August 2023
Manilai ~ Sound Bath ~ In-Person in Berkeley, CA
Join us in a space of connection, honoring and healing.
We will relax and re-harmonize to the sounds and vibrations of crystal singing bowls performed by Manilai. Each singing bowl is attuned to one of the 7 main chakras and helps to clear and align the chakras. You will be invited to completely relax during this one-hour full-bodied, immersive experience that invites deep healing and restorative processes.
“Sounds permeate our systems, resonating with our essence, so that inner dissonance seems almost immediately to be transformed into harmony.”- Dr. Mitchell Gaynor
Bring what you like for your comfort such as a foam or yoga mat, pillows and blankets.
Write up about me:
I went through a period of deep emotional release and healing. Profound shifts happened in my experience of life when I moved from living from my head to my heart. Now I connect to Heart's Truth to guide my way, letting go of the mind's attachment to the illusions of control, security and life story. So much freed when I brought my attention to inner joy and loosened the seeking of happiness outside of myself. I am grateful for this beautiful journey of heart opening and experiencing the unfolding of love all around and through me.
My joy of singing bowl sound baths started several years ago and I felt an immediate affinity for their beautiful vibration and sound. Sound baths have been very healing and restorative for me and I love sharing this with others.
Suggested donation: $15 to $25
Find out more »October 2023
Rupert Spira ~ The Essence of Non-Duality – In-Person & LIVESTREAM Daylong
Registration is now closed for in-person attendance to this event.
Livestream Sliding Scale: $40 to $60 per person.
Link to access recording will be emailed to those registered for Livestream & Recording Access
Since the in-person event is SOLD OUT, we are offering Livestream access to make it available to more people. This “registration” can also be used for people who wish to receive access to the video afterwards.
“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 inquiries, 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. He is the author of several books, including his latest, You are the Happiness You Seek.
www.non-duality.rupertspira.com
Registration is now closed for in-person attendance to this event
Link to access recording will be emailed to those registered for Livestream & Recording Access
Since the in-person event is SOLD OUT, we are offering Livestream access to make it available to more people. This “registration” can also be used for people who wish to receive access to the video afterwards.
Lunch Break: There are places close by to go out for lunch, or you may bring your own lunch, though there is no refrigerator access. There's a nice small yard with lawn, and limited indoor space for eating at the premises.
NOTE: The venue is a kosher-style facility, so no pork or shellfish, and no meat mixed with dairy on premises.
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.
Nearby parking fills up quickly. Plan accordingly.
Shakti Caterina Maggi ~ Embodied non duality ~ In-Person in Berkeley, CA & LIVESTREAM
A direct and compassionate immersion into the field of non duality, an invitation to the conscious embodiment of our true nature. Our daily life itself can then be actively experienced as our most important spiritual practice.
The sharing will be followed by a session of Q&A to integrate the message.
Shakti Caterina Maggi is a spiritual guide who has, since 2003, been sharing a message of non-separation and awakening to our true Self. Her contemporary and heart-centered approach to Advaita and non-dual Tantra has supported thousands of seekers who meet her in retreats and seminars all over the world.
www.shakticaterinamaggi.com
Open Circle is hosting a series of events with Shakti in various locations:
See Shakti's California Tour Page for details.
Berkeley, CA satsangs: Oct. 26th & 31st and Nov. 2nd, 7th & 8th (7-9 pm)
Mount Shasta, CA satsangs: Oct. 27th (7-9 pm) & 28th (3-5 pm)
Sebastopol, CA satsang: Oct. 29th (2-4 pm)
Pre-Retreat satsang, San Rafael, CA: Nov. 3rd (7-9 pm)
(Included when you register for the Retreat and can be attended separately, open to all)
Weekend RETREAT in Berkeley, CA: Nov. 4th & 5th
Suggested donation for this evening In-Person: $10 to $30
No pre-registration. Pay at door when you arrive.
If you have symptoms of a viral infection, or have had a recent
Covid exposure or positive test, please stay home out of consideration for others.
For Nov. 2nd, 7th & 8th, Join us IN-PERSON in Berkeley or by LIVESTREAM...
Link to access recording will be emailed within a week after event,
to those registered for Livestream & Recording Access
November 2023
Embodied Non-Duality ~ RETREAT with Shakti Caterina Maggi ~ in Berkeley, CA
Includes Introductory satsang:
Friday, Nov. 3rd, 7-9 pm, in San Rafael, CA
RETREAT in Berkeley, CA:
Sat. Nov. 4th, 10am to 9pm
and Sun. Nov. 5th, 9am to 1pm
An invitation to realize and rest in the Heart of our being, pure Consciousness.
Immersed in our true nature , the teaching will point to a direct and practical way of making ego patterning conscious. From this perspective, and through an embodied re-connection to them, egoic structures and suffering can be dissolved.
