August 2024
Gail Brenner ~ Melting into Being (In-Person Event)
Melting into Being - Come and enjoy an afternoon of melting into being with your fellow truth lovers. All are welcome!
In our time together, we’ll relax into effortless being, marinating in the luminescent knowing of our true nature. We’ll leave the limitations of our personal stories and attachments to discover liberation—already here—timeless, boundless, and free. This is you…who you’ve always been despite any beliefs that tell you otherwise.At the same time, we bow to our humanness—meeting our conditioned and fear-based patterns with understanding and compassion. And we know that who we are is unlimited, overflowing with love, and infinitely peaceful. You are welcome just as you are with your fears, doubts, shame, and questions—or simply to share sacred space. With guided meditation, quotes from our beloved masters, and open conversation, we’ll celebrate together, discovering peace and happiness right at the heart of our everyday human lives. I look forward to being with you!
Gail Brenner, Ph.D. is your guide. As a psychologist, author, and teacher, she transmits a love of truth with a fire that burns brightly. Gail is an expert in healing from early trauma and brings to this work years of experience with individuals and groups. She is known for creating the safe space needed for deep inner exploration. Gail is the author of the award-winning The End of Self-Help and Suffering Is Optional.
Gail's website: gailbrenner.com
Satsang: 2-4 pm
Refreshments: until 5
Suggested Donation: $10- $20, no one turned away.
No pre-registration. Pay at door when you arrive.
Location: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA. Park on Sonoma Ave.
Note: The address sign says 8474/8476. Park on the street, and walk down the short driveway to the house with the carport.
Please dress mindfully, doors & windows will be open!
If you have covid-like symptoms, or have had a recent Covid exposure or positive test, please stay home out of consideration for others.
September 2024
Louise Kay ~ Embodied Awareness (In-Person & Livestream)
Open Circle is hosting a series of events with Louise Kay in various locations ~
In-Person attendance & Livestream available:
Sebastopol, CA satsang: Sept. 22nd (2-4 pm)
Berkeley, CA satsangs Sept. 24th (7-9 pm)
San Rafael, CA satsang: Sept. 26th (7-9 pm)
Berkeley, CA satsangs Sept. 27th (7-9 pm)
DAYLONG...
Sept. 28th, Location TBA (10:30am-4:30pm)
Click here to access details & registration for ALL events.
Sept. 22nd in Sebastopol....
You're invited to join Louise Kay for a 2 hour meeting in Truth. During this event Louise will share her Embodied Awareness practice with you; a practice which supports the direct recognition of one's true nature through self-inquiry, as well as the integration of unprocessed energies and emotions held in the body. When employed with consistency this practice allows one to live in presence in an integrated way and to become a vessel through which higher consciousness can flow more freely, bringing joy to every aspect of life.
Alongside like-minded community you will be supported to surrender fully into the now, dis-identify from the conceptual self and open up to your true nature, pure consciousness, to discover an ever-present dimension of peace.
Whatever emotions or sensations arise in the body will be met with unconditional love under Louise's gentle guidance, allowing for deep healing and transformation to take place on the level of form.
Louise Kay was born in the UK. After graduating from university she worked as an English teacher for 15 years, and during this time began to question the deeper meaning of life. This led her to the path of spirituality, where she found a strong resonance with the teachings of non-duality.
In her early thirties Louise felt a strong call to visit India, where she experienced a profound spiritual awakening. In the years that followed she experienced a deepening and integration of her initial spiritual awakening and as she opened more to this dimension of being a new form of expression revealed itself from deep within her heart.
Louise is passionate about supporting people to live a life of presence and unconditional love. Her greatest joy is to sit together in presence and gently hold space for all emotions, all sensations and all experiences which arise in the moment in order to support the integration of unresolved energies and allow the unfolding of the divine in all who feel the call.
Explorations are usually focused around self-inquiry, the release of limiting beliefs and the integration of unprocessed emotions and energies.
More about Louise: www.louisekay.net
Satsang: 2-4 pm
Refreshments: until 5
Suggested Donation: $10 - $20
No one turned away for lack of funds.
No pre-registration for In-Person Attendance. Pay at door when you arrive.
In-person attendees will be able to sign up for the recording at the event.
