BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Clear Sky Meditation Centre - ECPv6.15.19//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Clear Sky Meditation Centre REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Chicago BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:CDT DTSTART:20200308T080000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:CST DTSTART:20201101T070000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:CDT DTSTART:20210314T080000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:CST DTSTART:20211107T070000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:CDT DTSTART:20220313T080000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:CST DTSTART:20221106T070000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:CDT DTSTART:20230312T080000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:CST DTSTART:20231105T070000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:CDT DTSTART:20240310T080000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:CST DTSTART:20241103T070000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Edmonton BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:MDT DTSTART:20220313T090000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:MST DTSTART:20221106T080000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:MDT DTSTART:20230312T090000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:MST DTSTART:20231105T080000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:MDT DTSTART:20240310T090000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:MST DTSTART:20241103T080000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:MDT DTSTART:20250309T090000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:MST DTSTART:20251102T080000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20230126T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20230223T200000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20221217T044741Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251209T103440Z UID:18359-1674759600-1677182400@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Meditation Circle: Community Classes for Inner Well-Being (Online or In-Person) DESCRIPTION:Foundations of Meditation Classes (Online or In-Person at Clear Sky)Thursdays 7-8pm MST \nHow do you grow your inner well-being?  These community classes at Clear Sky center help you develop a stronger meditation practice.   \nJoin us for Meditation Circle\, Thursday nights (7:00-8:00pm MST) at Clear Sky Center.  You can attend in-person\, or join us online.   \nThese classes will run each season of the year. This current series of classes will run from Thursday\, January 26th to February 24th.  We encourage you to attend all classes. \nThere are two ways to attend – in person or online. Just click the appropriate button to register. See you soon!  \n  \n Registration – In Person Registration – Online \nQuestions?  \nContact Cara via email or phone: \ncara@clearskycenter.org | 250-421-8280 \n \n\n“Meditation is like turning on a light in a dark room. The power of awareness lets us see what is there – in our bodies\, emotions\, mind\, workplaces\, homes and relationships. Seeing what is there gives us the freedom and the courage to make deeply impactful changes.” \nDuncan Cryle\n\nSeries Overview – with Duncan Cryle\nDoes your mind feel scattered and distracted?  Do you feel like you are going through life on auto-pilot?  Or do you feel constantly tired and low on energy?  This 5 week series as part of Clear Sky’s Meditation Circle classes is for anyone looking to establish or deepen a meditation practice. \nMeditation helps us build our concentration\, our mindfulness and our energy.  With our hearts and mind fully present\, able to give our deep attention\, we become able to grow quickly in wisdom and compassion.   \nIn this series\, in each session we’ll meditate together\, and explore: \n\nWhat is insight breathing meditation (vipassana) and how can we use question and investigation in meditation to invite insights\nHow to practice – deepen your practice\nBuild your meditation toolkit – classical teachings on how to work with obstacles and distractions\, and to build mindfulness and calm\nWays to establish and deepen a daily meditation practice at home\nMeditation tips and practices you can integrate into daily life and work\n\n \n\n“I feel like we’re so disembodied today in our technological culture that meditation is my little kindness to myself in saying ‘hello body\, you’re part of my day.'” \nKaren McAllister\n\nMeet the Teachers\n \nMaureen Smith\nMaureen Smith (MSW\, RCSW) is a therapist and meditation teacher. Passionate about what she does\, she will guide you to a more alive\, aware and mindful path of living. \nMaureen is a well-respected Cranbrook-based therapist and educator. She works with individuals and couples in the public sector in addictions and mental health. Not only was Maureen the first acting caretaker at Clear Sky Meditation Center in BC\, she has studied numerous meditation practices intensively for over 10 years. She has a Master of Social Work degree and is a Registered Clinical Social Worker in British Columbia. \nDuncan Cryle\nThrough 30+ years of personal practice and 15+ teaching meditation and mindfulness\, alongside an active career working all over the world\, I’ve learnt a lot about an integrating mindfulness into daily life.  As a founding member of Clear Sky in 2004\, I’m amazed at the power of a beautiful\, natural and dedicated space for supporting people to deepen their meditation and feel more connected.  Alongside. my Clear Sky work\, I hold a director position at a large software company where I also run a volunteer global mindfulness program to 1000s employees.  I was formerly one of the pioneers of IBM’s mindfulness movement.  I’m passionate about how mindfulness-based approaches can transform how we live and work together\, and be of better service in the world. \n \nKaren McAllister\nAs Clear Sky’s Chair of the Board and Director of Business Development\, I’m passionate about teaching the much-ignored principles of nurturing the factors – like honor your space\, structure\, and communication – that create the conditions we need to wake up more in daily life. I see how I learned and embodied these principles in my different roles at Clear Sky as the center went from self-starter to second-stage growth. This is what I call “the hands-on way of doing an MBA with a spiritual bottom line!” \nIn my free time\, I love travelling\, speaking Portuguese and reading history\, architecture and art books. \nCara Conroy-Lau\nCara brings a joyful East meets West approach to meditation and holistic health. \nAs a New Zealand-born citizen of the world\, she grew up in New Zealand\, Singapore\, Japan and China. Cara has trained in mind-body integrative health for over 15 years. She is the founding acupuncturist at Cranbrook Acupuncture Clinic. \nCara has been training in meditation and Buddhist philosophy since her early 20’s\, and has a paritcular interest in Asian philosophy.  She is a long time resident at Clear Sky Centre\, and was the Centre’s first farm and food forest manager from 2009-2012.  \n Registration – Online Registration – In Person \nCourse Cost: Dāna\n \nWe offer this course on the basis of dāna.  If you’re not familiar with dāna\, you may have come across related approaches such as “pay from the heart.” \nDāna is a Sanskrit term that translates as “generosity” in English. The practice of generosity is central to spiritual unfoldment\, whatever path you follow. In our own Buddhist lineage\, teachings have always been given on the basis of dāna\, and we are committed to this practice and its development in the West. \nDāna is a radical and – we believe – viable economic alternative to capitalism. We all know there must be something better than capitalism or its hungry cousin\, consumerism. We maintain that\, together\, we can offer a financial model that is based in life-affirming mutual support. Please join us in co-creating this promising economic alternative. \n \n \nTo help you choose an amount that feels right for you\, we recommend this heart-based exercise from our friends at Planet Dharma.  \nChecking in with your heart\n1) Take a few quiet breaths and center yourself. Spend a few moments to reflect on each of the below: the beauty and integrity of dāna practice; the value of receiving direct teachings from lineage holders in a recognized spiritual tradition; the reality of your financial situation. \n2) Spend another few moments contacting a sense of health\, strength and abundance. You have a healthy mind\, a body\, senses\, the good karma to have heard the teachings\, and conditions to support your practice of Dharma. Celebrate this! \n3) Now check with your heart and mind what amount feels both consistent with your situation\, and expressive of your aspiration. \nIt’s our joy to offer this course\, and we trust you’ll match our time\, energy\, and passion by giving an amount of money that feels good and healthy to both you and us. \n Register Now – Online Register Now – In Person URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/meditation-circle-community-classes-for-inner-well-being-online-or-in-person-2/ LOCATION:Clear Sky Meditation Center\, 3567 Cockell Road\, PO BOX 19\, Fort Steele\, British Columbia\, V0B 1NO\, Canada CATEGORIES:Coaching,Meditation Circle,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2.png ORGANIZER;CN="Clear Sky Center":MAILTO:contact@clearskycenter.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20230121T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20230211T120000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20220818T171853Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230119T000433Z UID:17171-1674295200-1676116800@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Money & Spirituality: Integrating Spiritual and Material (Online) DESCRIPTION:A Four-Week Online Course with Karen McAllister \nSaturdays at 10am MT \nClick here to see your timezone \nThis course is about healing the split between money and spirituality and integrating your vision and calling into your everyday work. Through this course\, you will come to a place of peace\, power\, and care in your heart in your relationship with money. \nIt is about integrating the spiritual with the material\, or the material with the spiritual\, depending on where your journey begins. \nWhat this means for you\nWorking with your relationship with money is more than just seeing your patterns and recurring behaviours around it. \nMoney is a nexus that is the doorway into greater integration. All of us have some sort of knot around money. By going into that knot\, we can attend to all of these bigger things like the shadow\, dreams\, vision\, values\, priorities\, and awakening. \nWe are inviting you to join us to release these complicated and layered knots around money and allow yourself to let go the dam of resistance\, shame\, guilt\, superiority\, privilege\, and fear. To have the courage to look at your projections onto money and be on your way to a place of integration between the material and the spiritual. \nWe want you to be lighter\, brighter and to give and attract the amount of money you need to manifest your purpose.  \n \n \n REGISTER NOW\n \n \n \nDo any of these 8 knots sound like you?\n\nYou might be very passionate about your work as an artist\, teacher\, healer\, in business\, or as a transformational change agent. Yet you seem to repel the very resources that you need. Somehow embracing the money thing is felt as inauthentic to your values or being evil on some level. Is it truly noble to be a starving artist or a martyr?\n Perhaps you feel money is elusive and you never seem to have it\, or when it comes in it leaves very quickly. You may feel that you and money just don’t seem to have any relationship at all. Or you don’t feel you are good with it. You might be looking for that Prince Charming\, or a protector to turn up and make it all better for you. Or maybe\, you feel that money should just come because you are devoting your life to a worthy cause or to your awakening. Shouldn’t I just trust in the universe that the money comes? Yet\, it doesn’t.\n Perhaps you over give\, undervalue yourself in your organization\, non-profit or in partnerships\, either in marriage or in business. You might expect others to read your mind and know how to support you\, and they don’t. You might have the experience of feeling unseen\, burnt out\, with health and money issues calling for your attention.\n Or your family may have money but you don’t\, giving you mixed experiences of privilege and scarcity; you may try to help others experience more abundance and feel that your efforts are rejected;  or your efforts to be generous may leave you feeling taken advantage of or dismissed.\n You might be a person with wealth and/or worldly success. In spite of this\, you might feel ostracized by the very people you want to help. You might not feel so cared for or maybe even feel like an outsider by those in the spiritual or transformational world or with a mission-based business. What is this about?\n You may have mixed feelings about having money\, as a spiritual explorer. Perhaps you have come into money without being introduced to the skills to handle it skillfully\, both practically and psychologically.\n Or perhaps you feel overwhelmed with fear of losing money\, even though you have enough of it. Your fear of loss might keep you paralyzed and stuck from making decisions that are more in alignment with your heart and your own awakening. \nYou might feel guilty about having money and find that trusting yourselves and others is an ongoing challenge. You might not like the distance that money causes between you and others. \n\nWhat are some of the main patterns that spiritual types have around money? Dissociation and overgiving are two examples. \nKaren McAllister\, Certified Money Coach and Board Chair of Clear Sky Meditation Centre\, shares some of her insights in the main money patterns experienced by spiritual seekers\, artists and those in the non-profit sector.  \nhttps://youtu.be/BwOnDegzXIw \nWhat to Expect\nThe course structures itself according to Clear Sky’s Five Principles\, which name the qualities of a supportive space for human flourishing. We apply these principles to help you come to a place of peace\, ease and clarity around your relationship with money. This course falls under the Fourth Principle\, which is\, “Cleaning up big areas of your life frees up energy.” The course structure follows each of the other four principles. \nSession #1: Honor your space. Metaphorically speaking\, we open the door and take a look inside your financial room. For many of us\, it is a room full of cobwebs\, things not in their place\, and dust bunnies running amok. The curtains are closed\, and there is a stale\, musty smell in the room. How did this room get this way? By applying principle #1\, we honor your space\, we face the mess and start cleaning it up. We start revisiting the past to see what was not acknowledged and owned around money in the family system and culture.   \nSession #2: Structure and routine are your friends. We look at the money habits that you currently have and write them all down. What do you need to let go of\, and what new habits do you need to take on? How are you going to build them into your structure and routine? We will use the cue\, routine and reward from “The Power of Habit” to help you work new routines around your money life. We will share all the apps\, budget tools\, and a ton of resources for you to guide you in finding the right tool for you around your finances. \nSession #3: Communication shapes the space where we meet. We look at building gratitude and generosity practices to help you overcome the fear and scarcity mentality that takes root in our beings because it is the very water of capitalism that we swim in. A model that promotes a chronic sense of not-enoughness in the being. We will learn to become very mindful of the scarcity we feed ourselves and get really good at cutting these dialogues off skillfully and kindly\, with fierce discernment.  \nSession #4: It’s easier with others. What are your relationships with money like with your spouse\, your colleagues\, and your friends? Do you end up feeling betrayed or tight around money with others\, or do you stick your head in the sand and not take responsibility? We will study money and relationships through the lens of the eight money archetypes. Archetypes are powerful teachers and allies\, since they inform us of where we need to grow. \n \n \nMeet your Teacher\n \nKaren McAllister \nKaren has worked with clients to transform their money issues\, helping them become more effective\, professional\, and satisfied with their financial situation\, and growing a sense of abundance. She brings knowledge and experience of financial issues from the practical\, behavioral\, and emotional perspectives. Her real magic and superpowers come from studying with her spiritual teachers\, Acariya Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei\, for over 20 years. Her teachers specialize in helping their students transcend their issues around money\, sex\, and power. And she is a beautiful example of the fruits of this work\, known in Buddhist philosophy as the bodhisattva path. \nKaren studied Economics in her degree and has been certified by Deborah Price of the The Money Coaching Institute as a Certified Money Coach\, a Couples Money Coach\, and a Business Archetype Coach. She studied with Lynne Twist from the Soul of Money Institute\, including Mastering your Money and Transforming your Life\, and Lynne’s Fundraising from the Heart program. \nFurther\, Karen has made use of that training through her own role as a founding member at Clear Sky\, which operates with a quadruple bottom line. Karen has been Board Chair since 2014 and is leader of Fund Development. Her passion for this arises out of her deep desire to awaken more fully and make the world a better place. She’s seen many amazing spiritual explorers and transformational change agents who want to make a difference yet don’t have the funds they need to truly fulfill their missions–despite the millions of dollars floating around in the economy. And she has also seen the other side. Many spiritual explorers with money who have tried to help others experience more abundance and feel that their efforts have been rejected; or their efforts to be generous have left them feeling taken advantage of or dismissed. Karen’s work is designed to change this.  \nKaren wants you to show up as an integrated and whole human being. She’ll help you direct and attract financial resources in meaningful ways\, steering away from greed and fear and towards love\, generosity\, collaboration\, and reciprocity. \nCourse Details\n\nLocation: Online (Zoom)\nDates: January 21st – Febrauary 11th\, 2023\n4 x 2 hour session + 3 Individual 30 minute sessions\nTime: 10am – Noon MT \nDana: $200CAD – $500CAD recommended range.\nPlease chat with us if you have concerns about the cost. Part of taking the money out of the shadow is stepping forward and having a pricing conversation with us.\n\nThis course is Dana based. We understand that your income might be effected due to COVID either negatively or positively. We do not want to turn away anyone and we are always looking for ways to help you cultivate your generosity practise. Because of this\, we are giving you the opportunity to give the lower rate if you are earning less currently\, or we encourage to give the higher rate if your business is actually more profitable due to COVID. Many people feel guilty because they are doing well. We encourage you to think about paying it forward.There is also an opportunity to give to the scholarship fund.\n \n \n REGISTER NOW\n \n Karen is such a talented guide. She has the ability to see what you are not seeing and to sense that\, what is not spoken. I felt very safe with her\, to go deep into unexplored areas of my life. She is picking you up\, where you are and takes you on an adventurous journey that is life changing.\nThank you Karen.\n AndreaGermany\n I signed up for a series of Money Coaching sessions with Karen last year along with a team of people I work closely with. I truly believe this was the best thing we could have done. The sessions with Karen provided us with a clear\, safe and supportive place to talk\, open up and work through what was coming up for each of us.\nKaren offered us deep insights on many levels and the generosity of her time\, both inside and outside the sessions. She invested as much in the process as we did. The benefits that it brings are significant – on an interpersonal as well as financial level.\n ZoeEngland URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/money-spirituality-online-2023/ LOCATION:Clear Sky Meditation Center\, 3567 Cockell Road\, PO BOX 19\, Fort Steele\, British Columbia\, V0B 1NO\, Canada CATEGORIES:Coaching,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/money-and-spirituality-feature.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Clear Sky Center":MAILTO:contact@clearskycenter.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Edmonton:20230114T080000 DTEND;TZID=America/Edmonton:20240204T170000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20231211T221125Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251209T101314Z UID:18750-1673683200-1707066000@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Multiple Realities: Bardos & Beyond (Online Course) DESCRIPTION:“Change your view\, change your reality.” \n-Catherine Pawasarat Sensei \nPerhaps you are interested in altered states. Or you have heard about the bardos of death and dying described in Tibetan buddhism. \nIn this course\, we will explore the six traditional bardos and also go to the core of that teaching – something less talked about – how every moment is a bardo or transition. \n\nRegister Now\n \nBuddhism \nand Beyond\nfocus area\nOnline Class/Weekend Home Retreat\npractice\nFour\nWeeks\nDuration\nSundays at\n9:30am MST\nDay/Time\nAll\nLevels\nSKILL LEVEL\nStudying the Bardos\nWe struggle because we are habitually locked in fixed views of self\, other and the world. Studying the various ‘bardos’ or multiple realities of experience helps loosen the limiting blinders of our ego’s perceptions. By expanding our conceptions and perceptions\, we can get unstuck from fixed views\, rigidity and conventionality. Greater joy\, freedom and awe ensues! \nThe six traditional bardos described in Vajrayana teachings are: \n\nWaking consciousness\nDream\nMeditation\nDeath\nDharmata\nRebirth\n\nThese six bardos are also a window into seeing the nature of bardos within all moments\, transitions and iterruptions of life – drastically altering our limited ego perceptions and concepts. We will also study language – particularly how we map our realities of self through language and how we get locked into predictable patterns. \nThrough this study and practice\, by seeing the stuckness of our thinking and perceptions\, we begin to loosen our tight sense of who we are. Greater freedom\, compassion and clarity results. \n\nRegister Now\n\n\n\n \nListen: Consciousness Continues – Navigating Death\, Rebirth and the Bardos\n\n“I don’t find meditation easy\, but I do find it worth it. I would not have dreamed that a 3 day online retreat could resolve complicated matters that I have wrestled with for years. Yet it did. Thank you\, Sensei. Thank you each one of you at Clear Sky.”\nKakoom B. \nCourse Schedule\nJanuary 14 – February 4\, 2024\nClass Times (Mountain Time)\n\nSunday\, January 14th – 9:30-11am Class\nSunday\, January 21st– 9:30-11am Class\nSunday\, January 28th – 9:30-11am Class\nHome Retreat: Saturday & Sunday February 3-4th – 9:30-10:30am and 2:30-3:30pm\n\nThe formal and participatory teachings for this course will occur on Sundays with a Saturday-Sunday flash retreat on the fourth weekend.  Class times are estimates and may change slightly. \nWe encourage you to connect with sangha outside of class times to discuss and deepen your learning of the material. \nAt-Home Flash Retreat Weekend: February 2-4th\nTo deepen and integrate your experience\, the final weekend during the course will also be a Flash Retreat (Feb 3-4th). This can be done at home\, or together with us at Clear Sky Meditation Centre\, in Eastern British Columbia. We highly recommend clearing your schedule over the weekend to focus on the retreat. Formal group sessions will also be held at these times: \n\nFlash Retreat morning group workshop time:   9:30-10:30am\nFlash Retreat afternoon group workshop time: 2:30-3:30pm\n\nIf you’d like to join the Flash Retreat at Clear Sky\, please contact ava@clearskycenter.org.  \n\n\n \nMeet the Teachers\n \nDoug Qapel Duncan \n \nCatherine Pawasarat Sensei \nDoug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat are Dharma and meditation teachers who founded Clear Sky Meditation Center\, BC\, Canada. \nAchariya Doug Duncan received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 1978\, and is a lineage holder in that teaching. Known for his direct\, humorous and compassionate engagement with students\, Doug embraces various traditions\, contemporary psychology\, and science\, to mentor all beings to a more awakened state. \nCatherine Pawasarat has trained daily with Acariya Doug Duncan since 1998 in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life\, Catherine also draws on generative living and the arts. With Doug she is co-founder of Clear Sky Retreat Center in the BC Rockies. \nCourse Details\nTime and Location\nEach of the four weekly classes in this online course will be streamed live at 9:30-11am MST.  We ask participants to attend live whenever possible. The recording of each class will be available for one week after each class. We encourage you to connect with sangha outside of class times to discuss and deepen your learning of the material. \nThe course culminates with a Flash Retreat on February 2-4\, 2024\, with formal workshop times held at 9:30-10:30am and 2:30-3:30pm Mountain Time on Saturday and Sunday. \nWhat Does the Course Cost?\nThis course is offered based on the unique combination of: \n1) dāna\, and\n2) a $80-120 USD administrative fee: \n\nRegister by December 17 2023: $80\nRegister by December 31 2023: $100\nRegister less than two weeks prior: $120\n\n\n\n\nRegister Now\n \nAbout Clear Sky\nLocated in the BC rocky mountains\, we offer over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature. \nFounded by Qapel Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei\, we are home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world. \nIn adherence with our quadruple bottom line\, we source our food as local and organic as possible. \nEVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW on how to get here\, what to bring and what to expect.  \n\n\n\n\n“I feel like a whole new world of understanding has opened up for me to explore. The teachings were interesting\, vibrant\, and so very relevant to our lives. Qapel and Catherine Sensei have done a wonderful job at distilling these vast teachings without oversimplying concepts. The teachings were visual\, informative\, and interactive. It was a great and lots of fun!”\nJenai L.\n \nFAQs\nAbout Dana \nYou may have come across this elsewhere in the form of “pay from the heart.” Dāna is a Sanskrit term meaning “generosity.” With dāna\, we give as a mutual exchange of generosity. It’s our joy to offer this course\, and we trust you’ll match our time\, energy\, and passion by giving an amount of money that feels good and healthy to both you and us. \nThe dharma has been built on generosity. No one is excluded for lack of funds. However\, it is also extremely beneficial to give as much as you are able. \nTypically people give in a range of $120-$500 USD for a course. \nAs we’re committed to ensuring everyone has access to the Dharma\, please feel comfortable to give less if you are not financially secure. Another form of giving dāna is to offer service\, and if you are interested in providing support in a non-financial way\, we invite you to contact us. \nIf you are financially secure\, we invite you to generate merit by providing more financial support to the Triple Gem. Contributions like these make the difference in supporting our teachers\, teachings\, and center. \nLearn more about the practice of dāna here. \nAbout the Online Admin Fee \nIn a traditional model of in-person teachings\, a retreat center or urban meditation center invites teachers to visit. In these cases the centers have infrastructure and organization costs to cover\, which might be covered by an admin fee. For the teaching itself\, dāna to the teachers is offered in a bowl. This honors both the sustainability of the teachers\, and of the supporting center. \nWe’ve tried to recreate this approach online. The teachers’ time and the teaching themselves are offered on the basis of dāna\, separate to the admin fee. With our dāna offering we are making a direct gift of generosity to the teachers to support their teachings and livelihood. \nThe admin fee* goes to support the infrastructure and organization necessary to support them to teach. As anyone with an online business will know\, the costs of setting up good infrastructure to support effective teaching and connection online can be surprising. \nOur admin fee changes based on the date of registration. \nRegister four + weeks prior: $80\nRegister two to four weeks prior: $100\nRegister less than two weeks prior: $120 \n*We also do not wish to exclude anyone from the Teachings\, so if you are not currently in a financial position to afford the admin fee\, please contact the course Registrar via registrar@planetdharma.com so we can support you to attend. \n— \nBelow are a few of the work and benefits that your admin fee payment is supporting: \n\nHigh speed internet (to allow interviews and classes on-line)\nOnline class systems (Zoom)\nRegistration / admin systems (Eventbrite\, Basecamp)\nCommunication systems to keep everyone informed\, share connection details\, teachings and other resources (Mailchimp)\nOnline storage (for example\, Dropbox\, to allow us to let students watch recordings\, and to store and share selected teachings in other forms such as podcasts and video later\, and Amazon cloud)\nQuality sound\, video and editing equipment (both for live teachings and to provide good enough quality for later sharing as podcasts and video). We are regularly updating our equipment to improve your user experience.