"Ngöndro" means “preliminary” in Tibetan and refers to a set of prescribed spiritual practices that prepare one for Buddhist Tantra. We support this traditional model but believe it is also time for a psychedelic alternative.
We are currently accepting applications for the next Vajrasattva cohort. Please scroll down to learn more.
"A Psychedelic Glimpse"
With Chris Dingman, Dr. Erica Rosenberg & Doc Kelley
BICOASTAL COHORT
New York & California
June - July
Please enjoy this recording of our free info session. It starts with introductions, then goes into a Psychedelic Buddhist meditation, and then we open it up for question and answer.
Vibing Vajrasattva aims to facilitate a psychedelic glimpse of the Buddhist archetype Vajrasattva through cohort-based practice and vibraphone journey.
This program is not intended to substitute the traditional Vajrayana Buddhist Preliminary (Ngöndro) but to facilitate inspiration for those on the Path.
It is open to both Buddhist and non-Buddhists—anyone who might want to get acquainted with Vajrasattva for the very first time, as well as those more experienced practitioners who might benefit from a profound psychedelic reacquainting with the deity.
In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Vajra (or “diamond”) is a poetic metaphor for śūnyatā, emptiness. Like a flawless diamond, the ultimate nature of reality is perfect and devoid of intrinsic impurities. Vajrasattva, or literally “Diamond One,” is not seen as a deity outside of oneself but as a cross-cultural adamantine archetype, representing stainless nondual emptiness, recurrent within human psychology. Enacting the practice or sadhana of Vajrasattva is, therefore, a purifying communion with one’s non-dual nature. And one we think can be glimpsed through a program of cohort-based practice and psychedelic sonic sadhana.
INCUBATION, INVOCATION, & INTEGRATION
We follow a three-phase program of Incubation, Invocation, and Integration.
Incubationlasts about six weeks and consists of biweekly online meetings to study and meditate on Vajrasattva. Our approach to sādhanā (the instructions for practice) is non-sectarian and “open-source.” We examine several and welcome participants to share whatever they might already use or find familiar.
We focus on the emotive phases of the sadhana in preparation for the psychedelic invocation. Our goal in the Incubation phase is to facilitate the cultivation of a deep phenomenological connection to Vajrasattva through meditation and music.
Invocationrefers to the in-person daylong retreat we model after the tantric feast, or ganacakra, the occasion for Buddhist psychedelic invocation of the deity, also known as tsok. Whether you are psychedelic or not, Tsok in Vajrayana Buddhism traditionally refers to a feast of the senses in which practitioners assemble to dance, sing, make offerings, and partake of taboo substances and practices in the context of various tantric rituals as part of a sādhanā. We regard it as the day of invocation and communion with the archetype through a psychedelic vibraphone group ceremony.
We host two in-person Invocations per bicoastal cohort—one in New York and one in the Bay Area of California. The New York retreat may be either in or outside the city. We will share details with registrants as they materialize.
Integrationrefers to the process of integrating the psychedelic experience into one’s daily life. We hold space for an in-person peer-support sharing circle the day after the ceremony. We also offer free monthly online and in-person integration every first and third Thursday. III.
TIMETABLE
This online bi-coastal cohort starts in June and culminates with an in-person daylong psychedelic retreat 6-8 weeks later in the Bay Area of Northern California (for west coasters) and in New York (for east coasters). The group meets on Zoom every Sunday (1hr sit) at 10 am West /1 pm EST and every Monday (2hr study) @ 4-6 pm West / 7-9 pm EST.
