Conceptions of Identity & Their Implications

Tuesday Wellbeing Seminars:

Conceptions of Identity & Their Implications

Whether we are aware of it or not, how we perceive ourselves and what we identify with has a profound impact on the quality of our inner and outer experience. Life inevitably presents us with challenges, complexities, and difficulties. Our sense of self and identity can either empower us, helping us navigate these challenges with resilience, or disempower us, leading to confusion, hopelessness, or depression.

In the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, readers are encouraged to deeply contemplate the true self—our consciousness. By exploring life through this understanding, we can cultivate a greater sense of meaning and connection with the world, our loved ones, and everything around us.

The seminar will be followed by a delicious plant-based dinner together, all included in your ticket!

Hosted by Sri Jiva and Smita:

From a young age, Smita was drawn to music as a means for reflection and self-expression. Following university, she lived in an ashram for several years, where she was introduced to the wonderful practice of bhakti yoga and its wisdom. Inspired by her practice, she regularly hosts kirtan (mantra music meditation) sessions at Bhakti Lounge along with her husband Sri Jiva.

Since childhood, Sri Jiva has been fascinated by meaning, purpose, and authentic life fulfilment. This, among other things, led him to join a monastery at the age of 19. After years of monastic training, he chose to marry and pursue a career. He felt called to use his monastic experience to help others understand themselves, and to find wisdom, meaning, and purpose in their own lives. Inspired by this calling, he went to university to study counselling. Now, Sri Jiva and his wife live near Wellington, where he works with a small team of counsellors, supporting clients individually and in groups.