\nOnline calendar booking system to allow students to book interviews\nWebsite hosting and maintenance for sharing upcoming courses\, teachings\, blogs and other resources.\n\nWe welcome any questions. May all our efforts be sustainable\, abundant and for the benefit of all beings! \n\n\n\nRegister Now URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/bardos-online-course/ CATEGORIES:Featured Courses,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2024-PD-courses-Square-IG-Post.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20221225T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20221230T140000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20210123T200545Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251208T065919Z UID:9426-1671984000-1672408800@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Nine Vajrayana Empowerments DESCRIPTION:Tantric Deep Dive: A Week of Empowerments\nIn Vajrayana Buddhism\, initiations\, empowerments or wongkur (Tib. དབང་\, wang) are considered the spring from which all blessings flow. Join us for a tantric deep dive into nine precious and rare vajrayana empowerments. These wongkur are scheduled at the end of the Sixteen Buddha Body Practice retreat at Clear Sky Centre\, and can be attended separately from the retreat. \nSpace is limited and will be first come first serve. If you have questions\, please contact: bookings@clearskycenter.org or (250) 429-3929.  \nNOTE: Registration Closes December 15th \n \nNine precious vajrayana empowerments will be bestowed by Qapel and Sensei at the end of the 16 Buddha Body Retreat. Qapel anticipates that this will be the last time he gives initiation into many of these deities\, this lifetime. \nThese empowerments give you an energetic blessing\, and access to practice mantra and visualisation of different transcendental archetypes from the Himalayan schools of Buddhism. \nFollowing the empowerments\, we invite you to stay three additional nights longer to spend time in awakening community\, usher in the New Year and celebrate Catherine Sensei’s birthday. \nNamgyal Rinpoche\, our lineage root guru\, put it best: \n“In the depth of the psyche lie all possibilities in a state of unrealized potential. In every being there exists the possibility of experiencing transcendental consciousness\, which when the student is ready\, the Teacher(s) can make accessible to him or her via empowerment\, initiation\, or wongkur. \n“One should regard Wongkur as an event in which the Lama sows the seed of transcendental consciousness in the depth of the student. The seed will lie in the unconscious until the student brings it to realization in the practice of meditation.” \n\n \nThree Package Options\nOvernight Package\nArrive December 25th in the morning. The first empowerment is in the afternoon. \nDeparture on December 30th. \nBonus: Take the opportunity to deepen your practice with the Teachers and community by adding three nights (December 30th-Jan 1st) and celebrating New Years Eve and our dear Sensei’s birthday! \n\nSold Out\n \nDay Package\nIncludes both the morning and afternoon Wongkur and lunch and dinner. \nThis package does not include accommodation. \nTo register: Register for the Empowerments you would like to attend and then register for your meals using the link below. \nNOTE: Registration Closes December 15th \n\nBook Lunch and Dinner\n \nIndividual Wongkur Package\nRegister for an individual Empowerment. \nThis package does not include meals or accommodation. \nNOTE: Registration Closes December 15th \nSunday\, December 25th\nKalachakra PM (blue) \nMonday\, December 26th\nHevajra 16-armed AM (blue)\nMahamaya PM (blue) \nTuesday\, December 27th\n*Vajrakilaya AM (black)\n*4 armed Mahakala PM (black) \nThursday\, December 29th\nWhite Manjushri AM (white)\n*White Mahakala PM (white) \nFriday\, December 30th\nGreat White Umbrella Mother AM (white)\nNamgyalma PM (white) \n*Permission needed to attend. \nRegister for Individual Empowerments\n\nRegister for KALACHAKRA\n\n\nRegister for HEVAJRA 16-ARMED\n\n\nRegister for MAHAMAYA\n\n\nRequest to Attend VAJRAKILAYA\n\n\nRequest to Attend MAHAKALA 4-ARMED\n\n\nRegister for WHITE MANJUSHRI\n\n\nRequest to Attend WHITE MAHAKALA\n\n\nRegister for GREAT WHITE UMBRELLA MOTHER\n\n\nRegister for NAMGYALMA\n \n\nKalachakra\nMahamaya\nNamgyalma\nWhite Manjushri\nFour Armed Mahakala*\n\n\nSixteen Armed Hevajra\nWhite Mahakala*\nVajrakilaya*\nGreat White Umbrella Mother\n*Permission needed to Attend\n\nMeet the Teachers\n\n \nAchariya Doug Duncan Sensei & Catherine Pawasarat Sensei are Dharma and meditation teachers who founded Clear Sky Meditation Centre\, BC\, Canada. Achariya Doug Duncan received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 1978\, and is a lineage holder in that teaching. Known for his direct\, humourous and compassionate engagement with students\, Doug embraces various traditions\, contemporary psychology\, and science\, to mentor all beings to a more awakened state. Catherine Pawasarat has trained daily with Acariya Doug Duncan since 1998 in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life\, Catherine also draws on generative living and the arts. With Doug she is co-founder of Clear Sky Retreat Center in the BC Rockies. \nWhat’s Expected of Me?\nInitiations\, empowerments\, or wongkur (Tib. དབང་\, wang) are considered the spring from which all blessings flow. More literally\, these are ritual celebrations in which a specific teaching is transmitted from Teacher to student that enables the student to practice a new form of “Arising Yoga” or “Deity Practice”. \nFor more information about wongkur\, we recommend reading ‘What is Wongkur’\, which includes ‘A Western Psychological Orientation to Deity Yoga’ by the Venerable Namgyal Rinpoche and ‘A Traditional Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhist View’ by His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trizin. It is extensive article\, published by Wesley Knapp. Visit and support his archival work at the Sakya Namgyal Archive. \n\nPDF – What is Wong Kur?\n\n\n \nWhat can I expect?\nOur teachings and Clear Sky operate based on the ancient tradition of Dāna or generosity. As generosity is the basis upon which all spiritual practice flourishes\, we recommend that you learn more about this profound practice before you register. \nDaily Schedule: Here is a sample schedule of what you can expect at this retreat. Note: details are subject to change. \n\nDecember 25th\, pm: Kalachakra\nDecember 26th\, am: Hevajra\, 16-armed\nDecember 26th\, pm: Mahamaya\nDecember 27th\, am: Vajrakilaya\nDecember 27th\, pm: Mahakala\, 4-armed\nDecember 29th\, am: White Manjushri\nDecember 29th\, pm: White Mahakala\nDecember 30th\, am: Great White Umbrella Mother\nDecember 30th\, pm: Namgyalma\n\n\n\n \nFAQs\nDana and In-Person Retreat Pricing \nDana: This course is offered by Doug and Catherine Sensei through the ancient principle of generosity\, or Dāna. The retreat fee covers the cost of food and accommodation\, whereas the Teachings are offered by generosity. Learn more about Dāna here. \nPricing: As a charitable organization\, we strive to provide locally sourced organic meals and comfortable accommodations at an affordable price. Fees vary depending on your accommodation choice and early bird pricing. \nArrival & Departure \nIf you are registered in the full package: \nDecember 25th: arrive in the morning. \nDecember 30th: depart in the evening. \nBonus: Take the opportunity to deepen your practice with the Teachers and community by adding three nights (December 30th-Jan 1st) and celebrating New Years Eve and our dear Sensei’s birthday! \nBooking a Flight? \nAirport pickups can be booked when you register for the retreat. On the rare chance that this retreat is cancelled\, we highly recommend purchasing travel insurance. \nIn order to give enough time to rest from travel before the retreat starts\, we recommend that domestic travellers arrive one day early\, and long distance international travellers arrive two days early. \nAfter the retreat we also suggest staying for at least another day for integration. \nFor questions\, please contact: bookings@clearskycenter.org or (250) 429-3929. \nAccommodation\, Weather\, Food\, Etc. \nPlease see here.  \nAbout Clear Sky\nLocated in the BC rocky mountains\, we offer over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature. Founded by Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat\, we are home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world. \nHere are some FAQs on how to get here\, what to bring and what to expect.  \nTo help you get acquainted with us\, some community members made this short video during our 2019 Buddhas in Action retreat. To learn more about us and our incredible community\, click here! URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/nine-vajrayana-empowerments/ CATEGORIES:Group Retreats and Courses,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Nine-Vajrayana-Empowerments-Retreat.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20221216 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20221226 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20220514T160601Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251209T103258Z UID:16287-1671148800-1672012799@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:16 Buddha Body Practice (In-Person Meditation Retreat) DESCRIPTION:16 Buddha Body Practice\n“With meditation we realize that not only are we in union with the stream of the universe\, we realize that we are the stream.” \n-Catherine Pawasarat Sensei \nThis retreat is for people who are tired of functioning in the world and want to experience something else. \nUsing self arising symbology as deepening layers of penetration to open greater and greater mind space doors to journey the far reaches of inner space. This practice is a door to past and future lifetimes. \nImportant: Registration closes December 1st\, 2022\n\nRegistration Closed\n\n \nAre you tired of the routine of daily life? Journey to new lands of the mind. Using self arising symbology as deepening layers of penetration to open greater and greater mind space doors to journey the far reaches of ‘inner space’. This practice is a door to past and future lifetimes. \nPrerequisites/Preparation: Completion of one million Chenrezi mantras is required preparation. For those who have completed that previously\, please also complete 100\,000 Vajrasattva mantras. \nHistory of the Practice\nThis meditation practice is originally from Tibet\, though it was taught to our Teacher\, Namgyal Rinpoche\, in Thailand\, by a Theravadin monk. The northern schools of Thai Buddhism share much with the Tibetan tradition\, being linked through students of Milarepa. \nAs far as information is available\, there is only one temple – Wat Pak Nam- in Thailand that taught this system\, and that was some years ago. \n\n \nWhat’s Expected of Me if I Come to This Retreat?\n\nPre-requisites/Preparation: Completion of one million Chenrezi mantras. For those who have completed that previously\, please complete 100\,000 Vajrasattva mantras.\nA strong foundation of parami and a willingness to see other dimensions\, drug free.\nDue to the intensive nature of this practice\, we require participants to not currently be taking prescription medication or recreational drugs.\nThe more extensive meditation experience you’ve had the better. This is not a beginner’s practice (we suggest the Breathing Retreat for newer practitioners).\nYou are responsible for your own wellbeing.\nTo maximize your depth of practice\, we ask that you refrain from reading\, using the internet\, phone or listening to music during the course.\n\n“Online or in person\, a wonderful source of Buddhist wisdom.”\nStephen \nPlus Nine Vajrayana Empowerments (Wongkurs)\n\n \nDecember 25th will be the final day of 16 Buddha Body practice during the retreat. After this\, until December 30th\, there will be nine rare Vajrayana Wongkur Empowerments given by Qapel and Sensei. \nLearn more about the Empowerments being offered here. \nWhat is Wongkur? (Vajrayana Empowerments)\nInitiations\, empowerments\, or wongkur (Tib. དབང་\, wang) are considered the spring from which all blessings flow. More literally\, these are ritual celebrations in which a specific teaching is transmitted from Teacher to student that enables the student to practice a new form of “Arising Yoga” or “Deity Practice”. \nFor more information about wongkur\, we recommend reading ‘What is Wongkur’\, which includes ‘A Western Psychological Orientation to Deity Yoga’ by the Venerable Namgyal Rinpoche and ‘A Traditional Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhist View’ by His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trizin. It is extensive article\, published by Wesley Knapp. Visit and support his archival work at the Sakya Namgyal Archive. \n\nDownload PDF – What is Wongkur\n \nMeet the Teachers\n\n \nDoug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat are Dharma and meditation teachers who founded Clear Sky Meditation Centre\, BC\, Canada. Achariya Doug Duncan received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 1978\, and is a lineage holder in that teaching. Known for his direct\, humourous and compassionate engagement with students\, Doug embraces various traditions\, contemporary psychology\, and science\, to mentor all beings to a more awakened state. Catherine Pawasarat has trained daily with Acariya Doug Duncan since 1998 in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life\, Catherine also draws on generative living and the arts. With Doug she is co-founder of Clear Sky Retreat Center in the BC Rockies. \n\nRegistration Closed\n\n\n\n \nAbout Clear Sky\nLocated in the BC rocky mountains\, we offer over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature. \nFounded by Qapel Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei\, we are home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world. \nIn adherence with our quadruple bottom line\, we source our food as local and organic as possible. \nEVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW on how to get here\, what to bring and what to expect.  \n\n“This retreat centre is the REAL THING. It’s a modern monastery with people grounded in the present and practicing old and new methods of living in a spiritual community. This group walks the talk. I have made the trek from Ontario all the way to this remote corner of BC every year for the last 16 years to study with these teachers\, interact with these fellow seekers\, and bask in the beauty of this gorgeous property.”\nLinda \n \nFAQs\nA Dana Based Retreat \nThis retreat is offered on the basis of dāna (generosity). \nDāna is a Sanskrit term meaning “generosity”\, and is the traditional way in which Buddhist teachings are offered.  With dāna\, we give as a mutual exchange of generosity. You may have come across this in the form of “pay from the heart”. It’s our joy to offer this course\, and we trust you’ll match our time\, energy\, and passion by giving an amount of money that feels good and healthy to both you and us. \nYou will be sent a link to offer “dana” to the teachers after registration. \nFor more information on dāna click here. \nFood\, Weather\, Accommodation and How to Get Here \nClick here for details on how to get here\, what to bring and what to expect.  \nRetreatants at Clear Sky: Lodging Fees & Covid 19 Protocols \nIn addition to Dana to the Teacher\, Clear Sky Meditation Centre provides an incredible space for your retreat.  Situated on a beautiful 310-acre property in the Rocky Mountains\, the center and its karma yogis provide you nourishing daily meals and comfortable accomodation. \nPlease go to the retreat registration page for this retreat for details of the all inclusive fee for the retreat. \nCovid-19 Protocols\nOur retreats comply with current BC Covid-19 Health Orders.  Please refer to those provincial guidelines as well as the Canadian federal travel guidelines\, especially if you are planning to travel to Clear Sky Center in person. \nDetailed Daily Schedule \nSpecific times may change (MST) \nRETREAT DAILY SCHEDULE\n6:30 – 7:30 AM Walk &/or Personal Practice\n7:30 – 8:15 AM Breakfast: Prepare\, eat\, clean up\n8:15 – 8:45 AM Walk &/or Personal Practice\n9:00 – 10:00 AM Class with Teachers\n10:00 – 10:30 AM Walk\n10:30 – 11:30 AM Group Practice lead by Sangha\n11:30 – 12:30 PM Personal Practice\n12:30 – 1:30 PM Lunch: Prepare\, eat\, clean up\n1:30 – 3:00 PM Personal Practice\n3:00 – 4:00 PM Group Practice lead by Sangha\n4:00 – 5:30 PM Personal Practice\n5:30 – 7:00 PM Dinner: prepare\, eat\, clean up\n7:00 – 7:30 PM Walk &/or Personal Practice\n7:30 – 8:30 PM Group Practice and Q & A with Teachers\n8:30 – beyond: Personal Practice & bed \n\n\n\nRegistration Closed URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/16-buddha-body-retreat/ CATEGORIES:Group Retreats and Courses,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/16-buddha-body-retreat.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20221017T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20221113T210000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20220901T173204Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251205T092438Z UID:17274-1666035000-1668373200@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Integral Spirituality: New Dimensions of Awakening (Online) DESCRIPTION:An Online Course\nOctober 17 – November 13\, 2022\nMondays: 7:30pm-9:00pm MDT *Click here to see your timezone \n* Recordings available for those who cannot attend live\n* Optional: Sunday Master Classes & a Weekend Home Retreat  \n“We don’t think full liberation is possible any more without an understanding and an integration of the stages” \n–Qapel and Sensei \nDo you experience a gap between traditional wisdom teachings and the complexities and challenges of the 21st century? Would you like to integrate all aspects of awareness\, including  body\, mind\, spirit and shadow? And what does that really look like in practice? \nDiscover new dimensions of awakening in this course on Integral Spirituality. \n\nRegister Now\n\n \nIntegral Spirituality: New Dimensions of Awakening\nApplying Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory to modern spiritual practice.\nDo you experience a gap between traditional wisdom teachings and the complexities and challenges of the 21st century? Would you like to integrate all aspects of awareness\, including body\, mind\, spirit and shadow? Perhaps you are feeling like your meditation practice is in one box\, and the rest of your life is in another. How do you bring them together as a complete\, integrated\, aware human being? \nDiscover new dimensions of awakening in our four week online course on integral spirituality. Integral spirituality is based on integral theory\, developed by Ken Wilber\, who is often regarded as “the Einstein of consciousness”. \nAn integral spirituality approach combines authentic Buddhist or other spiritual lineage teachings with the latest insights in psychology\, consciousness\, business management and other fields. It helps to provide a vibrant and comprehensive framework for 21st-century awakening. \nThis course is about what an integrated spiritual practice looks like\, when we take it beyond theory to walking our talk. Qapel and Sensei draw on examples and lessons from years of Dharma teaching focused on an integral approach. Their home\, Clear Sky\, is a living lab for integrating the spiritual path into every aspect of life\, community\, shadow work\, and functionality. \nBasic Course Schedule\nIntegral Spirituality Class Dates\, 7:30pm Mountain Time:\n\nMonday October 17th\nMonday October 24th\nMonday October 31st\nMonday November 7th\n\nTo deepen and integrate your experience\, we are also offering three optional weekly Master Classes (Sundays October 23rd\, 30th\, November 6th) during the course and an at-home Flash Retreat November 11-13th). \n\nRegister Now\n\n \n“Only death would have prevented me from attending this course\, and even then\, my consciousness would most likely have been eavesdropping from another realm/bardo.”\n-Brendan R.\nCourse Learning Goals \n\nLearn a framework that integrates your meditation/spiritual practice with your everyday life.\nLearn a tool set that allows for deep transformation in your work\, relationships\, intimacy/sex\, the shadow\, and other areas of your life in need of growth and development.\nLearn how to skilfully combine traditional wisdom teachings with the latest discoveries in science and psychology\, to foster a well rounded spiritual practice suited for the complexities of the 21st century.\nExplore real-life examples of the integral path of spiritual training to help guide how you can recognize stages directly in your language\, body and behavior.\n\n \nMeditation is essential – but there are parts of us\, such as\, how we show up with others\, that aren’t touched by this alone. Meditation can help us get in a good state but doesn’t necessarily lead us to higher stages of maturity. Stages reflect hard-won growth of understanding\, emotional and social range and depth\, integration and functionality in the world\, and incorporation and transformation of the shadow. Without transformative work that touches every part of our lives\, our spiritual growth and our capacity for compassion is incomplete. \nOnly by working on our stages\, in parallel to developing a clear radiant meditative state\, can we truly blossom on our spiritual paths.  This means learning how to recognize how stages are ingrained in the subtleties of our lives\, bodies\, language and behaviors\, so that we can highlight the areas for development. Ultimately the stages work presented in integral spirituality helps us find the strength and wisdom we need to flourish in difficult times\, to be of service to the world. \nIntegral spirituality is a comprehensive approach of transformation working with body\, mind\, spirit and shadow. Planet Dharma’s training path consisting of the 4 pillars of karma yoga/meditation-in-action\, study (of Dharma\, science\, psychology\, etc)\, meditation\, and shadow – embodies this integral approach. \nQapel and Sensei’s 30+ combined years of training work with students shows the great power of this work of developing stages\, both for deepening a student’s Dharma practice\, as well as their functionality and flourishing in life. \n \nCase Study on States and Stages – Duncan Cryle\nMuch of my life I’ve been a nice guy on the surface\, and aggressively competitive underneath. On one hand\, I wouldn’t like to hold people accountable or get into conflict. And on the other hand I would roll over people to get what I wanted.  Working with the Teachers and inside the melting pot of sangha at our meditation centre\, I eventually hit a point where this ego strategy simply stopped working. \nDespite having a strong meditation practice and experiencing clear meditative ‘states’ I had to finally witness these blind ‘stages’. I started to see the huge cost this was having to me and others. This was immensely healing as I began to see how these unseen ‘stage’ related patterns drove so many unhelpful and unhappy patterns in my life. \nVideo: The Fourth Turning (Integral Spirituality and Integral Buddhism)\nKen Wilber\, the founder of integral theory\, describes the ‘fourth turning of the wheel’ for the world’s great spiritual traditions\, including Buddhism. \nWilber describes the need to make a new spirituality – one that transcends and includes the old traditions\, while also adding new material. These new additions should be compatible with the old\, but brings paths like Buddhism up to date in the modern and post-modern world. \n \n“World class teachings from world class people! Doug and Catherine Sensei are the real deal and they ultimately want one thing for you – to guide you toward awakening with totality and intelligence.” -Nishta M.\nMeet Your Teachers\nQapel Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei are Dharma and meditation teachers who founded Clear Sky Meditation Centre\, BC\, Canada. \nAchariya Doug Duncan received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 1978\, and is a lineage holder in that teaching. Known for his direct\, humourous and compassionate engagement with students\, Doug embraces various traditions\, contemporary psychology\, and science\, to mentor all beings to a more awakened state. \nCatherine Pawasarat has trained daily with Acariya Doug Duncan since 1998 in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life\, Catherine also draws on generative living and the arts. With Doug she is co-founder of Clear Sky Retreat Center in the BC Rockies. \n \nCatherine Pawasarat Sensei\n \nQapel Doug Duncan\nCourse Details\nTime and Location\nEach of the four weekly classes in this online course will be video streamed live at 7:30pm MST. The recording will be available for one week after each class. \nStudy and Meditation Opportunities in addition to the classes include Master Classes on three Sundays at 3pm MST\, and a weekend Flash Retreat following the final Monday class. \nWhat Does the Course Cost?\nWe offer this course on the basis of dāna\, as well as an admin fee of $100 (USD). The admin is to cover the costs of running these online courses – for equipment and software to provide you the teachings online. \nFor our teachings itself – You may have come across this is the form of “pay from the heart”. Dāna is a Sanskrit term meaning “generosity”. With dāna\, we give as a mutual exchange of generosity. It’s our joy to offer this course\, and we trust you’ll match our time\, energy\, and passion by giving an amount of money that feels good and healthy to both you and us. We suggest a range between $120 and $500 for this four week course. \n\n\nRegister Now\n \nMaster Classes\nThree Sundays\nThere are weekly Master Classes (akin to online Q&A Office Hours) during this online course to support your deepening learning and practice\, on the following dates at 3pm MST: \n\nSun. October 23\nSun. October 30\nSun. November 6\n\nYou can elect to attend all three or individual dates. \nFlash Retreat\nNovember 11-13\, 2022\nElect to deepen your practice via a Flash Retreat during the last weekend of this course.  The retreat provides practitioners a valuable opportunity to integrate and seal the learnings from the online course\, in a format well suited for our contemporary lives. \nThe retreat will include instructions\, online check ins\, and a Master Class on the Sunday. \nWe encourage you to attend this weekend retreat at Clear Sky Centre\, or together with your local sangha\, or if those not available to you\, in your home. \nRegistration and Dana links for the Flash Retreat will be accessible to you when you register for the course.\n\n \nWhy We Study Integral Spirituality\nWe use and study integral theory and spirituality because it is our lineage’s mandate to take the teachings of awakening to new places. \nNamgyal Rinpoche was known for incorporating diverse teachings of awakening\, and we continue to do so – whether from traditional Buddhism\, western mysteries\, psychology\, science and even business management. \nWe aim to co-create a universalist and 21st-century framework for international students of Dharma. Planet Dharma’s four pillars and five principles for bringing depth practice into every aspect of life – embodies a very integral approach. Our home meditation center\, Clear Sky\, is a living lab for integrating the spiritual path into every aspect of life: community\, shadow work\, and functionality. In short\, integral spirituality is not a textbook to us\, but something we are actively embodying every day. \n\n\nRegister Now\n\n \nPart 2: Integral Spirituality Workshop\nFebruary 2023\nA follow-up Workshop series starting February 2023 will dive deeper into applying and developing integral spirituality lines and stages to real-life scenarios. \nThe Integral Spirituality Workshop will combine further teachings along with working groups to explore different lines of development around topics such as: work\, career\, karma yoga\, generosity\, money relationship\, community relationships\, sangha health and more. \n \nSangha power – consider organizing or joining regional in-person or online sangha groups to support one another during the online courses and Flash Retreats.  \n\nRegister Now\n \n“Such a privilege to be part of the clear\, flowing\, powerful current of a living teaching—–it sweeps you along into unimaginable depths of peace\, unboundedness and pure heartedness.” -Renata D. URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/integral-spirituality/ CATEGORIES:Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Integral-Spirituality-1.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20221004T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20221025T203000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20220509T143617Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251212T072009Z UID:16039-1664910000-1666729800@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Beyond Coping (Online and In-Person) DESCRIPTION:An Alive Mindfully Course with Maureen Smith & Dean Nicholson\nOctober 4 – 25\, 2022\nTuesdays at 7:00-8:30pm MDT \nClick here to see your timezone \n \nIf the ever increasing stresses and demands of our modern world have you feeling that you are just coping with life\, rather than living it\, then Beyond Coping is the course for you.   While managing the daily challenges it can be easy to lose sight of your deeper goals and it can be difficult to feel rejuvenated and connected to the passion you have for your work and life. \nBeyond Coping gives you the opportunity to connect with others who want to find a balance between life’s demands and their personal vision.  Take this opportunity to ground and strengthen yourself while creating a new way to engage with life that is sustaining and generative. \nIn this course you will learn Buddhist wisdom teachings on living a wholesome and awakening life.  You will explore how to develop wholesome conduct\, meditation and wisdom practices\, to ground and guide you.  