December 2024
John Prendergast ~ Being No One; Being Your Self (Bay Area Daylong Retreat)
The freer we are of our self-image and story, and all of the emotional reactions and somatic contractions that go with this limited identity, the freer we are to simply be ourself − a living mystery not separate from the whole of life. Self-inquiry facilitates an unveiling, unlearning, spontaneous letting go, and discovery of our true nature. This meeting will include silent and guided meditations, a talk, dyadic self-inquiry, and intimate, powerful, experiential conversations.
John Prendergast 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.
Find out more »Stephan Bodian ~ Awakening Day Mini Retreat
In Japanese Zen, December 8 is celebrated as Bodhi Day, the anniversary of the Buddha’s awakening, and monasteries hold a special retreat that extends through the night of the seventh and culminates at dawn on the eight, when the Buddha saw the morning star and attained enlightenment. This December 8th is also the 50th anniversary of my ordination as a Zen monk, and I want to express my gratitude to my teachers and students by sitting with you in awakened awareness. The emphasis will be on silent sitting accompanied by teachings and reflections on the nature of awakening and direct pointers to our natural state of inherent wakefulness.
Stephan Bodian is a teacher in the nondual wisdom tradition of Zen, Dzogchen, and Advaita Vedanta. He's been offering the School for Awakening, an annual multi-month intensive program in spiritual unfolding and awakened living, since 2007. As a licensed psychotherapist, he brings a deep understanding of the impact of trauma and early conditioning on the process of spiritual realization and offers individual counseling and mentoring in psychospiritual integration. Stephan studied for many years with Advaita master Jean Klein and received Dharma transmission from Adyashanti in 2001. His books include Wake Up Now and Beyond Mindfulness. For more information, visit : www.stephanbodian.org
Suggested donation: $40 to $80
No one turned away for lack of funds. Any amount welcome.
Stephan Bodian has offered that all donations for this event will go
to support Open Circle in continuing this work of offering teachings.
Please register early if you can.
The event will be recorded and emailed to participants within a week.
To check your local time, use a tool such as: Time Zone Converter
Stephan Bodian ~ Awakening Day Mini Retreat (Online)
In Japanese Zen, December 8th is celebrated as Bodhi Day, the anniversary of the Buddha’s awakening, and monasteries hold a special retreat that extends through the night of the 7th and culminates at dawn on the 8th, when the Buddha saw the morning star and attained enlightenment. This December 8th is also the 50th anniversary of my ordination as a Zen monk, and I want to express my gratitude to my teachers and students by sitting with you in awakened awareness. The emphasis will be on silent sitting accompanied by direct pointers to our natural state of inherent wakefulness.
Stephan Bodian is a teacher in the nondual wisdom tradition of Zen, Dzogchen, and Advaita Vedanta. Stephan studied for many years with Advaita master Jean Klein and received Dharma transmission from Adyashanti in 2001.
Find out more »Silent Group Meditation (Free, No Guidance)
Join us for a silent group meditation. Do your own practice quietly in the company of others. Let’s be present, together. .... more details
Mon.: 8:00am – 8:30am (PT) and Wed.: 9:00am – 9:30am (PT)
Ongoing drop-in group – attend as often as you like.
Weekly, with rare exceptions. Verify dates on Full Calendar.
Pamela Wilson ~ Dark Love: Being the Potent Unwavering Strength of Love ~ 4 Part Online Retreat
Dec. 9, 12, 16 & 19, 2024
10:00 am – 12:00 pm, Pacific Daylight Time (PT)
Time Zone Converter
Recording will be emailed to participants after each meeting.
You're welcome to join even if you can't attend all the live sessions.
When our inner ocean is stormy, we can follow the waves deep into the serene solace of Stillness. This ancient presence is already within you, holding you and giving life.
Reactions, distractions and busyness keep us on the surface, thus limiting the flow of our transmission. Most of us have noticed when we stop, unwinding happens and peace unfolds. We are, of course, active sages supporting our families, friends and communities.
Yet, the resource that holds everyone longs for us to include ourselves, to shine awareness into the dark all giving Love that lays beneath.
Join Pamela Wilson for this four session retreat, which invites you to include the profound unseen mountain of your being. The strength that animates, blesses and which is intimate with all beings.
Pamela will guide us to honor and nourish this dark love within, allowing us to live from the ancient heart of everything. To be the Ancient Heart!
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
Sliding Scale: $80 to $120
Some Partial Scholarships Available
Please Register Early if you can.
Pamela Wilson ~ Dark Love: Being the Potent Unwavering Strength of Love (4 Part Online Retreat)
When our inner ocean is stormy, we can follow the waves deep into the serene solace of Stillness. This ancient presence is already within you, holding you and giving life.
