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.
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.
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
Stephan Bodian ~ Waking Up Through the Metacrisis: Finding Deeper Ground in Challenging Times
The Buddha said it succinctly 2500 years ago: human existence is, and always has been, marked by constant change and uncertainty. Yet we find ourselves in uniquely challenging and uncertain times: overpopulation, mass extinctions, extreme weather, environmental tipping points, political upheaval, nuclear proliferation, demographic instability and widespread migrations, and the advent of technologies that challenge and distort our understanding of what’s real and true.
Please join me for one or more satsangs in this monthly series (Jan-May) that include meditations for returning to and resting in our deeper ground while welcoming and working with the feelings that these challenging times evoke......
LEARN MORE HERE
Stephan Bodian ~ Waking Up Through the Metacrisis: Finding Deeper Ground in Challenging Times
The Buddha said it succinctly 2500 years ago: human existence is, and always has been, marked by constant change and uncertainty. Yet we find ourselves today in uniquely challenging and uncertain times. Perhaps our civilization is on the verge of collapse, like so many before it. But since it covers the globe, this raises the unprecedented prospect that the future of human life on Earth may be threatened as well.
We can always seek refuge in the simplicity and innate perfection of right now. But what about all the painful consequences at a very human level? How do we find peace in a deeper ground while acknowledging and welcoming our fear, outrage, or grief?
Stephan Bodian is a teacher in the non-dual wisdom tradition of Zen, Dzogchen, and Advaita Vedanta. He studied for many years with Advaita master Jean Klein and received Dharma transmission from Adyashanti in 2001.
Find out more »John Prendergast ~ Your Deepest Ground: A Guide to Embodied Spirituality ~ Bay Area Daylong Retreat
Join us for a daylong introduction to John’s new book from Sounds True - Your Deepest Ground: A Guide to Embodied Spirituality. In this meeting we will explore different dimensions of the ground - individual, archetypal, and universal - and experience how to recognize and effectively welcome resistance to opening to our deepest ground. There will be silent and guided meditations, a talk, a group or dyadic inquiry, and experiential conversations.
Copies of the new book will be available for purchase.
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 Midnight on March 7th
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
his property being available for Open Circle retreats and events.
Event donations will go directly to the Schwartz Family Trust, rather than to Open Circle.
If you want to contribute more for this project, you can do so at the event,
or contact us for more information (contributuons, loan, volunteer).
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 respiritory infection, or have had a recent
Covid exposure or positive test, please stay home out of consideration for others.
John Prendergast ~ Your Deepest Ground: A Guide to Embodied Spirituality ~ Bay Area Daylong Retreat
Join us for a daylong introduction to John’s new book, Your Deepest Ground: A Guide to Embodied Spirituality. In this meeting we will explore different dimensions of the ground - individual, archetypal, and universal - and experience how to recognize and effectively welcome resistance to opening to our deepest ground. There will be silent and guided meditations, a talk, a group or dyadic inquiry, and experiential conversations.
John Prendergast is a spiritual teacher, retired psychotherapist, and retired Psychology Professor, 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 »Engaged Nonduality: Love in Action ~ Rev. Deborah Lee, Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, Ph.D., and Lisa Ferguson Ph.D.
In this action-oriented session of the Engaged Nonduality Series, Lisa will be joined by two speakers who have extensive experience bringing love into action. While the community of nondual contemplatives is informal and emphasizes direct knowing, we can learn a lot from other spiritual communities that have deeply engaged with action and ethics. Rev. Deborah Lee leads the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, whose core value is the sacredness of each person and a commitment to stand in solidarity with those who are not treated as sacred. Dr. Moe-Lobeda carries deep wisdom of understanding and communicating structural sources of harm and leverage points for collective love in action. She compassionately encourages us to wake up to new ways of seeing, and new possibilities of being. We will weave the wisdom of these courageous speakers with the wisdom of the nondual understanding and explore how love is moving us into action.
This session will include meditation, talks, inspiring stories, experiential exercises, and time for participant Q&A.
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.
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