You will learn simple and sustainable meditation practices that will help you to be centered in the midst of whatever you are doing. \n\n\n\nRegister Now\n \nWe are delighted to share that this course is being offered in collaboration with our friends at Alive Mindfully. \nCourse Details\nWho This Course is For:\nIf you are interested in: \n\nlearning how to unite the aspirations you have for your career and personal life\nlearning meditation practices that you can practice everyday\nfeeling more balanced\, generative and nurtured in all you do\n\nThen this four week course is for you. \nWhat Can I Expect?\n\nIn this course you will learn essential tools to develop Deep Mindfulness.\nYou will have the support of like minded people who share similar concerns and challenges and want to stay engaged and enlivened in their work and life.\nYou will learn how the Buddhist Eightfold Noble Path can be applied to your life today.\n\n\n\n \nMeet your Teachers\n\n \nMaureen Smith \nA Registered Clinical Social Worker\, Maureen has been a Mental Health and Substance Use Counsellor for over 9 years and previously worked in Hospice and Palliative Care.   She is a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) facilitator and meditation teacher. \nSince 2005\, Maureen has been a resident and co-manager of the Clear Sky Retreat Center.  For over 20 years Maureen has been studying meditation and mindfulness with awakening masters Doug Duncan Sensei and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei.   Maureen gets excited finding ways to blend her spiritual and professional work life in a delicately woven tapestry.  Her life’s purpose is exploring consciousness and gaining wisdom into human nature in order to support people to grow into fully developed human beings. \nDuring her time-out relaxation moments\, Maureen enjoys gazing at the sky through leaves on tree branches\, hiking\, creating art and reading. \nDean Nicholson \nDean has a Masters in Counselling Psychology.  He is the Executive Director of East Kootenay Addiction Services Society with over 35 years clinical counselling experience in health care\, and is a therapist in private practice.  Dean has facilitated hundreds of therapy groups\, is an educator and popular speaker and has presented at national and international conferences. \nA Buddhist meditation practitioner and resident at the Clear Sky Meditation Center\, Dean is a student of Doug Duncan Sensei and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei. Dean actively lives the healing practices he teaches his clients. \n \nCourse Details\n\nLocation: Online (Zoom)\nDates: October 4 – 25\, 2022\nTime: Tuesdays from 7-8:30pm MDT\nCost: $200 CAD\n\n\nRegister Now\n\n\nDean is a very skilled\, knowledgeable and interactive presenter. He delivered a two day introductory Counselling Skills Training for the Akisqnuk First Nation Health and Administrative staff which was very well received and beneficial to all participants.\nGerard GregoireAkisqnuk First Nation Health\nYou are never quite sure how the unknown is going to be\, but mindfulness will exceed your expectations and open your eyes to how beautiful the mind really is. Maureen’s warm personality and patience helped ease us into it\, especially for those of us in unfamiliar waters. Her delivery\, tone and pace were perfect for me to digest.\nGareth WebbCounsellor\, Youth Substance Use\nAs I mentioned I have some experience (but don’t have a structured daily practice except in times of Crisis). The wording that Maureen used was very clear and could easily be understood and added to my knowledge. Also she made it very easy to incorporate into everyday life. The second best thing was the profound peace that I felt by the end of the second day. I left feeling absolutely lovely and this state lasted the rest of the weekend. Thank you.\nAnn Morin MSW\, Invermere BC\nDean is a professional with an amazing ability to understand what I couldn’t. Dean never did the work for me and he always seems to know what to say to help guide me towards making up my own mind and figuring out my issues. Having Dean as a counsellor is like having a caring knowledgeable friend help you through hard times.\nPK URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/beyond-coping-online-person/ CATEGORIES:Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Add-a-heading.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20220929T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20221013T203000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20220901T175832Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251209T092545Z UID:17296-1664479800-1665693000@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Meditation Circle: Community Classes for Inner Well-Being (Online or In-Person) DESCRIPTION:Foundations of Meditation Classes (Online or In-Person at Clear Sky)Thursdays 7:30pm MST \nHow do you grow your inner well-being?  These community classes at Clear Sky center help you develop a stronger meditation practice.   \nJoin us for Meditation Circle\, Thursday nights (7:30-8:30pm MST) at Clear Sky Center.  You can attend in-person\, or join us online.   \nThese classes will run each season of the year. This current series of classes will run from September 29th to October 13th.  We encourage you to attend all classes. \nThere are two ways to attend – in person or online. Just click the appropriate button to register. See you soon!  \n  \n Registration – In Person Registration – Online \nQuestions?  \nContact Cara via email or phone: \ncara@clearskycenter.org | 250-421-8280 \n \n\n“Meditation is like turning on a light in a dark room. The power of awareness lets us see what is there – in our bodies\, emotions\, mind\, workplaces\, homes and relationships. Seeing what is there gives us the freedom and the courage to make deeply impactful changes.” \nDuncan Cryle\n\nCourse Overview\nThese classes will cover foundational meditation instructions\, and teach you how to properly practice breathing meditation. \nIn these sessions we will also practice creative guided meditations together. \n \n\n“I feel like we’re so disembodied today in our technological culture that meditation is my little kindness to myself in saying ‘hello body\, you’re part of my day.'” \nKaren McAllister\n\nMeet the Teachers\n \nMaureen Smith\nMaureen Smith (MSW\, RCSW) is a therapist and meditation teacher. Passionate about what she does\, she will guide you to a more alive\, aware and mindful path of living. \nMaureen is a well-respected Cranbrook-based therapist and educator. She works with individuals and couples in the public sector in addictions and mental health. Not only was Maureen the first acting caretaker at Clear Sky Meditation Center in BC\, she has studied numerous meditation practices intensively for over 10 years. She has a Master of Social Work degree and is a Registered Clinical Social Worker in British Columbia. \nDuncan Cryle\nThrough 30+ years of personal practice and 15+ teaching meditation and mindfulness\, alongside an active career working all over the world\, I’ve learnt a lot about an integrating mindfulness into daily life.  As a founding member of Clear Sky in 2004\, I’m amazed at the power of a beautiful\, natural and dedicated space for supporting people to deepen their meditation and feel more connected.  Alongside. my Clear Sky work\, I hold a director position at a large software company where I also run a volunteer global mindfulness program to 1000s employees.  I was formerly one of the pioneers of IBM’s mindfulness movement.  I’m passionate about how mindfulness-based approaches can transform how we live and work together\, and be of better service in the world. \n \nKaren McAllister\nAs Clear Sky’s Chair of the Board and Director of Business Development\, I’m passionate about teaching the much-ignored principles of nurturing the factors – like honor your space\, structure\, and communication – that create the conditions we need to wake up more in daily life. I see how I learned and embodied these principles in my different roles at Clear Sky as the center went from self-starter to second-stage growth. This is what I call “the hands-on way of doing an MBA with a spiritual bottom line!” \nIn my free time\, I love travelling\, speaking Portuguese and reading history\, architecture and art books. \nCara Conroy-Lau\nCara brings a joyful East meets West approach to meditation and holistic health. \nAs a New Zealand-born citizen of the world\, she grew up in New Zealand\, Singapore\, Japan and China. Cara has trained in mind-body integrative health for over 15 years. She is the founding acupuncturist at Cranbrook Acupuncture Clinic. \nCara has been training in meditation and Buddhist philosophy since her early 20’s\, and has a paritcular interest in Asian philosophy.  She is a long time resident at Clear Sky Centre\, and was the Centre’s first farm and food forest manager from 2009-2012.  \n Registration – Online Registration – In Person \nCourse Cost: Dāna\n \nWe offer this course on the basis of dāna.  If you’re not familiar with dāna\, you may have come across related approaches such as “pay from the heart.” \nDāna is a Sanskrit term that translates as “generosity” in English. The practice of generosity is central to spiritual unfoldment\, whatever path you follow. In our own Buddhist lineage\, teachings have always been given on the basis of dāna\, and we are committed to this practice and its development in the West. \nDāna is a radical and – we believe – viable economic alternative to capitalism. We all know there must be something better than capitalism or its hungry cousin\, consumerism. We maintain that\, together\, we can offer a financial model that is based in life-affirming mutual support. Please join us in co-creating this promising economic alternative. \n \n \nTo help you choose an amount that feels right for you\, we recommend this heart-based exercise from our friends at Planet Dharma.  \nChecking in with your heart\n1) Take a few quiet breaths and center yourself. Spend a few moments to reflect on each of the below: the beauty and integrity of dāna practice; the value of receiving direct teachings from lineage holders in a recognized spiritual tradition; the reality of your financial situation. \n2) Spend another few moments contacting a sense of health\, strength and abundance. You have a healthy mind\, a body\, senses\, the good karma to have heard the teachings\, and conditions to support your practice of Dharma. Celebrate this! \n3) Now check with your heart and mind what amount feels both consistent with your situation\, and expressive of your aspiration. \nIt’s our joy to offer this course\, and we trust you’ll match our time\, energy\, and passion by giving an amount of money that feels good and healthy to both you and us. \n Register Now – Online Register Now – In Person URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/meditation-circle-community-classes-for-inner-well-being-online-or-in-person/ LOCATION:Clear Sky Meditation Center\, 3567 Cockell Road\, PO BOX 19\, Fort Steele\, British Columbia\, V0B 1NO\, Canada CATEGORIES:Coaching,Meditation Circle,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2.png ORGANIZER;CN="Clear Sky Center":MAILTO:contact@clearskycenter.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20220721T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20220804T203000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20220701T132826Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251205T085149Z UID:16859-1658431800-1659645000@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Meditation Circle: Community Classes for Inner Well-Being (Online or In-Person) DESCRIPTION:Foundations of Meditation Classes (Online or In-Person at Clear Sky)Thursdays 7:30pm MST \nHow do you grow your inner well-being?  These community classes at Clear Sky center help you develop a stronger meditation practice.   \nJoin us for Meditation Circle\, Thursday nights (7:30-8:30pm MST) at Clear Sky Center.  You can attend in-person\, or join us online.   \nThese classes will run each season of the year. This current series of classes will run for three weeks from July 21st to August 4th.  We encourage you to attend all three classes. \nThere are two ways to attend – in person or online. Just click the appropriate button to register. See you soon! \n  \n Registration – In Person Registration – Online \nQuestions?  \nContact Cara via email or phone: \ncara@clearskycenter.org | 250-421-8280 \n \n\n“Meditation is like turning on a light in a dark room. The power of awareness lets us see what is there – in our bodies\, emotions\, mind\, workplaces\, homes and relationships. Seeing what is there gives us the freedom and the courage to make deeply impactful changes.” \nDuncan Cryle\n\nCourse Overview\nThese classes will cover foundational meditation instructions\, and teach you how to properly practice breathing meditation. \nIn these three weeks we will also practice creative guided meditations together. \n \n\n“I feel like we’re so disembodied today in our technological culture that meditation is my little kindness to myself in saying ‘hello body\, you’re part of my day.'” \nKaren McAllister\n\nMeet the Teachers\n \nMaureen Smith\nMaureen Smith (MSW\, RCSW) is a therapist and meditation teacher. Passionate about what she does\, she will guide you to a more alive\, aware and mindful path of living. \nMaureen is a well-respected Cranbrook-based therapist and educator. She works with individuals and couples in the public sector in addictions and mental health. Not only was Maureen the first acting caretaker at Clear Sky Meditation Center in BC\, she has studied numerous meditation practices intensively for over 10 years. She has a Master of Social Work degree and is a Registered Clinical Social Worker in British Columbia. \nDuncan Cryle\nThrough 30+ years of personal practice and 15+ teaching meditation and mindfulness\, alongside an active career working all over the world\, I’ve learnt a lot about an integrating mindfulness into daily life.  As a founding member of Clear Sky in 2004\, I’m amazed at the power of a beautiful\, natural and dedicated space for supporting people to deepen their meditation and feel more connected.  Alongside. my Clear Sky work\, I hold a director position at a large software company where I also run a volunteer global mindfulness program to 1000s employees.  I was formerly one of the pioneers of IBM’s mindfulness movement.  I’m passionate about how mindfulness-based approaches can transform how we live and work together\, and be of better service in the world. \n \nKaren McAllister\nAs Clear Sky’s Chair of the Board and Director of Business Development\, I’m passionate about teaching the much-ignored principles of nurturing the factors – like honor your space\, structure\, and communication – that create the conditions we need to wake up more in daily life. I see how I learned and embodied these principles in my different roles at Clear Sky as the center went from self-starter to second-stage growth. This is what I call “the hands-on way of doing an MBA with a spiritual bottom line!” \nIn my free time\, I love travelling\, speaking Portuguese and reading history\, architecture and art books. \nCara Conroy-Lau\nCara brings a joyful East meets West approach to meditation and holistic health. \nAs a New Zealand-born citizen of the world\, she grew up in New Zealand\, Singapore\, Japan and China. Cara has trained in mind-body integrative health for over 15 years. She is the founding acupuncturist at Cranbrook Acupuncture Clinic. \nCara has been training in meditation and Buddhist philosophy since her early 20’s\, and has a paritcular interest in Asian philosophy.  She is a long time resident at Clear Sky Centre\, and was the Centre’s first farm and food forest manager from 2009-2012.  \n Registration – Online Registration – In Person \nCourse Cost: Dāna\n \nWe offer this course on the basis of dāna.  If you’re not familiar with dāna\, you may have come across related approaches such as “pay from the heart.” \nDāna is a Sanskrit term that translates as “generosity” in English. The practice of generosity is central to spiritual unfoldment\, whatever path you follow. In our own Buddhist lineage\, teachings have always been given on the basis of dāna\, and we are committed to this practice and its development in the West. \nDāna is a radical and – we believe – viable economic alternative to capitalism. We all know there must be something better than capitalism or its hungry cousin\, consumerism. We maintain that\, together\, we can offer a financial model that is based in life-affirming mutual support. Please join us in co-creating this promising economic alternative. \n \n \nTo help you choose an amount that feels right for you\, we recommend this heart-based exercise from our friends at Planet Dharma.  \nChecking in with your heart\n1) Take a few quiet breaths and center yourself. Spend a few moments to reflect on each of the below: the beauty and integrity of dāna practice; the value of receiving direct teachings from lineage holders in a recognized spiritual tradition; the reality of your financial situation. \n2) Spend another few moments contacting a sense of health\, strength and abundance. You have a healthy mind\, a body\, senses\, the good karma to have heard the teachings\, and conditions to support your practice of Dharma. Celebrate this! \n3) Now check with your heart and mind what amount feels both consistent with your situation\, and expressive of your aspiration. \nIt’s our joy to offer this course\, and we trust you’ll match our time\, energy\, and passion by giving an amount of money that feels good and healthy to both you and us. \n Register Now – Online Register Now – In Person URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/meditation-circle-summer-2022/ LOCATION:Clear Sky Meditation Center\, 3567 Cockell Road\, PO BOX 19\, Fort Steele\, British Columbia\, V0B 1NO\, Canada CATEGORIES:Coaching,Meditation Circle,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2.png ORGANIZER;CN="Clear Sky Center":MAILTO:contact@clearskycenter.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20220606T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20220703T210000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20211025T133039Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251209T100125Z UID:9223-1654543800-1656882000@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Zen Sutras in the 21st Century (Online) DESCRIPTION:An Online Course on Zen\nJune 6 – July 3\, 2022\nFour Mondays: 7:30pm-9:00pm MDT *Click here to see your timezone \n* Recordings available for those who cannot attend live\n* Optional: 3 Sunday Master Classes & 1 Weekend Home Retreat  \nWhat’s the sound of one hand clapping? \nZen teaching grabs everyone’s attention. Its pithy koans bend the mind and aim to take us beyond rational thought. The student of Zen is left with no choice but to let go. \nYet\, where did Zen come from? The origins of Zen are the Theravadin sutras taught by the Buddha 2500 years ago. Those ancient sutras were reinterpreted for Chinese culture a millenia later. This birthed Chan Buddhism\, later becoming Zen Buddhism in Japan. \nHow we might now apply the Zen Sutras in the 21st century\, 2500 years after the time of the historical Buddha? \nThis online course presents the essence of Zen using highlights from the key Zen Sutras of Mahayana Buddhism. \n\nRegister Now\n\n \nA Four Week Course on Zen Sutras\nA new interpretation of the Zen sutras for today\nHow do these 500 BC teachings relate to 21st century life? \nIn their latest four week online course\, Qapel and Sensei will share the essence of Zen wisdom. They have selected some of the most important sutras from the Zen and Chan traditions. These include: \n\nAvataṃsaka Sūtra – Flower Garland or Hua Yan Sutra\nLaṅkāvatāra Sūtra\nVimalakīrti Sūtra\nVajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra – Diamond Sutra\nPrajñāpāramitāhṛdaya – Heart Sutra\nŚūraṅgama Sūtra\nThe Platform Sutra of the 6th Patriarch – Liùzǔ Tánjīng\n\nBasic Course Schedule\nClass 1 – Monday\, June 6\, 2022 \nClass 2 – Monday\, June 13\, 2022 \nClass 3 – Monday\, June 20\, 2022 \nClass 4 – Monday\, June 27\, 2022 \nOptional Classes and Retreat Schedule:\nJune 12\, 19\, 16 \nDeepen and integrate the teachings with three Master Classes (question and answer based) on Sundays during the course. \nJuly 1-3 \nAfter the final class\, an at-home Flash Retreat with group check-ins and a final master class. \n\n \n\nStudy and Meditation Electives\nMaster Classes – Three Sundays\nThere are optional weekly Master Classes in the form of question and answers sessions. These are offered on the three Sundays during the course to support your learning and practice. All sessions will be at 3pm MST: \n\nJune 12\nJune 19\nJune 26\n\nYou can attend all three or individual sessions. \nRegistration & Dana links for these Master Classes and the weekend Flash Retreat will be sent to you when you register for the main course. \n \nWeekend Flash Retreat Elective\nJul 1  – July 3\, 2022\nGo deeper in this Flash Retreat after the last class of the course. The weekend provides you with a valuable chance to seal the learnings from the online classes. The weekend retreat is set up with our busy non-monastic lives in mind. \nThe retreat will include instructions\, online check ins\, and a Master Class on Sunday\, July 3. \nIn person is best \nif you live within a few hours\, we highly suggest you join this weekend retreat in person here at Clear Sky in BC. Or\, come together with your local sangha. If these are not available to you\, set up your home space using the guidelines we will send. \nRegistration and Dana links for this weekend Flash Retreat and the optional Sunday master classes will be sent to you when you register for the main course. \n \nSangha power – consider organizing or joining regional in-person or online sangha groups to support one another during the online courses and Flash Retreats.  \n\nRegister Now\n \nMeet Your Teachers\nQapel Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei are Dharma and meditation teachers who founded Clear Sky Meditation Centre\, BC\, Canada. \nAchariya Doug Duncan received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 1978\, and is a lineage holder in that teaching. Known for his direct\, humourous and compassionate engagement with students\, Doug embraces various traditions\, contemporary psychology\, and science\, to mentor all beings to a more awakened state. \nCatherine Pawasarat has trained daily with Acariya Doug Duncan since 1998 in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life\, Catherine also draws on generative living and the arts. With Doug she is co-founder of Clear Sky Retreat Center in the BC Rockies. \n \nCatherine Pawasarat Sensei\n \nQapel Doug Duncan\nCourse Details\nTime and Location\nEach of the four weekly classes in this online course will be video streamed live at 7:30pm MST. The recording will be available for one week after each class. \nStudy and Meditation Opportunities in addition to the classes include Master Classes on three Sundays at 3pm MST\, and a weekend Flash Retreat following the final Monday class. \nWhat Does the Course Cost?\nWe offer this course on the basis of dāna\, as well as an admin fee of $100 (USD). The admin is to cover the costs of running these online courses – for equipment and software to provide you the teachings online. \nFor our teachings itself – You may have come across this is the form of “pay from the heart”. Dāna is a Sanskrit term meaning “generosity”. With dāna\, we give as a mutual exchange of generosity. It’s our joy to offer this course\, and we trust you’ll match our time\, energy\, and passion by giving an amount of money that feels good and healthy to both you and us. We suggest a range between $120 and $500 for this four week course. URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/zen-sutras/ CATEGORIES:Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Zen-Sutra-Online.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220520 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220530 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20211119T183153Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251209T093119Z UID:13211-1653004800-1653868799@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Breathing Meditation Retreat (In-Person & Online) DESCRIPTION:Breathing Meditation Retreat\n“The meditation on Mindfulness of Breathing is not only suitable for all beings\, it is also the direct way to enlightenment.” \n-Namgyal Rinpoche \nBreathing meditation is suitable for all types of people. It develops concentration\, calm\, bliss and insight – altogether leading to awakening and healing. \nJoin Catherine Pawasarat Sensei for a one week meditation retreat on the powerful practice of breathing meditation. Like a vipassana retreat\, you will learn sitting meditation. Additionally this retreat takes you beyond only the sitting posture\, to include all four postures\, for a dynamic integrated meditation practice. \nThis simple yet powerful framework will extend your meditation experience to everything from subatomic particles to the vastness of space\, and all that’s between. \nAn online option is also available\, with participation possible from anywhere in the world. \n\nRetreat at Clear Sky\n\n\nRetreat at Home (Online)\n\n \nIn-Person or Online Retreat\nIt’s best in person. Online is also possible. \nIt is always best to do a meditation retreat in person. However\, with Covid-19 travel restrictions\, you may not be able to travel. Here are some basic requirements for doing this retreat online. \nBasic requirements to do the retreat online: \n\nBlock out your schedule and be focused on the retreat for this entire period\, using this time and participating in the retreat as if you were at Clear Sky in person.  This includes a rigorous\, full\, daily meditation schedule.\nParticipate in all of the daily classes and group practices via online streaming.\nSet up a quiet space or location where you can focus on the Meditation Retreat and not need to engage in conversation or work with others.\nPut away your phone\, digital devices and other distractions.\nIf there are enough people in the same time zone as you\, you could also make a cohort to meet to do a group practice throughout the retreat.\n\n\n \nDaily Schedule:\nThis is an example of a daily retreat schedule. Exact times may vary. \n\n[Personal Meditation / Breakfast]\n9am MST: Class with Teachers\n[Personal Meditation / Lunch]\n2pm – 3 pm MST: Group meditation practice\n[Personal Meditation / Dinner]\n7pm MST: Meditation and Q&A with Teachers\n\n“Online or in person\, a wonderful source of Buddhist wisdom.”\nStephen \nMeet the Teachers\n\n \nCatherine Pawasarat Sensei is a contemporary Dharma teacher\, attendant\, consort\, co-teacher via Planet Dharma and co-founder of Clear Sky Retreat Center. \nShe has trained daily with Qapel Doug Duncan since 1998 in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003. \nIn addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life\, Catherine Sensei also draws on generative living and the arts. \n\nRetreat at Clear Sky\n\n\nRetreat at Home (Online)\n\n\n\n \nAbout Clear Sky\nLocated in the BC rocky mountains\, we offer over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature. \nFounded by Qapel Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei\, we are home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world. \nIn adherence with our quadruple bottom line\, we source our food as local and organic as possible. \nEVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW on how to get here\, what to bring and what to expect.  \n\n“This retreat centre is the REAL THING. It’s a modern monastery with people grounded in the present and practicing old and new methods of living in a spiritual community. This group walks the talk. I have made the trek from Ontario all the way to this remote corner of BC every year for the last 16 years to study with these teachers\, interact with these fellow seekers\, and bask in the beauty of this gorgeous property.”\nLinda \n \nFAQs\nAll Retreatants: A Dana Based Retreat \nThis retreat is offered on the basis of dāna (generosity). \nDāna is a Sanskrit term meaning “generosity”\, and is the traditional way in which Buddhist teachings are offered.  With dāna\, we give as a mutual exchange of generosity. You may have come across this in the form of “pay from the heart”. It’s our joy to offer this course\, and we trust you’ll match our time\, energy\, and passion by giving an amount of money that feels good and healthy to both you and us. \nYou will be sent a link to offer “dana” to the teachers after registration. \nFor more information on dāna click here. \nFood\, Weather\, Accommodation and How to Get Here \nClick here for details on how to get here\, what to bring and what to expect.  \nFor Online Retreatants: Admin Fees & Requirements \nIn order to bring you this retreat at home\, there is an additional admin fee* of $250 CAD. The admin fee is to cover the costs of running these online courses – for equipment and software to provide you the teachings online. \nIf you are taking this retreat online\, we require that you devote your full attention to the retreat for the entire week. \nRequirements include: \n\nBlock out the retreat duration and be focused on the retreat for this entire period\, using this time and participating in the retreat as if you were at Clear Sky in person.  This includes a rigorous\, full\, daily meditation schedule.\nParticipate in all of the daily classes and group practices via online streaming.\nSet up a quiet space or location where you can focus on the Meditation Retreat\, and not need to engage in conversation or work with others.\nPut away your phone\, digital devices and other distractions.\nIf there are enough people in the same time zone as you\, you could also make a cohort to meet to do a group practice throughout the retreat.\nNote: full details/ requirements will be sent to you after registering\n\nAbout the administrative fee* \nIn a traditional model of in-person teachings\, a retreat center or urban meditation center invites teachers to visit. In these cases the centers have infrastructure and organization costs to cover\, which might be covered by an admin fee. For the teaching itself\, dāna to the teachers is offered in a bowl. This honors both the sustainability of the teachers and of the supporting center. \nWe’ve tried to recreate this approach online.