December 2018
Amoda Maa ~ Living as the Open Hand of Love
2:00-4:00 pm, with refreshments until 5 pm
Amoda offers an intimate conversation that includes the totality of the human experience within the unbounded space of unconditioned awareness. She invites you to inquire with radical honesty if you are willing to surrender all psychological weapons of war - the reactivity and righteousness of the ego - so that you can live as the open hand of love.
The meeting starts with Silent Sitting followed by a Discourse, and then time for Questions and Answers. Amoda's husband and beloved Kavi, wil be supporting the meeting with live ambient improvised guitar. Both newcomers and those familiar with Amoda's message are welcome.
Amoda's website: www.amodamaa.com
Suggested donation: $10 to $20, no one turned away for lack of funds.
Where: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA
Park on Sonoma Ave, walk down short driveway to to house with carport.
Arrive 10-15 minutes early for the best seat.
January 2019
Larry Robinson ~ The Way of the Boddhisatva
2:00-4:00 pm, with refreshments until 5 pm
The way of the boddhisatva - full-hearted engagement with a suffering world. The boddhisatva’s commitment is this: “Beings are numberless; I vow to save them. Delusions are boundless; I vow to end them. Dharma gates innumerable; I vow to enter them. Buddha’s way is unsurpassable; I vow to become it.” We will explore what this vow means in actual practice.
Larry Robinson is a potter, retired psychotherapist and recovering politician. He is the founder and producer of Rumi’s Caravan, committed to restoring the soul of the world through reviving the oral tradition of poetry. He is a practitioner of Zen Buddhism who has been meditating for 48 years.
Suggested donation: $10 to $20, no one turned away for lack of funds.
Where: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA
Park on Sonoma Ave, walk down short driveway to to house with carport.
Arrive 10-15 minutes early for the best seat.
February 2019
Shakti Caterina Maggi ~ The Way of Perception
Shakti is a teacher very well known in Europe and her native Italy, who offers a contemporary and accessible vision of true awakening that is profoundly in tune with Advaita and nondual Tantric traditions.
The spiritual journey inevitably leads to the confrontation between our "spiritual life" and our "material life", discovering how and where we truly embody the truth of our heart. Realizing the emptiness of our true nature is just the starting point of an integration process that can take several years and involve all aspects of our lives, and leads us to several moments of crisis in which old egoic patterns of behavior that are still based on the separative mind emerge to be dissolved by the light of Awareness.
Shakti has spent many years deepening this integration process. With wisdom, humor, and heartfelt connection, she shares a message of discovering our divinity at the very core of our humanity. Shakti has been sharing this message of non-separation since 2003 with many people around the world, especially in Italy and in Europe, where she holds satsangs and retreats.
"Peace is not a destination, but a starting point. Find that Peace that rests behind anything and anybody and bring it into your world. Every human being looks for Peace in their inner or outer reality. In this call for clarity, what we are looking for is what our true nature actually is.
“We are used to imagining that the dissolving of inner and outer conflicts comes as the result of some action, whereas it is only when we move from Peace that those actions will bring the end of any conflict. Moving and living from Peace is recognizing what we are, and integrating it in our everyday life.
“Awakening to your true nature means to wake up to your true essence that lies behind any conflict of daily living. Thoughts and feelings are not an obstacle to this recognition, but the direct expression of how we know or ignore ourselves. Once we find that silence that rests behind manifestation, the ego will come back, out of habit. If we can recognize its presence, not as a disturbance but as an opportunity to integrate the message, our everyday life becomes our true spiritual journey. The Peace of our Being becomes the world we see and live in.”
Sliding Scale: $45-$105, no one turned away for lack of funds.
Email tommy@sonic.net to reserve a seat
Where: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA
Park on Sonoma Ave, walk down short driveway to to house with carport.
Arrive 10-15 minutes early for the best seat.
~ ~ ~
Also check our full calendar for Marin & Berkeley events with Shakti...
Tues. Feb, 12th, 7:00-8:45 pm ~ Awakening in Daily Living (San Rafael)
Thur. Feb. 14th, 7:00-8:45 pm ~ Love in Non-Duality (Berkeley)
Sat. Feb. 16th, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm ~ The Way of Perception (Berkeley)
March 2019
Susanne Marie ~ The Path of Devotion
1:15-2:00 Kirtan music & chanting, with Hannah Caratti & friends
2-4 pm satsang, with refreshments until 5 pm
Without the engagement of our hearts our spiritual and life journey is dry and barren. Devotion is the ability to reach outside of ourselves with trust that something greater exists than what we ourselves know or understand. This something is the mystery of existence itself. It is the divinity inherent within all things. When we lean into trust that there is a greater intelligence guiding our lives, we are able to let go of our limited selves and hand over our need to maintain control and open in surrender.
Bio:
Featured in conversation with Adyashanti on Buddha at the Gas Pump as well as recently on Conscious TV, Susanne Marie offers teachings in support of freedom, sacred mutuality, and the celebration of our common essence of love and unity with all life. Her work is transformational and empowering, as she points to the remembering of That which we have always been, allowing truth to become ever more conscious of itself through a human life.