Shakti Caterina Maggi is a spiritual guide who has, since 2003 , been sharing a message of non separation and awakening to our true Self. Her contemporary and heart - centers approach to Advaita and non dual Tantra has supported thousands of seekers who meet her in retreats and seminars all over the world.
www.shakticaterinamaggi.com
Friday evening:
Introductory satsang, 7-9 pm
(Included when you register for the Retreat, but can also be attended separately)
Saturday:
Retreat Check-in, 10:00am - 10:30am
Teaching, 10:30am - 1:00pm
Break, 1:00pm - 2:20pm
Teaching, 2:20pm - 4:30pm
Break, 4:30pm - 7:00pm
Teaching, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Sunday:
Teaching, 9:00am -11:00am
Break, 11:00am - 11:20am
Teaching, 11:20am - 1:00pm
This is a non-residential retreat.
Those coming from afar will need to make their own arrangements for accommodation (Airbnb, etc.)
Meals: You will be responsible for all your meals. There are places close by to go out to eat, or you may bring your own food, though there is no refrigerator access. There's space for eating at the premises.
NOTE: The venue is a kosher-style facility, so no pork or shellfish, and no meat mixed with dairy on premises.
REGISTRATION
Sliding Scale: $250 - $400
Some partial scholarships available. Inquire at LocalEvents@opencirclecenter.org, after you receive the link to register from contacting embodiednonduality23@gmail.com
Pre-Registration is required
Online registration closes at midnight on Thur. Nov. 2nd.
Cancellation Policy
If you have symptoms of a viral infection, or have had a recent Covid exposure or positive test, please stay home out of consideration for others.
To receive link to REGISTRATION, please contact embodiednonduality23@gmail.com.
For those who have not attended a retreat with Shakti in person in the last three years, we kindly request a quick video call. Please send your telephone number or Skype account name and you will be contacted via Skype or WhatsApp.
OTHER EVENTS WITH SHAKTI
Open Circle is hosting a series of events with Shakti in various locations:
(Shakti CA Tour - All events page)
Berkeley, CA satsangs: Oct. 26th & 31st and Nov. 2nd, 7th & 8th (7-9 pm)
Mount Shasta, CA satsangs: Oct. 27th (7-9 pm) & 28th (3-5 pm)
Sebastopol, CA satsang: Oct. 29th (2-4 pm)
Pre-Retreat satsang, San Rafael, CA: Nov. 3rd (7-9 pm)
(Included when you register for the Retreat and can be attended separately, open to all)
Retreat in Berkeley, CA: Nov. 4th & 5th
Lisa Schumacher ~ Your True Nature ~ In-Person Local Event
A meeting with Lisa is an opportunity to step away from your day to day life and devote time for self-inquiry into the heart of the truth. There will be a few moments of silence to start the meeting and then Lisa will speak and invite the community to share reports about their lives and questions.
Lisa Schumacher: Lisa grew up in Colusa, CA, and attended college at San Luis Obispo in the 1980's. After she moved to Southern Oregon in the early 90s, a friend invited her to a video satsang with Gangaji. Upon hearing Gangaji say "Be your Natural Self", Lisa's heart caught on fire and she fell into a deep bow of surrender. That meeting revealed to her the absolute simplicity of the natural, living truth of Love, inseparable from who one is. Lisa moved to Bolinas in 1999 to be closer to Gangaji and the vibrant community around her. In 2006, Lisa was asked by Gangaji to meet with people and share Satsang. She has held meetings in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America. She's also a long-time student of Eli Jaxon-Bear, Gangaji's husband, and a founding teacher of the Eli's "Leela School of Awakening". Lisa is the author of "The Stone I Love", a book of poetry inspired by Gangaji, available on her website and for purchase at the gathering.
In Lisa's meetings, she invites you to sit close and inquire about your awakening, your spiritual questions, and the unfolding truth. The teaching is in the tradition of Gangaji, who is a student of Papaji, who had his awakening at the feet of Ramana Maharshi.
Lisa's website: satsangwithlisa.org
Suggested Donation: $15- $25, no one turned away.
No pre-registration. Pay at door when you arrive.
If you have symptoms of a viral infection, or have had a recent
Covid exposure or positive test, please stay home out of consideration for others.
December 2023
CANCELED – Jeannie Zandi ~ Everyday Mystic ~ In-Person Local Event
Due to illness, Jeannie will be coming out to California later than planned and will not be able to have events until Thursday, December 7th.
Please join her for the public gathering on Thursday, December 7 in Berkeley and the Friday & Saturday (December 8 & 9) intensive in Sausalito if you are able!
Jeannie Zandi ~ Everyday Mystic ~ In-Person Local Event
Spiritual openings allow us to discover the peace and freedom of our true nature, but it is how we take that discovery into the everyday that illuminates and transforms our lives.
