January 2019
Ajaya Sommers ~ Awaken to the Intimate Embrace of the Heart
Please note that this gathering is limited to approximately 15 people, so pre-registration is strongly recommended. Please see below for more information.
Within a field of unconditionally loving presence, Ajaya facilitates a unique discovery process called Core Embodiment®, an integrated system of embodiment practices, principles and perceptual orientations to awaken and align with the power of your human potential. She is a Biodynamic Craniosacral Integration Teacher, Authorized Continuum Teacher, gifted healer, writer and creative catalyst in the field of embodied awakening and trauma resolution for the last 26 years. All of her programs are grounded in science, expanded through devotional practice, and made real through direct experience.
Due to early developmental trauma, ancestral trauma and our cultural context at large, there is a prevailing unconscious nervous system habit of using spirituality, and particularly the non-dual orientations, to hide, bypass or otherwise disassociate from the intelligence of your core human needs and desires. It is as if your needs and desires are problems to be ashamed of; to fix or get rid of, on your way to spiritual realization.
This is not a sustainable, humane or truly integrative path. We long for the tangible felt sense of our wholeness. We long to passionately embody all that is present within our very human, holy and messy majesty of being alive. It is time that we compassionately discover how to allow everything to be lived within the intimate embrace of the Heart.
In this introductory evening, we will melt below our habit patterns of the default nervous system and connect directly with this core intelligence ─ discovering our own intimate, ever fresh, self-healing, oxytocin-replenishing, cell-renewing, inspired embodiment practice.
Utilizing conscious breath, sound vibration, subtle intrinsic movement, embryological anatomy and provocative inquiry, we enter into the inner alchemy that allows a dissolve of any outdated structures that may be obstructing our path. A psycho-spiritual somatic reorganization and higher order of self-regulation arises as our cells surrender into the all-pervasive holding ground of nature that is always present, when we are seated in the Core.
We will re-emerge renewed, resourced and ready to re-engage our senses such that they become thresholds where the divine, the natural world, our culture and the mystery of being human coalesce as the dynamic dance of Life.
“The beauty of any true transformational path is that it will involve pattern interrupting the normal way in which you breathe, and thus your unconscious identity, taking you home to the innocence of your origins and the birthright of your Biological Breath – a systemic breath that unifies your body, mind and heart. You awaken as a whole body, mind, and heart breathing, reclaiming ALL that you are.”
Pre-registration (strongly recommended): $25
At the door (as space allows): $25
Please note that this is one of an ongoing series of special intimate gatherings to be held in the new Open Circle Room at Chochmat HaLev (the first door on the left down the side passageway).
Due to limited space, and in order to facilitate a more intimate container, these gatherings will be limited to about 15 people. Therefore, we strongly recommend pre-registration for these special evenings.
For anyone who has not pre-registered, admission at the door will be as space allows. So, be sure to sign-up early, and please try to arrive at least 5 minutes before the starting time.
Also note that, unlike most Open Circle events, these gatherings are not by donation. We require a specific admission price, whether by pre-registration or at the door. Thank you for your understanding and support.
Find out more »February 2019
Saniel Bonder & Linda Groves-Bonder ~ Waking Down in Mutuality – A Natural Path to Your Radiant Embodiment of the HEART
Can you imagine living with a deep trust in your being – so strong that you know without a doubt that you are the Heart, the One Being, living uniquely as you, the local, particular, ordinary person you are? Can you imagine having no confusion about who you are, not fundamentally different or separate from your body, others, the world…. the Divine reality?
The Sun in the HEART of every human being and all sentient beings is “rising”: the radiant feeling-intelligence of our eternal nature and condition is intensifying, coming alive and awake in us as both the source-engine and the emergent expression of what and who we are becoming.
This “rising” is as natural a process as being human itself and with guidance it can lead to Radiant Whole Body Awakening.
The HEART is our humanness and our divinity all at once, our Totality Identity encompassing all Spirit and all Matter. It is the Mystery of all mysteries, the Love-Unity that holds us together even when life appears to be falling apart.
As individuals and as a species we have been suffering and perpetuating a chronic developmental predicament, “the Spirit/Matter split.” This nearly universal split manifests in and among us as a paradigm, a worldview. It creates and continually reinforces in each of us a fundamental sense of separateness, confusion, and incompleteness.
The fundamental healing of the Spirit/Matter split is the whole body, whole being, whole world realization or radiant embodiment of the HEART."
For over 22 years, Saniel Bonder and Linda Groves-Bonder have been helping hundreds of people move into their own unique expressions of Embodied Awakening. Their work — Waking Down in Mutuality® — is a primary expression of what human beings go through when the HEART becomes ever more Self-aware in, as, and through them.