In a relaxed, empathetic and personable manner, and with deep personal insight, humor, and grace, she helps others deconstruct their beliefs of what living a life of freedom looks like. Susanne, the parent of two young adults, divides her time between Taos, New Mexico, and Northern California, and offers spiritual mentoring as well as Grace Healing Sessions to individuals and groups.
Susanne Marie's website: www.susannemarie.org
Suggested donation: $10 to $20, no one turned away for lack of funds.
Where: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA
Park on Sonoma Ave, walk down short driveway to to house with carport.
Arrive 10-15 minutes early for the best seat.
April 2019
Dorothy Hunt ~ Intimacy with the Infinite: Sensing the divine in human experiencee
2-4 pm, with refreshments until 5 pm
Any perception is a portal to the infinite - be it of breath, space, silence, sound, feeling, sensation, thought, memory, passion, love, terror. When we consciously give our whole being to any moment, we discover there are endless ways to sense the divine in our human life. What we often imagine we might find someday "when..." is right here, right now as opposites play in the vast field of Awareness, flowing and dissolving in experience. Join Dorothy for this afternoon exploration of intimate gateways to the Infinite through our very bodies.
Dorothy Hunt serves as spiritual director of Moon Mountain Sangha, teaching at the request of
Adyashanti. She is the founder of the SF Center for Meditation and Psychotherapy and has practiced psychotherapy since 1967. She is a mother and a grandmother. Dorothy is the author of Ending the Search: From Spiritual Ambition to the Heart of Awareness, Leaves from Moon Mountain, and Only This!
Her website: www.dorothyhunt.org
Suggested donation: $10 to $20, no one turned away for lack of funds.
Park in driveway or on Sonoma Ave. Walk down short driveway to house with carport.
The satsang starts with a short meditation, then comments by the speaker, followed by questions, answers, and discussion. Please arrive 10-15 minutes early for the best seat.
June 2019
Michael Damian ~ From Awareness to Dynamic Wisdom
2-4 pm, with refreshments until 5 pm
From Awareness to Dynamic Wisdom: How do we find true peace, love and happiness? Michael has met many seekers who complain that despite recognizing awareness they do not feel particularly happy or empowered. In Michael's approach, recognizing awareness is only the first step, which ends outward seeking and brings equanimity. It's then a process of using the light of awareness to fully open the heart, clarify the mind and come to dynamic wisdom. This breakthrough is usually described as Satori or Gnosis. This brings responsive, dynamic wisdom and true spiritual empowerment.
Michael Damian, Ph.D. is a spiritual teacher, psychologist and author of The Art of Freedom: A Guide to Awakening. Michael is a guide to authentic transformation and awakening for many around the world. His approach arises from a powerful spiritual awakening in 2006, and is based largely on A Course in Miracles and his main teacher Barry Long. He has a therapy office in Mill Valley.
Batgap Interview 11/11/13:
http://batgap.com/michael-damian/
Location: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA.
Park in driveway or on Sonoma Ave. Walk down short driveway to house with carport.
The satsang starts with a short meditation, then comments by the speaker, followed by questions, answers, and discussion. Please arrive 10-15 minutes early for the best seat.
Suggested donation: $10 to $20, no one turned away for lack of funds.
August 2019
Prajna Ginty ~ Born to Love
2-4 pm, with refreshments until 5 pm
We will explore how deep love lives within us. Regardless of all that life brings to us once we claim our birth right we set free our most authentic expression empowered by love. Love is all that matters. Tumble into your soft quiet openness and notice how protection and division dissolve.
Prajna Ginty, MA. Mystic, Shamanic Practitioner, Hakomi Therapist, Spiritual Mentor and author Edge of Grace, A Fierce Awakening to Love. Prajna’s journey raising her twin daughters with disabilities continues to illuminate life’s spiritual and deeply human dimensions. She offers a rare fusion of non-dual mysticism, somatic therapy, and plant medicine. Prajna’s popular retreats catalyze the healing and integration of traumatic experiences empowering you to live as love. Prajna was an early student of Adyashanti and lives with her family in Santa Cruz, CA
Prajna's website: www.awakeningprajna.com
Prajna's Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/c/AwakeningPrajna
Location: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA.
Park in driveway or on Sonoma Ave. Walk down short driveway to house with carport.
The satsang starts with a short meditation, then comments by the speaker, followed by questions, answers, and discussion. Please arrive 10-15 minutes early for the best seat.
Suggested donation: $10 to $20, no one turned away for lack of funds.
Find out more »October 2019
Shakti Caterina Maggi ~ Embodied Consciousness
Afternoon Intensive with Shakti Caterina Maggi
From understanding to being, the passage of embodying awakening requires a deep integration into our everyday life of what has been revealed in our spiritual journey. Perception is the way through which we will directly connect to our non-dual nature, as all illusion of separation is purely conceptual.
This experiential intensive will lead to profound access to our true Consciousness, and will guide participants in the transformation of the way in which we see ourselves and the world, as well as the way in which we can deal with suffering in ourselves and others. The intensive will include meditations, open discussion, and special perception exercises to help us see and dissolve the patterns of holding and resistance that reinforce the sense of separation.
