Past Events › East Bay

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movement, embryological anatomy and provocative inquiry, we enter into the inner alchemy that allows a dissolve of any outdated structures that may be obstructing our path.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.”

www.ajayasommers.com

Pre-registration (strongly recommended): $25

At the door (as space allows): $25

REGISTER

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.

Through a series of guided inquiries, meditations, music and dialogue, John Astin invites you into a deep exploration of a very simple yet profound question: “What is experience actually made of?” Together, we will peer around the edges of what we think experiences are, and discover the myriad ways that reality transcends our ideas about what it is and who we are.

This experiential investigation reveals that it is not merely those times of great inspiration, beauty or intimacy that lie beyond the reach of our concepts and descriptions, but every experience we have ever encountered. And this discovery—that experiences are ultimately indefinable—turns out to hold the key to our greatest freedom, for every moment—even the ones we conventionally think of as problems—is actually an astounding display of the most miraculous, inconceivable energy, intelligence, lusciousness and depth.

Adyashanti writes in the Foreword to John’s most recent book, This Extraordinary Moment:

“John Astin’s book is an invitation into a profound experience of being that is, quite literally, unimaginable. It offers a way of perceiving that is direct, immediate, and rich with wonder. What John has written here is really a guidebook for breaking the spell of conditioned thinking, and discovering what lies on the other side of our imagination—reality beyond words, and an experience of being that is beyond the known. Read this book, but even more, contemplate it. And perhaps it will evoke within you something greater than can be imagined.”

John Astin is a singer, songwriter and recording artist having produced seven CDs of original spiritual/contemplative music. He is also the author of four books, exploring the nature of human experience—Too Intimate for Words, (2005) This Is Always Enough, (2008) Searching for Rain in a Monsoon, (2012) and This Extraordinary Moment (2018).

Along with his teaching, writing and music, John holds a PhD in health psychology and is an internationally acclaimed scholar in the field of mind-body medicine, his research focusing on the applications of meditative/contemplative practices in psychology and health care. He is presently an adjunct professor of clinical/counseling psychology at Santa Clara and Notre Dame de Namur Universities.

www.johnastin.com

Suggested Donation: $15-25

No one turned away for lack of funds

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.” 

www.ajayasommers.com

Please arrive at least a few minutes early
Suggested Donation: $15-$25 per person

You’ve had a taste of your true nature as nondual awareness, yet you still find yourself recycling conditioned thought patterns, and getting stuck in the emotions that underlie them. You get triggered and feel scared, sad, angry, or resentful. You’re sometimes overcome by behaviors that seem beyond your control.

This evening will be a safe and supportive intimate group gathering where we untangle the ways we feel separate and discover over and over the infinite peace of our true nature. Gail Brenner, Ph.D. is an eternal student of happiness who blends her experience as a psychologist with a loving presence that invites people into harmony with all of life. She is gifted at meeting our humanness with nondual understanding in ways that are practical and loving. Gail has worked with clients and groups for over 20 years, bringing laser-like clarity to the confusion of common problems, such as reactive emotions, compulsive behaviors, feelings of personal inadequacy, and relationship struggles. She is the author of three books, including The End of Self-Help and her latest, Suffering is Optional.

 “When you know you are aware presence—the simplicity of being aware, rather than the complexity and confusion of what you're aware of—problems lose their impact. You're happy and at peace, taking nothing personally. Here, nothing needs to be changed or improved. Without doing anything, you are alert, awake, completely at peace, and problem-free.”

“The invitation is to turn in toward yourself, to remember who you are, to reveal what has always been true, which is that you are not a limited, separate self. You are awareness—undivided, excluding nothing, the source of life that animates everything. This is what you discover when the fascination with conditioned habits wanes, and you consciously know reality as it already is. This shift isn't about improving yourself or fixing what you think is broken about you. Instead, you realize that there's no entity that is you who needs to be improved and that you have never not been whole and fully alive.”

