Category: News

This will be an online Zoom meeting. Please RSVP on our Meetup for this event to get access to the Zoom link. See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions

Our program will run from 11 am to 12:30 pm. You can join in to the meeting starting at 10:30 am for our open social. After 12:30 pm, we will also have an extended discussion for half an hour, until 1:00 pm.

We’ll be watching and then discussing YouTube videos talking about the psychological phenomenon known as imposter syndrome. The videos were selected by and will be introduced by Tania Akon, a Toronto Oasis organizer.

Please RSVP on meetup to get access to the Zoom link:

https://www.meetup.com/toronto-oasis/events/pkdtctyfchbkb/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

This will be an online Zoom meeting. Please RSVP on our Meetup for this event to get access to the Zoom link. See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions

Our program will run from 11 am to 12:30 pm. You can join in to the meeting starting at 10:30 am for our open social. After 12:30 pm, we will also have an extended discussion for half an hour, until 1:00 pm.

Our featured speaker will be Michael Dorman. Michael received his B.A. in Anthropology from McMaster University in Hamilton and trained to teach English and French as second languages. He taught French to grades 7 & 8 for a couple of years. Michael has a passion for languages with French and Spanish being his second and third languages and he has studied Italian, German, Portuguese, and Latin. Michael is interested in language in general.

Please RSVP on meetup to get access to the Zoom link:

https://www.meetup.com/toronto-oasis/events/pkdtctyfcgbnc/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

This meeting has been recorded: GMT20230430-153340_Recording_1920x1080_EDITED.mp4

This will be an online Zoom meeting. Please RSVP on our Meetup for this event to get access to the Zoom link. See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions

Our program will run from 11 am to 12:30 pm. You can join in to the meeting starting at 10:30 am for our open social. After 12:30 pm, we will also have an extended discussion for half an hour, until 1:00 pm.

Why is there so much excitement and hand-wringing about new generative AI bots like ChatGPT or MidJourney?

In the first part of his talk, our featured speaker, Dr. Mark Reimers, will outline how generative artificial intelligence works, how these systems have passed the long-standing Turing test for human-like intelligence and whether these systems can really be regarded as sentient.

The second part of the talk will discuss how these A.I. systems are likely to improve over the next decades and how they seem likely to up-end our politics, education systems, and human relations.

Dr. Mark Reimers is a quantitative neuroscientist at Michigan State University working to elucidate how dynamic brain activities give rise to mental functions and moods. Dr. Reimers has worked at the US National Institutes of Health, the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics.

We will also be having live music this Sunday! Our featured musicians will be David Woodhead and Terry Jones.

Please RSVP on meetup to get access to the Zoom link:

https://www.meetup.com/toronto-oasis/events/pkdtctyfcgbfc/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

This meeting has been recorded: GMT20230423-152719_Recording_1920x1080.mp4

This will be an online Zoom meeting. Please RSVP on our Meetup for this event to get access to the Zoom link. See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions

Our program will run from 11 am to 12:30 pm. You can join in to the meeting starting at 10:30 am for our open social. After 12:30 pm, we will also have an extended discussion for half an hour, until 1:00 pm.

We will be watching and then discussing a TED talk by Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist and professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The topic & video, about rethinking and unlearning, will be introduced by Tania Akon, a Toronto Oasis organizer.

Please RSVP on meetup to get access to the Zoom link:

https://www.meetup.com/toronto-oasis/events/pkdtctyfcgbmb/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

This will be an online Zoom meeting. Please RSVP on our Meetup for this event to get access to the Zoom link. See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions

Our program will run from 11 am to 12:30 pm. You can join in to the meeting starting at 10:30 am for our open social. After 12:30 pm, we will also have an extended discussion for half an hour, until 1:00 pm.

Prism Sanctuary (PS) is an organization that describes itself as an LGBTQIA+ focused religion. They do not worship a deity. They celebrate the love of one’s true self and identity as a human being. This Sunday, our featured speaker will be Dr. Sam Costa, Ph.D., secretary on the board of PS, to tell us more.

Here’s a link to Dr. Sam Costa’s blog:
Dr. Sam Costa’s Space – Just your average genderfluid, chronically ill scholar writing about their experiences. (wordpress.com)

We will also be having live music this Sunday! Our featured musicians will be Kira Braun and William Beauvais.

William Beauvais 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. You can check out William Beauvais’ music here: https://soundcloud.com/william-beauvais

Kira Braun, Soprano, has been singing her whole life, but only recently began as a professional soloist about 5 years ago. Since that time, she has performed in numerous operas, concert appearances, and solo recitals. With pianist Peter Krochak, Ms. Braun has released 6 CDs of Classical Art Song. In the past two years, Kira has performed at Koerner Hall, and most recently appeared at Roy Thomson Hall with the Salvation Army for their Christmas spectacular. Her specialty is Oratorio, as she loves to sing the classic works of Handel, Haydn, Mozart and more. Her website is: https://kirabraunsoprano.com/home

Please RSVP on meetup to get access to the Zoom link:

https://www.meetup.com/toronto-oasis/events/pkdtctyfcgbmb/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

This meeting has been recorded: GMT20230409-152736_Recording_1920x1080.mp4

This will be an online Zoom meeting. Please RSVP on our Meetup for this event to get access to the Zoom link. See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions

Our program will run from 11 am to 12:30 pm. You can join in to the meeting starting at 10:30 am for our open social. After 12:30 pm, we will also have an extended discussion for half an hour, until 1:00 pm.