Incubation | online
Sunday Sit: 10 am- 11 am West / 1 pm - 2 pm EST
Sadhana Study: Mondays 4:00-6 pm West / 7:00-9 pm EST
Monday, June 3: Sadhana Study session #1
Sunday, June 9: Sunday Sit
Monday, June 10: Sadhana Study session #2
Sunday, June 16 (Father’s Day): Sunday Sit
Monday, June 17: Sadhana Study session #3
Sunday, June 23: Sunday Sit
Monday, June 24: Sadhana Study session #4
Sunday, June 30: Sunday Sit
Monday, July 1: Sadhana Study session #5
Sunday, July 7: Sunday Sit
Monday, July 8: Last Sadhana Study session #6
Invocation | in-person
10:00 am - 7 pm
Sunday, July 14th, California
Sunday, July 28th, New York
Integration | in-person & online
5:00-7 pm West / 6:00-8 pm EST
Monday, July 15: California
Monday, July 29: New York
THE VIBRAPHONE AND VIBRAPHONIST
https://www.chrisdingman.com
The vibraphone is a percussion instrument that looks like a xylophone but has aluminum bars instead of wood. The vibraphone player uses one or two mallets (beaters) in each hand. There are tubes underneath each bar. These “resonators” make the sound louder. There is also an electric motor that a pedal can switch on. This makes fans go round and round in the ventilators and creates a powerful, vibrating sound, hence its nickname—“vibes.”
In the hands of our sonic shaman, Chris Dingman, the vibraphone and the unique mycology we employ all resonate with the vibrations of the subtle body and are, therefore, incredibly effective in unlocking a glimpse of the archetype.
Chris Dingman is a New York-based vibraphonist and composer. Chris Dingman is known for his distinctive approach to the instrument, which is at once sonically rich and conceptually expansive. In his captivating solo performances, he casts an enveloping atmosphere, creating layers of simultaneous sound that take listeners to a transcendent place. Chris has worked with the legendary artists Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter and many other of today’s jazz and world music luminaries. Based in NYC since 2002, Chris had been documenting his solo improvisations privately for many years. When his father entered hospice care in 2018, he created the 5-hour extended album Peace. This led to an ongoing evolution of his solo music and his critically acclaimed albums Journeys Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Chris actively tours and has performed worldwide. He has been profiled by NPR, the New York Times, AMNY, and many other publications. He has received fellowships and grants from Chamber Music America, New Music USA, South Arts, and the Thelonious Monk Institute.
PARTICIPANT INSTRUCTORS
Erika Rosenberg, Ph. D.,is a scientist, author, and educator who seeks to help people understand themselves, connect with others, find peace and joy in life, and suffer less. She received her Ph. D. In Psychology from the University of California, San Francisco, where she studied with facial expression of emotion pioneer, Paul Ekman. She was a professor at the University of Delaware and the College of William & Mary. Erika was a co-creator of the Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) program at Stanford University, with Thupten Jinpa, and she presented the CCT program to His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Stanford in 2010. Dr. Rosenberg is a faculty member at The Nyingma Institute in Berkeley and has offered meditation training at diverse international venues such as Lerab Ling Monastery, Upaya Zen Center, The Telluride Institute, and Burning Man. She volunteers in psychedelic harm reduction through such programs as the Zendo Project and the Psychedelic Survivors Group.
Dr. Rosenberg’s research focuses on emotion, emotion expression and meditation. At the Center for Mind and Brain at UC Davis, Erika Rosenberg is a member of the Saron Lab, which conducts multi-disciplinary, pathbreaking research in contemplative science. Her books include What the Face Reveals (with Paul Ekman, now in its 3rd edition) and the widely used Introductory Psychology text, Psychology: Perspectives & Connections, now in its 6th edition). Dr. Rosenberg’s published scientific work on facial expression span basic affective science on research on emotional processes, social psychological research on facial expression recognition, studies of the effects of meditation on emotional behavior, and health psychological risk factors for heart disease. Erika is an expert in human facial expressions, with clients in academia, industry, and the arts, worldwide.
Christopher “Doc” Kelleyis a scholar of Buddhism and a part-time professor in religious studies at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, The New School University, and Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara. He is also the co-founder of Psychedelic Sangha and lives in Brooklyn, NYC.
Doc received a Ph.D. in Religion from Columbia University, where he studied Indo-Tibetan Buddhism with Robert A. F. Thurman. Before attending graduate school, he was a “dharma bum” who traveled Asia and practiced Buddhism initially at Kopan Gompa in Kathmandu and later at Sermey Monastery in India. He did his first Heruka-Vajrasattva retreat at the FPMT Tushita Dharma Center in Dharamsala in 1997.
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