\nThe teachers’ time and the teaching themselves are offered on the basis of dāna\, separate to the admin fee. With our dāna offering we are making a direct gift of generosity to the teachers to support their teachings and livelihood. Learn more about the practice of dāna here. \nThe admin fee goes to support the infrastructure and organization necessary to support them to teach. As anyone with an online business will know\, it can be surprising the costs of setting up a good infrastructure to support effective teaching and connection online. \nBelow are a few of the work and benefits that your admin fee payment is supporting: \n\nhigh speed internet (to allow interviews and classes on-line)\nonline class systems (Zoom)\nregistration / admin systems (Eventbrite\, Basecamp)\ncommunication systems to keep everyone informed\, share connection details\, teachings and other resources (Mailchimp)\nonline storage (for example\, Dropbox\, to allow us to let students watch recordings and to store and share selected teachings in other forms such as podcasts and videos after the Teachings)\nquality sound\, video and editing equipment (both for live teachings and to provide good enough quality for later sharing as podcasts and video). We are regularly updating our equipment to improve your user experience.\nonline calendar booking system to allow students to book interviews\nwebsite hosting and maintenance for sharing upcoming courses\, teachings\, blogs and other resources.\n\nMay all our efforts be sustainable\, abundant and for the benefit of all beings! \n*We also do not wish to exclude anyone from the Teachings\, so if you are not currently in a financial position to afford the admin fee\, please contact us so we can support you to attend. \nWe welcome any questions. Please feel free to contact registrar@planetdharma.com. \nRetreatants at Clear Sky: Lodging Fees & Covid 19 Protocols \nIn addition to Dana to the Teacher\, Clear Sky Meditation Centre provides an incredible space for your retreat.  Situated on a beautiful 310-acre property in the Rocky Mountains\, the center and its karma yogis provide you nourishing daily meals and comfortable accomodation. \nPlease go to the retreat registration page for this retreat for details of the all inclusive fee for the retreat. \nCovid-19 Protocols\nOur retreats comply with current BC Covid-19 Health Orders.  Please refer to those provincial guidelines as well as the Canadian federal travel guidelines\, especially if you are planning to travel to Clear Sky Center in person. \nDetailed Daily Schedule \nSpecific times may change (MST) \nRETREAT DAILY SCHEDULE\n6:30 – 7:30 AM Walk &/or Personal Practice\n7:30 – 8:15 AM Breakfast: Prepare\, eat\, clean up\n8:15 – 8:45 AM Walk &/or Personal Practice\n9:00 – 10:00 AM Class with Teachers\n10:00 – 10:30 AM Walk\n10:30 – 11:30 AM Group Practice lead by Sangha\n11:30 – 12:30 PM Personal Practice\n12:30 – 1:30 PM Lunch: Prepare\, eat\, clean up\n1:30 – 3:00 PM Personal Practice\n3:00 – 4:00 PM Group Practice lead by Sangha\n4:00 – 5:30 PM Personal Practice\n5:30 – 7:00 PM Dinner: prepare\, eat\, clean up\n7:00 – 7:30 PM Walk &/or Personal Practice\n7:30 – 8:30 PM Group Practice and Q & A with Teachers\n8:30 – beyond: Personal Practice & bed \n\n\n\nRetreat at Clear Sky\n\n\nRetreat at Home (Online) URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/may-meditation-retreat-breathing-2022/ CATEGORIES:Group Retreats and Courses,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Breathing-Meditation-Retreat.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20220414T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20220512T203000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20220316T191435Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251209T110711Z UID:15025-1649964600-1652387400@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Meditation Circle: Community Classes for Inner Well-Being (Online or In-Person) DESCRIPTION:Integrate mindfulness and meditation into your life \nHow do you grow your inner and outer well-being?  Meditation Cirlce helps you develop a stronger meditation practice and a supportive container for mindfulness in your daily life.   \nJoin the Clear Sky community for Meditation Circle on Thursday nights (7:30-8:30pm MST).  You can attend in person\, or join us online.   \nThese classes will run each season of the year. This current series of classes will run for five weeks from April 14th to May 12th\, and are a great refresher or support to the Integrating Mindfulness course.  We encourage you to attend all five classes. \nThere are two ways to attend – in person or online. Just click the appropriate button to register. See you soon. \n  \n Registration – In Person Registration – Online \nQuestions?  \nContact Cara via email or phone: \ncara@clearskycenter.org | 250-421-8280 \n \n\n“Meditation is like turning on a light in a dark room. The power of awareness lets us see what is there – in our bodies\, emotions\, mind\, workplaces\, homes and relationships. Seeing what is there gives us the freedom and the courage to make deeply impactful changes.” \nDuncan Cryle\n\nCourse Overview\nThese classes will cover foundational meditation instructions\, and teach you how to properly practice breathing meditation.  The teacher of each class will also share inspiring Buddhist philosophy to ground and orient the meditation practice.   \nThis series will cover meditations based on the five principles of Integrating Mindfulness: \n\nWeek 1: Honour your space\nWeek 2: Structure and routine are your friend\nWeek 3: Communication shapes the space where we meet\nWeek 4: Cleaning up big areas of your life frees up energy\nWeek 5: It’s easier with others\n\n \n\n“I feel like we’re so disembodied today in our technological culture that meditation is my little kindness to myself in saying ‘hello body\, you’re part of my day.'” \nKaren McAllister\n\nMeet the Teachers\n \nMaureen Smith\nMaureen Smith (MSW\, RCSW) is a therapist and meditation teacher. Passionate about what she does\, she will guide you to a more alive\, aware and mindful path of living. \nMaureen is a well-respected Cranbrook-based therapist and educator. She works with individuals and couples in the public sector in addictions and mental health. Not only was Maureen the first acting caretaker at Clear Sky Meditation Center in BC\, she has studied numerous meditation practices intensively for over 10 years. She has a Master of Social Work degree and is a Registered Clinical Social Worker in British Columbia. \nDuncan Cryle\nThrough 30+ years of personal practice and 15+ teaching meditation and mindfulness\, alongside an active career working all over the world\, I’ve learnt a lot about an integrating mindfulness into daily life.  As a founding member of Clear Sky in 2004\, I’m amazed at the power of a beautiful\, natural and dedicated space for supporting people to deepen their meditation and feel more connected.  Alongside. my Clear Sky work\, I hold a director position at a large software company where I also run a volunteer global mindfulness program to 1000s employees.  I was formerly one of the pioneers of IBM’s mindfulness movement.  I’m passionate about how mindfulness-based approaches can transform how we live and work together\, and be of better service in the world. \n \nKaren McAllister\nAs Clear Sky’s Chair of the Board and Director of Business Development\, I’m passionate about teaching the much-ignored principles of nurturing the factors – like honor your space\, structure\, and communication – that create the conditions we need to wake up more in daily life. I see how I learned and embodied these principles in my different roles at Clear Sky as the center went from self-starter to second-stage growth. This is what I call “the hands-on way of doing an MBA with a spiritual bottom line!” \nIn my free time\, I love travelling\, speaking Portuguese and reading history\, architecture and art books. \nCara Conroy-Lau\nCara brings a joyful East meets West approach to meditation and holistic health. \nAs a New Zealand-born citizen of the world\, she grew up in New Zealand\, Singapore\, Japan and China. Cara has trained in mind-body integrative health for over 15 years. She is the founding acupuncturist at Cranbrook Acupuncture Clinic. \nCara has been training in meditation and Buddhist philosophy since her early 20’s\, and has a paritcular interest in Asian philosophy.  She is a long time resident at Clear Sky Centre\, and was the Centre’s first farm and food forest manager from 2009-2012.  \n Registration – Online Registration – In Person \nCourse Cost: Dāna (Pay from the heart)\n \nWe offer this course on the basis of dāna.  If you’re not familiar with dāna\, you may have come across related approaches such as “pay from the heart.” \nDāna is a Sanskrit term that translates as “generosity” in English. The practice of generosity is central to spiritual unfoldment\, whatever path you follow. In our own Buddhist lineage\, teachings have always been given on the basis of dāna\, and we are committed to this practice and its development in the West. \nDāna is a radical and – we believe – viable economic alternative to capitalism. We all know there must be something better than capitalism or its hungry cousin\, consumerism. We maintain that\, together\, we can offer a financial model that is based in life-affirming mutual support. Please join us in co-creating this promising economic alternative. \n \n \nTo help you choose an amount that feels right for you\, we recommend this heart-based exercise from our friends at Planet Dharma.  \nChecking in with your heart\n1) Take a few quiet breaths and center yourself. Spend a few moments to reflect on each of the below: the beauty and integrity of dāna practice; the value of receiving direct teachings from lineage holders in a recognized spiritual tradition; the reality of your financial situation. \n2) Spend another few moments contacting a sense of health\, strength and abundance. You have a healthy mind\, a body\, senses\, the good karma to have heard the teachings\, and conditions to support your practice of Dharma. Celebrate this! \n3) Now check with your heart and mind what amount feels both consistent with your situation\, and expressive of your aspiration. \nIt’s our joy to offer this course\, and we trust you’ll match our time\, energy\, and passion by giving an amount of money that feels good and healthy to both you and us. \n Register Now – Online Register Now – In Person URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/meditation-circle-apr-2022/ CATEGORIES:Group Retreats and Courses,Meditation Circle,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Meditation-Circle.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20220409T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20220514T120000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20211216T232441Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251209T104355Z UID:13614-1649498400-1652529600@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Integrating Mindfulness: Tools for Holistic Living (Online or In-Person) DESCRIPTION:Integrating Mindfulness Online Course\nA Six-Week Course (Online or In-Person at Clear Sky)April 9 – May 14\, 2022Saturdays: 10:00am-12:00pm MDT *Click here to see your timezone Recordings available for those who cannot attend live \n Register Now (Online) Register Now (In Person) \nThere may have been a time when mindfulness apps\, guided meditations or regular yoga classes were relaxing. Yet for many\, those are not enough anymore.     \nWith all that’s happening in the world\, how do we collectively come up for air?   \nThis course is for those who feel exhausted\, distracted or disconnected; those who want to find meaning and embrace their life fully.  It is to help integrate and apply mindfulness in your life\, for your own sustainability and happiness.  To be able to be of better service to those around you and to our planet.   \nNOTE: This course can be attended online or in-person at Clear Sky. \n \nNavigating the complexities of today’s world requires more than just feeling good on retreat\, or using a daily mindfulness app. We have to learn how to embody mindfulness–not just to navigate the pressures of daily life\, but also while thinking about our planet’s future. \nIntegrating Mindfulness helps you apply the power of awareness to your life\, and to cultivate a supportive container for personal resilience. \n Register Now (Online) Register Now (In Person) \nThis Course Helps With:\n\nStrengthening your mindfulness or meditation practice to experience more calm and clarity.\nCreating supportive structures that help you stay balanced\, protect your happiness\, and support your year-round growth.\nApplying the power of awareness to:\n\nDevelop a supportive environment\, and healthy consciously-chosen structures and routines in your daily life;\nCultivate more meaningful conversations and connections in your relationships and community;\nBring awareness and transformative change to big areas of your life that may be draining energy–concerns about your future\, money\, time management\, food\, and health.\n\n\nIntegrating and weaving mindfulness into all aspects of your daily work and life.\n\nBased on Clear Sky’s Five Principles\, Integrating Mindfulness helps you build a sustainable meditation practice that permeates your body\, career\, relationships and all other areas of your life.  \nYou can learn more about our Five Principles here and get our free pdf overview by clicking the link below. \n Get the pdf now – Five Principles of a Mindful Container \n\n“Mindfulness is like turning on a light in a dark room. The power of awareness lets us see what is there – in our bodies\, emotions\, mind\, workplaces\, homes and relationships. Seeing what is there gives us the freedom and the courage to make deeply impactful changes. I’ve found it helps craft our lives\, environment and structures in a way that deeply supports connection and growth”. \nDuncan Cryle\n\nCourse Overview\nUsing Clear Sky’s Five Principles of creating a supportive container for mindfulness and growth\, Integrating Mindfulness teaches you how to apply mindfulness across all areas of your life\, and to create an environment that supports you physically\, mentally and emotionally. The course includes meditations\, exercises and community check-ins. \nWeek 1: Creating a supportive space for your growth; \nWeek 2: Transforming habit and making friends with structure; \nWeek 3: Quieting the monkey mind and creating generative conversations; \nWeek 4: Cleaning up big areas of your life frees up energy; \nWeek 5: The power of mindfulness for real and lasting change; \nWeek 6: Community and transforming our relationships with others. \n \n\n“Deep transformational growth is really supported by having a container\, a supportive structure around us. I feel like we’re so disembodied today in our technological culture that this is my little kindness to myself in saying ‘hello body\, you’re part of my day.'” \nKaren McAllister\n\nOur Approach\nThis course uses three interwoven approaches to support you in: cultivating mindfulness\, to craft a supportive container; and to powerfully integrate mindfulness into all aspects of our life and work. \nBy mindfulness\, we mean the natural power of awareness we all have\, and the approaches that help us cultivate this in daily life. Mindfulness helps to slow down racing thoughts\, distractions and negative emotions. Becoming more present and aware is like turning on a light so we can see better. And when we really start seeing what is happening in our bodies\, emotions\, minds\, relationships and environment\, we have the freedom to make transformative change. \nFlourishing in our distracted and difficult world relies on bringing awareness to the people and things that nourish us\, letting go of what doesn’t\, and creating a container to protect our happiness and life-energy. More than ever\, crafting a supportive container for our mindfulness practice and year-round growth is an essential skill. \nWhen we have “turned on the light” and crafted a supportive container for deepening mindfulness\, integrating mindfulness means applying this transformative power of awareness to all aspects of our life and work. We allow awareness to light up and transform our environment; our habits and use of time; how we listen and speak; areas of life where we may be stuck such as money\, health\, food\, or life vision; and how we relate to others and build community. \nClear Sky Retreat Center’s mission is to support people transform struggle and embrace vitality. We provide a supportive container for depth work and transformation\, and aim to be generative across a quadruple bottom line: spiritual\, financial\, environmental and social. Rooted in a deep history of our Buddhist lineage\, we are a conscious community and “living lab” for developing integrated modern approaches to awakening. Under the guidance of our founding teachers Qapel and Catherine Sensei of www.planetdharma.com\, we weave into our course and daily living an integral spirituality approach\, and work across four key pillars of meditation\, wisdom/study\, mindfulness-in-action\, and integration of the shadow. \nMeet the Teachers\n \nKaren McAllister\nAs Clear Sky’s Chair of the Board and Director of Business Development\, I’m passionate about teaching the much-ignored principles of nurturing the factors – like honor your space\, structure\, and communication – that create the conditions we need to wake up more in daily life. I see how I learned and embodied these principles in my different roles at Clear Sky as the center went from self-starter to second-stage growth. This is what I call “the hands-on way of doing an MBA with a spiritual bottom line!” \nIn my free time\, I love travelling\, speaking Portuguese and reading history\, architecture and art books. \nDuncan Cryle\nThrough 30+ years of personal practice and 15+ teaching meditation and mindfulness\, alongside an active career working all over the world\, I’ve learnt a lot about an integrating mindfulness into daily life.  As a founding member of Clear Sky in 2004\, I’m amazed at the power of a beautiful\, natural and dedicated space for supporting people to deepen their meditation and feel more connected.  Alongside. my Clear Sky work\, I hold a director position at a large software company where I also run a volunteer global mindfulness program to 1000s employees.  I was formerly one of the pioneers of IBM’s mindfulness movement.  I’m passionate about how mindfulness-based approaches can transform how we live and work together\, and be of better service in the world. \n Register Now (Online) Register Now (In Person) \nWhat Previous Students Are Saying\n \n\n“I think this course is a beautiful\, utterly grounded and relevant way of making the spiritual life very real and integrated with how we are living every day of our lives. It lays an important foundation for a meditation practice that can actually go somewhere and lead to a well-rounded and truly fulfilling life.” \nRuth – Embodied in Motion\n\n \n\n“It’s really\, really brought me back home to myself. I found myself in the past very scattered and would put off all the important things\, the spiritual aspects of life\, the mindfulness and so on\, just to blast through my day and get things done\, but now I am really taking pause. I still don’t get everything done\, but I don’t get everything done in a much more calm and soulful way.” \nEmmanuel – ActionAid Brasil\n\nCourse Cost\n \nWe offer this course on the basis of dāna.  If you’re not familiar with dāna\, you may have come across related approaches such as “pay from the heart.” \nWithin this model\, we are offering this course on a sliding scale from $120-360 CAD. \nDāna is a Sanskrit term that translates as “generosity” in English. The practice of generosity is central to spiritual unfoldment\, whatever path you follow. In our own Buddhist lineage\, teachings have always been given on the basis of dāna\, and we are committed to this practice and its development in the West. \nDāna is a radical and – we believe – viable economic alternative to capitalism. We all know there must be something better than capitalism or its hungry cousin\, consumerism. We maintain that\, together\, we can offer a financial model that is based in life-affirming mutual support. Please join us in co-creating this promising economic alternative. \n \n \nTo help you choose an amount that feels right for you\, we recommend this heart-based exercise from our friends at Planet Dharma.  \nIt’s our joy to offer this course\, and we trust you’ll match our time\, energy\, and passion by giving an amount of money that feels good and healthy to both you and us. \n Register Now [wufoo username=”5principles” formhash=”ze64plr0w2w6oi” autoresize=”true” height=”786″ header=”show” ssl=”true”] URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/integrating-mindfulness-2022/ CATEGORIES:Coaching,Group Retreats and Courses,Integrating Mindfulness,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Integrating-Mindfulness-Feature-Image.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220318 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220402 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20211119T182756Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251209T091844Z UID:13203-1647561600-1648857599@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Hua Yan Meditation Retreat 2022 DESCRIPTION:Meditation Retreat | Mar 18 – Apr 1\, 2022\nAccording to Hua Yan philosophy\, any phenomenon exists only as part of the total nexus of reality. Like Indra’s net all things are equally connected to each other and also contained within in each other. Join a two week in-person retreat on the profound Hua Yan teachings from Chinese Mahayana Buddhism. \n*IMPORTANT*  \n\nDue to travel restrictions\, this retreat is available In-Person at Clear Sky or Online as a Home Retreat.\nPlease consider flight insurance when booking for this retreat. We welcome you to spend additional nights at Clear Sky\, especially if traveling from afar.\nIn-Person registration closes: March 4th\nOnline registration closes: March 11\n\n\n\nRetreat In-Person at Clear Sky\n\n\nRetreat Online\n\n \nCOVID-19 RESPONSE\nOur main priority is to offer a retreat that is accessible and supports your health and safety. \nWe currently intend this retreat to be offered in person assuming the March COVID situation allows people to travel. We will keep reviewing this – if travel is still not possible we will offer online alternatives. \nThe Buddhist Teaching of Totality\n \nHua Yan philosophy was established in the 7th and 8th centuries in China\, based on the Flower Garland Sutra (Avatamsaka Sutra). It has one central concern – to reveal the Buddha realm of infinity. \nThe teaching indicates a complete way to think – with a multiple or totalistic approach. Nothing is rejected. Not even is there room for contradiction. All inconsistencies become harmonious. Totality is one of its central points. \nHua Yan is a synthesis of all major Mahayana thought\, and includes the three major concepts of Mahayana: totality\, emptiness and mind-only. \nResidential or Online Retreat\nIt’s best in person. Online is also possible. \nIt is always best to do a meditation retreat in person. However\, with Covid-19 travel restrictions\, you may not be able to fly to BC.  Here are some basic requirements for doing this retreat online. \nBasic requirements to do the retreat online: \n\nBlock out your schedule and be focused on the retreat for this entire period\, using this time and participating in the retreat as if you were at Clear Sky in person.  This includes a rigorous\, full\, daily meditation schedule.\nParticipate in all of the daily classes and group practices via online streaming.\nSet up a quiet space or location where you can focus on the Meditation Retreat and not need to engage in conversation or work with others.\nPut away your phone\, digital devices and other distractions.\nIf there are enough people in the same time zone as you\, you could also make a cohort to meet to do a group practice throughout the retreat.\n\n \n Daily Schedule:\nThis is an example of a daily retreat schedule. Exact times may vary. \n\n[Personal Meditation / Breakfast]\n9am MST: Class with Teachers\n[Personal Meditation / Lunch]\n2pm – 3 pm MST: Group meditation practice\n[Personal Meditation / Dinner]\n7pm MST: Meditation and Q&A with Teachers\n\nWhy this Retreat?\nThe universal mind is likened to a vast ocean mirror in which the infinite dramas of the universe are spontaneously and simultaneously reflected. It becomes a kaleidoscope of multi dimensional\, mutual projections and interpenetrations. Hua Yan reveals the many hidden facets of shunyata (emptiness)\, which are not immediately clear. Far reaching implications of shunyata laid down in the Prajñāpāramitā Sutras become clearer. \nIn spite of being called a philosophy\, Hua Yan is true to the original spirit of Buddhism which achieves liberation upon abolishing all philosophical speculations. As a painter draws many pictures\, a sentient being’s mind can create infinite variations of world systems\, emerging from emptiness\, returning to emptiness. \nRead more here: general discussion of the Flower Garland Sutra and an in-depth history of the Huayan Buddhist philosophy. \n \nWhat Can I expect with this Retreat?\nThe Course \n\nThis meditation retreat consists of many hours of consecutive practice each day. Therefore some experience\, especially with sitting meditation\, is highly recommended.\nAn open mind and heart\, and a spirit of adventure are excellent things to bring!\nIt’s human to have some apprehensions about doing something new\, meeting new people\, or going to a new place. Particularly when all three happen together. We try to make this as supportive as possible.\nThis is a silent retreat. To deepen your meditation\, we ask that participants refrain from reading\, using the internet\, phone\, or listening to music during the course.\n\nThe Location – Clear Sky Center \n\nLocated in the BC Rocky Mountains\, Clear Sky offers over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature. Founded by Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat\, the centre is home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world.\n\n\nHow to get there\, what to bring and other FAQ about Clear Sky\nOur teachings and Clear Sky operate based on the ancient tradition of dāna or generosity. As generosity is the basis upon which all spiritual practice flourishes\, we recommend that you learn more about this profound practice before you register.\n\n\n \nMeet the Teacher\n \nQapel (Achariya Doug Duncan)\nQapel studied with the Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche from 1974 until the latter’s passing in 2003. Doug received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 1978\, and is a lineage holder in that teaching. He also received teachings from the 16th Karmapa and other Tibetan Rinpoches\, as well as from the Ven. Sayadaw U Thila Wunta and from a Master of the Western Mystery School. In addition\, Doug has undertaken numerous three-month solitary meditation retreats. \nDoug has been leading retreats\, teaching and training in universal practices of spiritual unfoldment since 1985\, helping thousands of students in numerous countries liberate themselves from suffering. His teaching also draws on contemporary psychology and science. In 2004 he co-founded Clear Sky Retreat Center in the BC Rockies where he is resident teacher along with Catherine Pawasarat Sensei. \nMore About Qapel | About the Lineage \n\nRetreat In-Person at Clear Sky\n\n\nRetreat Online\n \nAbout Clear Sky\nLocated in the BC rocky mountains\, we offer over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature. Founded by Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat\, we are home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world. \nHere are some FAQs on how to get here\, what to bring and what to expect.  \nTo help you get acquainted with us\, some community members made this short video during our 2019 Buddhas in Action retreat. To learn more about us and our incredible community\, click here! \n\n\n \nFAQs\nDana and In-Person Retreat Pricing \nDana: This course is offered by Qapel through the ancient principle of generosity\, or Dāna. The retreat fee covers the cost of food and accommodation\, whereas the Teachings are offered by generosity. Learn more about Dāna here. \nPricing: As a charitable organization\, we strive to provide locally sourced organic meals and comfortable accommodations at an affordable price. Fees vary depending on your accommodation choice and early bird pricing. \nCOVID-19 Policy \nA Note on Covid-19 Regulations in Canada\nOur retreats comply with current BC Covid-19 Health Orders.  Please refer to those provincial guidelines as well as the Canadian federal travel guidelines\, especially if you are planning to travel to Clear Sky Center in person. \nDetailed Daily Schedule \nSpecific times may change – this is a rough guide (MST) \n6:30 – 7:30 AM: Walk &/or Personal Practice\n7:30 – 8:15 AM: Breakfast: Prepare\, eat\, clean up\n8:15 – 8:45 AM: Walk &/or Personal Practice\n9:00 – 10:00 AM: Class with Teachers\n10:00 – 10:30 AM: Walk\n10:30 – 11:30 AM: Group Practice lead by Sangha\n11:30 – 12:30 PM: Personal Practice\n12:30 – 1:30 PM: Lunch: Prepare\, eat\, clean up\n1:30 – 3:00 PM: Personal Practice\n3:00 – 4:00 PM: Group Practice lead by Sangha\n4:00 – 5:30 PM: Personal Practice\n5:30 – 7:00 PM: Dinner: prepare\, eat\, clean up\n7:00 – 7:30 PM: Walk &/or Personal Practice\n7:30 – 8:30 PM: Group Practice and Q & A with Teachers\n8:30 – Beyond: Personal Practice & bed \n*For Online Retreatants: Admin Fees & Requirements \nIn order to bring you this retreat at home\, there is an additional admin fee* of $375 CAD. The admin fee is to cover the costs of running these online courses – for equipment and software to provide you the teachings online. \nIf you are taking this retreat online\, we require that you devote your full attention to the retreat for the entire two weeks. \nRequirements include: \n\nBlock out the two weeks and be focused on the retreat for this entire period\, using this time and participating in the retreat as if you were at Clear Sky in person.  This includes a rigorous\, full\, daily meditation schedule.\nParticipate in all of the daily classes and group practices via online streaming.\nSet up a quiet space or location where you can focus on the Meditation Retreat\, and not need to engage in conversation or work with others.\nPut away your phone\, digital devices and other distractions.