toronto when she was two years-old and placed in foster care. She was eventually adopted by her foster family. At age five she was told by her adoptive parents that she had another mother and father that were not able to raise her. From that day forward the search began for her identity and parents. Michelle wanted to know who they were, why did they “give her away” and why wasn’t she allowed to know their names – what was the big secret?

Over the past two decades, Michelle has been involved in adoption reform, has researched child welfare legislation and adoption practices in both Canada and the US. She created and produced a podcast (2006) where she interviewed adoptees and mothers and fathers who had lost children to adoption, politicians and celebrities, such as playwright, Edward Albee and rapper, Daryl McDaniels from RUN-DMC (both were adopted). 

Michelle will talk about why adoptees search, the myths surrounding privacy for mothers and why truth and identity matters to all humans. 

Our musical guest will be Lauren Barnett (https://www.laurenbarnettmusic.com/), a passionate singer, songwriter and saxophonist.  Her compositions reflect the different moods, sounds and meditative escapes that can be found in the city of Toronto.  Lauren is the lead singer, saxophonist and songwriter for the band The Heavyset Quartet.  She also participates in the community-based band Street Brass which brings music of the Americas to Toronto parks and streets.

​Dan Cooperstock will do the Community Moment.  The Community Moment is a chance for one of our own to share their journey, thoughts about life, or something personal about themselves.  It could be light and silly or it could be emotionally heavy.  Either way, you’ll learn more about a valued person in our community.  Interested in presenting your own Community Moment?  Contact Tania at 416oasis@gmail.com.

You can RSVP for this on our Meetup page at:
https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/jdmkqqyzhbqb/

Our event starts at 11 am on the 2nd floor of the Koffler House (569 Spadina Avenue).  Social 10:45am – 11:00am.

Epistemological responsibility is the moral imperative to only believe what is true. Our featured speaker, Scott Jeffries, will argue that having a high regard for evidence should be considered an essential component to living a moral life. If your beliefs are based on willful ignorance such as denying the benefits of vaccination, holding an uninformed political view, or neglecting to question a long-standing tradition, then your personal beliefs are irresponsible regardless of whether or not they’re explicitly being acted upon…  And that irresponsibility will always influence others and move society in the wrong direction.

Scott Jeffries is a baptized Anglican, practicing skeptic, and popular science addict. He co-founded the (still active) Freethinkers, Skeptics, and Atheists @ York student club and currently moderates a monthly Meetup group called Toronto’s Cafe Skeptique with over fifty active members. In his professional life, Scott works as a media & data director for a marketing agency specialized in helping nonprofits.

Our musical guests will be Nathan Smith and Emilyn Stam.  They are multi-instrumentalists drawn together by their shared love of québecois fiddle and piano music.  Traditions swirl and intermingle in their music.  Their combined influences and pursuits include bluegrass, old-time, Scandinavian, and Western European traditional music. Both are prolific tune composers with a flair for combining a creative spark with the timeless vitality of traditional songs and tunes.  

Originally from Smithers, BC, Emilyn has toured and recorded extensively in North America and Europe with The Lemon Bucket Orkestra, accordionist Filipo Gambetta, and clarinettist John Williams, among others.  www.emilynstam.com

A North Bay native, Nathan plays and sings with his bluegrass band The Barrel Boys in addition to appearing with The Double Cuts, Ivan Rosenberg, and The O’Pears. www.nathansmithmusic.net

You can RSVP for this on our Meetup page at:
https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/jdmkqqyzhbhb/

Our event starts at 11 am on the 2nd floor of the Koffler House (569 Spadina Avenue).  Social 10:45am – 11:00am.

On their website the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) defines trauma as follows:

“Trauma is the lasting emotional response that often results from living through a distressing event. Experiencing a traumatic event can harm a person’s sense of safety, sense of self, and ability to regulate emotions and navigate relationships. Long after the traumatic event occurs, people with trauma can often feel shame, helplessness, powerlessness and intense fear.” (https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/trauma)

This week our featured speaker, Laval Martin, will lead us in an interactive session, discussing the nature of trauma, how to recognize its presence, and how to heal and move forward.  Specifically, Laval will address the following:

– Triggers and what to do if you’re triggered during this talk

– What counts as trauma?

– Recognizing the trauma response

– The four stages of moving through trauma

– Tools and strategies for healing

– When to seek professional therapy

– Does the trauma go away?

