October 2022
John Prendergast ~ The Love of Truth
The love of truth ─ a blend of love and wisdom ─ is at the core of our impulse to deeply investigate and discover who we really are. This unveiled truth is neither a personal belief nor a collective dogma. Rather, it is the light of Awareness, our very Being.
This daylong meeting will include a talk, experiential conversations, guided and silent meditations, and dyadic inquiries.
John J. Prendergast, Ph.D., studied for many years with the European sage Jean Klein and with Adyashanti. He is a retired psychotherapist and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychology at CIIS, and the author of The Deep Heart and In Touch,
Suggested Donation: $75
No one turned away for lack of funds.
To register:
Email Rob at robmschwartz@yahoo.com
Location:
The meeting will be held indoors in an almost-completed new private home in the Fairfax hills, intended for eventual use for retreats, 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 »January 2023
Pamela Wilson ~ New Year’s Day Retreat – Live In-Person Local Event
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.
Find out more »February 2023
John Prendergast ~ Simply Being Here ~ an In-Person Local Event
What is the experience of simply being HERE – deeply grounded, open hearted/minded, and available for this timeless moment? How can we recognize the Sacred within the ordinary routines and familiar relationships of our daily life? How do we embody our deepest knowing? We begin by welcoming our experience just as it is and by questioning who we mis-take ourself to be. This takes integrity, vulnerability, and a love for the inconceivable truth of who we really are. Our retreat will include silent and guided meditations, a talk, experiential conversations, and dyadic inquiry.
John is a former adjunct professor of psychology at CIIS, the author of numerous books on the intersection of nondual wisdom, somatic experience and psychotherapy, and a student of Jean Klein, Byron Katie, and Adyanshanti. He now teaches in the lineage of Adyashanti in a profoundly experiential manner.
Suggested Donation: $75
No one turned away for lack of funds.
To register:
Email Rob at robmschwartz@yahoo.com
Location:
The meeting will be held indoors in an almost-completed new private home in the Fairfax hills, intended for eventual use for retreats, 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 »April 2023
Pamela Wilson ~ Letting Stillness Live and Guide the Life ~ In-Person Gathering
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 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.
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.
The meeting will be held at a private home in the Fairfax hills, with views of Mount Tam and hiking trails.
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.
Find out more »November 2023
Embodied Non-Duality ~ RETREAT with Shakti Caterina Maggi ~ in Berkeley, CA
Includes Introductory satsang:
Friday, Nov. 3rd, 7-9 pm, in San Rafael, CA
RETREAT in Berkeley, CA:
Sat. Nov. 4th, 10am to 9pm
and Sun. Nov. 5th, 9am to 1pm
An invitation to realize and rest in the Heart of our being, pure Consciousness.
Immersed in our true nature , the teaching will point to a direct and practical way of making ego patterning conscious. From this perspective, and through an embodied re-connection to them, egoic structures and suffering can be dissolved.
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 - centers 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
Friday evening:
Introductory satsang, 7-9 pm
(Included when you register for the Retreat, but can also be attended separately)
Saturday:
Retreat Check-in, 10:00am - 10:30am
Teaching, 10:30am - 1:00pm
Break, 1:00pm - 2:20pm
Teaching, 2:20pm - 4:30pm
Break, 4:30pm - 7:00pm
Teaching, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Sunday:
Teaching, 9:00am -11:00am
Break, 11:00am - 11:20am
Teaching, 11:20am - 1:00pm
This is a non-residential retreat.
Those coming from afar will need to make their own arrangements for accommodation (Airbnb, etc.)
Meals: You will be responsible for all your meals. There are places close by to go out to eat, or you may bring your own food, though there is no refrigerator access. There's space for eating at the premises.
NOTE: The venue is a kosher-style facility, so no pork or shellfish, and no meat mixed with dairy on premises.
REGISTRATION
Sliding Scale: $250 - $400
Some partial scholarships available. Inquire at LocalEvents@opencirclecenter.org, after you receive the link to register from contacting embodiednonduality23@gmail.com
Pre-Registration is required
Online registration closes at midnight on Thur. Nov. 2nd.
Cancellation Policy
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.
To receive link to REGISTRATION, please contact embodiednonduality23@gmail.com.
For those who have not attended a retreat with Shakti in person in the last three years, we kindly request a quick video call. Please send your telephone number or Skype account name and you will be contacted via Skype or WhatsApp.
OTHER EVENTS WITH SHAKTI
Open Circle is hosting a series of events with Shakti in various locations:
(Shakti CA Tour - All events page)
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