In this workshop, Saniel and Linda will discuss key elements of the three foundational principles of this process, Waking, Down and Mutuality, and how you can explore and integrate those principles to further your own Embodied Awakening. There will be a 20 minute talk, a short period of Q&A for immediate questions and responses, followed by 15 minutes of gazing and meditation, after which we will open the rest of the event for questions and answers.
Suggested donation: $15 to $25
Find out more »Shakti Caterina Maggi ~ Love in Non-Duality ~and~ The Way of Perception
Please join us for this special series of events with Italian teacher Shakti Caterina Maggi.
Tues. Feb, 12th, 7:00-8:45 pm ~ Awakening in Daily Living (San Rafael)
Thur. Feb. 14th, 7:00-8:45 pm ~ Love in Non-Duality (Berkeley)
Sat. Feb. 16th, 11am-5pm ~ The Way of Perception (Berkeley)
Sun. Feb. 17th, 1:00-5:00 pm ~ The Way of Perception (Sebastopol)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Thur. Feb. 14th, 7:00-8:45 pm in Berkeley
~ Love in Non-Duality ~
Silence is the space where there is no me or you
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there" ~ Rumi
Love is not an emotion but the space in which we meet as One. Shakti will guide the participants to learn how to relate not from the image of our separate identity but from the recognition of what we truly are. Falling in love means to recognize ourselves in the other and to go beyond the image borders and separations that we create out of fear. Love is the unconditional space in which we can learn to live and express and to meet the world.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Shakti is a teacher very well known in Europe and her native Italy, who offers a contemporary and accessible vision of true awakening that is profoundly in tune with Advaita and nondual Tantric traditions.
The spiritual journey inevitably leads to the confrontation between our "spiritual life" and our "material life", discovering how and where we truly embody the truth of our heart. Realizing the emptiness of our true nature is just the starting point of an integration process that can take several years and involve all aspects of our lives, and leads us to several moments of crisis in which old egoic patterns of behavior that are still based on the separative mind emerge to be dissolved by the light of Awareness.
Shakti has spent many years deepening this integration process. With wisdom, humor, and heartfelt connection, she shares a message of discovering our divinity at the very core of our humanity. Shakti has been sharing this message of non-separation since 2003 with many people around the world, especially in Italy and in Europe, where she holds satsangs and retreats.
~ The Way of Perception ~ Day-long intensive on Saturday March 16th ─ which will include mediation, satsang and perception exercises ─ will help us see and dissolve our conflictual view of life, and enable us to live and embody a message of true peace and non-separation between human beings.
"Peace is not a destination, but a starting point. Find that Peace that rests behind anything and anybody and bring it into your world. Every human being looks for Peace in their inner or outer reality. In this call for clarity, what we are looking for is what our true nature actually is.
“We are used to imagining that the dissolving of inner and outer conflicts comes as the result of some action, whereas it is only when we move from Peace that those actions will bring the end of any conflict. Moving and living from Peace is recognizing what we are, and integrating it in our everyday life.
“Awakening to your true nature means to wake up to your true essence that lies behind any conflict of daily living. Thoughts and feelings are not an obstacle to this recognition, but the direct expression of how we know or ignore ourselves. Once we find that silence that rests behind manifestation, the ego will come back, out of habit. If we can recognize its presence, not as a disturbance but as an opportunity to integrate the message, our everyday life becomes our true spiritual journey. The Peace of our Being becomes the world we see and live in.”
Thur. Feb. 14th Evening in Berkeley ~ Love in Non-Duality
Time: 7:00pm - 8:45pm
Place: Chochmat HaLev, 2215 Prince St., Berkeley, CA
Suggested donation: $15 - $25
No one turned away for lack of funds
Feb. 16th Daylong in Berkeley ~ The Way of Perception
Time: 11:00am - 5:00 pm
Place: Chochmat HaLev, 2215 Prince St., Berkeley, CA
Sliding scale: $65 - $125
Pre-registration is encouraged and suggested (not required) at info@shakticaterinamaggi.com
(make payment at the door) Partial scholarships available
Lunch Break:
Welcome to bring your lunch. There are also various places near the Berkeley venue, to go out to eat.
Note: Per venue policy, only vegetarian food is allowed on premises at Chochmat HaLev
Brian & Alexandra ~ Relationship as a Path of Awakening
Brian and Alexandra draw on A Course in Miracles and the tradition of Ramana Maharshi in their exploration of relationships as a path of wakening. What they have discovered is that the structure of any relationship can be a vehicle to go beyond that structure itself. Relationship, if given to truth, is a path of awakening to what lies beyond all concepts and definitions.
In the stillness of our hearts, we want not only to have an experience of awakening, but to consistently live in the harmonious field of loving awareness which is already fulfilled in its Self. And we get many chances to be truly intimate with ourselves every moment. How many of those miraculous invitations do we accept?