– Acceptance and (maybe) forgiveness

Laval Martin is a corporate trainer on topics such as resilience, conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, and mindfulness (lavalmartinconsulting.com). Holding a Master of Social Work degree, he also provides psychotherapy and relationship therapy (wisemindtoronto.com). Additionally, Laval has practiced various martial arts and self-defence systems since 2001, with a focus on avoiding and de-escalating conflict. He is a full-instructor of Senshido and also holds an instructor certification with Safe International. Laval has been hosting a monthly Beer and Philosophy Night for over four years.

Our guest musician will be Erik Bleich. Erik is a singer songwriter whose genre blends classic pop and folk traditions – from street lit lullabies to manic, rambling romps.  It’s his vision of folk music for the Internet Age.  Check out his website: www.erikbleich.com

This week Lola Bradford will do the Community Moment.  The Community Moment is a chance for one of our own to share their journey, thoughts about life, or something personal about themselves.  It could be light and silly or it could be emotionally heavy.  Either way, you’ll learn more about a valued person in our community.  Interested in presenting your own Community Moment?  Contact Tania at 416oasis@gmail.com.

You can RSVP for this on our Meetup page at:
https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/260749110/

Our event starts at 11 am on the 2nd floor of the Koffler House (569 Spadina Avenue).  Social 10:45am – 11:00am.

This Sunday, join us for a discussion with Citizenship Judge Hardish K. Dhaliwal about the meaning of citizenship to new Canadians and to Canada. 

Judge Dhaliwal is responsible for making decisions on some citizenship applications, presiding over citizenship ceremonies and administering the oath of citizenship to new citizens. She is also active in promoting Canadian citizenship and civic values in communities across the Greater Toronto Area.

Judge Dhaliwal is Indian by birth, English by upbringing, and Canadian by choice. For many new Canadians issues of citizenship and belonging are equally as complicated.

Hardish has BSc (Hons) in Mathematics, an MA in Gender in Development, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. She has over 25 years of senior management experience in the private, public and NGO sectors, and has worked throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and Central America. Outside of work, Hardish is a writer, Quaker and Sikh.

Our featured musician will be William Beauvais.  William has been teaching, performing, composing, recording and improvising music for over 40 years.  He has written music for harpist Sharlene Wallace, baritone Doug MacNaughton and has performed with New Music Concerts, and Tapestry New Opera.  His seven CD’s are available through the Canadian music centre.  For more information, check out these links: https://www.musiccentre.ca/node/37581/biography  https://soundcloud.com/william-beauvais 

Michael Dorman will do our Community Moment this week.

The Community Moment is a chance for one of our own to share their journey, thoughts about life, or something personal about themselves.  It could be light and silly or it could be emotionally heavy.  Either way, you’ll learn more about a valued person in our community.  Interested in presenting your own Community Moment?  Contact Tania at 416oasis@gmail.com.

You can RSVP for this on our Meetup page at:
https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/jdmkqqyzgbsb/

Our event starts at 11 am on the 2nd floor of the Koffler House (569 Spadina Avenue).  Social 10:45am – 11:00am.

This week our featured speaker, Clive Hannah, will give a talk inspired by Gary Chapman’s book: The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts.  Clive has been addicted to personal development for the last eight years. Gary Chapman’s book is one of the frameworks that he has woven into his life.  A quote from the book: “Everyone experiences love differently, and it’s easy to miss the mark when it comes to showing that you care”. Clive will share his personal experiences with the love languages and how he discovered how to communicate and express himself deeply.

Clive is a Toronto Oasis volunteer, helping us manage our social media.  He has a passion for community building. In addition to his volunteer work with Oasis, Clive is also an organizer for Toronto Adults with ADHD Support Group and volunteers his time with a men’s group called MasterHeart.  Professionally, Clive is an independent software consultant in IT Enterprise Architecture.  All of Clive’s work, professional and volunteer, is driven by wanting to create his life rather than letting life happen to him.

Clive’s talk is an example of one of our own sharing their learning and growth with our community.  If you have a topic you have learned about and could give a talk on, contact Tania at 416oasis@gmail.com.

Our featured musical performers this week will be the Pickle Juice Trio.  The Pickle Juice Trio is an exploration of rhythms, structures and melodies derived from the blues, gospel and swing music of the mid twentieth century by three musicians who crossed paths in the improvised music scene in Toronto.  All three are eclectic musicians who’s playing and influences cross many stylistic boundaries. Arnd Jurgensen has been a prominent contributor to TO’s improvised music scene but here channels influences ranging from Blind Blake to Blood Ulmer with his finger style guitar playing and baritone vocals. Percussionist Bob Vespaziani, also a staple on the improvised music scene, demonstrates his years of experience backing numerous blues and swing performers around town. Last but not least, violinist Cassie Norton with influences from folk, jazz and classical music adds an unusual and intriguing colour to this not so conventional blues trio.  Cassie Norton is also the music director of Toronto Oasis.