“Here's some very good news: freedom from unhappiness is possible, and nothing needs to change. You don't need to change your thoughts, process your feelings, learn to relax, or become a better person. The invitation is simply to see things clearly. See clearly through to the essence of what makes you unhappy, and you'll realize that, at the core of your being, there's no conflict, resistance, or separation. You now know peace deeper than you could ever imagine. Shine a laser on every experience that makes you suffer, and you'll always find your true nature, pure being that just is."
gailbrenner.com

Please arrive at least a few minutes early
Suggested Donation: $15-$25 per person

To have a quiet mind, an open heart, and not take anything personally is the basis of a healed and holy relationship. But what happens when we hit a wall, and a painful disturbance seems to be insurmountable? The limits of our human heart can seem to be stretched beyond what we believe ourselves to be capable of feeling. And yet we are each carried beyond our personal limits as we bring our dark thoughts and negative feelings to Light, placing everything on the altar of Truth. No difficulty can withstand the quiet light of loving awareness.

Within the core of every difficult situation and emotion, is an intrinsic miracle moment. In choosing the growth opportunity within that situation, instead of defending a point of view, we are miraculously assisted by all the love of the universe. If we choose to accept it, moments of disharmony offer us a priceless gift, which carry us far beyond our perceived disturbances, to inner peace. Our persistent willingness catapults our relationships into a brighter and lighter timeline, removing doubts and insecurities, replacing them with the certainty of a loving purpose more valuable than anything in the world.

In our upcoming events at Open Circle, we’ll explore the qualities of honesty and higher willingness, in a practical and easy way. We’ll open up to the loving dimensions of consciousness that foster true safety, vulnerability, and a quiet tenderness of heart. You needn’t be in crisis to reap the essential benefits offered here. Come as you are.

Brian and Alexandra intuitively draw from direct experience, and 27yrs of partnership in the context of awakening. They share teachings from A Course in Miracles and Sri Ramana Maharshi in their exploration of loving relationships. What they've discovered, is any relationship given to truth, is a path of awakening to what lies beyond all concepts and definitions. And all relationships offer the chance to walk our talk with great integrity.

www.fieldofchange.com

Suggested donation: $10 to $20

Please join us for these special events with South Indian spiritual teacher, Atma Nambi.

Atma Nambi is a spiritual teacher from Tamil Nadu, south India. His spiritual journey started at age 10, and later, while following a career in the business world, he underwent years of spiritual practice with several prominent teachers, including the famous Yogi Ramsurat Kumar and Mohan Bharathi. His various practices included bhakti, karma yoga, mantra, and kundalini, culminating in his Self-Realization in 1994.

Since then, he has been sharing what he lives – total Presence 24 hours a day – with an approach that is casual, immediately applicable, and down-to-earth. He inspires people to live a conscious life in line with each one’s individual potential, which brings pure joy and contentment, health and prosperity in all relations, as well as materially. Atma Nambi shares easy, practical and powerful techniques and approaches that can be applied in everyday life for people of all ages in all levels of society. These will enable you to live a life of celebration, while cultivating the recognition of the true Self.

Both the Friday evening and Saturday programs will culminate with optional chakra initiations by Atma Nambi. The initiations are individual but are done in a group context. The whole group enhances the energy in the initiated. During this process, practical tips will be given on how to keep the chakras activated and maintained, as well as keeping in good physical health.

Note that there is an additional sliding-scale charge for these initiations.

Friday, September 6^th
An Evening of Wellbeing: 7 – 9:00 pm
Experience the Truth, discuss life-related situations, and enjoy being in inner silence. This is an instant experience of wellbeing and peace.

Suggested donation: $15-25

No one turned away for lack of funds.

Anahata Heart Chakra Initiation: 9 – 9:30 pm
The activation of the heart energy center, the fourth chakra, is a way to open up the heart and to heal heart-related issues; it enables better relationships, abundance of love and compassion, inner peace, and empowers the immune system.

Sliding Scale: $35-50
Please bring a candle to hold.

Saturday: September 7^th

Live Life Workshop: 10 – 5:00 pm (Lunch 1 – 2:30 pm)
The Live Life Workshop addresses how to create an atmosphere of ever-rising consciousness, energy and creativity. Atma Nambi will give techniques for raising the internal and external awareness and atmosphere. There will be moment-to-moment techniques, easy to implement in everyday life, as well as powerful techniques for clearing negative energy (karma), and for inner transformation.

When there is an energy coordination brought in to the spot we are in flow. This is a state of consciousness that takes away the blocks from different parts of the body, enhances creativity and the ability to perceive the situation as it is. Flow makes every action joyous and healthy for oneself and others. An atmosphere of flow increases the amount and the quality your work, while addressing the internal atmosphere within one’s Self enhances relationships with family, friends and co-workers, as well as the atmosphere at home, school or at work.

