Retreats

An opportunity for retreat work at Clear Sky Centre: Take advantage of private meditation cabins to learn to better understand your own and thus others' minds and hearts. To use others' realization to further your own, and vice versa, see the group retreats elsewhere in this schedule. Participating in "awakening in action" through living and working in awakening community is another option, as part of the Clear Sky Experience.

We'd love to have you join us as we celebrate Clear Sky retreat center's tenth year running programs. We'll be celebrating the past efforts and contributions of our members, appreciating what we have now, and welcoming in the future. Ten years of learning together Friday, July 31st: Arrivals. Welcome, orientation, & dinner. Saturday, August 1st:  Clear Sky Annual General Meeting.  Anyone who has attended our past AGMs knows that learning together, fun and joy are paramount. The day of the AGM usually involves team frisbee in the morning, followed by highlights of the year and reports from board members after lunch and a celebration into the evening.       Sunday August 2nd: Kalachakra Wong Kur.  The teachers will offer a Kalachakra initiation in the profound, fun, and vibrant Tibetan tradition of empowerments.  The rest of the day will be dedicated to the Kalachakra practice.  Read more about Wong Kurs.     Monday, August 3rd: Meditation Platform Building and Group Activities The prototype has been built, sponsored and co-created by Catherine Sensei. It already has the paws up from Sultan, and we think you're sure to love them too.  To take this opportunity to sponsor a small meditation platform on the property. Find out more on the Clear Sky website.       Tuesday, August 4th: Activities with Evangelos & Maya Details coming soon. Wednesday, August 5th: Departure Day Why not continue your stay afterwards? Join the Tarot retreat led by Catherine and Doug Sensei, starting August 7th. Visit the […]

For most of us, the ego is locked in a life-and-death struggle with the shadow. We’re continually pulled back and forth between the excitement of exploration on one hand, and the fear of abandonment and rejection on the other. The Hero/ine undertakes the courageous journey to assimilate ego and shadow, tapping into inner, previously unknown gifts to triumph over lifelong challenges in the guise of opponents. The results blossom as the harmonious union of light and dark that characterizes a truly healthy, integrated human being. Exquisitely humbled by the process, we offer all that we have learned to benefit all beings in our lives. This program features teachings, exercises and guided meditations to shepherd us through the fearless, meditative and experiential path of the hero’s journey. Video: Hero's Journey Retreat For further insight and inspiration, read Doug and Catherine's recent article on Transforming Demons to Allies and Six Benefits of the Hero's Journey. What others say about our retreats Dāna This program on the hero's journey is offered on the basis of dāna, or generosity practice. Learn more about dāna. Location & Registration This program is presented at beautiful Hollyhock retreat center on Cortes Island in BC.  Please visit the Hero's Journey course page for registration, accommodation and meal fees at Hollyhock. There is a generous discount currently available for meals & accomodation.   Scholarships are also available: apply at Hollyhock's Scholarship Program.

For most of us, the ego is locked in a life-and-death struggle with the shadow. We’re continually pulled back and forth between the excitement of exploration on the one hand, and the fear of abandonment and rejection on the other. What is the ‘Hero’s Journey’? The Hero’s Journey is the courageous path the hero/ine undertakes to assimilate ego and shadow, tapping into inner, previously unknown gifts to triumph over lifelong challenges. The results blossom as the harmonious union of light and dark that characterizes a truly healthy, integrated human being. Exquisitely humbled by the process, we offer all that we have learned to benefit all beings in our lives. https://youtu.be/GsYHR9sKIHc Kinmount Weekend Retreat Details This retreat will help you gain greater self-confidence and a deeper appreciation of everyday life by embarking on the Hero’s Journey. The weekend will include teachings, exercises and guided meditations to shepherd us through the fearless, meditative and experiential path of the Hero’s Journey. Location: Dharma Centre of Canada, Kinmount, ON Time: Fri 20th (evening) - Sun 22nd, November 2015 Cost: $400 (for food and accommodation), plus dana for the teacher The Dharma Centre of Canada can be reached at: [email protected] The Teacher Achariya Doug Duncan Sensei is a Canadian-born Dharma teacher. Known for his compassionate insight, remarkable sense of humor, and life-changing advice, Doug Sensei leads retreats and courses designed to guide individuals to attain their fullest potential as human beings. He has been teaching at centres around the world for more than 20 years and is the […]

Calm and Clear Retreat at Maitreya House in the UK Inviting Insight, Bliss & Wisdom into our lives Fri. April 1 – Fri. April 8 Would you like to feel more calm and clear? How do you imagine it would affect your quality of life? Calm and Clear is a kind of meditation method, and it applies to the day-to-day. Although it’s a text and practice rooted in Vajrayana Buddhism, the applications can apply just as well in the office, at home, in recreation and even in our personal and professional relationships. Imagine bringing a sense of calmness and clarity to all of those places! This has been called “analytical meditation” because it focuses on insight, our mind’s incredible ability to understand. Its partner, sammatha, is also known as bliss meditation; it’s considered the great healer, because when bliss is present, it supersedes all mental and physical anguish. These are not empty promises: as we all know, bliss can be interrupted and difficult to regain. Therefore, we need to understand the nature of what interrupts the bliss, which means developing more insight. We also learn the supporting conditions of mind that can re-establish the bliss, and reveal a kind of bliss we didn’t recognize before. What kind of bliss is that? You may be asking. This is the bliss of a calm, clear, awake luminosity of consciousness, which generates both bliss and insight. Combined, we call them wisdom:  Wisdom is generated when bliss conjoins with clarity and focuses on a […]

Immerse yourself in this long weekend course of Awakening in Action at beautiful Clear Sky Centre this June. Dharma Teachers Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat will present a thorough, engaged and joyful path for applying the paramis in everything you do. In community we will embrace 'learning together' and the strength of diversity so we can all reach our fullest potentials.

How can we become more self-aware and/or make spiritual progress when we spend the majority of our waking hours at a job, or figuring out how to make my business successful?
These are questions every contemporary practitioner asks. We believe that for many people, one solution lies in the path of Karma Yoga: yoga means “union through discipline,” and karma means “action.” We call it Awakening Through Action.