You can RSVP for this on our Meetup page at:
https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/jdmkqqyzgbkb/

Our event starts at 11 am on the 2nd floor of the Koffler House (569 Spadina Avenue).  Social 10:45am – 11:00am.

We know the Periodic Table of elements from secondary school. There are more than 120 elements and more than 500 isotopes discovered to date. But how did this variety of chemical elements originally come to existence? Where does all the material surrounding us on Earth and constituting our bodies come from?

This Sunday, our featured speaker, Alex Beckmann, will answer these intriguing questions.  Alex studied physics in Kharkiv, Ukraine.  He did his Ph.D. in theoretical physics in String and Field Theory.  He taught physics at the high school and university levels in Ukraine and Germany.  Alex currently lives and works in Toronto.  His work in Toronto is in IT and involves cloud-based solutions for markets, investment banking, and research.  However, Alex still enjoys teaching physics!

Our featured musical act will be Amateur.   Amateur is the solo project of self-teaching composer and accordionist Tristan Murphy. The title “Amateur” is both a disclaimer and a mission statement: a confession that he does not have formal training or a depth of cultural lore, nor any professional comprehension of genre or trend; but also a reminder that it does not matter, and that music can be made in a way that is explorative, for its own enjoyment, without striving toward or against existing musical standards.  A link to Amateur: https://www.facebook.com/anamateur/

For this week’s Community Moment we will have Clive Hannah.

The Community Moment is a chance for one of our own to share their journey, thoughts about life, or something personal about themselves.  It could be light and silly or it could be emotionally heavy.  Either way, you’ll learn more about a valued person in our community.  Interested in presenting your own Community Moment?  Contact Tania at 416oasis@gmail.com.

You can RSVP for this on our Meetup page at:
https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/jdmkqqyzfbpc/

Our event starts at 11 am on the 2nd floor of the Koffler House (569 Spadina Avenue).  Come early for coffee and conversation at 10:30 am.

Most of us grow up with a limited idea of relationship structures and choices. Monogamy has been the one and only option for a large majority of people, but there’s so much more available to us. This week, we’ll chat about Consensual Non-Monogamy and the variety of structures available to us. We’ll take a look at how to access them, how to do so ethically and honestly, and how to communicate our desires effectively to potential partners.

Our featured speaker on this topic will be Eva Dusome of Polyamory Toronto.  Eva Dusomeis an equity advocate and actively supports concepts surrounding restorative justice and mediation in complex situations. Her education platform, both professionally and community based, focuses on non-monogamy, kink, gender, sexual freedom of expression, essential mental health support, access to basic self-care routines, (dis)ability and accommodation supports, all with a trauma-informed lens. She actively challenges the current dominant paradigm of westernized society by offering perspectives that are rare and unorthodox.  Eva works with individuals and groups to help them uncover and dive deeper into their desires, their boundaries and to push their own limitations when ready and able.

Eva is a mixed race two-spirited queer, genderfluid femme. She experiences her relationships as a solo-relationship anarchist. She lives on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe known as the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.  Pronouns: Fluid // They / Them / She / Her / 

Our featured musician will be George Crotty, a crossover cellist from Toronto, Canada. He traces his family lineage to County Clare, Ireland, and a family of Jewish musicians descended from Felix Mendelssohn. A recent graduate of the Berklee College of Music, Crotty aspires to forge a new linguistic path for the cello by integrating elements from Eastern, Celtic, and Jazz traditions. His website is www.georgecrotty.com.

For this week’s Community Moment we will have Margrit Eichler.

The Community Moment is a chance for one of our own to share their journey, thoughts about life, or something personal about themselves.  It could be light and silly or it could be emotionally heavy.  Either way, you’ll learn more about a valued person in our community.  Interested in presenting your own Community Moment?  Contact Tania at 416oasis@gmail.com.

You can RSVP for this on our Meetup page at:
https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/jdmkqqyzfbgc/

NOTE: This week we will be heading to our Toronto Oasis Book Club for 1:30pm right after our gathering. Register on meetup at: https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/259126149/