Shakti Caterina Maggi has been sharing a message of awakening to our true nature as One Consciousness since 2003. Her approach to Self-Realization is very contemporary and accessible, and is profoundly in tune with Advaita and the non-dual Tantric traditions. She reveals the real possibility of seeing what we truly are, and embodying it in our everyday lives with clarity, wisdom, and humor.
She was recently asked to contribute to the anthology On the Mystery of Being: Contemporary Insights into the Convergence of Science and Spirituality edited by Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo, the founders of the Science and Non-Duality (SAND) Conference. She teaches in Europe, Canada and the USA, offering satsang, seminars and retreats.
“The true Heart is the space in which we can deeply meet ourselves and the entire world. The way to the Heart is an embodied Consciousness, in which we are divinely human.”
Sliding Scale: $45-$80
No one turned away for lack of funds.
Preregistration is not required, but it is best to email tommy@sonic.net to reserve a seat.
Where: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA
Park on Sonoma Ave, walk down the short driveway to the house with a carport.
Arrive 10-15 minutes early for the best seat.
Find out more »December 2019
Prajna Ginty ~ Embodied Living!
Explore a fresh start with Prajna, in this exceptional day of transformation. Prajna is the Queen of transformation! Bring forth your deep knowing. Live a life driven of curiosity rather than fear. Separate the real from the unreal, the past from present. Heal from trauma, suffering, scars, and psychological uncertainty, so you can travel lighter, and flow. Through caring guidance, deep listening, embodiment and meditation, Prajna will empower you to live from your deep knowing.
Prajna Ginty, MA. Mystic, Shaman, Hakomi Therapist, Spiritual Mentor and author Edge of Grace, A Fierce Awakening to Love. Prajna’s journey raising her twin daughters with disabilities continues to illuminate life’s spiritual and deeply human dimensions. She offers a rare fusion of non-dual mysticism, somatic therapy, and plant medicine. Prajna’s popular retreats catalyze the healing and integration of traumatic experiences empowering you to live as love. Prajna was an early student of Adyashanti and lives with her family in Santa Cruz, CA.
Prajna's website: www.awakeningprajna.com
Her Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AwakeningPrajna
Sliding Scale: $45-$105, no one turned away. Email tommy@sonic to reserve a seat or scholarship.
Location: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA. Park on Sonoma Ave. Walk down short driveway to house with carport. Please arrive 10-15 minutes early for the best seat.
Find out more »January 2020
Jeannie Zandi ~ The Sacrament of Love
2-4 pm, with refreshments until 5 pm
Realization allows us to know ourselves as a force of love and the embodiment of that realization results in living love in our daily lives. Join Jeannie for an exploration of realization, love and the joys and challenges of living that knowing.
Jeannie’s gift for inviting people to join her in resting and rooted presence evokes a deep meeting with oneself and reality. Within that, Jeannie’s humor and iconoclasm serve to bring people into an understanding that is beyond the intellectual. Through silent and guided meditation, spontaneous talks and exchange with participants, Jeannie will host a space of clarity and warmth where the richness of relating can be explored safely and your innermost questions met fully. Come join us!
Jeannie is the director of Living as Love, a nonprofit organization dedicated to seeding a culture of the Heart on the planet, inspiring, teaching and supporting people to live from their essence as Love. A year before the birth of her daughter, Jeannie was plunged into a dark night of the soul that culminated in a radical shift of consciousness. She is known for her fearless clarity, tender mercy toward humanness, and a juicy, poetic and often humorous style that draws from Advaita Vedanta, Sufism, Christian mysticism and the ongoing revelation of fully engaged living. Residing in Colorado, she travels widely in the US, bringing a down-to-earth embodied teaching of living as love.
Location: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA.
Park in driveway or on Sonoma Ave. Walk down short driveway to house with carport.
The satsang starts with a short meditation, then comments by the speaker, followed by questions, answers, and discussion. Please arrive 10-15 minutes early for the best seat.
$20, no one turned away for lack of funds.
Find out more »February 2020
Ellen Emmet ~ The Awakening Body
Satsang 2-4 pm; refreshments until 5
In our daily lives, the body is seldom tasted as it truly is. We rarely listen to its language or allow it to simply blossom with its natural, organic intelligence. In fact we have deeply disconnected from this level of experience and even when we turn back towards the body, we come with agendas and ideas that we project upon it, only to perpetuate a network of tension and density that we identify with as 'myself'.
Ellen’s approach to the body is a form of ‘somatic inquiry’ that invites us to open to the totality of our felt, tactile and sensorial experience moment by moment, free of any agenda. With the help of guided meditation, visualizations and dialog, we will discover our place in and as this open, available, listening presence which is our essential identity. Simultaneously the body will uncover its organic and natural resonance and identity with this presence which is its source and substance. Gently and effortlessly, it will flow with more and more ease, intensity and transparency.
Ellen’s deepest intuition was confirmed when she met her teacher, Francis Lucille. In his presence, she recognized the eternal, limitless and universal nature of our shared reality. As a child, Ellen loved to move and dance. She knew, without words, the joy and limitless transparency that the body dissolved into when it was free and alive. Thus, the experience we call the body has always been central to all of Ellen’s experiences, both in ignoring and in recognizing our true nature.
