The Institute of Philosophy in the Arts, Architecture and Humanities
Salon on the Spiritually Creative Life
[Photography by Nathaniel Taylor]
THE SALON ON THE SPIRITUALLY CREATIVE LIFE
Our 30th Year Continues
... still on Zoom!
Please join Carol Soucek King virtually on
Sunday, September 13, 2026
Via Zoom
To discuss one of God's essential aspects
illuminated throughout her book
Under the Bridges at Arroyo del Rey
Humor
Main Presentation
David Bender
Master Storyteller, Psychotherapist, Author
"Our Stories Make God Smile"
Scroll Down for:
Morning's Agenda
Speaker's Presentation and Bio
Zoom Info
Lyrics & Poems
2026 Salon Dates/Themes
9:30 am Pacific Standard Time
Zoom Room Arrivals and
Himalayan Singing Bowls by Healing Arts Practitioner
Janet Martorello
10 am until noon – Program
Meditation
with
Nan Rae
Artist/Teacher/Author
Nan Rae’s latest published book – now available on Amazon
INSPIRED THOUGHTS ON LOVE!
Published by Laughing Elephant Books
Personalized copies may be ordered at NanRaeStudio.com
More good news! Nan Rae is now offering her art class not only in her studio but also on-line through Crowdcast!!!
Opening Song
by
Dean LeGrand Carlston, DDS Composer/Singer/Instrumentalist
"A Mysterious God"
Dean LeGrand Carlston 12/2024©
Dean welcomes us to listen to and download his music at no charge by accessing his personal website: deancarlston.com
Salute to September Birthdays,
Special Congratulations, & Prayers
with
Graham Lance Richardson
Retired Westside Realtor after 35 years.
Licensed Plumber & Gas Fitter.
Certified Welder to 100%,
and Frequent Presenter at The Salon.
Main Presentation:
David Bender's
Presentation and Bio
Motto:
“Ye who does not seek heaven on earth shall
surely not find it after death.” — David Bender
David Bender, Master Storyteller/Psychotherapist/Author: “Stories are the glue that holds us together and make life worth living. Over the last million years or so man has evolved storytelling as a way of passing on wisdom from one generation to the next. People can look up facts and figures but it’s the stories behind them that give them meaning. With them we built families, religions and societies and nations. They allow us to have a common, shared culture and history. Without them humans might reach the level of pack animals, but with them we have become mighty nations. In fact our basic survival strength is our ability to form communities and work together for the common good. This has enabled us to develop many forms of communicating.
“Once a culture learns a language of communication it can use it whether it be dance, art, music or words. In our culture we mostly use words to communicate straightforward thoughts and ideas. We turn to jokes and stories in order to convey a feeling or meaning. They can transport us to another place and time and show us different ways of seeing things.
“All types of communication and languages are learned. Generally women find it easier to learn the non-verbal languages that men do. So men, do not be surprised if a group of women seem to get more out of their conversation than makes sense to you.”
“Who am I?”
I have lived many lives.
Now I’m just a little old man
full of memories.
David was born dyslexic and he compensated with a great memory. Even today he has problems processing language. He has always wanted to know how & why things work. He has always believed that the best teachers were those who had great difficulties when they were in school but went on to succeed nonetheless. Over the course of his life he has done many things just in order to better understand how the world works.
In his life as a student, he studied biology and postgraduate studies in radiation biology. During his postgraduate studies at the University of Texas he got married and had a daughter, Helena.
He went to his professor and said, “I need to make some money. Can I work as a laboratory technician?” He worked at that because he realized that the technicians were the only people who knew how everything really worked and why. His professor turned to him and said that he would only recommend him for teaching, not as a technician, and that’s how he got into teaching at university. He found academia life too political and backstabbing so he left it and went to teaching high school. There he developed his philosophy for teaching.
The laws in Canada changed and he was not allowed to teach anymore, so he fell back on sheet metal work which he learnt from his father who wrote a book on sheet metal layout. He went from that to steel fitting and his salary jumped from $2.30 an hour to $6.80 an hour. He soon became a freelance fitter, bidding on jobs for the same companies where he used to be an employee.
When he had enough of fitting, he quit and fell back on photography which his father had taught him as a child. He built himself a portable darkroom which he set up in flea markets and did old time photography. Using his knowledge of chemistry, he developed a way to make sepia colored pictures of people, without using photographic film, in less than a minute.
While doing that he did his own therapy and then studied and became a psychotherapist himself. He has written several books mostly about human behavior and psychological health.
He studied storytelling when he was teaching high school and realized that he didn’t know how to present things in a way that was really interesting to his students.
Please join David Bender for his
Storytelling meetings on zoom.
Thursdays, 7 p.m., PST
David can be reached at:
Text and phone: 949-777-6720
Email: davidbender999@gmail.com
Music Interlude
by
Douglas Decker
Recording Engineer/Musician/Composer
"That's the Way the World Goes 'Round"
by John Prine
Poetry Reading
with
Patricia Ferber
Sculptor/Painter/Educator/Curator/Poet
"Humor"
Followed by Discussion
Opening the Discussion will be
Nino Wong, designer/business leader/Volunteer
Chairman of the Chinese Garden Docents,
Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens.
