Past Events › Marin

Within your heart is the perfect refuge of the pure light of Love. Here is where freedom is; it is your true nature. To give yourself to Love and to live for the Truth requires that your attention is aligned with the song of your heart. We will spend the day together, bowing to what is sacred within and celebrating the simplicity of staying true to what you love.

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

The meeting will be from 10:30am to 4:30pm, with a break for lunch.
Please bring your own lunch, or feel free to go into town to one of the restaurants or to Good Earth Natural Foods.

Pre-registration required, as space is limited.
Registration closes at 5 pm on July 19th
Sliding Scale: $60 to $120
No one turned away for lack of funds.

REGISTER

For inquiries contact LocalEvents@opencirclecenter.org
Location:
The meeting will be held at a private home in the Fairfax hills, with views of Mount Tam and hiking trails.
Address and directions will be provided upon registration.

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.

We also have an Open Meeting with Lisa, July 18th, in Berkeley.

Our true nature is inherently open, wakeful, and loving; however, it is veiled by our conscious and subconscious identification with conditioning. In this daylong gathering, we will pointedly explore how our core limiting beliefs and their corresponding subtle somatic contractions sustain the sense of being a separate self. The day will include guided and silent meditation, meditative inquiry, a talk, and experiential conversations.

John Prendergast, Ph.D is a spiritual teacher, retired psychotherapist, and retired Adjunct Professor of Psychology at CIIS, well known for his pioneering work in integrating non-dual wisdom and psychotherapy. He studied with the European sage Jean Klein for many years, as well as with Adyashanti, who gave him dharma transmission in 2023. He is the author of The Deep Heart (2019), In Touch (2015), and a new book, Your Deepest Ground: A Guide to Embodied Spirituality (March, 2025) from Sounds True.

www.listeningfromsilence.com
YouTube channel

The meeting will be from 10:00am to Noon and 2:00pm to 4:30pm, with a break for lunch.
Please bring your own lunch, or feel free to go into town to one of the restaurants or to Good Earth Natural Foods.

Pre-registration required, as space is limited.
Registration closes at 5 pm on Sept. 20th
Suggested donation: $75
(Any amount acceptable. No one turned away for lack of funds.)
PRE-REGISTER HERE & PAY AT DOOR WHEN YOU ARRIVE.
(Cash or Check only)
This event is Co-sponsored by Open Circle & the Schwartz Family Trust.
All proceeds, above covering event costs, will go to the
Schwartz Family Trust to support Rob Schwartz’s vision of retaining
his house and property to be available as an Open Circle retreat facility.
Event donations will go directly to the Schwartz Family Trust, rather than to Open Circle.
If you want to make larger donations for this project, you can do so at the event, or contact us
for more information on how to make larger donations (or loans, or otherwise support this project).

REGISTER

For inquiries contact LocalEvents@opencirclecenter.org

Location:
The meeting will be held at a private home in the Fairfax hills, with views of Mount Tam and hiking trails.
Address and directions will be provided upon registration.

If you have symptoms of a respiratory infection, or have had a recent
Covid exposure or positive test, please stay home out of consideration for others.

We get to put down the burden of trying to be someone, or pushing ourselves along to some imagined destination. We’re already whole, and every part of us deserves love. We’re invited to allow the juicy flow of our authentic desire to enrich, inspire, and create our life. This immersion in the potent field of loving awareness will include explorations that organically deepen our connection to the vitality and energy of our desire.

Adam Chacksfield is devoted to empowering people to thrive inside awareness, love, and desire rather suffering inside shame and fear. He leads retreats and workshops in North America and Europe, and coaches individuals and couples. Adam is the creator of several courses including Falling Open, Erotic Embodiment & Intimacy, and Transforming Conflict into Deeper Intimacy. He started his spiritual teaching and coaching in 2010 with the support and encouragement of nondual teacher, Peter Fenner. Adam also trained with the Somatica Institute, and now offers experiential erotic embodiment and intimacy coaching using the Somatica Method.

More about Adam: www.adamchacksfield.com

The meeting will be from 10:30am to 4:30pm, with a break for lunch.
Bring your own lunch, or drive 5 minutes into town where there are restaurants, as well as the Good Earth Natural Foods Store that has a full hot and salad bar, plus deli.

Pre-registration required, as space is limited.
Registration closes at 5 pm on Nov. 8th
Sliding Scale: $60 to $120
No one turned away for lack of funds.

REGISTER

For inquiries contact LocalEvents@opencirclecenter.org
Location:
The meeting will be held at a private home in the Fairfax hills, with views of Mount Tam and hiking trails.
Address and directions will be provided upon registration.

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.

You bring the Wisdom. We’ll bring the Food.

A fundraiser, co-sponsored by Open Circle, honoring Rob Schwartz and his vision to maintain his home and land as a retreat space for spiritual gatherings.

Featuring Dan Huebner as our special musical guest.

Registration closes end of day Sunday, Nov. 17th
Space is limited so register early to save your seat at our table.
Details & REGISTRATION

About
Potluck Dharma

The idea for Potluck Dharma sprouted from the meals and wisdom shared at our own tables with family and friends. It has now grown into a seasonal gathering where participants are invited to bring their own wisdom, reflections, and experiences to the table, much like the assortment of dishes at a potluck meal.

The day is all about sharing – insights, wisdom, and stories – creating a laid-back yet profound forum to explore spiritual truths and life’s deeper questions. After a morning program of meditation, dharma talks, and discussion, we’ll gather in the afternoon with a delicious, farm-to-table, vegetarian meal that is included with registration, and equally important in feeding the soul. We’ll close with an herbal tisane, dessert, and a special musical guest.

Join us to connect and grow together, while supporting a worthy cause.

Please note that this event will be recorded and potentially shared. There will be video recording of the teachers during the morning session and discrete photography of the group throughout the day. No faces or names of participants will be included on video. Your participation in this event implies consent for us to use your image or your voice, so please share accordingly.

Featuring:

Joryu Myosei
Joryu Myosei is a spiritual guide, mindfulness, meditation, and inquiry teacher, licensed marriage and family therapist, and intuitive healer. She took a formal bodhisattva vow in 2011, dedicating her life to awakening for the benefit of all beings and her work to supporting awakening in others and its expression in daily life. Through retreats, spiritual gatherings, and one-to-one inquiry work with students, she invites all to experience their deepest knowing and to live authentic, fully engaged lives with joy and purpose.
joryumyosei.com

Riyaz Motan
Riyaz is a spiritual guide, teacher, and former marriage and family psychotherapist. His work interweaves Western psychology & Eastern wisdom traditions to help others find freedom from suffering to awaken to their essential wholeness. Through small intimate groups and day-long or multi-day retreats, he supports others in the journey of discovering who they truly are: to uncover who and what they are at essence, and to fully embody and express this in their lives and relationships.
riyazmotan.com

Dan Huebner
Dan Huebner has been playing Jazz for over 50 years, delighting audiences in a variety of settings and the retreat participants of Adyashanti and Rupert Spira in spiritual venues. HIs primary instruments are tenor and soprano saxophones and alto flute, with supporting instruments added into the flow. Dan is drawn to exploring improvised music from a context of the Presence of Being, discovering the nature and how’s of this process as it evolves. It’s never ending, making his performances always new, interesting, spontaneous adventures.