To consistently live in the light of love, is never what we think it is. It takes honesty and courage to walk our talk, and the willingness to raise all darkness to light. It takes a willingness that far exceeds any identification with personal enlightenment experiences.
True exposure happens when a deeply felt sense of safety is present, holding us all, however we seem to be in any given moment. Without judgement, an awareness of communion replaces all differences, and comes with readiness to know our shared Mind and Heart. No one is ever excluded. Although we may not yet seem to fully know it, we can experience it together.
"What makes us deeply grateful is how love continues to extend beyond all the definitions of our relationship. And as our purpose gets lighter and clearer, light pours through us to spread more love to everyone. We’re not doing anything. By sharing a feeling of deep presence with those we meet, our hearts are profoundly nourished. We all feel it."
Suggested donation: $10 to $20
Find out more »Shakti Caterina Maggi ~ Living Awakening
Our previous week of events with Shakti Caterina Maggi was so successful that we decided to add a couple more last-minute events while Shakti is still in the Bay Area.
- Thursday, Feb. 21st, 7:00-8:45 pm ~ Living Awakening
- Saturday, Feb. 23rd, 11:00 am-5:00 pm ~ Living Awakening Intensive
Shakti is a teacher very well known in Europe and her native Italy, who offers a contemporary and accessible vision of true awakening that is profoundly in tune with Advaita and nondual Tantric traditions. With wisdom, humor, and heartfelt connection, she shares a message of discovering the divinity at the very core of our humanity. Shakti has been sharing this message of non-separation since 2003 with many people around the world, especially in Italy and in Europe, where she holds regular satsangs and retreats.
The day-long intensive will emphasize experiential exercises, as well as mediation and satsang. These special perception exercises are designed to help us see and dissolve our conflictual view of life, and the patterns of holding and resistance that reinforce the sense of separation. This then enables us to live and embody a message of true peace and non-separation between human beings.
“Awakening to your true nature means to wake up to your true essence that lies behind any conflict of daily living. Thoughts and feelings are not an obstacle to this recognition, but the direct expression of how we know or ignore ourselves. Once we find that silence that rests behind manifestation, the ego will come back, out of habit. If we can recognize its presence, not as a disturbance but as an opportunity to integrate the message, our everyday life becomes our true spiritual journey. The Peace of our Being becomes the world we see and live in.”
Thur. Feb. 21st. Evening Satsang ~ Living Awakening
Time: 7:00pm - 8:45pm
Place: Chochmat HaLev, 2215 Prince St., Berkeley, CA
Suggested donation: $15 - $25
No one turned away for lack of funds
Feb. 23rd. Daylong Intensive ~ Living Awakening Intensive
Time: 11:00am - 5:00 pm
Place: Chochmat HaLev, 2215 Prince St., Berkeley, CA
Sliding scale: $65 - $125
No one turned away for lack of funds
Lunch Break (1-2:15 pm):
You are welcome to bring your lunch, although only vegetarian food is allowed on the premises (per the policy of Chochmat HaLev). There are also various other places nearby to go out to eat.
CANCELLED – Rupert Spira ~ The Essence of Non-Duality
The Feb. 24th event has been cancelled due to a family emergency. An email will be sent to all people who pre-registered about how to rollover their tickets for a future event with Rupert, or how to get a refund. Both Rupert himself and Open Circle sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused.
March 17th Rupert Spira event in Berkeley
is open for registration.
“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
To recieve notices on upcoming events, sign up for Open Circle's email newsletter at top of this web page.
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.
Shakti Caterina Maggi ~ Living Awakening
Shakti Caterina Maggi has decided to add one final satsang on Wednesday before flying back to her native Italy!
Shakti is a teacher very well known in Europe, who offers a contemporary and accessible vision of true awakening that is profoundly in tune with Advaita and nondual Tantric traditions. With wisdom, humor, and heartfelt connection, she shares a message of discovering the divinity at the very core of our humanity. Shakti has been sharing this message of non-separation since 2003 with many people around the world, especially in Italy and in Europe, where she holds regular satsangs and retreats.
“Awakening to your true nature means to wake up to your true essence that lies behind any conflict of daily living. Thoughts and feelings are not an obstacle to this recognition, but the direct expression of how we know or ignore ourselves. Once we find that silence that rests behind manifestation, the ego will come back, out of habit. If we can recognize its presence, not as a disturbance but as an opportunity to integrate the message, our everyday life becomes our true spiritual journey. The Peace of our Being becomes the world we see and live in.”
Suggested donation: $15 - $25
No one turned away for lack of funds
March 2019
Caverly Morgan ~ The Absolute is the Relative: Touching Race, Injustice, and Love
“All being is shared being. To know that is peace. To live that is love.”
~ Caverly
When we engage in the distortion that the relative plane is separate from the absolute – that it is something to transcend or ‘just an illusion’ – we ignore the reality of the illusion. What is the illusion comprised of? How is it known? And by whom?
