Browse Schedule by Category: Retreats / Online Courses
The Hero’s Journey Retreat at Clear Sky Center
Clear Sky Meditation & Study Centre 3567 Cockell Rd, Bull River, British Columbia, CanadaThe Hero's Journey This popular retreat offers a powerful mythical journey experience. Accepting the challenge of the Hero’s Journey will leave you with a healthier, strengthened ego – one more fully integrated with the ‘shadow’ and thus accessing more energy and less susceptible to stress. Introducing the shadow What do we mean by ‘shadow’? Our shadow aspects are the unconscious patterns and views that affect our behavior, decisions and intentions to the extent that we’re not acting consciously for the benefit of ourselves or others. For most of us, the ego is locked in a continual struggle with the shadow: it determines whether we like or dislike people, situations and things, without realizing why or being conscious of our responses. In terms of lifetime patterns, we may be undermining our relationships, blocking our growth, and limiting our spiritual unfoldment and thus our ability to benefit others. Or: we can choose to take a look at what’s really going on under the surface. Negative emotions like anxiety and depression are rooted in the ego’s need to ‘object’-ify our experience. We attempt to cling to things. Since all things have an impermanent nature, this inevitably leads to struggle and dissatisfaction. Once we commit to the challenge to release the energy locked in there, imagine the fountain of energy that becomes available to us then! Enter the Hero In this retreat, support your inner hero or heroine to undertake a courageous journey through the archetypes. The aim: not to destroy the shadow, but […]
21 Taras Meditation Retreat
Clear Sky Meditation & Study Centre 3567 Cockell Rd, Bull River, British Columbia, CanadaJoin us for a week-long retreat where we will study, contemplate and immerse ourselves in “Tara” - an archetype of support and nourishment, protection and encouragement. Tara is a female bodhisattva, a being who delays their own Buddhahood or entry into nirvana in order to assist and alleviate the suffering of others. She is known as a saviouress and as the "mother of liberation" from suffering. See this introductory video with Doug and Catherine on the 21 Taras.
Karma, Womb and Transcendence
Clear Sky Meditation & Study Centre 3567 Cockell Rd, Bull River, British Columbia, CanadaProbably the most important work to do in this lifetime in relationship to getting in contact with how you were made, shaped and formed… By doing the retreat you’re bringing that which was unconscious into the conscious mind - which is hugely important for your liberation. -- Doug Duncan & Catherine Pawasarat All of our tendencies and potentialities come from the womb experience. It literally shapes and forms us - before we were conscious. The exercises and practices in this retreat will bring these patterns to consciousness, and only then can you be liberated from them. This retreat will be taught by Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat at Clear Sky Meditation Center. The retreat will include individual and group exercises and meditations. It will be a challenging topic, suited to those looking for a liberating experience. Hear more about the retreat from teachers Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat: https://youtu.be/C7Z6B4-p_F8 What others have said about this retreat: Can you imagine what gems of insight await you? Course prerequisites: Completion of the Online Course, A Year of Dharmic Astrology. Recommended reading: The Womb, Karma and Transcendence by Namgyal Rinpoche, available from Bodhi Publishing Image credit: Top image is a painting by Sonam Senge, from the cover of the book "The Womb Karma and Transcendence" by Namgyal Rinpoche.
Online Course: Emotional Intelligence
Gather online with teachers of awakening Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat for these 90 minute webinars, one day a week for four weeks. Strengthen and energize your vehicle of emotional intelligence, and view it through the lens of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness to further and contemporize your realization of awakening. Through improved relationships, we may be of greater benefit to more beings. Less emotional conflict makes for greater joy and deeper insights into the mystery of being. Course Dates & Time: 90 minutes once a week, May 9 - May 30, 2015. Sat., May 9, 4:00-5:30pm Mountain Time Sat., May 16, 4:00-5:30pm Mountain Time Sat., May 23, 4:00-5:30pm Mountain Time Sat., May 30, 4:00-5:30pm Mountain Time * NOTE: webinars must be attended live; no recordings will be available. Registration numbers are limited to 25 people; please confirm that you're able to attend live before you register for this course.* Determine your local time here. Cost: This course is being offered on the basis of the progressive and precious practice of dāna (generosity). The course is currently full, but please join the Wait List: Course Description: How well do you swim the sometimes-turbulent waters of interpersonal relationships? Are you frolicking like a sea otter, or busy avoiding sharks? Are you aware of and comfortable with what you’re feeling, and do you express it in a way others understand and relate to? And would those close to you agree? Are you smiling or clenching your teeth right now? […]
Planetary Awakening, Calgary Teachings
Human Potential 360, Calgary 1231 9 Ave SE, Inglewood, Calgary, AB, CanadaJoin Dharma teacher Catherine Pawasarat in Calgary AB, for a weekend exploration of “Planetary Awakening”. Catherine will give Discourses on Deep Sustainability, covering such questions as:
-What needs to shift for humans to live in balance and harmony with the planet?
