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, August 9, 2026
Via Zoom
To discuss one of God's essential aspects
illuminated throughout her book
Under the Bridges at Arroyo del Rey

Kindness

Main Presentation

Performance Artist
Tobey Crockett
Conceptual Artist, Writer & Philosopher

"Kindness is Everywhere"

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

"Why Didn't You Tell Me"
Dean LeGrand Carlston©

Dean welcomes us to listen to and download his music at no charge by accessing his personal website: deancarlston.com

Salute to August 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:

Conceptual Arist, Writer & Philosopher
Tobey Crockett

"Kindness is Everywhere"

Above: Photo of Tobey Crockett, July 2026,
in: Profile of me from UC Irvine Humanities

“As a follow up to the talk that I offered in January of this year, I would like to discuss kindness, and its relevance to a worldview which embraces both science and philosophy as a matter of course. If the universe is made of information, and that information points us to the ultimate answer, which is love, then kindness has to be our vehicle for universal understanding. And if we truly can grasp that we are all one, and that we are living in a universal web of interrelationship, it only makes sense that kindness would have a profoundly constructive role in that reality. We'll talk about these ideas further... .”

Tobey Crockett PhD is a conceptual artist, writer and philosopher, with an emphasis on digital media and metaphysics. In 2002, she received a New York Foundation for the Arts grant in support of her 3D virtual world “T.C.W.F.” (Tobey Crockett’s Wild Frontier), portions of which have been exhibited at The Beall Center for the Arts & Technology at UC Irvine and at the Kunstlerhaus Bremen, among other venues. She also paints; does performance, comedy and sacred theatre; writes; teaches and mentors others on their journey to fuller expression.

Tobey has been writing professionally for over 35 years, with numerous publications, essays, chapters, and art reviews to her name. Although she still writes on the arts, albeit rarely, she is now focused on her own career and social sculpture projects.

Yes 2 Earth Now is the giant umbrella for her multi-part plan to save the planet by engaging the public in a worldwide DIY art & comedy campaign. The goal is to foster healthy community-building actions so that we can collectively demand better results, especially via an improved approach to swapping debt for nature.

Tobey Crockett PhD
805 235 9659

Above: Logos and Branding for the Yes to Earth Now campaign. Recently exhibited in Paris. Here's a good link for the work I exhibited in the Women Artists of Rivington Street exhibition at Memoire de l'Avenir in Paris last March, 2025. Tobey Crockett also wrote the preface for the exhibition catalogue..

Above: Central Coast Harvest Queen digital media
circa 2020 by Tobey Crockett

Above: Brat XL1 (Number 41 out of a series of 100) Acrylic on Canvas. 2006. Recently exhibited in "Brats! A Twenty Year Retrospective" at the Paso Robles Public Library, Paso Robles CA November 2025

Music Interlude
by
Douglas Decker
Recording Engineer/Musician/Composer
"Try a Little Kindness"
Sung originally by Glen Campbell,
Written by Bobby Austin & Curt Sapaugh

Poetry Reading
with
Patricia Ferber
Sculptor/Painter/Educator/Curator/Poet
"Kindness"

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.

Jan Furey Muntz, Architect, LEED AP, on-camera historian in the five Myron Hunt documentaries on You Tube by cinematographer Curtis McElhinney. Curator and author for six architectural exhibits at Caltech, The Huntington, Scripps and Pomona Colleges, Barnsdall, and the Armory. Computer Systems Analyst for GE Missile and Space Division/ NASA.

All are invited to continue sharing thoughts on
Kindness.

until noontime

Finale
by
Susie Katharine Shaw
Actress/Vocalist
"I May Never Pass This Way Again"
Directed by Douglas Decker,
by Murray Wizel and Irving Meicher 1957

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

"Why Didn't You Tell Me"
Dean LeGrand Carlston©

Why didn’t you tell me, things aren’t going well?
After thirteen years of marriage,
seems you could have found a way to tell

Since the divorce we’ve often argued, more than not
things have been strained but that doesn’t mean
after all these years, I wish you any pain

So why did I have to hear it, from a total
stranger only yesterday?
my heart truly aches for you in more ways than I can say

In the years since we parted, we’ve drifted
farther and farther apart
Today we have little in common, time and distance
have played their part

Our children are all grown now, but still nestled
beneath your wing
and it truly breaks my heart to hear you may not
be here in the spring

Your illness is such an unkind thing, it strikes
with indiscretion
it strikes the young and old alike, without regard for
wealth rank or possession

Please accept my sincere sadness for this burden
you must bear
but at least I know you’re happy to have our
children gathered there

So why did I have to hear it from a total stranger
only yesterday?
my heart truly aches for you, in more ways than I can say

I pray daily for the healing you desire, for a future spent
with loved ones before a cozy homemade fire

I wish you peace and comfort in what might be
your final days; but I pray that
You can stay a while beneath the sun’s eternal rays

Life is but a journey that will never really end.
We come and go, we learn and grow,
we have a voice in where and when

And so my sweet lost love, though we’ve drifted
far apart, please know that your memory will always
hold a place within my heart

"Try a Little Kindness"
Sung originally by Glen Campbell,
Written by Bobby Austin & Curt Sapaugh

If you see your brother standing by the road
With a heavy load from the seeds he sowed
And if you see your sister falling by the way
Just stop and say, "You're going the wrong way"
You've got to try a little kindness
Yes, show a little kindness
Just shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness
Then you'll overlook the blindness
Of narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets
Don't walk around the down and out
Lend a helping hand instead of doubt
And the kindness that you show every day
Will help someone along their way
You got to try a little kindness
Yes, show a little kindness
Just shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness
Then you'll overlook the blindness
Of narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets

Interlude
Chorus

"I May Never Pass
This Way Again"
by Murray Wizel and Irving Meicher 1957

I'll give my hand to those who cannot see
The sunshine or the falling rain.
I'll sing my song to cheer the weary along
For I may never pass this way again.
I'll share my faith with every troubled heart
So I shall not have lived in vain.

I'll give my hand, I'll sing my song
I'll share my faith because I know
That the time is now to fulfill each vow
For I may never pass this way again.

"Kindness"
Patricia Ferber

Reflection on Kindness by Patricia Ferber, Number 1

I met a man who told me he hadn’t eaten all day.
I bought him a sandwich that he accepted and
then threw it away.

When I looked at him in question, he informed me,
that he didn’t like mustard or the onions, which the sandwich had not, “besides, I am a vegetarian, and the Italian Salami was too hot”.

I asked him what I could do, not knowing what else to say,
he only grumbled and began to walk away.
Asking him to stop, I told him he should be fed.
He smiled and told me to quit while I was ahead.

Sometimes it is hard to be kind when all attempts fail,
but one must keep trying for it's the only way to prevail.

Reflection on Kindness by Patricia Ferber, Number 2

Kindness should come easily if one walks with a loving heart. It allows us to have compassion for those who have not.

The windows of life should remain open, bringing in the light, to help us travel our destiny and not lose sight.

Kindness requires understanding and a soft touch, like a gentle wave in the ocean, or a cloud passing by. Kindness should come easily when given with loving thoughts.

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