April 2023
Pamela Wilson ~ Letting Stillness Live and Guide the Life ~ In-Person Gathering
"May all beings return to natural balance, heartfelt clear seeing, listening within and living as this courageous and unshakeable Oneness"
Join us for an in-person daylong meeting with Pamela Wilson at a private residence in the hills of Fairfax.
Pamela invites us to uncontain the field of presence, clarity and strength within by noticing the ongoing inner satsang that appears in the heart, body and mind. Bringing warmth and compassion to what is tight or troubled liberates the past from the body, allowing a rooted, clear and free flowing expansion. Life then can live itself, no role play required!
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.
More about Pamela: www.pamelasatsang.com
The meeting will be from 10:30am to 4:00pm, and is completely by donation.
We hope you will join us!
For more information and to REGISTER:
Email Rob at robmschwartz@yahoo.com
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.
Please bring your own lunch, or feel free to go into town to one of the restaurants or to Good Earth Natural Foods.
Find out more »June 2023
John Prendergast ~ Emptiness and Fullness ~ In-Person Daylong Gathering
To be filled, we must first be emptied. The spiritual path is initially about subtraction instead of addition. There is a stripping away of illusion, an emptying out of confusion, an unlearning and unveiling. Whatever our self/world view may be, it is not the ultimate truth. We are not who we think we are and the world is not what we think it is. When there is a willingness to not know with the ordinary mind, we are open to the Unknown and available to being filled by an essential Life. This influx of fullness comes of its own – the natural radiance of our true nature.
Through guided and silent meditation, heart-felt inquiry, and experiential conversations we will explore this natural process of emptying out and being filled.
We hope you will join us!
John is a retired Adjunct Professor of Psychology at CIIS and the author of several books on the intersection of nondual wisdom and psychology, including The Deep Heart and In Touch. He studied for many years with the European sage, Jean Klein, as well as with Adyashanti, and now teaches in a profoundly experiential manner.
Suggested Donation: $75 No one turned away - any donation accepted.
To register:
Email Rob at robmschwartz@yahoo.com
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.
Please bring your own lunch, or feel free to go into town to one of the restaurants or to Good Earth Natural Foods.
Find out more »November 2023
Shakti Caterina Maggi ~ Embodied Non-Duality ~ In-Person Event in San Rafael
Join us for 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.
This event will be an introduction to the retreat that weekend, but is open to all.
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)
Retreat in Berkeley, CA: Nov. 4th & 5th
Suggested donation for this evening: $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.
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!
Awakening Mercy Retreat with Jeannie Zandi (In-Person Local Event)
Co-sponsored by Open Circle
Join Jeannie and friends to explore practical tools for embodying love and clarity in a presence-filled, humor-pervaded holy hall of now.
Along with opening to who we most truly are, the spiritual path includes reckoning with this pesky humanness, which can pull us out of living from presence right into conflict and suffering. Developing mercy for our human foibles as we open to all that we are allows us to walk our open hearts into the world with dignity and consistency. Join Jeannie and friends to explore practical tools for embodying love and clarity in a presence-filled, humor-pervaded holy hall of now.
Dates
Our retreat begins on Friday, December 8th at 2 pm (PDT) and ends on Saturday, December 9th at 9 pm (PDT).
Location: Sausalito, CA
Click here for details & REGISTRATION
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.
Find out more »January 2024
Pamela Wilson ~ New Year’s Day Retreat ~ In-Person Gathering
"May all beings return to natural balance, heartfelt clear seeing, listening within and living as this courageous and unshakeable Oneness"
Join us on New Year's Day for in-person daylong meeting with Pamela Wilson at a private residence in the hills of Fairfax.
In addition to enjoying the warmth of community in the midst of winter, and on this traditional day of renewal, we will explore and enjoy the themes of naturalness, resting in timelessness, and unconditional receptivity.
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.
More about Pamela: www.pamelasatsang.com
The meeting will be from 11:00am to 5:00pm, and is by donation.
We hope you will join us!
For more information and to REGISTER:
Email 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.
Please bring your own lunch, or feel free to go into town to one of the restaurants or to Good Earth Natural Foods.
Find out more »March 2024
Susanne Marie ~ Your Spiritual Map ~ Bay Area Daylong Retreat
Where are you within your spiritual journey? Are you aware of the leading edge of your understanding? Do you recognize what you are currently working on evolutionarily?
Everybody who is called home and takes it seriously is guided to accomplish the goal of living in an undivided manner. Life is hard at work to help bring us into inner alignment. Along the way we are given tools, teachers & teachings, as well as the life experiences we need to help us grow. This includes challenges that can lead one to become primed and committed to seek what is true.