Sliding Scale: $60-120

Kundalini Initiation, 5 – 6 pm
This initiation activates and awakens the mega-energy of kundalini, which dwells at the base of the spine. The rising of kundalini energy acts powerfully, dissolving fear, anxiety and depression. It generates more and more energy through the chakras, and since it is a life-force energy, its awakening enables both mental and physical wellbeing. It can dissolve many karmas and impressions from the past, and a new way of living in joy, peace and harmony can be established. Since this is a powerful initiation, Atma Nambi will select the individuals who he feels are ready.

Sliding Scale: $35-50
Please bring a fragrant flower.

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Additional Services:

While Atma Nambi is in the Bay Area, he is also offering other services to the general community.

Personal Sessions
Atma Nambi provides personalized guidance, spiritual healing, personal techniques and mantras to remove blockages and open up for your inner qualities and powers; he provides individual guidance, with the tools you need to move forward in life, to heal and to open up to the potential in all areas of life, both spiritual and material. He also guides couples and families in how to live a content and joyous family life, and gives guidance to those running centers or doing service for the wellbeing of humanity.
$50

Personal Atma Darshan Sessions: Being in Light
During this private darshan session, Atma Nambi bestows his grace in abundance. He opens up the door of the mind, and the eight spiritual powers that one carries within, enabling the purity of the Self to be experienced.
$50

Kubera TapasKubera Tapas is a fire ceremony performed for cleansing and spiritual and material abundance in private homes, the workplace, and in organizations. Throughout the ages, countless people and places have received great benefit in every aspect of life through Kubera Tapas. The ceremony lasts for approximately 1.5 hours.
$250

To book any of the above services, please email Aradhana at: LIVELIFE.Atma@gmail.com.

http://atmanambi.org/

www.facebook.com/AtmaNambi.LiveLife/

http://upanisha.org/

There are also several videos of Atma Nambi on YouTube.

Join us for this special series of evening meetings and daylong gatherings with Isaac Shapiro in Berkeley.

Date & Time info is detailed below.

Isaac helps us inquire into how we live our lives moment by moment, and how to better align ourselves with the deepest spiritual truths. He works through pointed but good-humored questioning, reflecting back to us, and helping to unravel, the conditioning of the mind and the nervous system, allowing a deeper participation in the moment.

Isaac is an internationally known facilitator and non-dual teacher, fascinated with life lived in alignment with the world’s wisdom traditions. He enjoys exploring and assisting those who share this interest. A student of H.W.L. Poonja (Papaji), Isaac draws on a broad spectrum of understanding, from neurophysiology to some of the latest discoveries in quantum physics, which he applies in a light-hearted but direct way.

Through years of working with people, Isaac has cultivated and refined an ability to track what is happening in the nervous system of participants. Bringing this awareness to people’s attention, allows our natural, innate self-regulating mechanism to be re-established.

“My approach is to invite you to look for yourself at what is true in your own being. This points to what you already know, but which is obscured in the ways of the nervous system. The beauty of this invitation is that nothing needs to be changed, fixed or eliminated. It is a non-dualistic, non-judgmental enquiry into our present being.

“Everything happens through the agency of awareness. As we bring awareness to our unconscious habits, there is a shift that occurs. In the course of the investigation, people spontaneously recognize the true nature of themselves, which many report as the experience of peace, unconditional love, compassion, or simply of being home.”

www.isaacshapiro.org

Evening Meetings
Wed. & Thur. Sept 11th & 12th
and Sun.- Fri. Sept 15th to 20th in Berkeley
7:00 - 8:45 pm
Chochmat HaLev, 2215 Prince Street, Berkeley

Suggested Donation for evenings: $15-$25
No one turned away for lack of funds.

Daylong Intensives
Sat. and Sun., Sept 21st & 22nd, in Berkeley
11:00 am to 5:00 pm
Chochmat HaLev, 2215 Prince Street, Berkeley
No pre-registration required

Sliding Scale: $50 to $100

Lunch Break:
Welcome to bring your lunch, and 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.

