Featured Presentations Scheduled for Your Enjoyment in the LCS Gardens

Registration is strongly encouraged. CLICK HERE TO RESERVE MONDAY-SATURDAY

Open Circle Ajijic

November 26, 2023
The History of American Music
YouTube link: Coming Soon!

From the slave ships to the 1970 popular music scene. A look at the origins and influences that created the purely American origins of Spirituals, Gospel, Camp Town, Folk, Blues, Ragtime, Jazz, Big Band, Rock ‘n Roll, and Pop.

Denning Chambers began her career as a professional singer/musician in 1971. She has been an opening act for The Supremes, Kingston Trio, and Denny Doherty of the Mamas and the Papas. She received a BS in Music Education from the University of Bridgeport and a Masters Degree in Music Education SUNY Fredonia. She has lectured for the New York State Music Association on vocal timbre around the world, and written, produced and directed three musicals. She has been a music educator in public schools for over 20 years. She conducted the Lake Chapala Chorale for two seasons.

Open Circle Ajijic

December 3, 2023
How the US and Mexico Came Together to defeat the last Empire in the Americas
YouTube link: Coming Soon!

Michael Hogan is an historian, poet, and teacher who has lived in Guadalajara for the past three decades. He is married to the textile artist and translator Lucinda Mayo.

Dr. Hogan is well-known for his many best-selling books on Mexican history, including the “Irish Soldiers of Mexico” which was the basis for an MGM movie, and for his popular classes at the American School Foundation where he is Emeritus Chair of Humanities.

Two of his more recent works are highly praised. “Mexicans and Mexican Americans,” which was reviewed in both Latina Magazine and the Smithsonian, and “Guns Grit and Glory, How the US and Mexico Came Together to defeat the last Empire in the Americas,” which was selected as the book of the year on US-Mexico relations by Washington University. Today he will be sharing anecdotes from both books which will be for sale after his talk.

Please welcome Dr. Hogan

Open Circle Ajijic

December 10, 2023
How the US and Mexico Came Together to defeat the last Empire in the Americas
YouTube link: Coming Soon!

A first-hand account of a Freedom Rider who was jailed for his “crime.”

This will be part of the Ajijic Indie Film Festival. All films are local, and the film maker will discuss the film.

Open Circle Ajijic

December 17, 2023
Is it time to move the US-Mexico border? Let's consider the consequences.
YouTube link: Coming Soon!

A geopolitical Cold War simmers with China. The Mexico-Central America humanitarian migration crisis only worsens. A long-view immigration strategy has eluded the Western Hemisphere.

Lurking and hunched across 2,000 miles of sand, binational urban clusters and desert voids, this crisis is the America's most intractable ongoing challenge.

Do we have the imagination as Americanos to rethink a long-term response?

Greg Custer has been an observer and student of Mexico for over 40 years, working for Mexico's tourism ministry for over 25 years. He has resided Lakeside since 2015 and brings his perspective on Mexico-US relations through a unique lens nurtured by a Southern California upbringing and decades of observation and reflection.

If You Missed an In-person Presentation, You Can Still Enjoy It On-line

Open Circle Ajijic

November 19, 2023
Changing Lives Through Music
YouTube link: Coming Soon!

The Centro Regional de Estudios Musicales (Centro Regional de Estudios Musicales - CREM), based in Ajijic on the shores of Lake Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico, has presented several times in past years at Open Circle. This innovative music education organization struggled to carry out its activities for the past few years because of Covid. They are very appreciative of their supporters, many Open Circle attendees, who rose to the occasion to support them so that CREM could continue with its instrumental lessons, choral and ensemble training, activities that are of great benefit to local students. Please consider helping this valuable organization by joining us for this special presentation at this year’s Open Circle. We extend our thanks to all of you who have kept CREM alive. This program benefits the young people of the Lake Chapala region by allowing the continuation of their musical education and the positive human attributes that flow from their artistic endeavors

Open Circle Ajijic

November 12, 2023
Discover the Wonders Near Ajijic
YouTube link: Coming Soon!

Our charming Mexican town is your gateway to exciting destinations, all just a few hours away. Imagine a 4 to 4.5-hour road trip to Querétaro for natural beauty and tasty wines. Explore Guanajuato or Zacatecas to soak up the history and stunning colonial architecture, or to a beautiful beach town. You can even go on a day trip just 1 to 2 hours away to a hidden gem in the mountains, like Mazamitla o Tapalpa, or to Guadalajara's surrounding areas like Tlaquepaque or Tonalá

But that's not all! Ajijic is super close to Guadalajara's airport, from there you can make quick flights to unique places possible. For example, Chiapas and Oaxaca invite you to explore ancient sites and lovely colonial towns. Veracruz and the Yucatán Peninsula offer gastronomy, beautiful cities, and a rich history.

Ajijic is your starting point for a Mexican adventure. Countless opportunities await just a short drive or flight away. Your journey begins here, with endless chances to explore and uncover Mexico's beauty.

Open Circle Ajijic

November 5, 2023
Starting a Cohousing Community
YouTube link: [a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBchirBuhUU" target="_blank"]** CLICK HERE **[/a]

Cohousing is a model which is created by independent people with the same interests who wants to live in individual spaces but share common services. The intent is to avoid isolation, and to give and receive support in many ways.

But.. what happens when you cannot find your dream community?

How to start a strong community in México to give and receive support in a secure and easy way?