\nIf there are enough people in the same time zone as you\, you could also make a cohort to meet to do a group practice throughout the retreat.\nNote: full details/ requirements will be sent to you after registering\n\nAbout the administrative fee* \nIn a traditional model of in-person teachings\, a retreat center or urban meditation center invites teachers to visit. In these cases the centers have infrastructure and organization costs to cover\, which might be covered by an admin fee. For the teaching itself\, dāna to the teachers is offered in a bowl. This honors both the sustainability of the teachers and of the supporting center. \nWe’ve tried to recreate this approach online.\nThe teachers’ time and the teaching themselves are offered on the basis of dāna\, separate to the admin fee. With our dāna offering we are making a direct gift of generosity to the teachers to support their teachings and livelihood. Learn more about the practice of dāna here. \nThe admin fee goes to support the infrastructure and organization necessary to support them to teach. As anyone with an online business will know\, it can be surprising the costs of setting up a good infrastructure to support effective teaching and connection online. \nBelow are a few of the work and benefits that your admin fee payment is supporting: \n\nhigh speed internet (to allow interviews and classes on-line)\nonline class systems (Zoom)\nregistration / admin systems (Eventbrite\, Basecamp)\ncommunication systems to keep everyone informed\, share connection details\, teachings and other resources (Mailchimp)\nonline storage (for example\, Dropbox\, to allow us to let students watch recordings and to store and share selected teachings in other forms such as podcasts and videos after the Teachings)\nquality sound\, video and editing equipment (both for live teachings and to provide good enough quality for later sharing as podcasts and video). We are regularly updating our equipment to improve your user experience.\nonline calendar booking system to allow students to book interviews\nwebsite hosting and maintenance for sharing upcoming courses\, teachings\, blogs and other resources.\n\nMay all our efforts be sustainable\, abundant and for the benefit of all beings! \n*We also do not wish to exclude anyone from the Teachings\, so if you are not currently in a financial position to afford the admin fee\, please contact us so we can support you to attend. \nWe welcome any questions. Please feel free to contact registrar@planetdharma.com. \n\nRetreat In-Person at Clear Sky\n\n\nRetreat Online URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/hua-yan-meditation-retreat-2022/ LOCATION:Clear Sky Meditation Center\, 3567 Cockell Road\, PO BOX 19\, Fort Steele\, British Columbia\, V0B 1NO\, Canada ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Hua-Yan-600-400.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20220224T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20220317T203000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20220131T193351Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251209T104113Z UID:13977-1645731000-1647549000@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Meditation Circle: Community Classes for Inner Well-Being (Online or In-Person) DESCRIPTION:Foundations of Meditation Classes (Online or In-Person at Clear Sky)Thursdays 7:30pm MST\, Feb 24 – March 17\, 2022 \nHow do you grow your inner well-being?  These community classes at Clear Sky center help you develop a stronger meditation practice.   \nJoin us for Meditation Circle\, Thursday nights (7:30-8:30pm MST) at Clear Sky Center.  You can attend in-person\, or join us online.   \nThese classes will run each season of the year. This current series of classes will run for four weeks from Feb 24th to March 17th.  We encourage you to attend all four classes. \nThere are two ways to attend – in person or online. Just click the appropriate button to register. See you soon! \n  \n Registration – In Person Registration – Online \nQuestions?  \nContact Cara via email or phone: \ncara@clearskycenter.org | 250-421-8280 \n \n\n“Meditation is like turning on a light in a dark room. The power of awareness lets us see what is there – in our bodies\, emotions\, mind\, workplaces\, homes and relationships. Seeing what is there gives us the freedom and the courage to make deeply impactful changes.” \nDuncan Cryle\n\nCourse Overview\nThese classes will cover foundational meditation instructions\, and teach you how to properly practice breathing meditation.  The teacher of each class will also share inspiring Buddhist philosophy to ground and orient the meditation practice.  This series will cover gems from the four noble truths and eightfold path.  \nWeek 1: Meditation Foundations + The Four Noble Truths \nWeek 2: Meditation Foundations + Wisdom: Understanding and Intention  \nWeek 3: Meditation Foundations + Ethics: Action \, Speech and Livelihood \nWeek 4: Meditation Foundations + Mental Cultivation: Effort\, Mindfulness and Concentration \n \n\n“I feel like we’re so disembodied today in our technological culture that meditation is my little kindness to myself in saying ‘hello body\, you’re part of my day.'” \nKaren McAllister\n\nMeet the Teachers\n \nMaureen Smith\nMaureen Smith (MSW\, RCSW) is a therapist and meditation teacher. Passionate about what she does\, she will guide you to a more alive\, aware and mindful path of living. \nMaureen is a well-respected Cranbrook-based therapist and educator. She works with individuals and couples in the public sector in addictions and mental health. Not only was Maureen the first acting caretaker at Clear Sky Meditation Center in BC\, she has studied numerous meditation practices intensively for over 10 years. She has a Master of Social Work degree and is a Registered Clinical Social Worker in British Columbia. \nDuncan Cryle\nThrough 30+ years of personal practice and 15+ teaching meditation and mindfulness\, alongside an active career working all over the world\, I’ve learnt a lot about an integrating mindfulness into daily life.  As a founding member of Clear Sky in 2004\, I’m amazed at the power of a beautiful\, natural and dedicated space for supporting people to deepen their meditation and feel more connected.  Alongside. my Clear Sky work\, I hold a director position at a large software company where I also run a volunteer global mindfulness program to 1000s employees.  I was formerly one of the pioneers of IBM’s mindfulness movement.  I’m passionate about how mindfulness-based approaches can transform how we live and work together\, and be of better service in the world. \n \nKaren McAllister\nAs Clear Sky’s Chair of the Board and Director of Business Development\, I’m passionate about teaching the much-ignored principles of nurturing the factors – like honor your space\, structure\, and communication – that create the conditions we need to wake up more in daily life. I see how I learned and embodied these principles in my different roles at Clear Sky as the center went from self-starter to second-stage growth. This is what I call “the hands-on way of doing an MBA with a spiritual bottom line!” \nIn my free time\, I love travelling\, speaking Portuguese and reading history\, architecture and art books. \nCara Conroy-Lau\nCara brings a joyful East meets West approach to meditation and holistic health. \nAs a New Zealand-born citizen of the world\, she grew up in New Zealand\, Singapore\, Japan and China. Cara has trained in mind-body integrative health for over 15 years. She is the founding acupuncturist at Cranbrook Acupuncture Clinic. \nCara has been training in meditation and Buddhist philosophy since her early 20’s\, and has a paritcular interest in Asian philosophy.  She is a long time resident at Clear Sky Centre\, and was the Centre’s first farm and food forest manager from 2009-2012.  \n Registration – Online Registration – In Person \nCourse Cost: Dāna\n \nWe offer this course on the basis of dāna.  If you’re not familiar with dāna\, you may have come across related approaches such as “pay from the heart.” \nDāna is a Sanskrit term that translates as “generosity” in English. The practice of generosity is central to spiritual unfoldment\, whatever path you follow. In our own Buddhist lineage\, teachings have always been given on the basis of dāna\, and we are committed to this practice and its development in the West. \nDāna is a radical and – we believe – viable economic alternative to capitalism. We all know there must be something better than capitalism or its hungry cousin\, consumerism. We maintain that\, together\, we can offer a financial model that is based in life-affirming mutual support. Please join us in co-creating this promising economic alternative. \n \n \nTo help you choose an amount that feels right for you\, we recommend this heart-based exercise from our friends at Planet Dharma.  \nChecking in with your heart\n1) Take a few quiet breaths and center yourself. Spend a few moments to reflect on each of the below: the beauty and integrity of dāna practice; the value of receiving direct teachings from lineage holders in a recognized spiritual tradition; the reality of your financial situation. \n2) Spend another few moments contacting a sense of health\, strength and abundance. You have a healthy mind\, a body\, senses\, the good karma to have heard the teachings\, and conditions to support your practice of Dharma. Celebrate this! \n3) Now check with your heart and mind what amount feels both consistent with your situation\, and expressive of your aspiration. \nIt’s our joy to offer this course\, and we trust you’ll match our time\, energy\, and passion by giving an amount of money that feels good and healthy to both you and us. \n Register Now – Online Register Now – In Person URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/meditation-circle-2022/ LOCATION:Clear Sky Meditation Center\, 3567 Cockell Road\, PO BOX 19\, Fort Steele\, British Columbia\, V0B 1NO\, Canada CATEGORIES:Coaching,Meditation Circle,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2.png ORGANIZER;CN="Clear Sky Center":MAILTO:contact@clearskycenter.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20220219T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20220312T110000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20211008T160834Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251208T065639Z UID:12673-1645264800-1647082800@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Money & Spirituality: Integrating Spiritual and Material (Online) DESCRIPTION:A four-week Online Course with Karen McAllister \nSaturdays at 10am MT\n \nClick here to see your timezone \nThis course is about healing the split between money and spirituality and integrating your vision and calling into your everyday work. Through this course\, you will come to a place of peace\, power\, and care in your heart in your relationship with money. \nIt is about integrating the spiritual with the material\, or the material with the spiritual\, depending on where your journey begins. \nWhat this means for you\nWorking with your relationship with money is more than just seeing your patterns and recurring behaviours around it. \nMoney is a nexus that is the doorway into greater integration. All of us have some sort of knot around money. By going into that knot\, we can attend to all of these bigger things like the shadow\, dreams\, vision\, values\, priorities\, and awakening. \nWe are inviting you to join us to release these complicated and layered knots around money and allow yourself to let go the dam of resistance\, shame\, guilt\, superiority\, privilege\, and fear. To have the courage to look at your projections onto money and be on your way to a place of integration between the material and the spiritual. \nWe want you to be lighter\, brighter and to give and attract the amount of money you need to manifest your purpose. \n\nREGISTER NOW\n\n\n\n \nDo any of these 8 knots sound like you?\n\nYou might be very passionate about your work as an artist\, teacher\, healer\, in business\, or as a transformational change agent. Yet you seem to repel the very resources that you need. Somehow embracing the money thing is felt as inauthentic to your values or being evil on some level. Is it truly noble to be a starving artist or a martyr?\nPerhaps you feel money is elusive and you never seem to have it\, or when it comes in it leaves very quickly. You may feel that you and money just don’t seem to have any relationship at all. Or you don’t feel you are good with it. You might be looking for that Prince Charming\, or a protector to turn up and make it all better for you. Or maybe\, you feel that money should just come because you are devoting your life to a worthy cause or to your awakening. Shouldn’t I just trust in the universe that the money comes? Yet\, it doesn’t.\nPerhaps you over give\, undervalue yourself in your organization\, non-profit or in partnerships\, either in marriage or in business. You might expect others to read your mind and know how to support you\, and they don’t. You might have the experience of feeling unseen\, burnt out\, with health and money issues calling for your attention.\nOr your family may have money but you don’t\, giving you mixed experiences of privilege and scarcity; you may try to help others experience more abundance and feel that your efforts are rejected;  or your efforts to be generous may leave you feeling taken advantage of or dismissed.\nYou might be a person with wealth and/or worldly success. In spite of this\, you might feel ostracized by the very people you want to help. You might not feel so cared for or maybe even feel like an outsider by those in the spiritual or transformational world or with a mission-based business. What is this about?\nYou may have mixed feelings about having money\, as a spiritual explorer. Perhaps you have come into money without being introduced to the skills to handle it skillfully\, both practically and psychologically.\nOr perhaps you feel overwhelmed with fear of losing money\, even though you have enough of it. Your fear of loss might keep you paralyzed and stuck from making decisions that are more in alignment with your heart and your own awakening.\nYou might feel guilty about having money and find that trusting yourselves and others is an ongoing challenge. You might not like the distance that money causes between you and others.\n\nWhat are some of the main patterns that spiritual types have around money? Dissociation and overgiving are two examples. \nKaren McAllister\, Certified Money Coach and Board Chair of Clear Sky Meditation Centre\, shares some of her insights in the main money patterns experienced by spiritual seekers\, artists and those in the non-profit sector. \n \nIntegrating Spiritual and Material\nWhat to Expect:\n\nAs a global human being\, get an overview of our history with money;\nUnderstand what spirituality means in the workplace and in your relationships;\nExplore what integrating the spiritual and material would look like for you;\nName your particular patterns around money\, at work\, in your personal finances or in partnership;\nUnderstand what a healthy relationship to money looks like;\nCreate an action plan to change self-sabotaging patterns;\nLearn how to be a role model of financial maturity for others;\nFeel more open\, empowered\, and confident in your relationship with money.\n\n\n \nMeet your Teacher\n \nKaren McAllister \nKaren has worked with clients to transform their money issues\, helping them become more effective\, professional\, and satisfied with their financial situation\, and growing a sense of abundance. She brings knowledge and experience of financial issues from the practical\, behavioral\, and emotional perspectives. Her real magic and superpowers come from studying with her spiritual teachers\, Acariya Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei\, for over 20 years. Her teachers specialize in helping their students transcend their issues around money\, sex\, and power. And she is a beautiful example of the fruits of this work\, known in Buddhist philosophy as the bodhisattva path. \nKaren studied Economics in her degree and has been certified by Deborah Price of the The Money Coaching Institute as a Certified Money Coach\, a Couples Money Coach\, and a Business Archetype Coach. She studied with Lynne Twist from the Soul of Money Institute\, including Mastering your Money and Transforming your Life\, and Lynne’s Fundraising from the Heart program. \nFurther\, Karen has made use of that training through her own role as a founding member at Clear Sky\, which operates with a quadruple bottom line. Karen has been Board Chair since 2014 and is leader of Fund Development. Her passion for this arises out of her deep desire to awaken more fully and make the world a better place. She’s seen many amazing spiritual explorers and transformational change agents who want to make a difference yet don’t have the funds they need to truly fulfill their missions–despite the millions of dollars floating around in the economy. And she has also seen the other side. Many spiritual explorers with money who have tried to help others experience more abundance and feel that their efforts have been rejected; or their efforts to be generous have left them feeling taken advantage of or dismissed. Karen’s work is designed to change this. \nKaren wants you to show up as an integrated and whole human being. She’ll help you direct and attract financial resources in meaningful ways\, steering away from greed and fear and towards love\, generosity\, collaboration\, and reciprocity. \nCourse Details\n\nLocation: Online (Zoom)\nDates: February 19th – March 12th\, 2022\n4 x 2 hour session + 3 Individual 30 minute sessions\nTime: 10am – Noon MT\nDana: $200CAD – $500CAD recommended range.\nPlease chat with us if you have concerns about the cost. Part of taking the money out of the shadow is stepping forward and having a pricing conversation with us.\n\nThis course is Dana based. We understand that your income might be effected due to COVID either negatively or positively. We do not want to turn away anyone and we are always looking for ways to help you cultivate your generosity practise. Because of this\, we are giving you the opportunity to give the lower rate if you are earning less currently\, or we encourage to give the higher rate if your business is actually more profitable due to COVID. Many people feel guilty because they are doing well. We encourage you to think about paying it forward.There is also an opportunity to give to the scholarship fund.\n\n\nREGISTER NOW\n\nKaren is such a talented guide. She has the ability to see what you are not seeing and to sense that\, what is not spoken. I felt very safe with her\, to go deep into unexplored areas of my life. She is picking you up\, where you are and takes you on an adventurous journey that is life changing.\nThank you Karen.\nAndreaGermany\nI signed up for a series of Money Coaching sessions with Karen last year along with a team of people I work closely with. I truly believe this was the best thing we could have done. The sessions with Karen provided us with a clear\, safe and supportive place to talk\, open up and work through what was coming up for each of us.\nKaren offered us deep insights on many levels and the generosity of her time\, both inside and outside the sessions. She invested as much in the process as we did. The benefits that it brings are significant – on an interpersonal as well as financial level.\nZoeEngland URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/money-spirituality-integrating-spiritual-and-material-online-2022/ LOCATION:Clear Sky Meditation Center\, 3567 Cockell Road\, PO BOX 19\, Fort Steele\, British Columbia\, V0B 1NO\, Canada CATEGORIES:Coaching,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/money-and-spirituality-feature.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Clear Sky Center":MAILTO:contact@clearskycenter.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220218 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220221 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20211204T115058Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251209T102928Z UID:13201-1645142400-1645401599@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Sādhana: Practices for Power 2022 DESCRIPTION:Weekend Retreat\nNew Dates: Feb 18-20 2022\nThis weekend online course focuses on how to properly practice vajrayana methodologies of mantra and visualisation. Learn how to participate in Empowerments and how to use a sadhana. This weekend course and retreat includes a Guru Rinpoche and Yeshe Tsogyal empowerment. It is offered in-person at Clear Sky Meditation Centre\, as well as online from your home. \n*IMPORTANT*  \n\nDue to travel restrictions\, this retreat is available In-Person at Clear Sky or Online as a Home Retreat.\nPlease consider flight insurance when booking for this retreat. We welcome you to spend additional nights at Clear Sky\, especially if traveling from afar.\n\n\n\nRetreat In-Person (CLOSED)\n\n\nRetreat Online\n \nCOVID-19 RESPONSE\nOur main priority is to offer a retreat that is accessible and supports your health and safety. \nWe currently intend this retreat to be offered in person assuming the January COVID situation allows people to travel. We will keep reviewing this – if travel is still not possible we will offer online alternatives. \nUnderstanding Arising Yoga Practice\nIn Vajrayana Buddhism\, “Arising Yoga” is the practice of bringing together mantra and visualization to engage with various archetypes. These archetypes are represented by deities such as Vajrasattva (emotional purification)\, Chenrezi (compassion)\, Green Tara (mother nature principles)\, or Medicine Buddha (healing). \nInitiations\, empowerments\, or wongkur (Tib. དབང་\, wang) are considered the spring from which all blessings flow. More literally\, these are ritual celebrations in which a specific teaching is transmitted from Teacher to student that enables the student to practice a new form of “Arising Yoga.” Part of this weekend online course focuses on how to properly participate in wongkur. \nThe other part of this course focuses on how to use a sādhana\, which is a unique set of mantra and visualization instructions for each deity. Putting the wongkur and sādhana work together\, this class will then focus on how to approach the foundation work of Vajrayana Buddhism\, which can appear daunting to new students. \nIn addition to the teachings above\, a very special wongkur empowerment will be given: \n\nGuru Rinpoche /Yeshe Tsogyal combined wongkur (Saturday Feb 5th 8am MST).\n\nThis weekend course is available online as well as in-person. Video recordings will also be available for one week after each class. \n\n \nMeet the Teachers\n \nCatherine Pawasarat Sensei \n \nDoug Qapel Duncan \nDoug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat are Dharma and meditation teachers who founded Clear Sky Meditation Center\, BC\, Canada. \nAchariya Doug Duncan received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 1978\, and is a lineage holder in that teaching. Known for his direct\, humourous and compassionate engagement with students\, Doug embraces various traditions\, contemporary psychology\, and science\, to mentor all beings to a more awakened state. \nCatherine Pawasarat has trained daily with Acariya Doug Duncan since 1998 in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life\, Catherine also draws on generative living and the arts. With Doug she is co-founder of Clear Sky Retreat Center in the BC Rockies. \nCourse Details\nTime and Location \nImportant: The dates for this retreat have changed. Originally scheduled for Feb 4-6th\, the retreat dates are now Feb 18-20th\, 2022. Please also review new class times below. \nIt is possible to attend the course in these ways: \n\nOnline Retreat\nIn-Person Retreat at Clear Sky\n\nEach of the classes in this retreat will be held live at Clear Sky Meditation Centre. There will also be a video streamed live for online participants.   The current class schedule is as follows. \n\nFriday Feb 18th: 7:30pm MST\nSaturday Feb 19th: 9am / 3pm / 7:30pm MST\nSunday Feb 20th: 9am Empowerment / 3pm / 7:30pm MST\n\nWe have arranged class times to be comfortable for most time zones. However we understand that some class times might occur after midnight in some regions\, so please contact us if that is the case for you\, and we will provide a recording so you can catch up on that particular class. \nWhat Does the Course Cost? \nThis course is offered based on the unique combination of 1) dāna and 2) a course/administrative fee. For online participants the Online Admin fee is $100 USD. Click here to learn more about dāna\, and see below to learn more about the online admin fee. Accommodation and meal fees are separate if retreating at Clear Sky Center. \nAbout the Online Admin Fee \nIn a traditional model of in-person teachings\, a retreat center or urban meditation center invites teachers to visit. In these cases the centers have infrastructure and organization costs to cover\, which might be covered by an admin fee. For the teaching itself\, dāna to the teachers is offered in a bowl. This honors both the sustainability of the teachers\, and of the supporting center. \nWe’ve tried to recreate this approach online. The teachers’ time and the teaching themselves are offered on the basis of dāna\, separate to the admin fee. With our dāna offering we are making a direct gift of generosity to the teachers to support their teachings and livelihood. \nThe admin fee* goes to support the infrastructure and organization necessary to support them to teach. As anyone with an online business will know\, it can be surprising the costs of setting up a good infrastructure to support effective teaching and connection online. \n*We also do not wish to exclude anyone from the Teachings\, so if you are not currently in a financial position to afford the admin fee\, please contact registrar@planetdharma.com so we can support you to attend. \n— \nBelow are a few of the work and benefits that your admin fee payment is supporting: \n\nhigh speed internet (to allow interviews and classes on-line)\nonline class systems (Zoom)\nregistration / admin systems (Eventbrite\, Basecamp)\ncommunication systems to keep everyone informed\, share connection details\, teachings and other resources (Mailchimp)\nonline storage (for example\, Dropbox\, to allow us to let students watch recordings\, and to store and share selected teachings in other forms such as podcasts and video later\, and Amazon cloud)\nquality sound\, video and editing equipment (both for live teachings and to provide good enough quality for later sharing as podcasts and video). We are regularly updating our equipment to improve your user experience.\nonline calendar booking system to allow students to book interviews\nwebsite hosting and maintenance for sharing upcoming courses\, teachings\, blogs and other resources.\n\nWe welcome any questions. May all our efforts be sustainable\, abundant and for the benefit of all beings!c \n \nRetreating in person at a retreat center is the best way to retreat – why? \n\nYou can’t beat live interaction with the course Teachers. Being in the same space with clear beings ‘tunes’ you to more wholesome states.\nWe create a welcoming environment and follow a supportive retreat schedule\, based on decades of hosting successful retreats worldwide.\nWholesome and delicious food is provided so you don’t have to spend time cooking for yourself.\nBreath-taking and restful\, natural environment puts your body and mind at ease and resets your nervous system.\nRetreating at our center gets you out of your usual home environment and routines – they can be distracting.\nRetreating with others (your co-retreatants) is incredibly supportive and energy building.\n\nAnd\, we work hard to support the online retreat experience. \n\nWe have been delivering online offerings since 2014\, always optimizing your experience.\nYou will be provided with recommendations for making your retreat supportive and generative at home\, where there are usually many distractions.\nClasses are live-streamed with recordings available for a certain time.\nGroup sits with your co-retreatants are streamed to support your practice routine.\nHD cameras providing high quality streamed video.\nProfessional audio equipment providing you better sound.\n\n\nRetreat In-Person (CLOSED)\n\n\nRetreat Online\n \nAbout Clear Sky\nLocated in the BC rocky mountains\, we offer over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature. Founded by Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat\, we are home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world. \nHere are some FAQs on how to get here\, what to bring\, and what to expect.  \nTo help you get acquainted with us\, some community members made this short video during our 2019 Buddhas in Action retreat. To learn more about us and our incredible community\, click here! \n\n\n \nFAQs\nDana and In-Person Retreat Pricing \nDana: This course is offered by Doug and Catherine Sensei through the ancient principle of generosity\, or Dāna. The retreat fee covers the cost of food and accommodation\, whereas the Teachings are offered by generosity. Learn more about Dāna here. \nPricing: As a charitable organization\, we strive to provide locally sourced organic meals and comfortable accommodations at an affordable price. Fees vary depending on your accommodation choice and early bird pricing. \nArrival & Departure \nArrival is Friday\, February 4 at 4pm. We highly recommend arriving a few days earlier if you are traveling from abroad. \nDeparture is Sunday\, February 6 after dinner. \nBooking a Flight? \nAirport pickups can be booked when you register for the retreat. On the rare chance that this retreat is cancelled\, we highly recommend purchasing travel insurance. \nIn order to give enough time to rest from travel before the retreat starts\, we recommend that domestic travellers arrive one day early\, and long distance international travellers arrive two days early. \nAfter the retreat we also suggest staying for at least another day for integration. \nTravel Restrictions\, COVID-19 Policy: Please contact us – Email michelle@clearskycenter.org or (250) 429-3929 for details/options for local participation. \nCOVID-19 Policy \nOur retreats comply with current BC Covid-19 Health Orders.  