Ellen offers meetings and retreats, sharing a direct exploration of reality sourced in the traditions of Kashmir Shivaism and Advaitic self-inquiry. In addition, she has a private practice as a psychotherapist, and facilitator of Authentic Movement. She has Master Degrees in Dance Movement Therapy from NYU, and Transpersonal Psychology from JFK, and has a certificate in Laban Movement. She lives in Oxford, England with her husband, Rupert Spira.
Suggested Donation: $10- $20, no one turned away.
Location: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA. Park on Sonoma Ave.
Walk down short driveway to house with carport. Please arrive 10-15 minutes early for the best seat.
Find out more »March 2020
Shakti Caterina Maggi ~ Living Compassion: The power of true heart
As of SUNDAY early morning March 8TH, Daylight Savings Time begins. Clocks are turned forward 1 hour - "Spring Ahead".
Our event times are shown as Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) starting Sunday March 8th am
Satsang 2-4 pm; refreshments until 5
Bringing our non-dual essence into the duality of life means to access to the power of our true Heart, that is where Consciousness abides. The meeting will guide participants to discover how is possible to transform through meditation our approach to the world towards compassion and authentic love.
Shakti Caterina Maggi has been sharing a message of awakening to our true nature as One Consciousness since 2003. She worked as a financial reporter in Milan, where she met her teacher Bodhi Avasa. Her approach to Self-Realization is contemporary and accessible, in tune with Advaita and the non-dual Tantric traditions. She reveals the real possibility of seeing what we truly are, and embodying it in our everyday lives with clarity, wisdom and humor.
She was recently asked to contribute to the anthology On the Mystery of Being: Contemporary Insights into the Convergence of Science and Spirituality edited by Zaya and Maurizion Benazzo, the founders of the Science and Nonduality Conference (SAND). She teaches in Europe, Canada, and the US, offering satsang, seminars and retreats.
Suggested Donation: $10- $20, no one turned away.
Location: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA. Park on Sonoma Ave.
Walk down short driveway to house with carport. Please arrive 10-15 minutes early for the best seat.
Find out more »April 2020
Open Circle Sebastopol Sangha ~ The Quiet Within
Per Thich Nhat Hanh’s definition, sangha is a community of friends practicing the dharma together to bring about and maintain awareness. The theme for this free meeting, The Quiet Within, is the ground of our being, a place of emptiness, peace and strength. We can access it anytime, anywhere, in meditation and mindfulness in daily life.
The meeting will start with mediation, a few opening remarks, a one-word check-in, then time for everyone, to share your experience with going within. These are extraordinary times, with most of us sheltering at home. They call for an extraordinary response from us, beyond the usual consumer business. Going within is to detach from usual mind states, to rest in the source of our being.
To join the meeting, click here.
If you are having trouble with the link, enter the following URL into your web browser:
https://zoom.us/j/697631154
March 2022
Susanne Marie ~ Celebrating our Interconnection
Satsang 2-4 pm
Refreshments until 5
Celebrating our Interconnection: Join Susanne Marie and friends as we create a circle with the intention to open to what is everybody's birthright: the light, love, and depth of your own Being.
The satsang starts with a short meditation, then comments by Susanne Marie, followed by Q&A and discussion.
Susanne Marie offers teachings in support of freedom, sacred mutuality, and the celebration of our common essence of love and unity with all life. Her work is transformational and empowering, as she points to the remembering of That which we have always been, allowing truth to become ever more conscious of itself through a human life. In a relaxed, empathetic and personable manner, and with deep personal insight, humor, and grace, she helps others deconstruct their beliefs of what living a life of freedom looks like.
The parent of two young adults, Susanne offers spiritual mentoring, online and in-person group facilitation, as well as retreats.
Suggested Donation: $10- $20, no one turned away.
Location: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA. Park on Sonoma Ave.
Walk down the short driveway to the house with a carport.
Please arrive 10-15 minutes early. Limited seating outside, so please consider bringing a chair.
From susannemarie.org
"I became a seeker at the early age of seven. I felt like I was engaged in a losing battle with the conditioned trance of the adult world, rendering the felt sense of unity I had throughout my childhood for the most part, unconscious. I sought for that lost part in various ways over the course of my young adult life, leading to the study of yoga, meditation, and consciousness. Finding a direction that helped make sense of my life was a relief to my system. My goal was a return to wholeness.
Over time, I was led to a few remarkable teachers and teachings, as well as a variety of difficult life lessons which eventually cast me onto an empty shore where I could not sustain beliefs – even in what spirituality could give me. For a long time, accrued conditioning, both my own as well as collective, fell away as I unraveled back to essential nature.
Many realizations have occurred over the years, and I can now say that we humans are both more simple and more complex than I could have imagined. For seeking to end is a relief. Remembering intrinsic wholeness is a grace and helps make life meaningful. The revelation of the emptiness of true nature, while we move and live simultaneously as a human being, is a miracle and mystery – one for which I am grateful and which leads to my sharing."
Find out more »Susanne Marie ~ Celebrating our Interconnection (In-Person Satsang)
Join Susanne Marie and friends for this in-person event as we create a circle with the intention to open to what is everybody's birthright: the light, love, and depth of your own Being.