Laura is conducting a discussion about the Mexican advances in this extraordinary way of living, which are being developed rapidly. Together, we will find answers to your questions, and collect your ideas to create the best path for people who want to find a better quality of life with this model.

Create your life your own way!

Open Circle Ajijic

October 29, 2023
Dia de Muertos, the Celebration of Life
YouTube link: [a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFRSDUCTjHA" target="_blank"]** CLICK HERE **[/a]

The Dia de Muertos is one of the gems of Mexican culture. Acknowledging death as a part of life drives the spirit of “Viva la Vida!” or “Live Life!” that is the root of all Mexican celebrations. The Day of the Dead is an opportunity to mock death and celebrate life. It is also a day of remembrance, a day to visit with the dead.

LCS is holding a Celebration of Life on Monday October 30th from 4:30 to 6 PM. Visit the altars lovingly erected around the campus. Listen to commentary on death from local faith leaders, and participate in a powerful ceremony for grieving our losses while expressing gratitude for the loved ones in our memories.

Loretta will explore how making friends with death can influence life in positive ways. She will talk about changing attitudes, options, and rituals that are transforming world views on death.

Loretta Downs, MA, CSA is a well-regarded death educator, inspiring speaker and writer, end-of-life doula, and certified senior advisor who has been studying death for over 30 years. She gives regular workshops about advance care planning at LCS.

Open Circle Ajijic

October 22, 2023
On The Light Side
YouTube link: Video not available!

Larry Kolczak is a member of the Lake Chapala Writer’s Group, and a regular contributor of articles to El Ojo Del Lago, the largest English-language magazine in Mexico. His was the first article published in the LCS Conecciones magazine series called First Person Singular. He will be sharing a few of his favorite stories that reflect his uniquely humorous perspective on his day-to-day experiences living here at Lakeside and traveling abroad.

Larry’s presentations at the Writer’s Group are always a hit. If you haven’t been following his work in the magazines, now is your chance to find out what you’ve been missing. If you have been enjoying his work all along, now is your chance to meet the man behind the humor.

Open Circle Ajijic

October 15, 2023
Mind and consciousness: what is the difference?
YouTube link: [a href="https://youtu.be/geB7DNIHqCs" target="_blank"]** CLICK HERE **[/a]

Science and Buddhism agree: there is no lasting individual self. Something is there, though; the Buddhists even say “Empty but not void.” Richard uses insights from Ramana Maharshi and Advaita Vedanta to cast light on what is always. It cannot be found in the changing mind. It can be found within you, though. Understanding the difference between thought and consciousness can lead to this deep understanding.

Open Circle Ajijic

October 8, 2023
Things You May Not Know About Laughter
YouTube link: [a href="https://youtu.be/VMRx34GJtFw" target="_blank"]** CLICK HERE **[/a]

Our capacity to laugh is a human phenomenon we take for granted. But the social sciences have found more to our ability to laugh than we may have realized. We know we laugh and we love it. We almost always believe our sense of humor to be an unusual, even crazy one, because it makes us feel a certain superiority over the irrational, the misguided and the pretentious. I have spent a lifetime fascinated by the subject of what makes people laugh and how it can be produced in so many ways for so many social and intellectual reasons. I'd like to share what I know about different types of laughter, debunk some myths and explain how we know laughter/humor works for us and against us as shapers of our individual personalities.

Open Circle Ajijic

October 1, 2023
Seeing a Bigger Picture!
YouTube link: [a href="https://youtu.be/HgQVhl7ucjY" target="_blank"]** CLICK HERE **[/a]

Earlier in life, I was told that I could benefit from seeing a bigger picture! Just what is a bigger picture? and why would we need a bigger picture? How does a bigger picture relate to the events of my everyday life?

It has been said that human experience is a constant climb to a better and more complete perspective! Did you know that our perspective helps define some of the most basic motivations, like common intent and attitude? Perspective on life even helps define those possibilities that can arise from our experiences! While our intent helps define the probabilities associated with those experiences! Does this help explain why elements of the same experience affect people so differently? If future success relies on development of a bigger picture, how do we take a new outlook that includes the bigger picture?

Learn the practical importance of a bigger picture for you! Learn to see perspectives and consider sources. Our perspective can be referenced to a single issue (smallest picture) or to the creation as a whole (biggest picture) or somewhere in between. Our choice makes the difference. Meditation has made it very clear to me that the bigger picture plays a more influential role than the local picture. New love for planetary transformation, all possibilities. Where do we find all the possibilities? The bigger picture, the whole enchilada.

What if don’t want or value some possibilities? We are told that a viewpoint that is open to all possibilities makes healing more unrestricted and thus more appropriate to the petitioner’s evolutionary state. To experience all possibilities, we are told that it pays big dividends to expand our heart to include the bigger picture, to the broadest view, even as large as the creation. We are told that the bigger picture contains more truth, more possibilities, all of life’s elements. By relying on the energy of the bigger picture, but what is the bigger picture that makes such a difference?

Examples of wholeness are the inclusiveness of love and the unity of life! In fact, a caring viewpoint can open us enough to include all kinds of possibilities! Just notice what happens when you care. Your heart expands to include more possibilities related to your intent.

Join me at this Open Circle presentation to explore these thoughts and how they can impact your life.

Our Presentation Archives:

To view more presentations from Open Circle 2023, ** CLICK HERE **.
More archives of past presentations (from 2014 to present) are also available under the “Videos” tab on the Open Circle menu above
or via the link below.