For inquiries contact web@opencirclecenter.org
Location:
8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA. Park on Sonoma Ave.
Note: The address sign says 8474/8476. Park on the street, and walk down the short driveway to the house with the carport.
Please dress mindfully, doors & windows will be open!
If you have covid-like symptoms, or have had a recent Covid exposure or positive test, please stay home out of consideration for others.
Louise Kay ~ Embodied Awareness (In-Person & Livestream)
You're invited to join Louise Kay, who is from the UK, for a meeting in Truth in Sebastopol, the first of several events Open Circle will be hosting with her in the Bay Area over the next week. During this event Louise will share her Embodied Awareness practice with you; a practice which supports the direct recognition of one's true nature through self-inquiry, as well as the integration of unprocessed energies and emotions held in the body. When employed with consistency, this practice allows one to live in presence in an integrated way and to become a vessel through which higher consciousness can flow more freely, bringing joy to every aspect of life.
In her early thirties Louise felt a strong call to visit India, where she experienced a profound spiritual awakening. In the years that followed she experienced a deepening and integration of her initial spiritual awakening, and, as she opened more to this dimension of being, a new form of expression revealed itself from deep within her heart.
Louise is passionate about supporting people to live a life of presence and unconditional love.
Find out more »October 2024
Richard Miller ~ This Which We are Above All Else (In-Person Event)
This Which We are Above All Else
The belief that we are a separate “me-I-self” who is in control is simply that, an illusory captivating narrative where we're the main character in a movie constructed by our thoughts, feelings, actions, and experiences. A first step toward awakening entails recognizing that the separate self has never existed and that its dissolutions isn't a death or a loss. It's a freeing of an illusion that we had to constantly defend and maintain. An important step in releasing this illusion entails realigning with and embodying our intrinsic Essential Essence.
Join Richard as he introduces you to five simple inquiries designed to offer you a glimpse of your Essential Essence, and practical approaches for helping your mind break free of its preoccupation with the illusion of separation and control.
Richard C. Miller, PhD After decades of searching Richard met his spiritual mentor, Jean Klein in 1983, who guided him through the non-path, non-method, and nondual realization of Essential Nature. Founder of iRest Institute, and a co-founder of the International Association of Yoga Therapists and the Institute for Spirituality and Psychology, Richard teaches nondual inquiry and the realization of Essential Nature internationally, as well as serves as a consultant researching and teaching the meditation protocol he’s developed, Integrative Restoration ~ iRest, a modern-day secular adaptation of an ancient nondual practice of self-inquiry and awakening.
Richard's website: shop.irest.org
Satsang: 2-4 pm
Refreshments: until 5
Suggested Donation: $10- $20, no one turned away.
No pre-registration. Pay at door when you arrive.
Location: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA. Park on Sonoma Ave.
Note: The address sign says 8474/8476. Park on the street, and walk down the short driveway to the house with the carport.
Please dress mindfully, doors & windows will be open!
If you have covid-like symptoms, or have had a recent Covid exposure or positive test, please stay home out of consideration for others.
November 2024
Susanne Marie ~ The Impact of Awakening on Relationships (In-Person Event)
Undivided truth, when sincerely opened to, reorganizes our entire life, revealing what is not in alignment, including how we connect with others. During the awakening journey, the way we relate to ourselves, as well as others, will be honestly examined. This arises organically whereby what is not in inner harmony will reorganize both during the emptying out phase (seeing through the separate self sense), and during the unity phase (when the heart opens). As allegiance to inner integrity grows, the changes which take place on the inside are naturally reflected in the way we communicate. Vulnerability of the heart wishes to be exercised as it is increasingly seen that there is strength in transparency. Self compassion leads to learning how to maintain healthy boundaries. These inner transformations often change the landscape to even the closest of relationships.
Once you are reharmonized internally, a more true and natural relating will emerge with others, but this takes practice out in the 'marketplace' of life. As we all know, maintaining healthy relationships is an art, and not always easy to navigate. Having Truth as one's guide, the aim is to live more authentic and heart centered connections, as this enriches all of our lives.
About Susanne Marie
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, who lives in Northern California, is the parent of two young adults. She offers spiritual mentoring, online and in-person group facilitation, as well as retreats.