Please refer to those provincial guidelines as well as the Canadian federal travel guidelines\, especially if you are planning to travel to Clear Sky Center in person. \n\nRetreat In-Person (CLOSED)\n\n\nRetreat Online URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/sadhana-practices-for-power-2022/ LOCATION:Clear Sky Meditation Center\, 3567 Cockell Road\, PO BOX 19\, Fort Steele\, British Columbia\, V0B 1NO\, Canada CATEGORIES:Group Retreats and Courses,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/GuruRimpoche.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220114 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220117 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20211119T182242Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251208T065050Z UID:13186-1642118400-1642377599@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Pārami: Practices for Freedom 2022 DESCRIPTION:Weekend Retreat | Jan 14-16 2022\nHow do you act in the world with compassion\, clarity and kindness? Discover the ‘Pārami’ or ‘Pāramitas’\, ancient qualities or ‘perfections’ that open the gateway of freedom in one’s being. \n*IMPORTANT*  \n\nDue to travel restrictions\, this retreat is available In-Person at Clear Sky or Online as a Home Retreat.\nPlease consider flight insurance when booking for this retreat. We welcome you to spend additional nights at Clear Sky\, especially if traveling from afar.\n\n\n\n\nRetreat In-Person at Clear Sky (Registration Closed)\n\n\nRetreat Online\n \nCOVID-19 RESPONSE\nOur main priority is to offer a retreat that is accessible and supports your health and safety. \nWe currently intend this retreat to be offered in person assuming the January COVID situation allows people to travel. We will keep reviewing this – if travel is not possible we will offer online alternatives. \nWhy Study the Pārami?\nThe Pārami are Practices for Freedom\nWe all have habits. Habits are comfortable! We do them every day\, usually on auto-pilot. The difficulty with habits is that we’re not present. True freedom and well-being come from the degree to which we are present in each moment. By practicing the Pārami\, or the ‘Perfections’\, we can experience new ways of engaging with the present moment that bring greater awareness and clarity. This interrupts our habits\, which tend to be self-focused and unconscious. \nWhen practiced in earnest and with curiosity\, we learn to apply the perfections in more and more situations. Over time\, our experience of them deepens and we grow into richer states of freedom. The pārami serve us well for our entire lifetime\, and beyond. \nWhat Will I Learn?\nIn this course we will study the Six Pārami of Mahayana Buddhism. \nThere are countless translations of the Paramis\, and they can be practiced in any order: \n\nGenerosity (Dāna)\nEthics (Śīla)\nPatience (Kṣānti)\nEffort (Vīrya)\nConcentration (Dhyāna)\nWisdom and Insight (Prajñā)\n\n\n \nMeet the Teacher\n \nCatherine Pawasarat Sensei\nCatherine Pawasarat Sensei is a contemporary Dharma teacher\, attendant\, consort\, co-teacher via Planet Dharma and co-founder of Clear Sky Retreat Center. \nShe has trained daily with Acariya Doug Duncan since 1998 in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life\, Catherine also draws on generative living and the arts. \nMore About Sensei | About the Lineage \nCourse Details\nTime and Location \nIt is possible to attend the course in these ways: \n\nOnline Retreat\nIn-Person Retreat at Clear Sky\n\nEach of the classes in this retreat will be held live at Clear Sky Meditation Centre. There will also be a video streamed live for online participants.   The current class schedule is as follows. \n\nFriday Jan 14th: 7pm MST\nSaturday Jan 15th: 8am MST\, 2pm MST\, 7pm MST\nSunday Jan 16th: 8am MST\, 2pm MST\n\nWe have arranged class times to be comfortable for most time zones. However we understand that some class times might occur after midnight in some regions\, so please contact us if that is the case for you\, and we will provide a recording so you can catch up on that particular class. \nWhat Does the Course Cost? \nThis course is offered based on the unique combination of 1) dāna and 2) a course/administrative fee. For online participants the Online Admin fee is $100 USD. Click here to learn more about dāna\, and see below to learn more about the admin fee. Accommodation and meal fees are separate if retreating at Clear Sky Center. \nAbout the Online Admin Fee \nIn a traditional model of in-person teachings\, a retreat center or urban meditation center invites teachers to visit. In these cases the centers have infrastructure and organization costs to cover\, which might be covered by an admin fee. For the teaching itself\, dāna to the teachers is offered in a bowl. This honors both the sustainability of the teachers\, and of the supporting center. \nWe’ve tried to recreate this approach online. The teachers’ time and the teaching themselves are offered on the basis of dāna\, separate to the admin fee. With our dāna offering we are making a direct gift of generosity to the teachers to support their teachings and livelihood. \nThe admin fee* goes to support the infrastructure and organization necessary to support them to teach. As anyone with an online business will know\, it can be surprising the costs of setting up a good infrastructure to support effective teaching and connection online. \n*We also do not wish to exclude anyone from the Teachings\, so if you are not currently in a financial position to afford the admin fee\, please contact the course Registrar via registrar@planetdharma.com so we can support you to attend. \n— \nBelow are a few of the work and benefits that your admin fee payment is supporting: \n\nhigh speed internet (to allow interviews and classes on-line)\nonline class systems (Zoom)\nregistration / admin systems (Eventbrite\, Basecamp)\ncommunication systems to keep everyone informed\, share connection details\, teachings and other resources (Mailchimp)\nonline storage (for example\, Dropbox\, to allow us to let students watch recordings\, and to store and share selected teachings in other forms such as podcasts and video later\, and Amazon cloud)\nquality sound\, video and editing equipment (both for live teachings and to provide good enough quality for later sharing as podcasts and video). We are regularly updating our equipment to improve your user experience.\nonline calendar booking system to allow students to book interviews\nwebsite hosting and maintenance for sharing upcoming courses\, teachings\, blogs and other resources.\n\nWe welcome any questions. May all our efforts be sustainable\, abundant and for the benefit of all beings!coure \n \nWhy Retreat In-Person? \nRetreating in person at a retreat center is the best way to retreat – why? \n\nYou can’t beat live interaction with the course Teachers. Being in the same space with clear beings ‘tunes’ you to more wholesome states.\nWe create a welcoming environment and follow a supportive retreat schedule\, based on decades of hosting successful retreats worldwide.\nWholesome and delicious food is provided so you don’t have to spend time cooking for yourself.\nBreath-taking and restful\, natural environment puts your body and mind at ease and resets your nervous system.\nRetreating at our center gets you out of your usual home environment and routines – they can be distracting.\nRetreating with others (your co-retreatants) is incredibly supportive and energy building.\n\nAnd\, we work hard to support the online retreat experience. \n\nWe have been delivering online offerings since 2014\, always optimizing your experience.\nYou will be provided with recommendations for making your retreat supportive and generative at home\, where there are usually many distractions.\nClasses are live-streamed with recordings available for a certain time.\nGroup sits with your co-retreatants are streamed to support your practice routine.\nHD cameras providing high quality streamed video.\nProfessional audio equipment providing you better sound.\n\n\nRetreat In-Person at Clear Sky (Registration Closed)\n\n\nRetreat Online\n \nAbout Clear Sky\nLocated in the BC rocky mountains\, we offer over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature. Founded by Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat\, we are home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world. \nHere are some FAQs on how to get here\, what to bring and what to expect.  \nTo help you get acquainted with us\, some community members made this short video during our 2019 Buddhas in Action retreat. To learn more about us and our incredible community\, click here! \n\n\n \nFAQs\nDana and In-Person Retreat Pricing \nDana: This course is offered by Catherine Sensei through the ancient principle of generosity\, or Dāna. The retreat fee covers the cost of food and accommodation\, whereas the Teachings are offered by generosity. Learn more about Dāna here. \nPricing: As a charitable organization\, we strive to provide locally sourced organic meals and comfortable accommodations at an affordable price. Fees vary depending on your accommodation choice and early bird pricing. \nCOVID-19 Policy \nA Note on Covid-19 Regulations in Canada\nOur retreats comply with current BC Covid-19 Health Orders.  Please refer to those provincial guidelines as well as the Canadian federal travel guidelines\, especially if you are planning to travel to Clear Sky Center in person. \nArrival & Departure \nArrival is Friday\, January 14 at 4pm. We highly recommend arriving a few days earlier if you are traveling from abroad. \nDeparture is Sunday\, January 16 after dinner. \nBooking a Flight? \nAirport pickups can be booked when you register for the retreat. On the rare chance that this retreat is cancelled\, we highly recommend purchasing travel insurance. \nIn order to give enough time to rest from travel before the retreat starts\, we recommend that domestic travellers arrive one day early\, and long distance international travellers arrive two days early. \nAfter the retreat we also suggest staying for at least another day for integration. \nTravel Restrictions\, COVID-19 Policy: Please contact us – Email michelle@clearskycenter.org or (250) 429-3929 for details/options for local participation. \n\nRetreat In-Person at Clear Sky (Registration Closed)\n\n\nRetreat Online URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/parami-practices-for-freedom/ CATEGORIES:Group Retreats and Courses,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/scales-1.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20220111T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20220201T203000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20211111T205753Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251208T070941Z UID:13043-1641927600-1643747400@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Beyond Coping (Online) DESCRIPTION:An Alive Mindfully Course with Maureen Smith & Dean Nicholson\nJanuary 11 – February 1\, 2022\nTuesdays at 7:00-8:30pm MDT \nClick here to see your timezone \n \nChoosing to work in the caregiving professions is a wonderful opportunity to be of service and an agent of wellness. \nThe increasing work loads and complex demands of people-focussed work have made this work more challenging.  It can be difficult to maintain our own health and wellness while navigating these pressures.  This course gives you the opportunity to connect with others who understand these challenges. \nTake this opportunity to ground and strengthen yourself while learning practical mindfulness approach for engaging with your work and personal life. \nLearn how to feel grounded\, rejuvenated and connected to the passion that brought you into the caregiving field.  Discover how to remain engaged in the work you do in a way that is generative and nurturing. Learn how to move from coping to Beyond Coping. \n\nRegister Now\n \nWe are delighted to share this course that is being offered in collaboration with our friends at Alive Mindfully. \n \nJoin with other caregivers who want to enjoy their work and no longer cope by shutting down\, numbing out or closing off.  In this course you will gain an understanding of the deeper reasons that you are both enlivened and challenged in your work.  Join us to learn simple and sustainable mindfulness tools that will help you to leverage your natural capabilities to maintain health and balance. \n \nCourse Details\nWho This Course is For: \nIf you are in a caregiving profession and you want to learn skills to be generative and nurtured in the work you do\, this four week course is designed for you. \nWhat Can I Expect?\n\nIn this course you will learn essential tools to develop Deep Mindfulness.\nYou will have the support of like minded colleagues who share similar concerns and challenges and want to stay engaged and enlivened in their work.\nYou will  learn how to recognize and overcome perspectives and habits that can keep you stuck even as you try to change and grow.\nYou will learn a specific mindfulness approach to decrease unconscious patterns and increase your ability to actively choose thoughts and behaviours that generate well-being.\n\n\n\n \nMeet your Teachers\n\n \nMaureen Smith \nA Registered Clinical Social Worker\, Maureen has been a Mental Health and Substance Use Counsellor for over 9 years and previously worked in Hospice and Palliative Care.   She is a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) facilitator and meditation teacher. \nSince 2005\, Maureen has been a resident and co-manager of the Clear Sky Retreat Center.  For over 20 years Maureen has been studying meditation and mindfulness with awakening masters Doug Duncan Sensei and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei.   Maureen gets excited finding ways to blend her spiritual and professional work life in a delicately woven tapestry.  Her life’s purpose is exploring consciousness and gaining wisdom into human nature in order to support people to grow into fully developed human beings. \nDuring her time-out relaxation moments\, Maureen enjoys gazing at the sky through leaves on tree branches\, hiking\, creating art and reading. \nDean Nicholson \nDean has a Masters in Counselling Psychology.  He is the Executive Director of East Kootenay Addiction Services Society with over 30 years clinical counselling experience in the mental health care field.  Dean’s areas of interest and expertise include depression and anxiety\, trauma\, addictions and spiritual growth.   He has supported thousands of people through individual and group therapy.   He has also conducted cutting edge research on substance use and trauma\, and has presented at national and international conferences. \nA meditation practitioner and resident at the Clear Sky Meditation Center\, Dean is a student of Doug Duncan Sensei and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei. Dean actively lives the healing practices he teaches his clients. \nIn his quieter moments Dean enjoys film and literature\, and exploring the natural history of the East Kootenay area. \n \nCourse Details\n\nLocation: Online (Zoom)\nDates: January 11 – February 1\, 2022\nTime: Tuesdays from 7-8:30pm MDT\nCost: $200 CAD\n\n\nRegister Now\n\n\nDean is a very skilled\, knowledgeable and interactive presenter. He delivered a two day introductory Counselling Skills Training for the Akisqnuk First Nation Health and Administrative staff which was very well received and beneficial to all participants.\nGerard GregoireAkisqnuk First Nation Health\nYou are never quite sure how the unknown is going to be\, but mindfulness will exceed your expectations and open your eyes to how beautiful the mind really is. Maureen’s warm personality and patience helped ease us into it\, especially for those of us in unfamiliar waters. Her delivery\, tone and pace were perfect for me to digest.\nGareth WebbCounsellor\, Youth Substance Use\nAs I mentioned I have some experience (but don’t have a structured daily practice except in times of Crisis). The wording that Maureen used was very clear and could easily be understood and added to my knowledge. Also she made it very easy to incorporate into everyday life. The second best thing was the profound peace that I felt by the end of the second day. I left feeling absolutely lovely and this state lasted the rest of the weekend. Thank you.\nAnn Morin MSW\, Invermere BC\nDean is a professional with an amazing ability to understand what I couldn’t. Dean never did the work for me and he always seems to know what to say to help guide me towards making up my own mind and figuring out my issues. Having Dean as a counsellor is like having a caring knowledgeable friend help you through hard times.\nPK URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/beyond-coping-online-2/ CATEGORIES:Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Beyond-Coping-1.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20220101T080000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20221231T170000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20200530T175040Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260310T101731Z UID:8562-1641024000-1672506000@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Small Group Coaching (Online) DESCRIPTION:Mindfulness Small Group Coaching Program with Karen McAllister \n Nourish Yourself To The Core \n Given Covid-19 and the big life-changes many of us are experiencing\, this is a perfect time to receive support in areas that may need deep care\, or are holding us back. We can use this unique time to nurture that which may be seeking our attention or which we might not have prioritized before.  \nKaren is offering live group coaching to a smaller group\, exclusively to graduates of the Integrating Mindfulness course. \n \n Register Here\n \n \n \n The Change You Seek \n \n The coaching program gives you an opportunity to work on each principle more deeply\, learn additional tools\, and benefit from the support and insights of the coach and other participants.  This will help you make deep positive changes in your life\, and create new wholesome friendships with people that are going through a similar journey.  \nWith many shifts in our life and work-styles\, changes in income and social distancing\, this is undoubtedly a time of major transition. Transitions are potent times to make big shifts in our lives. Transitions offer us openings for big changes to happen. \nWe’re limiting the group to six people so that Karen and the group can connect with each other in a real way. \n About the Program \n \nPrerequsite: completed Integrating Mindfulness\nThis course is for you if you’d like to get to focus on specific areas that are holding you back\, and regular and direct feedback from Karen and your fellow participants over an extended period.\n\nWhat you can expect: \n\nThe support to build or strengthen an alive and consistent daily spiritual or mindfulness practice\, over several months;\nLearn how to communicate in a way that let’s you be heard and express yourself in a way that’s true to yourself;\nBe able to listen to others and hear what they’re actually saying;\nHelp to mitigate fear in your system as the next wave of Covid-19 unfolds;\nA wealth of tools and practices related to each principle that you can apply at your home and work – the ultimate in self-nurturing DIY!\nPractical\, authentic advice from a coach who has extensively worked with Clear Sky’s five principles to strengthen their spiritual container;\nA safe forum to have real conversations about the issues in your life;\nAn improvement in your relationships\, your issues around money\, your time management\, and other big rocks.\n\nWhen will it run\, and what would your commitment be?\n\nThe exact starting date\, the time of the calls\, and any scheduled breaks will be agreed between the coach and participants.\nYou’ll attend two\, 90-minute live sessions per month. These will be scheduled for six months\, with an option to continue for another three months.\nYou’ll do buddy check-ins with other participants in rotation over the course;\nYou’ll do one weekend retreat near the end\, or after the program – either at Clear Sky\, at home\, or at a center of your choice.\n\nPricing\nLike Integrating Mindfulness\, we’ll also offer this program on the basis of dana or “pay-from-the-heart\,” with a minimum commitment. \nIt will be our joy to dive deeper with a small group\, sharing more directly the benefits of our own practice. We trust you’ll match our time\, energy and passion for this body of work by giving an amount of money that feels good and healthy to both you and us. \nThis program includes two monthly live coaching calls with Karen McAllister\, a supportive buddy system and other resources. We invite you to look over the following sliding scale\, starting at $175 per month: \n\n$150 per month if you are struggling financially;\n$175 per month lets Clear Sky continue to be dedicated to offering quality programs like this;\n$200 per month helps Clear Sky further develop Clear Sky programs\, resources and our community of teachers;\n$250 per month helps us supply these offerings to others\, who may not be able to afford the minimum price.\n\n \n \n \n \n Register Now\n \n Our Five Principles \n Each of Clear Sky’s five principles are an in depth study on their own\, and we have limited time to cover each in the online course.  Each principle is also a highly personal exploration that can unfold over weeks and months. \n \n Meet Your Facilitator \n \n Karen McAllister \n As Clear Sky’s Chair of the Board and Director of Business Development\, I’m passionate about teaching the much-ignored principles of nurturing the factors – like honor your space\, structure\, and communication – that create the conditions we need to wake up more in daily life. I see how I learned and embodied these principles in my different roles at Clear Sky\, as the centre went from self-starter to second-stage growth. This is what I call “the hands-on way of doing an MBA with a spiritual bottom line!” \nIn my free time\, I love travelling\, speaking Portuguese and reading history\, architecture\, and art books. \n “Karen is both knowledgeable and kind. Not only is she wise and helpful with Buddhist teachings\, but when she shares it is from the heart with incredible tenderness.” \n Kakoom \n “I am at the point now where I feel ready to apply for school\, to change direction in my career\, and better understand how my relationship with my father has created this. I have stopped hanging on to some of the past to protect the hurt\, which has made me feel more ready to move on.” \n Kyle \n \n Register Now URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/small-group-coaching/ CATEGORIES:Coaching ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/small-group-coaching.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20211217T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20211231T140000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20210311T191942Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251209T093938Z UID:9129-1639756800-1640959200@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Zen Meditation Retreat 2021 DESCRIPTION:Early Bird Ends: Nov 16th \nOnline Registration Ends: December 3rd \nIn-Person Registration Ends: December 10th \nWinter Meditation Retreat – Zen\nZen is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyana\, which is often translated as ‘absorption’.  Rigorous self-restraint\, sitting meditation practice and insight into the nature of mind are central to Zen practice. \nHistorical context \nZen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China\, where it was known as the Chán School. It later spread east to Japan and became known as Japanese Zen. \nZen emphasises direct understanding through disciplined spiritual practice and interaction with accomplished masters. In the early traditions of Chán\, there was no fixed method or formula for teaching meditation.  Instead\, instructions were used to point to the true nature of mind (Buddha-nature). \n*IMPORTANT*  \n\nDue to travel restrictions\, this retreat is available In-Person at Clear Sky or Online as a Home Retreat.\nPlease consider flight insurance when booking for this retreat. We welcome you to spend additional nights at Clear Sky\, especially if traveling from afar.\n\n\n\nRetreat In-Person at Clear Sky\n\n\nRetreat Online\n\n \nCOVID-19 RESPONSE\nOur main priority is to offer a retreat that is accessible and supports your health and safety. \nWe currently intend this retreat to be in person assuming by December the COVID situation allows people to travel. We will keep reviewing this – if travel is still not possible we will offer online alternatives. \nWhy this Retreat?\nThis winter meditation retreat focuses on Zen. Join this retreat to experience the wisdom of this direct\, ancient and powerful meditation practice. \nWhat makes the retreat topic particularly special is that Teachers Catherine Sensei and Qapel (previously know as Doug Sensei) lived in Japan for decades. Students call the teachers Sensei reflecting the strong Japanese influence of these two masters. \nQapel’s teacher\, Namgyal Rinpoche\, taught him in the Zen style\, and asked him to bring Zen teachings to the West. \nWhat will you learn?\nDhyāna is a Sanskrit word translated as training the mind or meditation\, with the purpose being to increase awareness and equanimity. You might call this “perfected mindfulness”.  This also reduces one’s  reactive and unconscious ways of living. \nThis retreat will help you realize: \n\nthat to understand the nature of mind we must make effective the effort of relaxation.\nwhen tranquility through practice is firmly established in your being\, you do not turn your back on everyday life.  On the contrary this way of being allows us to be completely available to ourselves and others in a sustainable way.\nwe are not the conscious and elective craftsperson of our thoughts and feelings. They are only phenomena which happen to us.\nthat higher consciousness must be built up in ourselves by means of a special inner effort.\n\nA woman once asked\, “Not being taken in by various things – what is it like”?\nThe Teacher replied\, “It is\, of course\, how it should be.”  \n(From ‘Radical Zen – The Sayings of Joshu’ – Translated with a commentary by Yoel Hoffmann) \n\n \nWhat Can I expect with this Retreat?\nThe Course \n\nThis meditation retreat consists of many hours of consecutive practice each day. Therefore some experience\, especially with sitting meditation\, is highly recommended.\nNOTE: If this is your first two-week retreat\, advance permission from the teachers is required\nAn open mind and heart\, and a spirit of adventure are excellent things to bring!\nIt’s human to have some apprehensions about doing something new\, meeting new people\, or going to a new place. Particularly when all three happen together. We try to make this as supportive as possible.\nThis is a silent retreat. To deepen your meditation\, we ask that participants refrain from reading\, using the internet\, phone\, or listening to music during the course.\n\nThe Location – Clear Sky Center \n\nLocated in the BC Rocky Mountains\, Clear Sky offers over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature. Founded by Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat\, the centre is home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world.\n\n\nHow to get there\, what to bring and other FAQ about Clear Sky\nOur teachings and Clear Sky operate based on the ancient tradition of dāna or generosity. As generosity is the basis upon which all spiritual practice flourishes\, we recommend that you learn more about this profound practice before you register.\n\n\n \nMeet the Teachers\n \nDoug Duncan &\nCatherine Pawasarat Sensei\nDoug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat are Dharma and meditation teachers who founded Clear Sky Meditation Centre\, BC\, Canada. Achariya Doug Duncan received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 1978\, and is a lineage holder in that teaching. Known for his direct\, humourous and compassionate engagement with students\, Doug embraces various traditions\, contemporary psychology\, and science\, to mentor all beings to a more awakened state. Catherine Pawasarat has trained daily with Acariya Doug Duncan since 1998 in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life\, Catherine also draws on generative living and the arts. With Doug she is co-founder of Clear Sky Retreat Center in the BC Rockies. \n\n\nRetreat In-Person at Clear Sky\n\n\nRetreat Online\n \nAbout Clear Sky\nLocated in the BC rocky mountains\, we offer over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature. Founded by Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat\, we are home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world. \nHere are some FAQs on how to get here\, what to bring and what to expect.  \nTo help you get acquainted with us\, some community members made this short video during our 2019 Buddhas in Action retreat. To learn more about us and our incredible community\, click here! \n\n\n \nFAQs\nDana and In-Person Retreat Pricing \nDana: This course is offered by Doug and Catherine Sensei through the ancient principle of generosity\, or Dāna. The retreat fee covers the cost of food and accommodation\, whereas the Teachings are offered by generosity. Learn more about Dāna here. \nPricing: As a charitable organization\, we strive to provide locally sourced organic meals and comfortable accommodations at an affordable price. Fees vary depending on your accommodation choice and early bird pricing. \nCOVID-19 Policy \nPlease note\, we are taking measures to keep us all healthy during this retreat\, including: \n\nYou must have experienced no symptoms associated with COVID-19 in the past 14 days and will be required to take an online assessment prior to your stay.\nYou have not travelled outside of Canada in the past 14 days.\nPhysical distancing (2m) amongst all visiting retreatants will be observed during this retreat.\nPlease bring your own face mask(s) that you will feel comfortable wearing. When physical distancing is not possible during this retreat\, you will be asked to wear a mask.\nSanitation and hand washing procedures will be explained when you come and must be followed.