We will be watching and then discussing a TEDx talk by author, public speaker and professor: Dr. Cheryl Thompson. The topic and video will be introduced by Tania Akon, a Toronto Oasis organizer.

Please RSVP on meetup to get access to the Zoom link:

https://www.meetup.com/toronto-oasis/events/pkdtctyfcgbdb/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

This will be an online Zoom meeting. Please RSVP on our Meetup for this event to get access to the Zoom link. See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions

Our program will run from 11 am to 12:30 pm. You can join in to the meeting starting at 10:30 am for our open social. After 12:30 pm, we will also have an extended discussion for half an hour, until 1:00 pm.

How can we deceive ourselves? This talk and discussion will explore some of the ways in which we can fool ourselves and why. Some motives are familiar to folk psychology, such as avoiding a hard truth or tough decision. Others mystify most people: we may lie to ourselves to better persuade others. Our featured speaker, Dr. Mark Reimers, will propose that self-deception is integral to our consciousness: our evolved intense attunement to other people induces us to fool ourselves in order to belong.

Dr. Mark Reimers is a quantitative neuroscientist at Michigan State University working to elucidate how dynamic brain activities give rise to mental functions and moods. Dr. Reimers has worked at the US National Institutes of Health, the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics.

This Sunday, we will also be having live music! Our featured musician will be cellist, George Crotty: https://www.georgecrotty.com/

Please RSVP on meetup to get access to the Zoom link:

https://www.meetup.com/toronto-oasis/events/pkdtctyfcfbjc/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

This meeting has been recorded: GMT20230326-152503_Recording_1920x1080.mp4

The guest musician was also recorded above.

This will be an online Zoom meeting. Please RSVP on our Meetup for this event to get access to the Zoom link. See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions

Our program will run from 11 am to 12:30 pm. You can join in to the meeting starting at 10:30 am for our open social. After 12:30 pm, we will also have an extended discussion for half an hour, until 1:00 pm.

Our featured speaker, Steve Ironside, will be here to discuss the mission of Recovering from Religion (RfR), the principles they stick to and how the organization benefits those leaving the fold.

Steve Ironside is a native Ontarian who grew up in Muskoka, but now lives in the Windsor area. He started volunteering with RfR in May 2020 and is now the RfR Ambassador Director.

Please RSVP on meetup to get access to the Zoom link:

https://www.meetup.com/toronto-oasis/events/qgcgctyfcfbzb/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

This meeting has been recorded: GMT20230319-153327_Recording_1920x1080_EDITED.mp4

This will be an online Zoom meeting. Please RSVP on our Meetup for this event to get access to the Zoom link. See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions

Our program will run from 11 am to 12:30 pm. You can join in to the meeting starting at 10:45 am for our open social. After 12:30 pm, we will also have an extended discussion for half an hour, until 1:00 pm.

We will be watching and then discussing two YouTube videos that explain the Karen trope. The videos were selected by Tania Akon, a Toronto Oasis organizer. Tania will also briefly introduce the topic and videos.

In addition, this Sunday we will be having live music! Our guest musicians will be The Roughnotes. The Roughnotes are Colin and Jay. They have been playing together for about twenty years. They began playing in this iteration of this band in the fall of 2014. Colin and Jay are both from around the Thousand Islands but have lived in Toronto since the mid-2000s.

Please RSVP on meetup to get access to the Zoom link:

https://www.meetup.com/toronto-oasis/events/qgcgctyfcfbqb/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

The guest musician has been recorded: GMT20230312-152703_Recording_640x360.mp4

This will be an online Zoom meeting. Please RSVP on our Meetup for this event to get access to the Zoom link. See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions

Our program will run from 11 am to 12:30 pm. You can join in to the meeting starting at 10:45 am for our open social. After 12:30 pm, we will also have an extended discussion for half an hour, until 1:00 pm.

We all know when intimate relationships start feeling ‘not right’ and we start looking to see who is to blame.

Maybe nobody is to blame. Maybe it’s just the wrong people for that time.

This Sunday, our featured speaker will be Elka Enola, a Toronto Oasis participant. Elka will examine intimate relationships in terms of their appropriateness at different stages of our lives. The perfect person for one stage might very well be dreadful for another stage.

Elka will suggest that ideally we should have different partners for different stages of our life and will discuss the obstacles to that.

Her comments will apply to all intimate relationships within Western cultures including heterosexual, same sex, polyamorous, asexual, open sexual, with children, without children… and anything else.

Please RSVP on meetup to get access to the Zoom link:

https://www.meetup.com/toronto-oasis/events/291596839/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

This meeting has been recorded: GMT20230305-163223_Recording_1920x1080.mp4

Written version of Elka Enola’s talk: A Little Longer Than the Seven Year Itch:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13scdJP87m9E0PebOnfb7qL3DGckZQ_w-/edit?usp=share_link&ouid=102734254050847344830&rtpof=true&sd=true