The relative may appear to arise out of the absolute, as waves appear to arise out of the ocean, but like waves, both relative and absolute are components of a greater whole. They are not separate. When we know ourselves as this whole which subsumes everything, we cease to diminish or dismiss the mystery of being human. We experience viscerally that “the world is my family.”
From this understanding, we recognize that liberation is not a singular experience. There can be no individual ego that experiences enlightenment. We suffer when we forget that. We suffer when we perceive ourselves as separate from the collective – on the level of consciousness (the absolute) as well as with our neighbor (the relative).
When we recognize that the world is arising in us, Awareness, there is nothing to dismiss. How, then, in our situation of privilege on the relative plane, do we dismiss injustice, bias, cruelty in the name of transcendence or ‘spiritual understanding’? How do we participate in systems of oppression while ignoring the effects on our neighbor, as well as the whole?
Do we fall for the story that the awakened life we seek is mine to have rather than ours to be? And what’s love got to do with it?
Caverly Morgan is a meditation teacher, nonprofit leader, and visionary. She is the Founder and Guiding Teacher of Presence Collective, dedicated to igniting personal transformation and collective awakening. She is also the Founder and Guiding Teacher of Peace in Schools — a nonprofit which created the nation's first for-credit mindfulness class in public high schools. Peace in Schools is pioneering new depths in mindfulness education through teaching youth as well as training educators.
Caverly blends the original spirit of Zen with a modern nondual approach. Her practice began in 1995 and has included eight years of training in a silent Zen monastery. She has been teaching contemplative practice since 2001.
Prior to her pioneering efforts with Peace in Schools, Caverly formerly worked for nonprofits serving people with special needs. An artist and educator, she brings insight, passion, warmth and humor to her transformative work with students of all ages and experience levels.
Suggested Donation: $15 - $25
Find out more »Tim Freke ~ Individuals Evolving Into Unividuals
"An astonishing leap forward in the story of humanity is quietly gaining momentum. It is historically unprecedented that so many of us now feel compassion for people we will never meet who are suffering in distant lands. More and more of us care deeply about other species and the natural world. A smaller but ever increasing number are awakening to a profound sense of oneness with everyone and everything."
Pioneering English philosopher and visionary Tim Freke suggests these developments are signs of our evolution from separate individuals into connected ‘unividuals’ who experience a unity that transcends our individuality. During his ‘Evening of Philosophy’ and ‘Experiential Day Seminar’ he will explore this momentous evolutionary jump.
You’ll be introduced to ‘Unividualism’ which unifies science and spirituality to offer a visionary understanding of the evolving cosmos. You’ll experience ‘Unividual Connection Meditations’ to awaken a state of deep communion and all-embracing love. This is your invitation to become part of a new global tribe that can transform our individualistic self-serving society into a unividual culture of kindness.
T!M FREKE is a leading-edge thinker with a contagious enthusiasm for the human adventure, who shares original and life-changing ideas with clarity and humor. He has been exploring spirituality since a spontaneous awakening at age 12. He is the author of 35 books, translated into 15 languages, including a top 10 international bestseller and UK Daily Telegraph ‘Book of the Year’. He presents events internationally, including in the UK, Europe, Japan, South America, Canada and the USA.
Evening of Philosophy ~ Thursday, March 7th, 2019
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Sliding Scale: $15 - $25
No pre-registration for the Thur. evening event.
Experiential Day Seminar ~ Sunday, March 10th, 2019
Time: 10:30 am - 5:00 pm
NOTE: as of SUNDAY March 10TH, 2 am, clocks in the USA are turned forward 1 hour
"Spring Ahead" - Daylight Savings Time begins.
Change your clocks when you go to bed Satrurday night!
Sliding Scale: $65 - $125
Pre-registration recommended but not required.
Please contact LocalEvents@opencirclecenter.org with any questions
PARKING: There is some limited free street parking in the neighborhood, without time limit on weekday evenings and 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.
Lunch: There are various places close by to go out for lunch, including the Telegraph Ave. Whole Foods. Or you can bring your own food (but note that the venue only allows vegetarian food on the premises).
Find out more »Jenny & Greg Donner ~ This Moment Is Your Miracle
Modern day mystics and marriage partners, Jenny and Greg Donner have been touring the world for many years sharing their deep inspiration and love of truth. In collaboration with David Hofmeister, they share a mystical and practical approach to healing. As intuitive open channels, they bring an awareness that is miraculous and uplifting. You are invited this evening to join in a felt experience of divine presence and peace. Come and explore:
- Following your heart’s true calling
- How to effectively face and release fear
- Identifying and dismantling core beliefs
Let’s open our hearts to an experience of love and innocence that’s always here. This moment is your miracle!
Suggested Donation: $15 - $25
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
Find out more »