Susanne Marie offers teachings in support of freedom, sacred mutuality, and the celebration of our common essence of love and unity with all life. Her work is transformational and empowering, as she points to the remembering of That which we have always been, allowing truth to become ever more conscious of itself through a human life.
In a relaxed, empathetic and personable manner, and with deep personal insight, humor, and grace, she helps others deconstruct their beliefs of what living a life of freedom looks like.
July 2022
Paul Hedderman ~ Much Ado About Nothing!
Satsang: 2-4 pm
Refreshments: until 5
Suggested Donation: $10- $20, no one turned away.
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 arrive 10-15 minutes early.
In colorful and direct language, Paul points to the many ways we reinforce what he calls “selfing”, urging his listeners to honestly consider the facts of their daily experience, and look beyond the pull of the past and future, and the self-reinforcing, self-importance of ego-identity. His direct, uncompromising pointing, colored with plenty of humor and laughter, doesn’t provide a refuge for entrenched conditioning and the sense of separateness, no matter how convincing that experience may be.
"'Whatever arises in my mind, I don't let it vouch for me. Any form of looking that focuses on an object misses the opportunity to directly be the seeing, and not identified with the object."
Paul Hedderman has been leading workshops and holding talks for almost 30 years. His unpretentious, humorous and energetic style of street-level non-duality is honed by his years of involvement with 12-step programs and the recovery community, as well as his background in Zen, Advaita and A Course in Miracles. Paul is the author of The Escape to Everywhere and On Having Never Left, and is the subject of the DVD Traveling Lighter.
Find out more »Paul Hedderman ~ Much Ado About Nothing!
In colorful and direct language, Paul points to the many ways we reinforce what he calls “selfing”, urging his listeners to honestly consider the facts of their daily experience, and look beyond the pull of the past and future, and the self-reinforcing, self-importance of ego-identity. His direct, uncompromising pointing, colored with plenty of humor and laughter, doesn’t provide a refuge for entrenched conditioning and the sense of separateness, no matter how convincing that experience may be.
Paul Hedderman has been leading workshops and holding talks for almost 30 years. His unpretentious, humorous and energetic style of street-level non-duality is honed by his years of involvement with 12-step programs and the recovery community, as well as his background in Zen, Advaita and A Course in Miracles.
Find out more »August 2022
David Lee ~ Non-Duality: From the Progressive to the Direct Path
Satsang: 2-4 pm
Refreshments: until 5
Suggested Donation: $10- $20, no one turned away.
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 arrive 10-15 minutes early.
Come and explore what it is to be awake within our ever-changing present experience. We will be exploring our deep conditioning of being separated from the wholeness of who we are and how nondual teachings can be tools to create favorable conditions for "slipping into" a larger dimension of ourselves.
Yet teachings can also pose limitations. Understanding has its place and value, but concepts and language are at best a pointer to the presence of who we are. Words like presence or effortless being are descriptions of this open, loving presence; but not to be mistaken for the actual experience of the vast fullness of one's essential self.
We will see how observing and grappling with our ego and its structures can help us to let go and surrender. In doing so a larger dimension opens. From a glimpse into our true nature we naturally want more of this...it's human nature. Wherever you are on your journey, come explore together the fertile ground of your true being.
- Hear from David about movement from the Progressive Path to the Direct Path
- Understand the role of ego and the Separate Self
- Dwell in the presence of who you are
- What is surrender all about?
"Real understanding is in not knowing. All knowing dissolves in not-knowing, and it is this not knowing state that there is transformation. Let go of all desire to know. But keep your terrible eagerness." ~ Jean Klein
David Lee lives in Sebastopol and has been facilitating nondual discussion groups for 5 years. He has been a sincere and dedicated aspirant of both the Progressive Path and the Direct Path for 48 years. He has done long retreats, 3 months as well as shorter 10 day retreats over this period of time. His main teachers are Rupert Spira, Miranda MacPherson, Adyashanti and in the Buddhist tradition, Joseph Goldstein. To learn more about him and see what he is offering, please go to his website: www.davidleenonduality.com
Find out more »
September 2022
Gail Brenner ~ Coming Home Together: Tending the Ground for Awakened Living
Satsang: 2-4 pm
Refreshments: until 5
Suggested Donation: $10- $20, no one turned away.
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 arrive 10-15 minutes early.
The satsang starts with a short meditation, then comments by Gail, then Q&A and discussion.
Come and gather together for a deep dive into the practicalities of awakened living. Your everyday human life is the laboratory as we explore the myth of the separate self, unexplored trauma patterns, and living the deepest truth of nondual reality.
You are welcome as you are with your fears, doubts, shame, and questions - and simply to share space with like-minded friends. Together, we lovingly embrace our humanness as we expand into pure openness, overflowing appreciation, and deep connection with all of Life.
Gail Brenner, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and lover of truth with a fire that burns brightly. She brings to this work years of experience with individuals and groups and is known for creating the safety and trust needed for this deeper exploration. Gail is the author of the award-winning The End of Self-Help and Suffering Is Optional.
Find out more »Gail Brenner ~ Coming Home Together: Tending the Ground for Awakened Living
Come and gather together for a deep dive into the practicalities of awakened living. Your everyday human life is the laboratory as we explore the myth of the separate self, unexplored trauma patterns, and living the deepest truth of nondual reality.
