10:00 am
Marlies Myoku Cocheret ~ The Deepest Love Affair – Being Human
When the awareness of the perfection of all that is taken away & all that is given penetrates to the bone, we find ourselves on the narrow path. The narrow path means there is no room for anything but resting as the silence of our being and the total receiving of our humanity. That is the practice. Sounds really simple, yet not that easy.
It takes courage and curiosity to open ourselves completely to the practice resting as silence. It becomes easier to receive wholeheartedly our humanity in all its forms, sounds, feelings, and sensations. This is the deepest love affair - the coming together of our humanity and our divinity as one. Our stories start melting away. Step by step we are identifying with the one ground of being. From there we move in the world as human-beings. Is there anything else you wish for?
Most of the events Marlies offers are around this topic. Daring to dive in with clear intention, living as the fullness of your being. Life will show you every step of the way. Which She has done all along for all of us? Can you trust that now?!
Marlies Myoku has devoted her life to the Beloved. She brings a potent invitation into the deep Silence that we are. The kindness of her gentle and direct teaching guides us home like a lighthouse. She helps people to see that freedom and peace lie not in escaping from difficulties, but rather in completely welcoming and receiving all that the Mystery presents.
She has been offering satsang and retreat since 2000 when Adyashanti asked her to teach. Marlies is trained as a psychologist in The Netherlands, a Hakomi therapist, and a Tantric educator. For over 25 years she has been ushering seekers into living the Divine in the body. She has a passion and a gift for bringing together the Sensual Body and the Silence of our Being.
She lives in Santa Cruz; California, but works internationally. Marlies is interviewed in the book Awakened Relating. A Guide To Embodying Undivided love in Intimate Relationships by Lynn Marie Lumiere, and in the book Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Wisdom by R.M. Robinson
“With Adya, the bottom fell out. I deeply knew I am not this body, mind, thought, psyche, and I am also all these things as well. There was no in and/or out. All is One.”
Suggested donation: $15 to $25
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11:00 am
Rupert Spira ~ The Essence of Non-Duality
“Meditation is what we are, not what we do; the separate self is what we do, not what we are.”
In the last few years Rupert Spira has become one of the most respected and sought-after teachers of non-dual wisdom, known for his crystal clear use of language, laser-like intellect, skillful guided enquiries, and powerfully direct pointing to aware presence—all delivered with warmth, wit and an unmatched and distinctive eloquence.
In his meetings, Rupert explores the perennial, non-dual understanding that lies at the heart of all the great religious and spiritual traditions, such as Advaita Vedanta, Kashmir Shaivism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Mystical Christianity, Sufism, Zen etc., and which is also the direct, ever-present reality of our own experience. This is a contemporary, experiential approach involving silent meditation, guided meditation and conversation, and requires no affiliation to any particular religious or spiritual tradition. All that is required is an interest in the essential nature of experience, and in the longing for love, peace and happiness around which most of our lives revolve.
After thirty years of intense seeking, Rupert met his primary teacher Francis Lucille, who introduced him to the direct way taught by his own teacher, Jean Klein. Rupert lives in Oxford, England, with his wife Ellen Emmet, a therapist and yoga teacher in the tradition of Kashmir Shaivism. . He is the author of several books, including his latest two, The Nature of Consciousness and Being Aware of Being Aware, and two book/CD box-sets, Transparent Body, Luminous World and The Light of Pure Knowing.
www.non-duality.rupertspira.com
The event will run from 11:00 am to 4:30 pm, with a lunch break in the middle.
There are places close by to go out for lunch, or you may bring your own lunch.
Note: Per venue policy, only vegetarian food is allowed on premises at Chochmat HaLev
Sliding Scale: $50-$100
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Please contact LocalEvents@opencirclecenter.org with any further questions
PARKING: There is some limited street parking in the neighborhood, free and without time limit on weekends. There is also parking a few blocks away at the east parking lot of the Ashby Bart station: www.bart.gov/stations/ashb/map
You may also find paid parking just a few blocks away at Alta Bates Parking Garage: Enter on Colby between Ashby and Webster St.
You can find details on our calendar for other event we have with Rupert:
Feb. 24th, 2019, 11:00 am to 4:30 pm in Berkeley, CA
1:00 pm
Susanne Marie ~ The Path of Devotion
1:15-2:00 Kirtan music & chanting, with Hannah Caratti & friends
2-4 pm satsang, with refreshments until 5 pm
Without the engagement of our hearts our spiritual and life journey is dry and barren. Devotion is the ability to reach outside of ourselves with trust that something greater exists than what we ourselves know or understand. This something is the mystery of existence itself. It is the divinity inherent within all things. When we lean into trust that there is a greater intelligence guiding our lives, we are able to let go of our limited selves and hand over our need to maintain control and open in surrender.
Bio:
Featured in conversation with Adyashanti on Buddha at the Gas Pump as well as recently on Conscious TV, Susanne Marie offers teachings in support of freedom, sacred mutuality, and the celebration of our common essence of love and unity with all life. Her work is transformational and empowering, as she points to the remembering of That which we have always been, allowing truth to become ever more conscious of itself through a human life.
In a relaxed, empathetic and personable manner, and with deep personal insight, humor, and grace, she helps others deconstruct their beliefs of what living a life of freedom looks like. Susanne, the parent of two young adults, divides her time between Taos, New Mexico, and Northern California, and offers spiritual mentoring as well as Grace Healing Sessions to individuals and groups.
Susanne Marie's website: www.susannemarie.org
Suggested donation: $10 to $20, no one turned away for lack of funds.
Where: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA
Park on Sonoma Ave, walk down short driveway to to house with carport.
Arrive 10-15 minutes early for the best seat.