Video: Disconnection During Awakening | False Self Dries Up
More about Susanne Marie: susannemarie.org
Satsang: 2-4 pm
Refreshments: until 5
Suggested Donation: $10- $20, no one turned away.
No pre-registration. Pay at door when you arrive.
Location: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA. Park on Sonoma Ave.
Note: The address sign says 8474/8476. Park on the street, and walk down the short driveway to the house with the carport.
Please dress mindfully, doors & windows will be open!
If you have covid-like symptoms, or have had a recent Covid exposure or positive test, please stay home out of consideration for others.
January 2025
Jeannie Zandi ~ Awakening Your Heart’s Essential Power (In-Person Event)
A Year to Love:
Claiming What You're Really Here For and Living It
January 2025 Bay Area Events with Jeannie Zandi
Join spiritual teacher Jeannie Zandi for a series of Bay Area gatherings (in-person and livestream) exploring how to unite our humanity and divinity, becoming love's instrument in an aching world. This is an invitation to make 2025 the year you live what you're here for.
Attend any or all in this series of In-Person events.
Each session is complete and meaningful on its own.
Livestream also available for Jan. 13th to 16th events.
January 12: Sebastopol, CA ~ Awakening Your Heart's Essential Power
The Heart's Revolution: Three Nights of Radical Presence, in Berkeley, CA
January 13: Berkeley, CA ~ Melting the Walls Around the Heart
January 14: Berkeley, CA ~ Standing in Love's Fire
January 16: Berkeley, CA ~ Being Love's Instrument in the World
January 15: San Rafael, CA ~ Love's Wild Heart: When Human Meets Divine
Jan 18th & 19th ~ Earth and Sky: The Dance of Being Human
In-Person RETREAT in Sausalito, CA
Click here to access details & registration for ALL events in series.
Awakening Your Heart's Essential Power
January 12th, 2-5pm
Join us for refreshments and connection from 4-5pm.
Location: Sebastopol, CA (at Tomas's)
What if 2025 becomes the year you finally come home to the love that you are? Join spiritual teacher Jeannie Zandi for an intimate afternoon exploring what becomes possible when we stop running from our humanity and fully embody the marriage of human and divine. For millennia, we've lived split from our essence, alienated from the love that is the very bedrock of reality. But that ancient wound can heal–not someday, but now, in this very lifetime, in this very year. Through meditation, teachings and dialogue, we'll discover how to root ourselves in the heart's unwavering presence while meeting life's intensifying challenges with fierce wisdom and tender grace. The world needs your whole heart–human and divine, united at last.
Jeannie Zandi is a spiritual teacher who supports people to integrate awakening into every aspect of human experience and to bring their heart's offering to life. Known for her potent blend of spiritual mastery and grounded humanness, she creates transformational spaces with fierce tenderness, irreverent wisdom, and unwavering presence, inspiring students to embody their deepest truth in everyday life.
Her gift for inviting people into resting, rooted presence evokes a deep meeting with oneself and reality. Her disarming humor and directness invite us beyond mere intellectual understanding into direct experience. Through silent and guided meditation, spontaneous talks, and authentic dialogue, Jeannie hosts a space of clarity and warmth where the richness of experience can be explored safely and innermost questions met fully.
At the heart of her teaching is the recognition that life itself is the ground through which we are purified as vessels for divine expression. She guides students to embrace every moment—from mundane to challenging—as fuel for awakening, transforming daily life into a practice of embodied truth. Her work bridges the mystical with the practical, moving beyond abstract concepts into fully embodied awakening. Jeannie calls students to mature into capable, authentic expressions of love and truth, serving the whole with wisdom and courage. This devotional path invites alignment with the divine, where life's challenges become opportunities to manifest love in action.
Suggested Donation: $10- $20, no one turned away.
No pre-registration. Pay at door when you arrive.
Location: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA. Park on Sonoma Ave.
Note: The address sign says 8474/8476. Park on the street, and walk down the short driveway to the house with the carport.
Please dress mindfully, doors & windows may be open!
If you have covid-like symptoms, or have had a recent Covid exposure or positive test, please stay home out of consideration for others.