A special message written from Matt to the Berkeley audience:

"What’s not to love about Berkeley? From the free-spirited nature of a passionate artist-driven community to farm-to-table ethics celebrated throughout so many restaurants and cafes alike, Berkeley is home to the progressive thinker. Balance all this with the energies of oneness that permeate the hearts of so many residents and you have a place where tech execs, die-hard foodies and spiritual warriors can call home.

"This is why I am always so privileged to make Berkeley a featured stop along my annual group-healing tour. My intuition tells me this year will be perhaps the most potent and miraculous Berkeley weekend of them all. I'd love to gather with you there on September 13 and 14!"

The Heart of Awakening

Fri. September 13, 7:00-9:00pm PDT

All seating is GENERAL ADMISSION and on a first-come, first-served basis.

What if there was an easier, more direct and loving way to experience the light of self-realization? What if it didn’t require effort, years of study, or endless hours of practice in order to be experienced? Are you ready to explore a brand-new way of waking up that allows the ego to let go and surrender with kindness, simplicity, and ease? If so, then please join best-selling author, YouTube sensation, and empathic healer Matt Kahn to enter a brand-new paradigm of revelation and self-discovery. Those who are unable to attend both weekend gatherings are able to purchase livestream passes for either event. If you are ready to explore a new reality of truth that is as equally loving and supportive as it is aligned and wise, then this event will be an exciting new way to dissolve the boundaries of perception.

Ultimate Liberation

Sat. September 14, 11:00am - 5:00pm PDT

All seating is GENERAL ADMISSION and on a first-come, first-served basis.

This full-day immersion is your opportunity to experience the living presence of liberation or Samadhi that is transmitted on an energetic level as Matt speaks. The more often the energy of Samadhi is felt, the more it is received by the subconscious mind to be integrated and embodied throughout your life. If you are ready to end the seeking and suffering and step into the fullness of your radiant eternal being, then this one-day immersion is an incredibly healing way to open the door of liberation with compassion, peace and ease.

Discover what has nearly 12 million YouTube viewers feeling loved, supported, awakened, and opened to the greatest possibilities in life as part of “The Love Revolution.” The video teachings we offer are a mere taste of the full-body experience of our LIVE events! Don’t just hear about it online afterwards, but come be in the healing energy as the spontaneous transmission unfolds. Each gathering is a living, breathing, visceral experience of unconditional love to inspire your soul’s journey to be reawakened, and reimagined in the most heart-centered way.

Using his laser-like, highly-honed intuitive abilities of seeing, hearing, feeling, and direct knowing, Matt Kahn feels the emotions of others and is able to accurately pinpoint what blocks any heart from opening. As a result, he brings forth revolutionary teachings through the spoken word to assist energetically-sensitive beings in healing the body, awakening the soul, and transforming reality to its absolute potential. At each live event, Matt delivers channeled teachings that guide you into higher levels of consciousness with humor, gentleness, and ease.

If you’re ready to explore your life’s purpose on a deeper level, feel more aligned with Spirit, and contribute to the awakening of humanity by shining your light as never before; you are invited to receive the timeless insights, loving wisdom, and healing energy that are offered at each Soul Gathering, Weekend Immersion, and Retreat event. The messages, healing energies, and “It’s amazing how he’s speaking just to me!” moments are a part of the alchemical combination that have had people coming back to these gatherings again and again from states and even countries away.

Each live event is a life-changing opportunity to:

• Accelerate healing on a physical, emotional, and energetic level
• Feel more whole, nourished, inspired and fulfilled
• Connect into the radiance of your highest vibration
• Align with the power of the Universe
• Have greater access to your own intuitive gifts
• Activate the light of your highest potential
• Become more happy, abundant, joyful, and free

Matt Kahn is a spiritual teacher and highly-attuned empathic healer. He is the author of the books, Whatever Arises, Love That and Everything Is Here To Help You. His spontaneous awakening arose out of an out-of-body experience at the age of 8, and through his direct experiences with ascended masters and archangels throughout his life. Using his intuitive abilities of seeing, hearing, feeling, and direct knowing, as an empath, Matt feels the emotions of others and is able to pinpoint what blocks any heart from opening. As a result, he brings forth revolutionary teachings through both the written and spoken word that assist energetically-sensitive beings in healing the body, awakening the soul, and transforming reality through the power of love.

The link to specific details and tickets:

https://tickets.brightstarevents.com/event/matt-kahn-live-in-berkeley?_ga=2.164198591.181328144.1551198857-2108326968.1551198857