Jeannie’s gift for inviting people to join her in resting and rooted presence evokes a deep meeting with oneself and reality. Within that, Jeannie’s humor and iconoclasm serve to bring people into an understanding that is beyond the intellectual. Through silent and guided meditation, spontaneous talks and exchange with participants, Jeannie will host a space of clarity and warmth where the richness of relating can be explored safely and your innermost questions met fully.
Jeannie Zandi is the director of Living as Love, a nonprofit organization dedicated to seeding a culture of the Heart on the planet, inspiring, teaching and supporting people to live from their essence as Love. A year before the birth of her daughter, Jeannie was plunged into a dark night of the soul that culminated in a radical shift of consciousness. She is known for her fearless clarity, tender mercy toward humanness, and a juicy, poetic and often humorous style that draws from Advaita Vedanta, Sufism, Christian mysticism and the ongoing revelation of fully engaged living.
The satsang includes a meditation, comments by the speaker, then Q&A and discussion.
Suggested Donation: $15- $25, no one turned away.
No pre-registration. Pay at door when you arrive.
If you have symptoms of a viral infection, or have had a recent
Covid exposure or positive test, please stay home out of consideration for others.
Pamela Wilson ~ Peace in the Inner and Outer Kingdom ~ Seasonal Celebration ~ Berkeley Event
Peace in the Inner and Outer Kingdom:
Uncontaining the Potent Peace Within
Join Pamela and your fellow sages in liberating that which limits peace inside and outside in the world. As sages we can transmit balance from a distance, helping humanity return to sanity and love.
Pamela Wilson evokes through dialogue, inquiry and her very presence the qualities of unconditional love and radical acceptance. She endears herself to her audiences with her playful and light-hearted humor, combined with compassion and deep understanding of what it is to be human. She is celebrated for her ability to open the heart, call forth our own inner sage, and create a space in which long-held struggles and notions about one’s identity relax. Pamela is featured in the book Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Wisdom.
2:00 pm to 3:45
~*~ with light refreshments and social nourishment afterwards. ~*~
Suggested donation: $15 to $25
Find out more »February 2024
Christiane Prendergast ~ Exploration in Stillness ~ In-Person Local Event
With gentle movements, we allow the body to be felt as it presents itself, moment to moment. Whether there is constriction or heaviness, we unconditionally welcome it through space-feeling, sensing, as well as with an occasional simple inquiry. With this approach, we experience that there is nothing to do, to change or to achieve. Open Presence allows these movements to free themselves and to be newly sensed at any moment. In this way, we effortlessly become one with welcoming that is our home ground.
We start with a short meditation. At the end of the session there will be a time for sharing and questions.
Please bring a blanket or a mat.
Bio: Originally from France, Christiane was a student of the late European Advaita master Jean Klein for over 20 years. Although rooted in Advaita, Jean incorporated a form of subtle-body yoga from Kashmir Shaivism. It is this approach that he taught to Christiane.
Suggested Donation: $15- $25, no one turned away.
No pre-registration. Pay at door when you arrive.
If you have symptoms of a viral infection, or have had a recent
Covid exposure or positive test, please stay home out of consideration for others.
July 2024
Lisa Schumacher ~ Open Meeting with Lisa ~ Local IN-PERSON, Berkeley Event
An open meeting with Lisa is an opportunity to step away from your day to day life and devote time for inquiry into the source of who you are. There will be a few moments of silence to start the meeting and then Lisa will speak and invite you to share about your realizations and ask questions about awakening.
Lisa Schumacher: Lisa grew up in Colusa, CA, and attended college at San Luis Obispo in the 1980's. After she moved to Southern Oregon in the early 90s, a friend invited her to a video satsang with Gangaji. Upon hearing Gangaji say "Be your Natural Self", Lisa's heart caught on fire and she fell into a deep bow of surrender. That meeting revealed to her the absolute simplicity of the natural, living truth of Love, inseparable from who one is. Lisa moved to Bolinas in 1999 to be closer to Gangaji and the vibrant community around her. In 2006, Lisa was asked by Gangaji to meet with people and share Satsang. She has held meetings in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America. She's also a long-time student of Eli Jaxon-Bear, Gangaji's husband, and a founding teacher of the Eli's "Leela School of Awakening". Lisa is the author of "The Stone I Love", a book of poetry inspired by Gangaji, available on her website and for purchase at the gathering.
In Lisa's meetings, she invites you to sit close and inquire about your awakening, your spiritual questions, and the unfolding truth. The teaching is in the tradition of Gangaji, who is a student of Papaji, who had his awakening at the feet of Ramana Maharshi.
We’ll also have a One Day Retreat with Lisa on July 20 in Fairfax (pre-registration required for the daylong).
Lisa's website: satsangwithlisa.org
Suggested donation: $15 to $30
No pre-registration for this evening event. Just come & join us.