March 2025
Amoda Maa ~ An Inquiry into the Living Truth of Freedom (In-Person Event)
Open Circle is hosting a series of SATSANGS & a DAYLONG with Amoda Maa in California, USA.
February 27th (7-9 pm, PT) ~ Berkeley, CA
February 28th (7-9 pm, PT) ~ Mill Valley, CA
March 1st Daylong (11:00am - 5:00pm, PT) ~ Fairfax, CA
March 2nd (2-4 pm, PT) ~ Sebastopol, CA
All events are In-Person ~
Livestream is also available for Feb. 27th to March 1st
Click here to access details & registration for ALL events in series.
Amoda Maa invites an open-hearted honesty to the exploration of what it means to live as freedom in all circumstances. She offers profound pointers to how this freedom reveals itself if we are willing to surrender all resistance to “what is” and how the light of our essential nature shines through all experience when the “veil of self" comes undone. Through dialogue, inquiry, and guided meditation she supports the recognition of that which is beyond the duality of perception, thought and feeling, and takes us to the experience of the ever-present and unchanging reality of awareness. This unbounded awareness is the eternal ground of Being … and this is the source of true peace and freedom.
This is a two-hour meeting, including guided meditation/silence, discourse and Q&As.
Amoda Maa offers a profound invitation to all those who wish to embody the truth of awakened consciousness in the midst of everyday life. 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 many spiritual traditions.
She offers meetings and retreats in the USA and Europe, is the author of several books, and is founder and spiritual director of the Amoda Maa Foundation.
www.amodamaa.com
Satsang: 2-4 pm
Refreshments: until 5
Suggested Donation: $10- $20, no one turned away.
No pre-registration. Pay at door when you arrive.
Location: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA. Park on Sonoma Ave.
Note: The address sign says 8474/8476. Park on the street, and walk down the short driveway to the house with the carport.
Please dress mindfully, doors & windows may be open!
If you have covid-like symptoms, or have had a recent Covid exposure or positive test, please stay home out of consideration for others.
Lisa Schumacher ~ Your True Nature (In-Person Event)
Open Circle is hosting a series of SATSANGS & a DAYLONG with Lisa Schumacher in California, USA.
March 13th (7-9 pm, PT) ~ Corte Madera, CA
March 14th (7-9 pm, PT) ~ Berkeley, CA
March 15th Daylong (11:00am - 5:00pm, PT) ~ Fairfax, CA
March 16th (2-4 pm, PT) ~ Sebastopol, CA
All events are In-Person ~
Livestream is also available for March 13th to 15th
Click here to access details & registration for ALL events in series.
A 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.
About 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 her discovery of the Love that is alive in the core of one’s being . She holds 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 “Leela School of Awakening”. Lisa is the author of “The Stone I Love”, a book of poetry inspired by her meeting with Gangaji, available on her website.
In Lisa’s meetings, she invites you to rest in stillness. Your discoveries and questions about awakening, deepening, and the unfolding truth are welcome. 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
Satsang: 2-4 pm
Refreshments: until 5
Suggested Donation: $10- $20, no one turned away.
No pre-registration. Pay at door when you arrive.
Location: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA. Park on Sonoma Ave.
Note: The address sign says 8474/8476. Park on the street, and walk down the short driveway to the house with the carport.
Please dress mindfully, doors & windows may be open!
If you have covid-like symptoms, or have had a recent Covid exposure or positive test, please stay home out of consideration for others.
April 2025
Amita ~ Your True Nature (In-Person Event)
Amita began her journey in the early 1970’s in San Francisco, and later in the remote jungles of Hawaii. Amita set to break through her conditioned way of knowing herself and the world she lived in. The conscious search for “Who Am I” began when she read the biographies of Einstein and Gandhi, opening her mind to a way of life that was larger and deeper than she understood at the time.....
LEARN MORE HERE
May 2025
Susanne Marie ~ Ease into Awakening (In-Person Event)
Join Susanne and community in an afternoon of relaxing into our True Nature. The focus will be on drinking from the well of Source and taking our hands off the steering wheel. On this spring day we will relinquish striving for control, and instead lean back into the natural state of being which is easily overlooked and veiled. Whether you dip your toe or immerse your whole self, it will nourish your nervous system, heart, and mind.......
LEARN MORE HERE