You are welcome as you are with your fears, doubts, shame, and questions - and simply to share space with like-minded friends. Together, we lovingly embrace our humanness as we expand into pure openness, overflowing appreciation, and deep connection with all of Life.
Gail Brenner, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and lover of truth with a fire that burns brightly. She brings to this work years of experience with individuals and groups and is known for creating the safety and trust needed for this deeper exploration.
Find out more »January 2023
Caverly Morgan ~ The Heart of Who We Are: Realizing Freedom Together
Satsang: 2-4 pm
Refreshments: until 5
Suggested Donation: $10- $20, no one turned away.
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 arrive 10-15 minutes early.
This gathering is about the act of being. It’s about knowing a happiness you can’t explain because you have no reason to point to. The joy of pure being. Together we’ll explore knowing who you are, resting in presence, and what it means to act in the world on behalf of this deep knowing.
We’ll give our attention to the pleasure of being aware of being aware, and seeing what gets in the way of this—personally and collectively—while exploring how to let it go, to undo, to realize freedom together.
This gathering will consist of a guided meditation, a teaching, and a group discussion. It is based on Caverly’s new book: The Heart of Who We Are.
Caverly Morgan is a meditation teacher, non-profit founder, speaker, and author. She is the founder of Peace in Schools, a nonprofit that created the nation’s first for-credit mindfulness class in public high schools. Caverly is also the founder of Presence Collective, a community of cross-cultural contemplatives committed to personal and collective transformation. She is the author of A Kids Book About Mindfulness as well as The Heart of Who We Are: Realizing Freedom Together.
Caverly blends the original spirit of Zen with a modern nondual approach. Her practice began in 1995 and has included eight years of training in a silent Zen monastery. She has been teaching contemplative practice since 2001 and leads meditation retreats, workshops and online classes internationally. More at caverlymorgan.org.
Find out more »
April 2023
Ellen Emmet ~ The Awakening Body ~ In-Person Local Event
Satsang: 2-4 pm
Refreshments: until 5
Suggested Donation: $10- $20, no one turned away.
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 arrive 10-15 minutes early.
In our daily lives, the body is seldom tasted as it is. We rarely listen to its tactile and energetic language or allow it to simply unfold and blossom in its natural original intelligence.
In fact we have deeply disconnected from this level of experience and even when we turn back towards the body, we come with agendas and ideas that we project upon it, forcing the body into a new mode, only to perpetuate a felt identification with a body, that may seem improved, but in fact remains a mere projection for the separate self that seems to live in its center.
With silence as our main shrine, we will share a guided tactile meditation. In this contemplation, resistances and chains of bodily contractions, the habits that create the illusion that our identity is limited, located and separate are revealed and free to unfold as they are: feelings and sensations that come and go in Awareness. We com to feel that our true identity is an open field of vibrating openness, limitless and ever-present.
Gently and effortlessly, in deepening waves, the body is slowly realigned with this felt understanding. It flows as a living substance with more and more ease and transparency and reflects and expresses the ever-present freedom and silence that is its invisible source.
For Ellen, "the experience we call the body has always been central to all of her experiences and recognitions. It is the place of pain and expression, the channel for raw and tactile intelligence, the mirror of the totality of creation and the pathway to healing.
She participated in gatherings with the Jungian analyst Marion Woodman, and dove into body and soul through dreamwork, body and voice explorations, mask making, ritual, and a circle of women. Today, Ellen offers meetings and retreats in The Awakened Body, a direct experience sourced in Kashmir Shivaism, Authentic Movement, and self inquiry.
Ellen has Master Degrees in Dance Movement Therapy from NYU, and Transpersonal Psychology from JFK, and a certificate in Laban Movement Analysis. She lives in Oxford.
Ellen's website: www.ellenemmet.com
June 2023
What is Nondual Awakening? ~ with Kathleen McTeigue and Tomas Phillips ~ In-Person Local Event
Satsang: 2-4 pm
Refreshments: until 5
Suggested Donation: $10- $20, no one turned away.
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 arrive 10-15 minutes early.
Please dress warmly, doors & windows will be open!
Since the pandemic, fewer teachers are available for local meetings, and more teachings are onling. Yet there is a value and synergy in meeting in person! This satsang is facilitated by Kathleen McTeigue and Tomas Phillips, two locals who've experienced the teachings directly. We'll explore Nondual Awakening, and direct experience, yours and ours. We'll talk about these topics:
* What do I awaken from, and to?
* Is nondual awakening available to anyone?
* What is duality like in our everyday lives, and what is nonduality?
* What happens to the ego in awakening?
* Can the spiritual ego co-opt awakening?
Kathleen had a spontaneous awakening to nondual nature. This recognition of the unitive nature of reality, forever altered her perspective. It revealed the illusory nature of a separate self and the indescribable essence of our true nature. The awakening was the beginning of an alchemical process of transformation, including as a student of Adyasanti. She enjoys being in satsang and spiritual community with fellow lovers of truth. Kathleen's website: openingtopresence.com
Tomas has been hosting nondual satsangs since 2004. His first teacher was Adyashanti, and his current teacher is Angelo DiLullo. He experienced a consciousness shift on a Sunday afternoon in 2006. Since then he's learned to make the teachings his own, through inquiry, and looking within. Awakening is a continuous process of expansion, away from fixed positions of the mind, to freedom in all areas of life.
