Silent Awareness and Inner Peace

  Beauty and the Sacred 

Without the sensitivity to perceive beauty, self-transformation is only an idea. What is the relationship between beauty and the Sacred?

  A Morning of Renewal & Healing

Can we re-imagine our life’s journey with a new perspective that empowers us? In this meditative inquiry, we will explore how the power of gratitude can bring healing and renewal into our lives.

 The Intimacy of Life 

 A compassionate world is something we all long for, but what is required of us?  In these 4 sessions, we'll engage with the art of self-transformation.

When Krishnamurti spoke of beauty, he linked it to a heightened level of sensitivity, and to a quality of seeing that transcends the conditioned mind.  In our highly polarized world, burdened by multiple crises on a scale we’ve not seen before, how do we approach living with sensitivity? Can we have an authentic relationship with beauty in such a world?   

  As this tumultuous year draws to a close, we are now at the threshold of a great reckoning and a great awakening. This is an extraordinary time. While everything seems to be falling apart, there is also a growing awareness of the urgency for transformational change.  Join us for a sensitive exploration into sacred wholeness at a time of uncertainty and possibility.

  The Stillness beyond Fear

“What does it mean to live with something which you don’t know?”

J. Krishnamurti

Join me in a breath meditation that relaxes body and mind. There is a stillness that is always available because it resides within you.

An exploration into interior silence, and what it teaches us about ourselves, our relationships with others, and the natural world. Our retreat includes a mixture of speech, deep listening, sacred music,  body relaxation, communion with nature, and periods of group  silence.

"It is only in alert silence that truth can be."  J .Krishnamurti

 What is our relationship with silence? Can we approach silence as a great work of art that brings us closer to what the Buddha called “the other shore,” and what the Christ referred to as the “kingdom of heaven?”  Join for  a deep dive into the awareness that is timeless.
 

"We need silence just as much as we need air."  Thich Nhat Hanh  

In stillness we are free of conflict and confusion. When we become still, new possibilities appear that reduce stress and strengthen us from within. This retreat is an entry point into the way of stillness. Join us for a day of relaxation and quietude in a beautiful natural setting at Krotona in Ojai.

 The great wisdom teachings of the world share one fundamental principle – the call to awaken to inner freedom. While this “waking-up” can happen in a timeless flash of insight, it seldom lasts long.
Awakening is both instantaneous and at the same time a process.  This workshop and retreat explores a deeper dimension of being.

Krotona Institute - 4 Sessions

 This program will explore the existential question: Who Am I?  It the most fundamental of all questions -- it is central to understanding of our purpose in life. Our exploration will include the views of Ramana Maharshi,  J. Krishnamurti and GI Gurdjieff. 

Four Winds Gallery, Santa Barbara 

Seating is limited.  

 Spring is a time of renewal. Flowers bloom with vibrant color, birdsong fills the air, and all of nature is alive with new energy and beauty. But does this renewal happen within us? Are we renewing our energy, vitality, and creativity?   Join us in a supportive and quiet atmosphere where inner tranquility is lovingly welcomed like an old friend.    

Krotona Institute. Lunch is provided.

What is inner freedom? Why is it so elusive? How does a silent mind bring us closer to what is beautiful and true?

Our aim is to encounter the inner silence which ends conflict and opens us to wonder. 

October 23 - 26, 2018

Krishnamurti wrote with great sensitivity about the  beauty and wonders of nature. His observations of the natural world convey, perhaps better than anything  else, his teaching about attention, inner freedom and the art of living. This program explores Krishnamurti’s profound kinship with nature, and what we can learn from his insights. 

April 17 - 20, 2018

Inner silence is often imagined as an ocean; vast, deep, powerful and  unknown. When the mind is silent, life has exquisite beauty, balance and  equilibrium.  

In the ocean of silence, there are  no deadlines and no stress. To still the mind and relax in a supportive environment is the aim of this retreat. 

Saturday, October 29, 2018 

The quest for meaning and a longing for freedom are fundamental questions  of human existence. What  does it mean to be free? Is it possible to be free of seeking?  Our intention will be to delve deeply into these perennial questions. 

Workshops &  Retreats

 Sages from every tradition tell us that peace has to come from within before  it can flourish in our lives and in the world. With stillness, deep  listening and communion with nature,  we'll relax and explore the stability and comfort of inner peace. 

Workshops & Retreats

Join us for a tribute to the Earth. We’ll explore explore the beauty of the Earth; its sacred places, and discuss how a loving response to the natural world contributes to our well-being, and bring us closes to wholeness and  peace.

 Three remarkable women; three remarkable stories about the search for the meaning of existence.  Mary Magdalene,  “the Apostle to the Apostles;" Sufi  mystic, Rabi’a al-Adawiyya, and Yeshe Tsogyal, a Tibetan yogini who  helped bring Buddhism to Tibet.  They  left a spiritual legacy which helps illuminate  our own search for inner freedom. spiritual awakening

Feeling and expressing Gratitude is powerful and life-affirming. Gratitude widens our horizons and lifts of our spirits. 

What  might our lives be like if we lived every day as a “thank-you?” 

Workshops & Retreats

What can the lives and work of three famous seekers of wisdom tell us about ourselves?

Dante Alighieri, Teresa of Avila, and the Tibetan saint Milarepa each had a deep connection with a larger vision of life. 

Workshops & Retreats

Hildegard of Bingen and Julian of Norwich were spiritual visionaries. They offered wisdom to a fragmented and  chaotic world that was quite similar to our own.  We’ll explore what these two women can teach us, and how we can benefit from listening to  them. 

Workshops & Retreats

Can the cycle of war ever come to an end?  Why is there perpetual conflict throughout the world?
 Join us for a discussion about the causes of conflict that lead to war, and what, if anything, can be done to prevent it.

Proceeds will be donated to 

Save the Children.

At the Ojai Retreat

 Ojai, CA workshops & retreats

The  stress and turbulence of daily life can be overwhelming. We long for a  place to retreat and feel refreshed by a sense of beauty and inner quiet. But  where is that quiet  space we need?  

We'll explore a practice of quietude inspired by the wisdom of Ramana Maharshi and J.  Krishnamurti. 

Workshops & Retreats