Reactions, distractions and busyness keep us on the surface, thus limiting the flow of our transmission. Most of us have noticed when we stop, unwinding happens and peace unfolds. We are, of course, active sages supporting our families, friends and communities.
Yet, the resource that holds everyone longs for us to include ourselves, to shine awareness into the dark all-giving Love that lays beneath.
Join Pamela Wilson for this four-session retreat. Pamela will guide us to honor and nourish this dark love within, allowing us to live from the ancient heart of everything. 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.
Find out more »Silent Group Meditation (Free, No Guidance)
Mondays: 8:00am – 8:30am Pacific Time
Wednesdays : 9:00am – 9:30am Pacific Time
Ongoing every week, with rare exceptions. Check Full Calendar to verify dates.
Join for a group meditation – just us, without a teacher. Do your own practice silently in the company of others. There will be no talk or guidance – only a bell to start and finish. Let’s be present, together.
After half an hour of silent sitting, there will be space for a brief hello in the end, if we like.
Please be seated by the time meditation starts, so that we can begin together. You are welcome to have your camera and microphone on (unless you have a lot of background noise), so that we can feel as if we were in one space.
The zoom link remains the same for all the sessions, so you are welcome to register only once and save the link for future reference.
To check your local time, use a tool such as: Time Zone Converter
Pamela Wilson ~ Dark Love: Being the Potent Unwavering Strength of Love ~ 4 Part Online Retreat
Dec. 9, 12, 16 & 19, 2024
10:00 am – 12:00 pm, Pacific Daylight Time (PT)
Time Zone Converter
Recording will be emailed to participants after each meeting.
You're welcome to join even if you can't attend all the live sessions.
When our inner ocean is stormy, we can follow the waves deep into the serene solace of Stillness. This ancient presence is already within you, holding you and giving life.
Reactions, distractions and busyness keep us on the surface, thus limiting the flow of our transmission. Most of us have noticed when we stop, unwinding happens and peace unfolds. We are, of course, active sages supporting our families, friends and communities.
Yet, the resource that holds everyone longs for us to include ourselves, to shine awareness into the dark all giving Love that lays beneath.
Join Pamela Wilson for this four session retreat, which invites you to include the profound unseen mountain of your being. The strength that animates, blesses and which is intimate with all beings.
Pamela will guide us to honor and nourish this dark love within, allowing us to live from the ancient heart of everything. To be the Ancient Heart!
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
Sliding Scale: $80 to $120
Some Partial Scholarships Available
Please Register Early if you can.
Lynn Marie Lumiere, MFT ~ EMBODIED LOVE: Exploring Awakened Relating
Relationships, especially close intimate ones, can be our greatest challenge when it comes to embodied awakening. They seem to get particularly challenging during the holiday season when we are more in touch with family members. Awakened relating offers a way to be with our relationship triggers in a way that can both heal our deeper relational wounding and allow us to stay connected with others when it is triggered.
You are welcome to bring whatever issues you are struggling with, in relationship with others, or yourself. Together, we will explore how to meet the issues in the loving presence of our being, while also meeting and understanding our projections and reactivity. Lynn Marie brings extensive skills and experience with awakened relating on somatic, emotional, and spiritual levels.
You are encouraged to attend this event live so you can benefit from working directly with Lynn Marie, and you are welcome to attend by recording.
Lynn Marie Lumiere, is a seasoned psychotherapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, spiritual mentor, and author. She offers a rare blend of embodied spiritual wisdom with a skilled therapeutic approach that facilitates healing of psychological trauma and wounding and the embodiment of awakening. Her depth of experience, rooted in her own healing and awakening journey, spans decades of expertly guiding individuals in the resolution of their trauma and into connection with their true nature. Lynn Marie is the author of Awakened Relating: A Guide to Embodying More Love in Relationships.
Suggested donation: $15 to $40
No one turned away for lack of funds.
Please register early if you can.
The event will be recorded and emailed to participants within a week.
To check your local time, use a tool such as: Time Zone Converter
Lynn Marie Lumiere, MFT ~ EMBODIED LOVE: Exploring Awakened Relating
Relationships, especially close intimate ones, can be our greatest challenge when it comes to embodied awakening. They seem to get particularly challenging during the holiday season when we are more in touch with family members. Awakened relating offers a way to be with our relationship triggers in a way that can both heal our deeper relational wounding and allow us to stay connected with others when it is triggered.
Together, we will explore how to meet the issues in the loving presence of our being, while also meeting and understanding our projections and reactivity. Lynn Marie Lumiere is a seasoned psychotherapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, spiritual mentor, and author, who brings extensive skills and experience with awakened relating on somatic, emotional, and spiritual levels.
Find out more »