Find out more »July 2023
Susanne Marie ~ The Liberating Power of Attention ~ InPerson Local Event
You likely have heard the saying: We get what we most sincerely want. As well as: What we place our focused attention on, becomes our reality
There's a power that lives within, and that is the capacity to apply focused attention. The ability to harness one's energies and set one's sights on manifesting something, emerges from the gift on life in its aspect of free-will.
In this meeting, we will apply focused attention on presence as a practice to remember our true nature. This is a practical tool which you will be able to apply in your life.
Bio: Featured in conversation with Adyashanti on Buddha at the Gas Pump as well on ConsciousTV, Susanne Marie offers teachings in support of freedom and the celebration of our common essence and unity with all life. Susanne, the parent of two young adults, offers spiritual mentoring, online an in-person group facilitation, as well as retreats.
Susanne's website: susannemarie.org
The satsang includes a meditation, comments by Susanne, then Q&A and discussion.
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 arrive 10-15 minutes early.
Please dress warmly, doors & windows will be open!
August 2023
Peter Russell ~ Nonduality and Awakening ~ InPerson Local Event
The Indian philosophy of advaita, or nonduality, teaches that consciousness is the primary reality, the fundamental essence of the cosmos. But what does this really mean? It certainly doesn’t appear that way to our eyes. And how can we understand awakening from this perspective. What are we awakening from? And to? Peter Russell will explore questions such as these, and the essential role that letting go plays in this journey.
Bio: Peter Russell, M.A., D.C.S. is a leading thinker on consciousness and contemporary spirituality. He coined the term "global brain" with his 1980s bestseller of the same name in which he predicted the internet and the impact it would have on humanity. Other books include Waking UP in Time, From Science to God, and his most recent Letting Go of Nothing.
Peter's website: www.peterrussell.com
The satsang includes a meditation, comments by the speaker, then Q&A and discussion.
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 arrive 10-15 minutes early.
Please dress warmly, doors & windows will be open!
October 2023
Shakti Caterina Maggi ~ Embodied Non-Duality
Join us for a direct and compassionate immersion into the field of non-duality, an invitation to the conscious embodiment of our true nature. Our daily life itself can then be actively experienced as our most important spiritual practice.
The sharing will be followed by a session of Q&A to integrate the message.
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-centered approach to Advaita and non-dual Tantra has supported thousands of seekers who meet her in retreats and seminars all over the world.
Suggested donation for this event: $10 to $30
No pre-registration. Pay at door when you arrive.
Satsang: 2-4 pm
Refreshments: until 5
Location: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA (Note: the house sign says 8474/8476).
Please park on the street, and walk down the short driveway to the house with the carport.
Please arrive 10-15 minutes early.
Dress warmly as doors and windows may be kept open!
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.
Open Circle is hosting a series of events with Shakti in various locations:
See Shakti's California Tour Page for details.
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)
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)
Weekend RETREAT in Berkeley, CA: Nov. 4th & 5th
Shakti Caterina Maggi ~ Embodied Non-Duality
Join us for a direct and compassionate immersion into the field of non-duality, an invitation to the conscious embodiment of our true nature. Our daily life itself can then be actively experienced as our most important spiritual practice.
The sharing will be followed by a session of Q&A to integrate the message.
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-centered approach to Advaita and non-dual Tantra has supported thousands of seekers who meet her in retreats and seminars all over the world.
Open Circle is also hosting a series of other events with Shakti in various locations;
Check our online calendar for complete listings:
Berkeley, CA satsangs: Oct. 26th & 31st and Nov. 2nd, 7th & 8th
Mount Shasta, CA satsangs: Oct. 27th & 28th
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
Suggested donation for this event: $10 to $30
No pre-registration. Pay at door when you arrive.
Satsang: 2-4 pm
Refreshments: until 5
Location: 8476 Sonoma Ave, Sebastopol, CA (Note: the house sign says 8474/8476).
Please park on the street, and walk down the short driveway to the house with the carport.
Please arrive 10-15 minutes early.
Dress warmly as doors and windows may be kept open!
November 2023
Lisa Schumacher ~ Your True Nature ~ In-Person Local Event
A meeting with Lisa is an opportunity to step away from your day to day life and devote time for self-inquiry into the heart of the truth. There will be a few moments of silence to start the meeting and then Lisa will speak and invite the community to share reports about their lives and questions.
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 Satsang. She has held 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 Eli's "Leela School of Awakening". Lisa is the author of "The Stone I Love", a book of poetry inspired by Gangaji, available on her website and for purchase at the gathering.
In Lisa's meetings, she invites you to sit close and inquire about your awakening, your spiritual questions, and the unfolding truth. 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
The satsang includes a meditation, comments by the speaker, then Q&A and discussion.
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 arrive 10-15 minutes early.
Please dress warmly, doors & windows will be open!
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.