Whether we know it or not, we are always a scientific experiment, experimenting on ourselves. This ongoing experiment teaches us the power of attention and where to place it. Opening to trust the wisdom contained in that attention, we become attuned to spiritual practices we need, depending on which area of growth is necessary at the time. It could be a time of undoing, of stripping away of the belief in a separate self. It could be a time of abiding peacefully in the unknown, realizing that this too is a teaching. It can also be a time of healing old wounds, where one’s pain is asking to be met. There can be a calling to honestly enter the world while embodying awakening. It completely depends on which facet must be polished at the time. Rather than being told by an authority beyond yourself how (and in what order) further steps in the process of realization are to be addressed based on an external model, we can learn to listen deeply and to trust the guidance that is intended specifically for you. Everyone is unique in their journey back to remembrance, and this is to be honored. We are multifaceted beings, and at any given time a particular facet is offered up to be polished and liberated.
During our time together, we will explore ways to listen to ourselves more sensitively, and we will be guided to attune ourselves to the medicine we need to continue gracefully on our journey. We will share with the group and in dyads, exploring our innate ability to feel into or sense our inner pulse of knowing, and finally how to gain confidence in it and to trust it. Sometimes it takes support to affirm the current trail one is taking.
Bio:
Featured in conversation with Adyashanti on Buddha at the Gas Pump as well as on Conscious TV, Susanne Marie offers teachings in support of freedom and the celebration of our common essence of love and unity with all life. Susanne, the parent of two young adults, offers spiritual mentoring, online and in-person group facilitation, as well as retreats.
Adyashanti and Susanne Marie on the Falling Away of Self - Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview
Susanne Marie “Living Beyond Unity” Interview by Renate McNay
The meeting will be from 11:00am to 5:00pm, 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.
We hope you will join us!
Pre-registration required, as space is limited.
Registration closes at 5 pm on March 22nd
Suggested Donation: $60 to $120
No one turned away for lack of funds.
Pay when you arrive.
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.
April 2024
Pamela Wilson ~ Love’s Own Strength and Wisdom is Who We Are ~ Bay Area Daylong Retreat
Join with Pamela and your fellow sages to liberate any containment or reluctance to shine and live what we love.
Pamela Wilson evokes through dialogue, inquiry and her very presence the qualities of unconditional love and radical acceptance. She is celebrated for her ability to open the heart and create a space in which long-cherished struggles and notions about one’s identity relax. Featured in the book Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Wisdom, Pamela is at her best in heart-felt dialogue, so please bring your questions!
More about Pamela: www.pamelasatsang.com
The meeting will be from 10:30am to 4:30pm, with a break for lunch.
Feel free to bring your own lunch and a sun hat and walking shoes for enjoying a walk during our lunch break.
See you there!
You also have option 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 April 19th
Sliding Scale: $60 to $120
No one turned away for lack of funds.
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.
Amoda Maa ~ LIVING THE TRUTH OF FREEDOM IN THE MIDST OF EVERYDAY LIFE ~ In-Person in Corte Madera
Amoda Maa offers a profound invitation to all those who wish to embody the truth of awakened consciousness in the midst of everyday life. Her meetings include silent or guided meditation, discourse, and an opportunity to ask questions from the innermost. Speaking with clarity and grace, she invites an open-hearted honesty to the exploration of what it means to recognize and live from our essential nature as open awareness.
Amoda’s teachings are free from any ideology and are not affiliated with any lineage or tradition, and yet the luminous truth is the same nondual understanding at the core of of many spiritual traditions. Arising from her own direct experience and expressed in a contemporary language, these teachings are relevant and accessible to all people from all backgrounds and cultures. She is known for her authenticity, depth, and unique expression of “masculine” clear-pointed insight and “feminine” unconditional acceptance.
Since 2016, she has been living in the US and today her teachings are followed by a growing global community. She has been a speaker and guest teacher at a variety of conferences, featured in several magazines, interviewed for numerous broadcasts and podcasts, and is the author of several books including Embodied Enlightenment and Falling Open in a World Falling Apart. Her life and work are dedicated to supporting an “inner transformation of consciousness” and envisioning a new world of peace and enlightened living. Amoda and her husband, Kavi Jezzie Hockaday, are Spiritual Directors of the Amoda Maa Foundation.
More info on Amoda, her teachings, and events, including Bay Area Weekend Retreat on April 27/28 at www.amodamaa.com
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.
June 2024
John Prendergast ~ The Art of Self-Inquiry ~ Bay Area Daylong Retreat
Awakening to our true nature is greatly facilitated by the art of self-inquiry – a deep, honest, and intuitive investigation into the direct experience of who we really are. This investigation is based upon our love of the non-dogmatic truth and our desire to live in conscious accord with it. Rigorous self-inquiry often requires that we recognize and welcome our deepest doubts and fears and then question and see through them. The effect is profoundly liberating.
Our time together will include guided and open meditations, a talk, group and dyadic inquiries, and experiential conversations.
John J. Prendergast, Ph.D. is a spiritual teacher and retired psychotherapist and 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 August, 2023. He is the author of The Deep Heart (2019) and In Touch (2015) and is working on a new book for Sounds True about the Ground.
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 May 31st
Suggested donation: $75
(Any amount acceptable. No one turned away for lack of funds.)
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.