All are invited to continue sharing thoughts on
Humor.
until noontime
Finale
by
Susie Katharine Shaw
Actress/Vocalist
"Doodle Doo Doo"
Directed by Douglas Decker,
by Art Kassel and Mel Stitzel 1924
To conclude Susie will lead us in Richard King's favorite
Native American Prayer
Love Faith and Joy - Carol Soucek King, MFA, PhD, Founder
Please respond if attending:
kingcarol@aol.com or 626/449-1238
For the time being, the Salon will continue to meet on Zoom. When appropriate, we will meet in person once again at Arroyo del Rey.
For access to the Salon on Zoom:
This meeting is being hosted by Zoom.
There is no charge to use this service.
Before the Salon on Sunday:
You will need to either go to the Zoom website, www.zoom.us, and register for a free account to access this meeting through your web browser or download and install the Zoom application on your device.
If you download the application to your device, you do NOT need to register for a free account. To download the Zoom application, click on this link... https://zoom.us/download
For any questions or assistance,
email Curtis McElhinney at Curtis@curtisvision.com
Three Songs, Two Poems
"A Mysterious God"
Dean LeGrand Carlston 12/2024©
God was walking on the water,
moving in mysterious ways
He stilled the waves and calmed the thunder
His words ring true in these latter days:
“Love your God with all your heart,
then love each other as ye love me
These two laws are all that matter,
Peace will flow and set man free”
God moves in mysterious ways,
his wonders to perform
Loving God as well as others,
heals the world and calms the storm
Glory glory hallelujah, heaven glows within each breast
Seek and ye shall find. It’s essential for each mortal quest
Glory glory hallelujah Love Thy Neighbor In Every Way
But first love God and get to know him
He moves before us to light our way
Glory glory hallelujah, God moves in mysterious ways
God’s Grace embraces all of mankind;
so let’s be grateful
Let’s be grateful every day
"That's the Way the World
Goes 'Round"
by John Pine
I know a guy that's got a lot to lose.
He's a pretty nice fellow but he's kind of confused.
He's got muscles in his head that ain't never been used.
Thinks he owns half of this town.
Starts drinking heavy, gets a big red nose.
Says "up your nose with a rubber hose"
Takes his old lady out and buys her new clothes.
That's the way that the world goes 'round.
That's the way that the world goes 'round.
You're up one day and the next you're down.
It's half an inch of water and you think you're gonna drown.
That's the way the world goes 'round.
I was sitting in the bathtub counting my toes,
When the radiator broke, water all froze.
I got stuck in the ice without my clothes,
Naked as the eyes of a clown.
I was crying ice cubes hoping I'd croak,
When the sun come through the window, the ice all broke.
I stood up and laughed thought it was a joke
That's the way that the world goes 'round.
That's the way that the world goes 'round.
You're up one day and the next you're down.
It's half an inch of water and you think you're gonna drown.
That's the way the world goes 'round.
"Doodle Doo Doo"
by Art Kassel and Mel Stizel 1924
Please play for me that sweet melody called the Doodle Doo Doo, Doodle Doo Doo.
I like the rest but the one I like best is Doodle Doo Doo.
Simplest thing, there's nothing much to it.
You don't have to sing, you just
Doodle Doo Doo it.
I love it so, wherever I go. I just Doodle Doo Doo,
Doodle Doo Doo,
Doodle Doo Doodily Doo
Two Reflections on Humor
Patricia Ferber
HUMOR
I told a joke, and no one laughed.
I thought it was very funny;
I couldn’t figure out why no one found it to be so.
I sang a ditty, filled with merriment and fun,
loving the words, its rhythm, and more.
No one sang along.
The moral of this tale:
Humor is an individual thing,
or all in the room would have laughed,
all would have sung along.
If you're going to tell jokes or sing ditties
that seem to fall flat to others, don’t give up your day job.
LAUGHTER IS EVERYTHING
One should laugh at least 15 times a day;
a child is known to laugh about 300 times.
If you laugh twice as much, it will tickle your funny bone.
Laugh at your mistakes, but learn from what happened,
leaving only thoughts on how to do better.
Instead of being dark, be light.
Sing “to your heart's content” to your favorite songs.
Watching comedies can lift your spirits.
Oopses can become a laughing matter,
and smile, smile, smile.
All 2026 Salon dates and themes
STABILITY
Sunday, January 11, 2026
GROWTH
Sunday, February 8, 2026
POSSIBILITY
Sunday, March 8, 2026
FAITH
Sunday, April 12, 2026
GRATITUDE
Sunday, May 10, 2026
HARMONY
Sunday, June 14, 2026
UNDERSTANDING
Sunday, July 12, 2026
KINDNESS
Sunday, August 9, 2026
HUMOR
Sunday, September 13, 2026
LOVE
Sunday, October 11, 2026
HEALING
Sunday, November 8, 2026
SPIRITUALITY
Sunday, December 13, 2026
Please
let us know which salons you can attend by replying to KingCarol@aol.com or (626) 449-1238.
With all loving thoughts and hoping
to see you soon!
Carol
Soucek King, M.F.A., Ph. D.
Email: KingCarol@aol.com
CAROL
SOUCEK KING MFA, PhD © 2002-2026 All rights reserved
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