-How can we support this process in our day to day lives?
-How does the concept of sustainability translate to our mind states?
Foundations of Buddhist Philosophy (Online)
Much of the mindfulness, self-awareness and self-improvement courses that are available today are modern derivatives of ancient traditions and methods that could be called fundamentally Buddhist. These five streamed courses will give an overview of the foundations of the Buddhist teachings of liberation, helping us better understand and make optimal use of contemporary interpretations.
Holistic Clearing Retreat
Clear Sky Meditation & Study Centre 3567 Cockell Rd, Bull River, British Columbia, CanadaHolistic Clearing - A Modern Liberative Practice Join this retreat to learn a simple and transformative four-step approach that has amazing power to free us from persistent and tenacious blocks. Holistic Clearing offers a supportive and fully liberating self-contained practice. It is an original creation by Namgyal Rinpoche, representing a new and unique stream in spiritual practices. In particular this meditation is designed to help us face and overcome paralysis, any sense of being “stuck.” This practice empowers us to become unstuck, to flow naturally and gracefully in sync with the energy of the universe that we call the awakened mind. The Holistic Clearing meditations are designed to purify, balance and strengthen our transcendent natures, the optimal manifestations of our being. Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat continue this lineage of authentic teachings. Let them skillfully guide you through this straightforward, insight-style program that empowers us to luxuriate in greater freedom and joy in our lives. Join this retreat for the valuable opportunity to help share these unique Namgyal teachings in the contemporary world. Course Outcomes • Recognize, identify and build on the strengths and positives already in our lives. • Use your strengths to support your growth in other areas. • Learn how to move beyond our strengths, to develop our potential further and in more integrated ways. • Recognize and clear elements of your persona that stand in the way of greater freedom and clarity. • Identify and grow completely new areas of our own potential. • Access more […]
10 Year Anniversary Celebrations at Clear Sky Retreat Center
Clear Sky Meditation & Study Centre 3567 Cockell Rd, Bull River, British Columbia, CanadaWe'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 […]
Retreat on the Tarot
Clear Sky Meditation & Study Centre 3567 Cockell Rd, Bull River, British Columbia, CanadaImage credit:N0cturbulous While Buddhism, Sufism, shamanism and other traditions offer us outstanding tools for our spiritual unfoldment, they also require learning about foreign philosophy, culture, and sometimes even language. The tarot’s archetypes are something that all Westerners have grown up with since infancy (even if we didn’t realize it), and thus they are more easily accessible. The Tarot archetypes – such as the Fool, the Empress, and the Chariot – allow Westerners to do depth work and find greater meaning in our lives, relatively easily. The Tarot claims unique status as part of the Western Mystery tradition. It offers a powerful and concise path of liberation that draws on our own life experiences as Westerners and our native intelligence to help unfold the deeper wisdom and understandings of our mystical life. In this two week-long retreat, participants learn to use the 22 cards of the major arcana of the Tarot deck as a resource for reflection, visualization and self-discovery. Each card embodies the characteristics of an archetype, aspects of which exist within each of us, and each card contains symbolism through which transformation can occur. In this retreat, daily teachings focus on the knowledge base of the tarot tradition, which leads us into deeper meditation on the archetypes and energies therein. Through these teachings and meditations, we discover what aspects are stronger and weaker in our being, ultimately teaching us how to integrate them more fully into our daily lives. Exercises incorporate art, music and movement to help us contact […]
Online Course: The Paramis
The Perfections of Virtue Gather online with teachers of awakening Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat for these 60-minute webinars, one day a week for six weeks. We’ll strengthen our practice of the paramis, often translated as “The Perfections of Virtue.” Earnest and ongoing cultivation of the qualities of the six paramis leads to our speedy awakening for the benefit of all beings. Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat will be teaching this course online, on Saturday afternoons (3-4 pm Mountain Time, August 29th, September 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th, October 3rd). Sessions will be 60 minutes long. * NOTE: webinars must be attended live; no recordings will be available. Registration numbers are limited to 25 people; please confirm that you’re able to attend live before you register for this course.* Determine your local time here. Cost: This course is being offered on the basis of the progressive and precious practice of dāna (generosity), the first parami. Traditional teachings hold that, while we practice all the paramis simultaneously, they are perfected in order. Course description The Paramis are one of the most fundamental teachings on the path to awakening. These teachings are found in the Prajñapāramitā Sūtra, the Lotus Sutra, and other classic texts. They are consummately relevant to every practitioner, for they are accessible to people of all spiritual backgrounds and may be practiced under a wide variety of conditions: in relationship, while meditating, while working, etc. Deceptively simple, with ongoing application, our understanding and practice of the Paramis matures and deepens to unimaginable profundity and richness. Your […]