\n\nLearn more about our COVID-19 Policy here. \nArrival & Departure \nArrival is Friday\, December 10 at 4pm. We highly recommend arriving a few days earlier if you are traveling from abroad. \nDeparture is Saturday\, December 31st at 12:00pm. \nBooking a Flight? \nAirport pickups can be booked when you register for the retreat. On the rare chance that this retreat is cancelled\, we highly recommend purchasing travel insurance. \nIn order to give enough time to rest from travel before the retreat starts\, we recommend that domestic travellers arrive one day early\, and long distance international travellers arrive two days early. \nAfter the retreat we also suggest staying for at least another day for integration. \nTravel Restrictions\, COVID-19 Policy: Please contact us – Email michelle@clearskycenter.org or (250) 429-3929 for details/options for local participation. \n\nRetreat In-Person at Clear Sky\n\n\nRetreat Online URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/zen-meditation-retreat-2021/ CATEGORIES:Group Retreats and Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/sixteen-buddha-body.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20211028T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20211028T103000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20211021T171001Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260310T102315Z UID:12913-1635411600-1635417000@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Conscious Awakening Community - Presented by Humanity Rising DESCRIPTION:Conscious Awakening Community Panel Discussion with Clear Sky Teachers\nA Panel Discussion with the Residents of Clear Sky Meditation centerOctober 28th\, 2021 \n9am MT \nClick here to see your timezone \nA Model of Transformation and Healing For Our Times\n\n“In this post-modern world the hunger to belong has rarely been more intense\, more urgent. With many of the ancient\, traditional shelters now in ruins\, it is as if society has lost the art of fostering community.” – John O’Donohue\,Irish poet\, author\, priest\, and Hegelian philosopher.    \nCommunities come and go. What is the secret to sustaining them for 400 years and beyond? What are the aspects and components of a community that fosters human renewal\, supports the best in the human spirit\, and increases resilience to future challenges?  How does a conscious and awakening community offer a model of transformation and healing for ourselves\, our societies and our organizations? \nClear Sky is a “living lab” and training center for conscious awakening community. Home to founding teachers Qapel and Catherine Sensei\, and students\, it is a supportive space for meditation\, study\, service and liberating the shadow.  We co-create cutting edge approaches to spiritual practise community\, money and the environment. Our lineage can be traced back to the Buddha\, from teacher to student\, and with strong roots in both Vajrayana Buddhism and Western spiritual traditions.  Drawing on this legacy we are evolving new universalist forms of depth teachings that are fit to meet the global challenges we all face. \nCOVID-19 has highlighted for us how resilient our approach is proving to be.  We are practising sustainability across dimensions: spiritual\, financial\, environmental and social.  It’s working in beautiful and exciting ways.  Let us share our secret sauces\, so that it might create fresh inspirations\, thoughts\, mindforms and attitudes that you can adapt to your life and work.  \nIn this talk\, members of Clear Sky share real visceral stories and learnings on questions including: \n \nWatch the Livestream from 9am-10:30am Mountain Time\n \n Watch the LiveStream Here\n \n \n \nWhat will the panel talk about?\n  \n\n\nWhat is conscious awakening community and why does it matter? \n\n\nWhat practices can sustain us in challenging times? \n\n\nHow can the path of service and generosity help us both as a profound learning\, and as a generative model for working together? \n\n\nHow do training and mentors fit with depth transformation? \n\n\nWhat are some skillful ways to integrate the shadow around money\, sex and power? Why is this important? \n\n\nWhat kind of models can we co-create to for generative growth\, healing and community? \n\n\n  \nPresenters: \n\nCatherine Pawasarat Sensei has trained daily with Acariya Doug Qapel Duncan since 1998 in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003. With Qapel she is co-founder of Clear Sky Retreat Center in the BC Rockies\, as well as their international virtual monastery Planet Dharma.  She is also the world’s foremost English speaking expert on Japan’s Gion Matsuri Festival. \n\n  \n\nKaren McAllister is a founding member of Clear Sky. She is Director of Fund Development & Board Chair. She co-teaches Clear Sky’s Integrating Mindfulness and serves the community in helping them clean up their relationship with money. She is the founder of Mindful Money coaching and is passionate about building the bridge between spirituality and money. She believes that our current relationship with money reflects a spiritual crisis in the human race. \n\n  \n\nDuncan Cryle is a founding member of Clear Sky\,  and was Board Chair from 2008 to 2014\,. He co-teaches Clear Sky’s Integrating Mindfulness and 3 month residential intensive programs. He is a Senior Director at a global software company where he also leads a company-wide mindfulness program\, and was previously one of the pioneers of IBM’s mindfulness community.\n\n  \n\nMaureen Smith co-manages Clear Sky Retreat Center\, teaching awakening programs and meditations. She has lived in the Center’s conscious community since 2005\, and leads the Body Team\, responsible for operations\, infrastructure and care of the 310 acres in rural Canadian Rocky Mountains. \n\n  \n\nCara Conroy-Lau\, originally from New Zealand\, has been training and contributing at Clear Sky since 2007. She served as Clear Sky’s food forest and farm manager from 2009-2012\, and since moving back to the center in 2018\, now manages online course technologies.  She is a Registered Acupuncturist\, providing meditation and acupuncture services to the local community.  \n\n  \n\nAva McLean\, since 2016\, resides at Clear Sky and serving as Marketing and Community Manager. Founder of Awakening Lovers: Somatic Sex & Relationship Coaching. \n\n  \n\nRichard Nathaniel Jr. is the assistant manager of personal retreats\, and assists with training participants in Clear Sky’s Three Month Intensive Program. He moved to Clear Sky from Tokyo after graduating from Temple University Japan in November 2018.\n\nConvener:\n\n\n\nJim Garrison\, President\, Ubiquity University\n\n\n\nTo make a voluntary contribution to support the partner organizations and the Humanity Rising team\, please see our contribution form.  \nEach Zoom live webinar will have a maximum capacity of 500 participants. If you are not able to join on Zoom\, we will be live streaming here on the UbiVerse and on: \nUU Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UbiquityUniversityOnline \nUU YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/UbiquityUniversity \nAwakeTV: https://www.awaketvnetwork.live/humanity-rising-channel URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/conscious-awakening-community/ LOCATION:Clear Sky Meditation Center\, 3567 Cockell Road\, PO BOX 19\, Fort Steele\, British Columbia\, V0B 1NO\, Canada CATEGORIES:Online Courses,Special Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/humanity-rising-day-349.jpeg ORGANIZER;CN="Clear Sky Center":MAILTO:contact@clearskycenter.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20211025T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20211115T210000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20210124T010228Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251209T102732Z UID:9445-1635190200-1637010000@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Zen Online Course DESCRIPTION:Zen Online Course\nMondays: 7:30pm-9:00pm MDT\n \nOctober 25-November 15\, 2021 \n\nRecordings available \nIncludes optional Master Classes and a Home Flash Retreat  \nA Four Week Online Course| Starts October 25\, 2021\nZen-style spiritual realization enters the land of paradoxes. Have you noticed that the ego doesn’t like paradoxes?  Join us for the third online course of 2021\, on Zen. \n\n\nRegister Now\n\n \nZen – An Online Course\nSpiritual awakening consists of the embodied realization that the ego—our sense of a personal self—is overlaid on top of our direct experience of things as they are. And as such distorts our perception of reality. In fact\, with awakening we realize that the ego isn’t necessary for happiness and can often obstruct it. \nIt sounds so simple. And teachings about it fill thousands of volumes of texts. \nBut the Buddha himself tried to share with his students this very simple\, direct path that goes from ego struggle to its release\, awakening. \nHow did the Buddha describe it? He merely held up a lotus flower\, in silence. \nWhile most of the attending students waited patiently for the Buddha to begin teaching\, the arahat Mahākāśyapa smiled. He was the only one who understood that the flower was the teaching. As a result of his direct perception\, he’s considered the first patriarch of Zen. \n \nMeet the Teachers\n\n \nAchariya Doug Duncan Sensei & Catherine Pawasarat Sensei are Dharma and meditation teachers who founded Clear Sky Meditation Centre\, BC\, Canada. Achariya Doug Duncan received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 1978\, and is a lineage holder in that teaching. Known for his direct\, humourous and compassionate engagement with students\, Doug embraces various traditions\, contemporary psychology\, and science\, to mentor all beings to a more awakened state. Catherine Pawasarat has trained daily with Acariya Doug Duncan since 1998 in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life\, Catherine also draws on generative living and the arts. With Doug she is co-founder of Clear Sky Retreat Center in the BC Rockies. \n\nRegister Now\n \nCourse Schedule\nPLEASE NOTE to deepen and integrate your experience\, we are offering three optional weekly Master Classes during the course and an at-home Flash Retreat at the end. See below for more details. \n*We also highly recommend you consider participating in the full Zen Meditation Retreat in December 2021 at Clear Sky Center. \nClass One: October 25th \nClass Two: November 1st \nClass Three: November 8th \nClass Four: November 15th \n\n \nStudying Zen\, Experiencing Zen\nThe Buddha used a simple flower as a teaching of the profound nature of things as they are: so uncomplicated\, so immediate\, and so very difficult to explain. \nSo\, you might ask\, why bother explaining? Why study this? When instead we could just realize it ourselves\, like Mahākāśyapa? \nWe explain because our conventional minds are clouded by ego clinging. This often manifests as conflicting emotions and prejudicial views\, both considered forms of ignorance or confusion about reality. \nFor centuries Zen masters having been holding up flowers and students have been caught in this confusion\, asking questions like\, “What’s that flower got to do with me? Or awakening?” \nThus\, the famous saying about awakening: “With words it cannot be described\, without words it cannot be expressed.” \nYou’ve probably noted that holding up a flower doesn’t use words. \nWe can see how Zen-style spiritual realization enters the land of paradoxes. Rinzai Zen has made these famous with their ko-an mind-bending teachings. Have you noticed that the ego doesn’t like paradoxes? \nAnd spiritual awakening is the ultimate paradox\, described this way:\n“You can see it\,\nBut it is not there!” \nWe invite you to join us for these four online classes on Zen: Monday nights at 19:30 MT\, Oct 25\, Nov 1\, 8\, 15\, followed by a weekend-long flash retreat on Sat and Sun\, Nov 20 and 21. \nStudy and Meditation Electives\nMaster Classes\nThree Sundays\nThere are weekly Master Classes (akin to online Q&A Office Hours) during this online course to support your deepening learning and practice\, on the following dates at 3pm MST: \n\nSun. October 31\nSun. November 7\nSun. November 14\n\nYou can elect to attend all three or individual dates. \nRegistration & Dana links for Master Classes will be accessible to you when you register for the course. \nFlash Retreat\nNovember 19-21\, 2021\nElect to deepen your practice via a Flash Retreat during the last weekend of this course.  The retreat provides practitioners a valuable opportunity to integrate and seal the learnings from the online course\, in a format well suited for our contemporary lives. \nThe retreat will include instructions\, online check ins\, and a Master Class on Sunday\, November 21st. \nWe encourage you to attend this weekend retreat at Clear Sky Centre\, or together with your local sangha\, or if those not available to you\, in your home. \nRegistration and Dana links for the Flash Retreat will be accessible to you when you register for the course. \nSangha power – consider organizing or joining regional in-person or online sangha groups to support one another during the online courses and Flash Retreats.  \nCourse Details\nTime and Location\nEach of the four weekly classes in this online course will be video streamed live at 7:30pm MST. The recording will be available for one week after each class. \nStudy and Meditation Opportunities in addition to the classes include Master Classes on three Sundays at 3pm MST\, and a Flash Retreat on November 19-21\, 2021. \nWhat Does the Course Cost?\nWe offer this course on the basis of dāna\, as well as an admin fee of $100 (USD). The admin is to cover the costs of running these online courses – for equipment and software to provide you the teachings online. \nFor our teachings itself – You may have come across this is the form of “pay from the heart”. Dāna is a Sanskrit term meaning “generosity”. With dāna\, we give as a mutual exchange of generosity. It’s our joy to offer this course\, and we trust you’ll match our time\, energy\, and passion by giving an amount of money that feels good and healthy to both you and us. We suggest a range between $120 and $500 for this four week course. \n\n\nRegister Now URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/zen-online-course-2/ CATEGORIES:Group Retreats and Courses,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Zen-online-course.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20211005T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20211026T203000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20210805T130624Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251212T072610Z UID:11795-1633460400-1635280200@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Beyond Coping (Online and In-Person) DESCRIPTION:An Alive Mindfully Course with Maureen Smith & Dean Nicholson\nOctober 5 – 26\, 2021\nTuesdays at 7:00-8:30pm MDT \nClick here to see your timezone \n \nAs workers in the caregiving professions\, we all face the challenges of heavy work loads and increasingly complex demands. While managing the daily challenges it can be difficult to feel rejuvenated and connected to the passion you have for your work. \n\nRegister Now\n \nWe are delighted to share that this course is being offered in collaboration with our friends at Alive Mindfully. \n \nBeyond Coping gives you the opportunity to connect with others who understand the stresses of the work you do. Take this opportunity to ground and strengthen yourself while creating a new and generative passion for your work. \nIn this course you will explore the deeper reasons that you are both enlivened and challenged in your work. You will learn simple and sustainable mindfulness tools to leverage your natural capabilities developing new areas of growth. You will discover how to remain committed to the work you do in a way that is generative and nurturing. \n \nCourse Details\nWho This Course is For: \nIf you are in a caregiving profession and you want to learn skills to be generative and nurtured in the work you do\, this four week course is designed for you. \nWhat Can I Expect?\n\nIn this course you will learn essential tools to develop Deep Mindfulness.\nYou will have the support of like minded colleagues who share similar concerns and challenges and want to stay engaged and enlivened in their work.\nYou will become more aware of perspectives and habits that you keep in place even as you try to change and grow.\nYou will learn how the Freedom Tree training is your key to decreasing the unconscious reactions driving your thinking and behaviour.\n\n\n\n \nMeet your Teachers\n\n \nMaureen Smith \nA Registered Clinical Social Worker\, Maureen has been a Mental Health and Substance Use Counsellor for over 9 years and previously worked in Hospice and Palliative Care.   She is a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) facilitator and meditation teacher. \nSince 2005\, Maureen has been a resident and co-manager of the Clear Sky Retreat Center.  For over 20 years Maureen has been studying meditation and mindfulness with awakening masters Doug Duncan Sensei and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei.   Maureen gets excited finding ways to blend her spiritual and professional work life in a delicately woven tapestry.  Her life’s purpose is exploring consciousness and gaining wisdom into human nature in order to support people to grow into fully developed human beings. \nDuring her time-out relaxation moments\, Maureen enjoys gazing at the sky through leaves on tree branches\, hiking\, creating art and reading. \nDean Nicholson \nDean has a Masters in Counselling Psychology.  He is the Executive Director of East Kootenay Addiction Services Society with over 30 years clinical counselling experience in health care.  Dean has facilitated hundreds of therapy groups\, is an educator and popular speaker.   He has also conducted cutting edge research on substance use and trauma\, and has presented at national and international conferences. \nA meditation practitioner and resident at the Clear Sky Meditation Center\, Dean is a student of Doug Duncan Sensei and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei. Dean actively lives the healing practices he teaches his clients. \nFor fun Dean enjoys music\, film and literature\, and exploring the natural history of the East Kootenay area. \n \nCourse Details\n\nLocation: Online (Zoom)\nDates: October 5 – 26\, 2021\nTime: Tuesdays from 7-8:30pm MDT\nCost: $200 CAD\n\n\nRegister Now\n\n\nDean is a very skilled\, knowledgeable and interactive presenter. He delivered a two day introductory Counselling Skills Training for the Akisqnuk First Nation Health and Administrative staff which was very well received and beneficial to all participants.\nGerard GregoireAkisqnuk First Nation Health\nYou are never quite sure how the unknown is going to be\, but mindfulness will exceed your expectations and open your eyes to how beautiful the mind really is. Maureen’s warm personality and patience helped ease us into it\, especially for those of us in unfamiliar waters. Her delivery\, tone and pace were perfect for me to digest.\nGareth WebbCounsellor\, Youth Substance Use\nAs I mentioned I have some experience (but don’t have a structured daily practice except in times of Crisis). The wording that Maureen used was very clear and could easily be understood and added to my knowledge. Also she made it very easy to incorporate into everyday life. The second best thing was the profound peace that I felt by the end of the second day. I left feeling absolutely lovely and this state lasted the rest of the weekend. Thank you.\nAnn Morin MSW\, Invermere BC\nDean is a professional with an amazing ability to understand what I couldn’t. Dean never did the work for me and he always seems to know what to say to help guide me towards making up my own mind and figuring out my issues. Having Dean as a counsellor is like having a caring knowledgeable friend help you through hard times.\nPK URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/beyond-coping-online/ CATEGORIES:Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Beyond-Coping-1.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210925 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20211003 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20210806T032248Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251206T090513Z UID:12039-1632528000-1633219199@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Seven Rays of Healing with Medicine Buddha (Online + CS & Germany Residential) DESCRIPTION:Seven Rays of Healing with Medicine Buddha\n(Online Retreat / In Person At Clear Sky / Germany Residential)\n**Covid-19 Update: This retreat now has three retreat options – live at Clear Sky\, live in Germany\, or as an online retreatant \nThis retreat is an opportunity\, for any meditator\, of any level\, to go deeper to the essence of healing. Through the Seven Rays of Healing (from the Western Mysteries traditions) and sense based meditations\, discover how to experience deeper foundations of vitality and health. \n\n\nRegister Now\n \nThis retreat is a collaboration between the dedicated teams at Planet Dharma\, Dharma Europe\, and Clear Sky. \nOrganiziers Dharma Europe invited our founding teachers Doug and Catherine Sensei to teach\, and due to travel restrictions the retreat became an online offering\, streaming live from Clear Sky. \nYou can also attend in person at Clear Sky or do a residential retreat in Germany\, please see below for more information. \n** See our FAQ section below for more details about our covid policy and requirements for attending online. \nSeven Rays of Healing with Medicine Buddha\nHow can we heal? How can we feel healthy and whole? \nEvery wisdom tradition around the world holds that true healing comes through an understanding of the nature of reality. Part of this entails learning to discern between—and dance together with—both absolute reality and relative reality. \nThe true challenge of a human life is to be able to live\, work\, love\, and dance in both relative and absolute reality at the same time. One or the other takes the foreground or background as appropriate. The system of the Seven Rays of Healing helps us understand the true nature of relative reality\, while bridging to absolute reality. Then we are ready to experience absolute reality\, primarily through the methodology of meditation. \nWhat Are The Seven Rays of Healing?\nThe Seven Rays of Healing use the chakra system of ancient India combined with aspects of Theosophical philosophy. This system helps us understand the different ways we manifest in the world. Moreover\, it helps us learn how to reorient our approach and engagement with the parts of our lives represented by the seven rays\, to embody greater love\, compassion and understanding. In other words\, it helps us learn to realize our spiritual essence. \nUsing meditation\, creative\, and somatic exercises\, we’ll bring relative and absolute realities together within one’s own being\, to manifest the heart and mind of spiritual realization. \nMedicine Buddha Empowerment\nOn the last day of the retreat\, there will also be a special Medicine Buddha empowerment given. According to Mahayana teachings\, the Medicine Buddha cures all diseases\, including those of ignorance. Its function is to free living beings from the three mental poisons\, hatred\, greed and confusion. \nThis is your opportunity to meet and study with Dharma Teachers and Spiritual Mentors\, Qapel and Sensei. \nThis retreat will be held in the heart of Germany\, in Schannenbach\, 60km from Frankfurt and Heidelburg\, as well at our magnificent Clear Sky Retreat Centre\, Canada and Online. \n\n\n\n \nAttend the Retreat Online (from home)\, or in Person in Canada or in Germany\n1) Online Attendance\n        Basic requirements to do the retreat online from home:\n\nBlock out the 8 days and be focused on the retreat for this entire period\, using this time and participating in the retreat as if you were at Clear Sky in person.  This includes a rigorous\, full\, daily meditation schedule.\nParticipate in all of the daily classes and group practices via online streaming.\nSet up a quiet space or location where you can focus on the Meditation Retreat\, and not need to engage in conversation or work with others.\nPut away your phone\, digital devices and other distractions.\nIf there are enough people in the same time zone as you\, you could also make a cohort to meet to do a group practice throughout the retreat.\n\n2) Residential Retreat in the UK\n        Attending in person at Maitreya House\n\nThe retreat in Germany will be held at a lovely place called “Haus Sonnentau” which means “House Sundew”\nThere will be appropriate Covid 19 protocols followed on this retreat.\nThe retreat is hosted by Dharma Europe.\nThe teachers and Dharma Europe operate on the basis of the ancient tradition of dāna or generosity. Please learn more about this profound practice before you register.\n\nTo register for the in person retreat in Germany please email Andrea Netscher at andreaomtare@me.com. \n3) In Person at Clear Sky\nIf you are local to Clear Sky in BC\, Canada you may also choose to be onsite in person\, where the teachers are.  We invite you to book a personal retreat cabin for the duration of the retreat. \nIf you are interested to join this retreat in person at Clear Sky Centre\, Click here to contact Michelle or call 1-250-505-6366 \n \nMeet the Teachers\n \nAchariya Doug Duncan Sensei & Catherine Pawasarat Sensei are Dharma and meditation teachers who founded Clear Sky Meditation Centre\, BC\, Canada. \nAchariya Doug Duncan received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 1978\, and is a lineage holder in that teaching. Known for his direct\, humourous and compassionate engagement with students\, Doug embraces various traditions\, contemporary psychology\, and science\, to mentor all beings to a more awakened state. \nCatherine Pawasarat Sensei has trained daily with Achariya Doug Duncan since 1998 in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life\, Catherine also draws on generative living and the arts. With Doug she is co-founder of Clear Sky Retreat Center in the BC Rockies. \n\nRegister Now\n \nWhat can I expect?\nCourse Details\nDāna\nThis course is offered by Qapel & Sensei based on the ancient principle of generosity\, or Dāna. You may have come across this is the form of “pay from the heart”. Dāna is a Sanskrit term meaning “generosity”. With dāna\, we give as a mutual exchange of generosity. It’s their joy to offer this course\, and we trust you’ll match their time\, energy\, and passion by giving an amount of money that feels good and healthy. \nDaily Schedule\n\nDaily Class & Teachings: 5pm in Germany\, 9am MST\nMeditation (Q&A) : 10.00pm in Germany\, 2.00pm MST\n\nFees\n\nOnline Retreatant Admin Fee: CA$200 (approx € 135)\nGermany Residential Fee: €695 (includes Food\, Accommodation & technical support).\nClear Sky Residential Fees (Incl. Food & Accomodation – please contact Clear Sky via the registration button below.\n\nTeachers receive no income from these administration fees. They offer their teaching on the basis of generosity\, or Dāna\, which you will have an opportunity to give when you register. \n\n\n \nAbout Clear Sky\nLocated in the BC rocky mountains\, we offer over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature. Founded by Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat\, we are home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world. \nTo help you get acquainted with us\, some community members made this short video during our 2019 Buddhas in Action retreat. To learn more about us and our incredible community\, click here! \n\n\n \nFAQs\nDana and Online Retreat Pricing \nDana: This course is offered by Doug and Catherine Sensei through the ancient principle of generosity\, or Dāna. Learn more about Dāna here. \nPricing: \n\nOnline Retreatant Admin Fee: CA$200 (approx € 135)\nGermany Residential Fee: €695 (includes Food\, Accommodation & technical support).\nClear Sky Residential Fees (Incl. Food & Accomodation – please contact Clear Sky via the registration button below.\n\nTeachers receive no income from these administration fees. They offer their teaching on the basis of generosity\, or Dāna\, which you will have an opportunity to give when you register. \nHow Much to Give? A short exercise: \n\nTake a few quiet breaths and center yourself.\nSpend another few moments contacting as best you can a sense of health\, strength and abundance (noticing without judgement if this is hard to contact)\nOffer an aspiration (using the below\, or your own words).May this practice of dāna open up a space inside me to learn and receive.\nMay this gift support the teachers and teachings for the benefit of many other people.\nMay this gift directly support my own awakening through a strong dāna practice.\nThis gift\, myself the giver\, and the teachers are all impermanent – with this in mind I give lightly and generously\, for the benefit of all beings!\nNow check with your heart and mind what amount feels both consistent with your situation\, and expressive of your aspiration. Remember\, you are free to offer whatever amount of dāna feels good for you right now.\nNow simply\, with a joyful abundant heart aspiring for awakening\, and awareness of the preciousness and impermanence of life\, enter the amount you choose to offer.\n\nAbout the administrative fee \nIn a traditional model of in-person teachings\, a retreat center or urban meditation center invites teachers to visit. In these cases the centers have infrastructure and organization costs to cover\, which might be covered by an admin fee. For the teaching itself\, dāna to the teachers is offered in a bowl. This honors both the sustainability of the teachers\, and of the supporting center. \nWe’ve tried to recreate this approach online.\nThe teachers’ time and the teaching themselves are offered on the basis of dāna\, separate to the admin fee. With our dāna offering we are making a direct gift of generosity to the teachers to support their teachings and livelihood. Learn more about the practice of dāna here. \nThe admin fee goes to support the infrastructure and organization necessary to support them to teach. As anyone with an online business will know\, it can be surprising the costs of setting up a good infrastructure to support effective teaching and connection online. \nBelow are a few of the work and benefits that your admin fee payment is supporting: \n\nhigh speed internet (to allow interviews and classes on-line)\nonline class systems (Zoom)\nregistration / admin systems (Eventbrite\, Basecamp)\ncommunication systems to keep everyone informed\, share connection details\, teachings and other resources (Mailchimp)\nonline storage (for example\, Dropbox\, to allow us to let students watch recordings\, and to store and share selected teachings in other forms such as podcasts and video later\, and Amazon cloud)\nquality sound\, video and editing equipment (both for live teachings and to provide good enough quality for later sharing as podcasts and video). We are regularly updating our equipment to improve your user experience.