Creating Refuge In Fragmented Times
(Free Intro Webinar)
With Karen McAllister and Duncan Cryle
We are offering two different date/time options you can join:
Wednesday 14th October 7-8 pm MT (6-7 pm PST)
Or
Saturday 17th October Noon-1 pm MT (11am-Noon PST)
We are living through a polycrisis — climate chaos, technological disruption, democratic instability, a rising tide of disconnection and nihilism. It’s not one crisis to solve. It’s many, intersecting, all at once. In times like these, resilience isn’t about “bouncing back” to how things were. It’s about learning to bounce forward — building the inner and outer structures that let us stay whole, stay open, and stay of service, even while the ground keeps shifting.
You meditate. You do your own inner work. And yet you still feel scattered by everything pulling at you — the habits draining your energy, the relationships you can’t quite navigate, the routines that keep slipping, the world’s suffering that keeps finding its way into your nervous system.
Having the practices isn’t the same as having a container to hold them.
Just as a seed needs the shelter of soil to grow, and a retreat center can become a refuge — a “refugia,” a place where life continues and new possibility emerges amid disruption — you need a supportive container in your own daily life. Not a bypass from the world’s difficulty, but a structure strong enough to meet it from steadiness rather than depletion.
This free one-hour webinar is an invitation to explore what that container could look like for you.
What We’ll Explore
- Why willpower and good intentions aren’t enough — and what a true “supportive container” actually provides
- An introduction to Clear Sky’s Five Principles: Honoring Space, Structure, Communication, Cleaning Up Big Areas, and Working With Others
- How personal resilience and collective resilience are woven together — the inner work that makes real outer action possible
- A taste of our teaching style, and whether this approach is the right fit for you right now
Session Details
- When: Join either Wed 14th Oct 2026 7-8 pm MT (6-7 pm PST) or Sat 17th Oct 2026 Noon-1pm MT (11am-Noon PST)
- Format: Live online via Zoom (recording available)
- Cost: Free
What to Expect
Each session in the series weaves together:
- Teaching grounded in Buddhist wisdom and 35+ years of practice, adapted for real-world application
- Guided practice you can use immediately and return to between sessions
- Reflection & dialogue with others navigating similar terrain
- Integration tools designed for daily life, not just the cushion
Going Deeper: The Full Course
This webinar is a taste of Integrating Mindfulness: Tools for Holistic Living, our 4-week course – Saturdays Oct 24, 31, Nov 7, 14. The course is to help you build a supportive container — not just for your meditation practice, but for your entire life: your spaces, your routines, your relationships, and the big areas that quietly drain your energy.
In fragmented times, this work matters beyond the personal. A steadier you is a more resourced, more available you — for your family, your community, and the wider world asking for our care right now.
Accessible sliding-scale pricing: $200–500 CAD according to your means.
Your Guides For The Series
Duncan Cryle has practiced meditation and Buddhist Dharma for over 35 years in the Namgyal lineage with Qapel and Catherine Sensei. He was a founding member of Clear Sky in 2004 and a resident since 2018. Duncan has been teaching for over 20 years—with Awaken in Toronto, Despertando no Brasil (“Awakening in Brazil”), and through Clear Sky’s Integrating Mindfulness program. Through the intense work of living in intentional community—navigating conflict, collaboration, and collective decision-making—he’s learned firsthand what it takes to stay whole in fragmented times. He also spent many years in senior business roles pioneering workplace mindfulness, and now consults with nonprofits and mission-driven organizations on building mindfulness, resilience, and trust.
Karen McAllister has practiced meditation since the 1990s and studied Buddhist Dharma for over 25 years in the Namgyal lineage with Qapel and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei. She was a founding member of Clear Sky in 2004 and has been a resident since 2018. Karen has been teaching meditation and mindfulness for over 13 years through Awaken in Toronto, Despertando no Brasil (“Awakening in Brazil”), and Clear Sky’s Integrating Mindfulness and Money & Spirituality programs. Through the ongoing practice of living in intentional community, navigating relationship, conflict, and shared responsibility, she has learned firsthand what it takes to stay grounded and whole in uncertain and changing times. Alongside her teaching, Karen serves as Co-Executive Director of Clear Sky and leads the funding of the Temple project, supporting a long-term vision of refuge and deep practice for generations to come. She is also the founder of Mindful Money Coaching, where she supports people in the helping professions and mission-driven fields to transform their relationship with money, bringing awareness to how they give, receive, and steward resources in alignment with their values and purpose.