February 2024
Susanne Marie ~ Crisis and Integration ~ In-Person Local Event
This is Susanne's first public meeting since her car accident which took place August 12th, 2023, resulting in 9 broken bones & pelvic surgery. Susanne is featured in conversation on 11/15/16 with Adyashanti on Buddha at the Gaspump (https://batgap.com/adyashanti-susanne-marie-falling-away-self/), as well as on ConsciousTV (http://conscious.tv/single.php?vid=2860077502001 and https://conscious.tv/single.php?vid=5847718840001). Susanne offers teachings in support of freedom and the celebration of our common essence of love and unity with all life. She is the parent of two young adults, and offers spiritual mentoring, online and in-person group facilitation, as well as retreats.
Join Susanne and friends as we explore how the impact of crisis can be met within the realm of awakening. An unexpected event can reveal undiscovered territory within one's conditioning, that jump at the opportunity to come to the light and be transformed. Perhaps the first blessing of a major life altering event is being stopped so fully that there is no option other than being fully present to the moment. Encountering the beautiful human spirit of generosity and kindness that can help redeem one and in turn open one's heart.
Similarly, pain and crisis can invite vast reservoirs of capacity to open in surrender to the moment, helping us to see how much we have benefited from realizations and personal work. Grace comes out of deep spiritual work. It is like having a spiritual piggy bank that comes in handy when faced with challenging times.
Deep change and transformation can take place when we allow for the breaking free of lifelong patterns. Living awakening in each moment is the opportunity given during difficult times. Using inquiry such as asking ourselves: "Can I meet this moment as intimately as possible without resistance?" is an avenue into becoming present.
Bio: Featured in conversation with Adyashanti on Buddha at the Gas Pump as well on ConsciousTV, Susanne Marie offers teachings in support of freedom and the celebration of our common essence and unity with all life. Susanne, the parent of two young adults, offers spiritual mentoring, online an in-person group facilitation, as well as retreats.
Susanne's website: susannemarie.org
The satsang includes a meditation, comments by the speaker, then Q&A and discussion
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 arrive 10-15 minutes early.
Please dress warmly, doors & windows will be open!
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.
April 2024
Stephen Capper ~ The Untouched Within ~ In-Person in Sebastopol
Discover within yourself, what is untouched by conflict. Our days and minds often dwell in conflict: conflict with other people, with various voices and personalities within ourselves, with institutions and authorities, and the political conflicts at home, and in Gaza and the Ukraine. What is untouched by conflict has been called true nature, presence, essence, being, divine, soul... etc. It's through awareness to what we're telling ourselves, and dropping in and embodying our emotions that are arising... that we can open to a deeper truth.
Stephen came to the US from the UK is 1983 to be close to Osho. After Osho left his body he felt the need for a Living Awakened teacher and was introduced to Gangaji and through her the teachings of Papaji, (her teacher) and Ramana, (Papaji’s teacher.) For the last 20+ years he has opened to Gangaji’s message and gone to retreats, weekends, open meetings and has been a volunteer with the Gangaji Foundation. He also went through the one year immersion program at the Leela School of Awakening and the Enneagram mastery program run by Gangaji’s husband Eli Jaxon Bear. Stephen lives with his wife and two cats in Oakland. He is a musician, loves to garden and teaches piano.
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 arrive 10-15 minutes early.
Please dress warmly, doors & windows will be open!
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.
July 2024
John Prendergast ~ Opening to the Ground: The Path of Immanence ~ In-Person
Opening to the Ground: The Path of Immanence - while the first step in awakening involves transcending our personal narrative and waking "up" to our true nature as unbounded awareness, we must also wake 'down" into the heart and ground in order to embody this understanding in our ordinary life - the path of immanence. This requires that emotional and instinctual levels of our conditioning are increasingly infused with the light of Awareness.
John Prendergast, Ph.D is a spiritual teacher and retired psychotherapist and 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 August, 2023. He is the author of The Deep Heart (2019) and In Touch (2015) and is working on a new book for Sounds True about the Ground.
John's website: listeningfromsilence.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.
All proceeds will be donated to Open Circle/Rob Schwartz property in Fairfax.
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 arrive 10-15 minutes early.
Please dress warmly, doors & windows will be open!
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.
John Prendergast ~ Opening to the Ground: The Path of Immanence ~ In-Person
While the first step in awakening involves transcending our personal narrative and waking "up" to our true nature as unbounded awareness, we must also wake 'down" into the heart and ground in order to embody this understanding in our ordinary life - the path of immanence. This requires that emotional and instinctual levels of our conditioning are increasingly infused with the light of Awareness.
John Prendergast, Ph.D is a spiritual teacher and retired psychotherapist and 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 August, 2023.
Find out more »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.
Gail Brenner ~ Melting into Being (In-Person Event)
Come and enjoy an afternoon of melting into being with your fellow truth lovers. 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. At the same time, we bow to our humanness—meeting our conditioned and fear-based patterns with understanding and compassion. 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.
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. She is known for creating the safe space needed for deep inner exploration.
Find out more »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.
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. 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). These inner transformations often change the landscape of even the closest of relationships. Having Truth as one's guide, the aim is to live more authentic and heart-centered connections, as this enriches all of our lives.
Susanne Marie offers teachings in support of freedom and the celebration of our common essence of love and unity with all life.
Find out more »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