Bach, Buddha & The Brain
A presentation on the intersection of contemplative practice, neuroscience, and music.
This event is a kick-off for a new weekly drop-in meditation group on Thursday mornings at the Hillside Club! It is free of charge, open to experienced and beginning practitioners, and will include guided meditations and discussion. Beginning September 3rd, weekly from 9:30 am -10:30 am.
Renowned meditation instructor and author Margaret Cullen, pioneering neuroscientist Dr. Cliff Saron, SF Symphony cellist Barbara Bogatin, and pianist and meditation instructor Christos Vayenas will explore the intersection of contemplative practice, neuroscience, and music, three distinct yet intertwined disciplines.
The evening will include a solo cello performance of Bach by Bogatin, along with a Q&A.
The Hillside Club
2286 Cedar Street - Berkeley - www.hillsideclub.org
Meditation for Every Mind
This program will be hosted by Hillside members Margaret Cullen and Christos Vayenas, along with other notable meditation teachers in the area. There will be 30 minutes of guided practice followed by 30 minutes of Q and A and discussion. These practices will be designed for both beginners and experienced meditators and taught in a secular, widely accessible style, making them suitable for Buddhist practitioners, members of all faiths, and people with no religious affiliation. In a time of overlapping crises and deep uncertainty, let's find mutual support in the simple act of sitting together and reconnecting with our deepest values.
Admission is free. (This is an ongoing series.)
Society of Women Geographers presents: Equanimity: A Big Think Approach to a Perennial Virtue
Discover the true meaning of equanimity beyond misconceptions. Margaret will explore this timeless virtue through the lens of Buddhist philosophy, neuroscience, and compassion, with a guided practice to help you cultivate greater balance in everyday life. For members of SWG only. The replay will be available to everyone following the live event. (ONLINE)
Nirakara
On July 9th, from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM (CET)/ 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM (PST), we will have the privilege of hosting a free talk with Margaret Cullen and Silvia Fernández Campos dedicated to exploring this quality: equanimity.
An Evening of Equanimity
Join author Margaret Cullen and musician Barbara Bogatin for an engaging exploration of equanimity and how it can help us navigate life’s joys and challenges with greater balance and wisdom. Drawing from her book, Quiet Strength, Margaret will offer a broad perspective on the practice of equanimity, while Barbara shares insights through the unique lens of a performing musician.
Insight Berkeley: Guest Teacher for James Baraz
Margaret Cullen will guest teach for James Baraz at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery (in-person) and over zoom.
Wednesday Meditations with Dr. Rick Hanson
Margaret Cullen will be a guest teacher for Dr. Rick Hanson’s “Wednesday Meditations” via Zoom. All are welcome and can join and no cost.
Boulder Bookstore - Quiet Strength Book Event
Margaret Cullen in conversation with Barry Boyce about Quiet Strength: Find Peace, Feel Alive, and Love Boundlessly Through the Power of Equanimity
Warwick’s Bookstore: Quiet Strength Event
Warwick’s presents Margaret Cullen as she discusses and signs her new book, Quiet Strength: Find Peace, Feel Alive, and Love Boundlessly Through the Power of Equanimity,in conversation with Cassandra Vieten. Co-sponsored by the UCSD Center for Mindfulness.
Quiet Strength Book Passage Event
Join me for the Bay Area Book Launch of Quiet Strength: Find Peace, Feel Alive, and Love Boundlessly Through the Power of Equanimity. I will be joined in conversation with psychologist and best-selling author, Rick Hanson. Live music by Barbara Bogatin, a cellist with the San Francisco Symphony since 1994.
Cultivating Equanimity Workshop
The live online two-session, 4-hour Cultivating Equanimity course will focus on the understanding and cultivation of equanimity as a way of navigating life's inevitable ups and downs. Through a combination of guided reflections, meditations and discussions, you will learn what equanimity is, what it is not, how it can mitigate against compassion fatigue as well as a variety of accessible and straightforward ways to practice it.
A guided equanimity meditation will be provided for practice outside of class. This moment in history poses serious challenges to our equanimity. For many of us, the global crises we face seem unprecedented and the emotional and cognitive hijacking from social media and the 24 hour news cycle certainly is.
Now, more than ever, we need to find our way back to center, to regain perspective and balance, and to move forward with the greatest possible wisdom and clarity.
Margaret Cullen, the instructor, spent three years doing a deep dive into the science, philosophy, psychology, research and religious roots of equanimity. Her book Quiet Strength, which will be published by HarperOne in March of 2026, is available for preorder here.
Schedule
Thursdays, October 16 and 23, 2025
11 a.m. - 1 p.m. PT
Compassion Corps 2025 Launch
Would you like an antidote to the fire hose of cruelty that is coming out of DC? Please join me, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and Compassion Corps Grantees on April 24th for the launch of our current grant cycle. We will turn our hearts and minds towards compassion and goodness and create our own upward spiral of generosity and care.
