June 2024
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
Shakti Caterina Maggi ~ Embodied nonduality
The teaching will be a dive into the heart of nonduality. An open and direct sharing about how our spiritual essence embodies in human experience to wake up to itself.
We will explore how suffering is the way through which we can recognize our self-imposed limitations. With courage and radical honesty we can use suffering as a trampoline to consciously connect to an unshakeable inner peace.
Shakti will offer a talk followed by Q&A.
Shakti Caterina Maggi is a spiritual guide, meditation teacher and author widely recognized as one of the most authentic and profound voices of contemporary spirituality. Combining the vision of Advaita and non-dual Tantra with a contemporary approach, Shakti offers with humanity, compassion and great clarity an inner technology to dissolve that contraction of suffering that accompanies our lives, and access a space of peace and unconditional love towards life.
www.shakticaterinamaggi.com
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
Shakti Caterina Maggi ~ Embodied nonduality
The teaching will be a dive into the heart of nonduality. An open and direct sharing about how our spiritual essence embodies in human experience to wake up to itself.
We will explore how suffering is the way through which we can recognize our self-imposed limitations. With courage and radical honesty we can use suffering as a trampoline to consciously connect to an unshakeable inner peace.
Shakti Caterina Maggi is a spiritual guide, meditation teacher and author widely recognized as one of the most authentic and profound voices of contemporary spirituality. Combining the vision of Advaita and non-dual Tantra with a contemporary approach, Shakti offers with humanity, compassion and great clarity an inner technology to dissolve that contraction of suffering that accompanies our lives, and access a space of peace and unconditional love towards life.
Find out more »Shakti Caterina Maggi ~ Embodied Non-duality
The teaching will be a dive into the heart of nonduality: An open and direct sharing about how our spiritual essence embodies in human experience to wake up to itself.
We will explore how suffering is the way through which we can recognize our self-imposed limitations. With courage and radical honesty we can use suffering as a trampoline to consciously connect to an unshakeable inner peace.
Shakti Caterina Maggi is a spiritual guide, meditation teacher and author widely recognized as one of the most authentic and profound voices of contemporary spirituality. Combining the vision of Advaita and non-dual Tantra with a contemporary approach, Shakti offers an inner technology to dissolve the contraction of suffering that accompanies our lives, and access a space of peace and unconditional love towards life.
Find out more »Lisa Cairns ~ About Love, Wisdom, and Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
What non-duality means to me is that my life flows in between love and wisdom, or between nothingness and everythingness. It’s on this level that the human experience unfolds. Understanding that I am everything signifies the end of separation, recognizing that everything is love, and acknowledging that I am nothing represents wisdom. In between these realizations, the story of my life, or the life of the person, takes shape.
One of my favorite from his quotes is:
“Wisdom is knowing I am nothing,
Love is knowing I am everything,
and between the two my life moves.”
- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj was my teacher, although he had passed away before I had the chance to meet him in person. Instead, I encountered his teachings through my own teachers. Initially, I didn’t fully grasp the impact he was having on me, as I lacked direct contact with him. It wasn’t until I read his book that I realized his message was flowing through my teachers, who had received it from their teachers, and so on. His influence was more evident in the effect he had on all my teachers and how they, in turn, imparted that wisdom to me. I feel immense gratitude for the way his teachings entered my life. On a human level, I can say that non-duality saved me. It completely transformed my life, altering its course in every way imaginable. It awakened me from the illusion I had been living under, the suffering of a mental reality.
In my earlier years, I was immersed in Buddhism, which emphasizes the recognition of suffering as one of its initial noble truths. Although the Buddha himself did not experience a life of suffering, being raised as a Prince in a protected palace, his awakening began when he encountered a beggar on the streets. This recognition that life is inherently suffering, without understanding our true nature or being connected to something deeper than the human realm, leads to inevitable suffering. Whether this realization comes in one’s teenage years due to early childhood trauma or later in life due to other challenges, it prompts the fundamental question: Why are we alive? Why do we exist on a planet floating around the sun in an ever-expanding universe? This existential inquiry is profound and essential for understanding our place in the cosmos.
Please join us to listen to Lisa's sharing about this topic, and for the opportunity to engage in a dialogue with Lisa.
About Lisa:
In Bali in 2011, Lisa suddenly lost total control while eating banana fritters with ice cream, and there was a sudden and explosive energetic shift; at that moment it was understood, beyond the intellect, non-dual philosophy.
For the past eleven years, she has traveled around the world, sharing an amazing Indian Philosophy called Non duality. She has spoken in book shops, cafes, yoga centers, universities, schools, the UK’s NHS (National Health Care System), conference centers, festivals, theatres and in someone’s front room.
In her talks, she tries to communicate the limitless nature of life, which you could say is at the root of every philosophy, religion or story. This is a tall order, so failing that, she hopes to open doors for anyone who wants to listen, providing a broader perspective on this magical thing we call life.
More about Lisa: www.lisacairns.com
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
Lisa Cairns ~ About Love, Wisdom, and Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
What non-duality means to me is that my life flows in between love and wisdom, or between nothingness and everythingness. It’s on this level that the human experience unfolds. Understanding that I am everything signifies the end of separation, recognizing that everything is love; and acknowledging that I am nothing represents wisdom. In between these realizations, the story of my life, or the life of the person, takes shape.
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj was my teacher, although he had passed away before I had the chance to meet him in person. Instead, I encountered his teachings through my own teachers. I feel immense gratitude for the way his teachings entered my life. On a human level, I can say that non-duality saved me. It completely transformed my life, altering its course in every way imaginable. It awakened me from the illusion I had been living under, the suffering of a mental reality.
For the past eleven years, Lisa has traveled around the world, sharing the amazing Indian philosophy called non-duality. She tries to communicate the limitless nature of life, and to open doors for anyone who wants to listen, providing a broader perspective on this magical thing we call life.
Find out more »July 2024
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
Pamela Wilson ~ Transmitting Peace Worldwide From Within ~ Bay Area Daylong Retreat
Join with your fellow sages and Pamela to uncontain the heart , so it can transmit clarity, balance and blessings.
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 July 5th
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.