\nonline calendar booking system to allow students to book interviews\nwebsite hosting and maintenance for sharing upcoming courses\, teachings\, blogs and other resources.\n\nMay all our efforts be sustainable\, abundant and for the benefit of all beings! \nWe welcome any questions. Please feel free to contact michelle@clearskycenter.org \nOnline Retreat Requirements \nIf you are taking this retreat online\, we require that you devote your full attention to the retreat for the entire two weeks. \nOnline Retreat Requirements: \n\nBlock out the full period of retreat and be focused on the retreat for this entire time\, participating in the retreat as if you were at Clear Sky in person.  This includes a rigorous\, full\, daily meditation schedule.\nParticipate in all of the daily classes and group practices via online streaming.\nSet up a quiet space or location where you can focus on the Meditation Retreat\, and not need to engage in conversation or work with others.\nPut away your phone\, digital devices and other distractions.\nIf there are enough people in the same time zone as you\, you could also make a cohort to meet to do a group practice throughout the retreat.\n\nCOVID-19 Policy \nPlease note\, we are taking measures to keep us all healthy during this retreat\, including: \n\nYou must have experienced no symptoms associated with COVID-19 in the past 14 days and will be required to take an online assessment prior to your stay.\nYou have not travelled outside of Canada in the past 14 days.\nPhysical distancing (2m) amongst all visiting retreatants will be observed during this retreat.\nPlease bring your own face mask(s) that you will feel comfortable wearing. When physical distancing is not possible during this retreat\, you will be asked to wear a mask.\nSanitation and hand washing procedures will be explained when you come and must be followed.\n\nLearn more about our COVID-19 Policy here. \nBooking a Flight? \nAirport pickups can be booked when you register for the retreat. On the rare chance that this retreat is cancelled\, we highly recommend purchasing travel insurance. \nIn order to give enough time to rest from travel before the retreat starts\, we recommend that domestic travellers arrive one day early\, and long distance international travellers arrive two days early. \nAfter the retreat we also suggest staying for at least another day for integration. \nTravel Restrictions\, COVID-19 Policy: Please contact us – Email michelle@clearskycenter.org or (250) 429-3929 for details/options for local participation. \n\nRegister Now URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/seven-ray-of-healing/ LOCATION:Clear Sky Meditation Center\, 3567 Cockell Road\, PO BOX 19\, Fort Steele\, British Columbia\, V0B 1NO\, Canada CATEGORIES:Group Retreats and Courses,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Seven-Rays-of-Healing-Feature.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Clear Sky Center":MAILTO:contact@clearskycenter.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20210918T133000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20210918T163000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20220305T235441Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251212T073443Z UID:14886-1631971800-1631982600@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Come to your Senses: A Day to Practice Deep Mindfulness DESCRIPTION:A Clear Sky Course with Maureen Smith & Dean Nicholson\nMay 14\, 2022\n1:30pm-4:30pm MDT \nClick here to see your timezone \n \nLife is busy.  Every day you face demands from work\, family\, finances\, health.  While navigating through life’s daily challenges it can be difficult to pause and take a breath\, to smell the roses\, to rest in the moment.  Join us live and in-person at the Clear Sky Meditation Center to reset. \n\nRegister Now\n \nWe are delighted to share this course that is being offered in collaboration with our friends at Alive Mindfully. \n \nWhether you work in the healthcare field or the business world.\nWhether you are self-employed or work in a large organization.\nWhether you are part of a family or are living alone.\nIf you want to learn skills to feel calm and focused at work and at home\, this 3 hour in-person retreat is for you.  Taking place at the beautiful Clear Sky Meditation Center\, you will learn how to release tension in your system and develop calm through focused concentration on the body’s five senses.\n \nCourse Details\nWhat you can expect\nIn this course you will:\n\n\nLearn ancient and effective meditation practices that use the senses of taste\, touch\, sight and sound.  These are simple practices you can use anywhere to tune into your senses and develop Deep Mindfulness.\n\n\nBe with others who share similar concerns and challenges and who want to learn how to stay centered within themselves.\n\n\nBecome more aware of how to maintain health and wellbeing in yourself regardless of where you are or what you’re doing.\n\n\n\n\n \nMeet your Teachers\n\n \nMaureen Smith\nA Registered Clinical Social Worker\, Maureen has been a Mental Health and Substance Use Counsellor for over 9 years and previously worked in Hospice and Palliative Care.   She is a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) facilitator and meditation teacher. \nSince 2005\, Maureen has been a resident and co-manager of the Clear Sky Retreat Center.  For over 20 years Maureen has been studying meditation and mindfulness with awakening masters Doug Duncan Sensei and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei.   Maureen gets excited finding ways to blend her spiritual and professional work life in a delicately woven tapestry.  Her life’s purpose is exploring consciousness and gaining wisdom into human nature in order to support people to grow into fully developed human beings. \nDuring her time-out relaxation moments\, Maureen enjoys gazing at the sky through leaves on tree branches\, hiking\, creating art and reading. \nDean Nicholson \nDean has a Masters in Counselling Psychology.  He is the Executive Director of East Kootenay Addiction Services Society with over 30 years clinical counselling experience in health care.  Dean has facilitated hundreds of therapy groups\, is an educator and popular speaker.   He has also conducted cutting edge research on substance use and trauma\, and has presented at national and international conferences. \nA meditation practitioner and resident at the Clear Sky Meditation Center\, Dean is a student of Doug Duncan Sensei and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei. Dean actively lives the healing practices he teaches his clients. \nFor fun Dean enjoys music\, film and literature\, and exploring the natural history of the East Kootenay area. \n \nCourse Details\n\nLocation: Clear Sky Meditation Center\nDate: May 14\, 2022\nTime: 1:30pm -4:30pm MT\nCost: $50 CAD\n\n\nRegister Now\n\n\nDean is a very skilled\, knowledgeable and interactive presenter. He delivered a two day introductory Counselling Skills Training for the Akisqnuk First Nation Health and Administrative staff which was very well received and beneficial to all participants.\nGerard GregoireAkisqnuk First Nation Health\nYou are never quite sure how the unknown is going to be\, but mindfulness will exceed your expectations and open your eyes to how beautiful the mind really is. Maureen’s warm personality and patience helped ease us into it\, especially for those of us in unfamiliar waters. Her delivery\, tone and pace were perfect for me to digest.\nGareth WebbCounsellor\, Youth Substance Use\nAs I mentioned I have some experience (but don’t have a structured daily practice except in times of Crisis). The wording that Maureen used was very clear and could easily be understood and added to my knowledge. Also she made it very easy to incorporate into everyday life. The second best thing was the profound peace that I felt by the end of the second day. I left feeling absolutely lovely and this state lasted the rest of the weekend. Thank you.\nAnn Morin MSW\, Invermere BC\nDean is a professional with an amazing ability to understand what I couldn’t. Dean never did the work for me and he always seems to know what to say to help guide me towards making up my own mind and figuring out my issues. Having Dean as a counsellor is like having a caring knowledgeable friend help you through hard times.\nPK\nI appreciated the longer meditations in all the senses.\nAlthough I have been engaged in guided meditations fairly consistently for 2 years plus; having your support really helped me to ‘stretch out’.\nDoug P. URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/come-to-your-senses-a-day-to-practice-deep-mindfulness-2/ LOCATION:Clear Sky Meditation Center\, 3567 Cockell Road\, PO BOX 19\, Fort Steele\, British Columbia\, V0B 1NO\, Canada CATEGORIES:Group Retreats and Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Come-to-Your-Senses-Crystal-Ball.jpeg ORGANIZER;CN="Alive Mindfully":MAILTO:dean@alivemindfully.ca END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20210911T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20211016T120000 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20210725T234655Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251209T100257Z UID:11727-1631354400-1634385600@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Integrating Mindfulness: Tools for Holistic Living (Online or In-Person) DESCRIPTION:A Six-Week Course (Online or In-Person at Clear Sky)September 11 – October 16\, 2021Saturdays: 10:00am-12:00pm MDT *Click here to see your timezone Recordings available for those who cannot attend live \n Register Now \nThere may have been a time when mindfulness apps\, guided meditations or regular yoga classes were relaxing. Yet for many\, those are not enough anymore.     \nWith all that’s happening in the world\, how do we collectively come up for air?   \nThis course is for those who feel exhausted\, distracted or disconnected; those who want to find meaning and embrace their life fully.  It is to help integrate and apply mindfulness in your life\, for your own sustainability and happiness.  To be able to be of better service to those around you and to our planet.   \nNOTE: This course can be attended online or in-person at Clear Sky. \n \nNavigating the complexities of today’s world requires more than just feeling good at a yoga class or in a meditation retreat. \nIn order to maintain a sense of purpose and connection\, we have to learn how to embody mindfulness while spending eight hours on the computer\, while thinking about our planet’s future or while navigating the pressures of daily life.  \nIntegrating Mindfulness helps you apply the power of awareness to your life\, and to cultivate a supportive container for personal sustainability.  Then you can live the change you wish to see. \n Register Now \nMindfulness\, Integrated\nBy mindfulness\, we mean the natural power of awareness we all have\, and the approaches that help us cultivate this in daily life. \nMindfulness helps to slow down racing thoughts\, distractions and negative emotions.  Becoming more present and aware is like turning on a light so we can see better.  And when we really start seeing what is happening in our bodies\, emotions\, minds\, relationships and environment\, we have the freedom to make transformative change. \nFlourishing in our distracted and difficult world relies on bringing awareness to the people and things that nourish us\, letting go of what doesn’t\, and creating a container to protect our happiness and life-energy. \nThis course helps with: \n\nStrengthening your mindfulness or meditation practice;\nApplying the power of awareness to:\n\nExperience more calm and clarity;\nDevelop a supportive environment\, and healthy consciously-chosen structures and routines in your daily life;\nBring awareness and transformative change to big areas of your life that may be draining energy – concerns about your future\, money\, time management\, etc;\nCultivate more meaningful conversations and connections in your relationships and community.\n\n\nIntegrating mindfulness into your life to create supportive structures that help you stay balanced\, protect your happiness and support your year-round growth. \n\nBased on Clear Sky’s Five Principles\, Integrating Mindfulness helps you build a sustainable meditation practice that permeates your body\, career\, relationships and all other areas of your life.  \nYou can learn more about our Five Principles here and get our free pdf overview by clicking the link below. \n Get the pdf now – Five Principles of a Mindful Container \n\n“Mindfulness is like turning on a light in a dark room. The power of awareness lets us see what is there – in our bodies\, emotions\, mind\, workplaces\, homes and relationships. Seeing what is there gives us the freedom and the courage to make deeply impactful changes. I’ve found it helps craft our lives\, environment and structures in a way that deeply supports connection and growth”. \nDuncan Cryle\n\nCourse Outline\nUsing the Five Principles\, Integrating Mindfulness teaches you how to apply mindfulness across all areas of your life\, and to create an environment that supports you physically\, mentally and emotionally. The course includes meditations\, exercises and community check-ins. \nWeek 1: Creating a supportive space for your growth; \nWeek 2: Transforming habit and making friends with structure; \nWeek 3: Quieting the monkey mind; \nWeek 4: Cleaning up big areas of your life frees up energy; \nWeek 5: The power of mindfulness for real and lasting change; \nWeek 6: Community and transforming our relationships with others. \n \n\n“Deep transformational growth is really supported by having a container\, a supportive structure around us. I feel like we’re so disembodied today in our technological culture that this is my little kindness to myself in saying ‘hello body\, you’re part of my day.'” \nKaren McAllister\n\nMeet the Teachers\n \nKaren McAllister\nAs Clear Sky’s Chair of the Board and Director of Business Development\, I’m passionate about teaching the much-ignored principles of nurturing the factors – like honor your space\, structure\, and communication – that create the conditions we need to wake up more in daily life. I see how I learned and embodied these principles in my different roles at Clear Sky as the center went from self-starter to second-stage growth. This is what I call “the hands-on way of doing an MBA with a spiritual bottom line!” \nIn my free time\, I love travelling\, speaking Portuguese and reading history\, architecture and art books. \nDuncan Cryle\nThrough 30+ years of personal practice and 15+ teaching meditation and mindfulness\, alongside an active career working all over the world\, I’ve learnt a lot about an integrating mindfulness into daily life.  As a founding member of Clear Sky in 2004\, I’m amazed at the power of a beautiful\, natural and dedicated space for supporting people to deepen their meditation and feel more connected.  Alongside. my Clear Sky work\, I hold a director position at a large software company where I also run a volunteer global mindfulness program to 1000s employees.  I was formerly one of the pioneers of IBM’s mindfulness movement.  I’m passionate about how mindfulness-based approaches can transform how we live and work together\, and be of better service in the world. \n Register Now \nWhat Previous Students Are Saying\n \n\n“I think this course is a beautiful\, utterly grounded and relevant way of making the spiritual life very real and integrated with how we are living every day of our lives. It lays an important foundation for a meditation practice that can actually go somewhere and lead to a well-rounded and truly fulfilling life.” \nRuth – Embodied in Motion\n\n \n\n“It’s really\, really brought me back home to myself. I found myself in the past very scattered and would put off all the important things\, the spiritual aspects of life\, the mindfulness and so on\, just to blast through my day and get things done\, but now I am really taking pause. I still don’t get everything done\, but I don’t get everything done in a much more calm and soulful way.” \nEmmanuel – ActionAid Brasil\n\nCourse Cost\n \nWe offer this course on the basis of dāna.  If you’re not familiar with dāna\, you may have come across related approaches such as “pay from the heart.” \nWithin this model\, we are offering this course on a sliding scale from $120-360 CAD. \nDāna is a Sanskrit term that translates as “generosity” in English. The practice of generosity is central to spiritual unfoldment\, whatever path you follow. In our own Buddhist lineage\, teachings have always been given on the basis of dāna\, and we are committed to this practice and its development in the West. \nDāna is a radical and – we believe – viable economic alternative to capitalism. We all know there must be something better than capitalism or its hungry cousin\, consumerism. We maintain that\, together\, we can offer a financial model that is based in life-affirming mutual support. Please join us in co-creating this promising economic alternative. \n \n \nTo help you choose an amount that feels right for you\, we recommend this heart-based exercise from our friends at Planet Dharma.  \nIt’s our joy to offer this course\, and we trust you’ll match our time\, energy\, and passion by giving an amount of money that feels good and healthy to both you and us. \n Register Now [wufoo username=”5principles” formhash=”ze64plr0w2w6oi” autoresize=”true” height=”786″ header=”show” ssl=”true”] URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/integrating-mindfulness-tools-for-holistic-living-online/ LOCATION:Online CATEGORIES:Coaching,Group Retreats and Courses,Integrating Mindfulness,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Integrating-Mindfulness-Feature.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Clear Sky Center":MAILTO:contact@clearskycenter.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210821 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210901 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20210702T232120Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251209T094422Z UID:11330-1629504000-1630454399@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Dzogchen Meditation Retreat: Online DESCRIPTION:Opening to the Clear Light of the Mind\n(Online Retreat / In Person At Clear Sky / UK Residential)\nBeneath the confusion and distraction of our minds\, the Mind itself is empty\, spontaneous\, and compassionate. The practice of Dzogchen helps us cut right through the confusion to this original\, pure\, and luminous nature of Mind. \nThis retreat\, with meditation masters Acharya Doug Duncan And Catherine Pawasarat Sensei\, is for any meditator looking to go deeper to the essence of practice. \n\n\nRetreat at Home (Online)\n \nThis retreat is a collaboration between the dedicated teams at Planet Dharma\, Dharma Europe\, and Clear Sky. \nOrganiziers Dharma Europe invited our founding teachers Doug and Catherine Sensei to teach\, and due to travel restrictions the retreat became an online offering\, streaming live from Clear Sky. \nYou can also attend in person at Clear Sky and do a residential retreat in the UK\, please see below for more information. \n** See our FAQ section below for more details about our covid policy and requirements for attending online. \nDzogchen –\nThe Natural State\nThe direct teachings of Dzogchen offer a refreshing clarity amidst the confusion of our times\, when a myriad of teachings and techniques surround us. \nThe Core Texts\n\n Three Words that Strike the Vital Point offer one of the principal teachings of the practice of Dzogchen\, the Great Perfection.\nPatrul Rinpoche’s Special Teaching of the Wise and Glorious King\, with commentary\, is treasured as one of the most crucial instructions in the practice of Dzogchen. It’s pith teachings give simple yet deeply profound guidance on directly recognizing the mind’s innate purity and clarity\nFrom daily life to Dzogchen can be a sudden step\, so as well as the teachings of the Three Words\, the Teachers will draw on another key text: the ‘Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness\,’ a treatise by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamsto Rinpoche\, to help gain a deeper understanding.\n\nWhy do a Retreat on Dzogchen?\nRelaxing the mind\, dropping words\, the practice leads us towards an experience of profound openness. New perspectives can arise from this place of clarity and origin. We gain confidence\, founded on our own direct experience that wisdom and compassion are possible\, and in fact an inherent part of our nature. \nAs we learn to rest more and more in this inherent nature of mind\, we bring this experience of openness into every moment\, transforming how we live and act. \nDrawing on decades of personal practice and teaching experience\, Acharya Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei will lead you with practical experiential exercises and humour\, and explore the nature of Mind beyond the surface confusions. \n\n \nAttend the Retreat Online (from home)\, or in Person in Canada or in the UK\n1) Online Attendance\n        Basic requirements to do the retreat online from home:\n\nBlock out the 10 days and be focused on the retreat for this entire period\, using this time and participating in the retreat as if you were at Clear Sky in person.  This includes a rigorous\, full\, daily meditation schedule.\nParticipate in all of the daily classes and group practices via online streaming.\nSet up a quiet space or location where you can focus on the Meditation Retreat\, and not need to engage in conversation or work with others.\nPut away your phone\, digital devices and other distractions.\nIf there are enough people in the same time zone as you\, you could also make a cohort to meet to do a group practice throughout the retreat.\n\n2) Residential Retreat in the UK\n        Attending in person at Maitreya House\n\nMaitreya House is a beautiful retreat centre located in the golden valley\, a remote part of Herefordshire\, near the Welsh border in the United Kingdom.\nLearn more about the retreat location: Maitreya House.\nThere will be appropriate Covid 19 protocols followed on this retreat – with numbers limited to 12 people at Maitreya House.\nThe retreat is hosted by Dharma Europe.\nThe teachers and Dharma Europe operate on the basis of the ancient tradition of dāna or generosity. Please learn more about this profound practice before you register.\n\nFor UK and general enquiries contact Jonathan Clifford\,\ndharmaeurope@outlook.com +44 7891 621865 \n3) In Person at Clear Sky\nIf you are local to Clear Sky in BC\, Canada you may also choose to be onsite in person\, where the teachers are.  We invite you to book a personal retreat cabin for the duration of the retreat.  See here for details.  Or contact us the Clear Sky team to discuss other options. \n \nMeet the Teachers\n \nAchariya Doug Duncan Sensei & Catherine Pawasarat Sensei are Dharma and meditation teachers who founded Clear Sky Meditation Centre\, BC\, Canada. \nAchariya Doug Duncan received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 1978\, and is a lineage holder in that teaching. Known for his direct\, humourous and compassionate engagement with students\, Doug embraces various traditions\, contemporary psychology\, and science\, to mentor all beings to a more awakened state. \nCatherine Pawasarat Sensei has trained daily with Achariya Doug Duncan since 1998 in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life\, Catherine also draws on generative living and the arts. With Doug she is co-founder of Clear Sky Retreat Center in the BC Rockies. \n\nRetreat at Home (Online)\n \nWhat can I expect?\nOur teachings and Clear Sky operate based on the ancient tradition of Dāna or generosity. As generosity is the basis upon which all spiritual practice flourishes\, we recommend that you learn more about this profound practice before you register. \nWhat’s Expected of Me?\n\nThis meditation retreat consists of many hours of consecutive practice each day. Therefore some experience\, especially with insight meditation\, is highly recommended.\nAn open mind and heart\, and a spirit of adventure are excellent things to bring!\nIt’s human to have some apprehensions about doing something new.  We try to make this as supportive as possible.\nThis is a silent retreat. To deepen your meditation\, we ask that participants refrain from reading\, using the internet\, phone or listening to music during the course.\n\n\n \nAbout Clear Sky\nLocated in the BC rocky mountains\, we offer over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature. Founded by Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat\, we are home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world. \nTo help you get acquainted with us\, some community members made this short video during our 2019 Buddhas in Action retreat. To learn more about us and our incredible community\, click here! \n\n\n \nFAQs\nDana and Online Retreat Pricing \nDana: This course is offered by Doug and Catherine Sensei through the ancient principle of generosity\, or Dāna. Learn more about Dāna here. \nPricing: \n\nOnline Retreatant Admin Fee: CA$250\nUK Residential Admin Fee CA$250 (Approx £150) plus\nUK  Residential Fees £550 (Inc. Food & Accommodation)\n\nTeachers receive no income from these administration fees. They offer their teaching on the basis of generosity\, or Dāna\, which you will have an opportunity to give when you register. \nHow Much to Give? A short exercise: \n\nTake a few quiet breaths and center yourself.\nSpend another few moments contacting as best you can a sense of health\, strength and abundance (noticing without judgement if this is hard to contact)\nOffer an aspiration (using the below\, or your own words).May this practice of dāna open up a space inside me to learn and receive.\nMay this gift support the teachers and teachings for the benefit of many other people.\nMay this gift directly support my own awakening through a strong dāna practice.\nThis gift\, myself the giver\, and the teachers are all impermanent – with this in mind I give lightly and generously\, for the benefit of all beings!\nNow check with your heart and mind what amount feels both consistent with your situation\, and expressive of your aspiration. Remember\, you are free to offer whatever amount of dāna feels good for you right now.\nNow simply\, with a joyful abundant heart aspiring for awakening\, and awareness of the preciousness and impermanence of life\, enter the amount you choose to offer.\n\nAbout the administrative fee \nIn a traditional model of in-person teachings\, a retreat center or urban meditation center invites teachers to visit. In these cases the centers have infrastructure and organization costs to cover\, which might be covered by an admin fee. For the teaching itself\, dāna to the teachers is offered in a bowl. This honors both the sustainability of the teachers\, and of the supporting center. \nWe’ve tried to recreate this approach online.\nThe teachers’ time and the teaching themselves are offered on the basis of dāna\, separate to the admin fee. With our dāna offering we are making a direct gift of generosity to the teachers to support their teachings and livelihood. Learn more about the practice of dāna here. \nThe admin fee goes to support the infrastructure and organization necessary to support them to teach. As anyone with an online business will know\, it can be surprising the costs of setting up a good infrastructure to support effective teaching and connection online. \nBelow are a few of the work and benefits that your admin fee payment is supporting: \n\nhigh speed internet (to allow interviews and classes on-line)\nonline class systems (Zoom)\nregistration / admin systems (Eventbrite\, Basecamp)\ncommunication systems to keep everyone informed\, share connection details\, teachings and other resources (Mailchimp)\nonline storage (for example\, Dropbox\, to allow us to let students watch recordings\, and to store and share selected teachings in other forms such as podcasts and video later\, and Amazon cloud)\nquality sound\, video and editing equipment (both for live teachings and to provide good enough quality for later sharing as podcasts and video). We are regularly updating our equipment to improve your user experience.\nonline calendar booking system to allow students to book interviews\nwebsite hosting and maintenance for sharing upcoming courses\, teachings\, blogs and other resources.\n\nMay all our efforts be sustainable\, abundant and for the benefit of all beings! \nWe welcome any questions. Please feel free to contact michelle@clearskycenter.org \nOnline Retreat Requirements \nIf you are taking this retreat online\, we require that you devote your full attention to the retreat for the entire two weeks. \nOnline Retreat Requirements: \n\nBlock out the full period of retreat and be focused on the retreat for this entire time\, participating in the retreat as if you were at Clear Sky in person.  This includes a rigorous\, full\, daily meditation schedule.\nParticipate in all of the daily classes and group practices via online streaming.\nSet up a quiet space or location where you can focus on the Meditation Retreat\, and not need to engage in conversation or work with others.\nPut away your phone\, digital devices and other distractions.\nIf there are enough people in the same time zone as you\, you could also make a cohort to meet to do a group practice throughout the retreat.\n\nCOVID-19 Policy \nPlease note\, we are taking measures to keep us all healthy during this retreat\, including: \n\nYou must have experienced no symptoms associated with COVID-19 in the past 14 days and will be required to take an online assessment prior to your stay.\nYou have not travelled outside of Canada in the past 14 days.\nPhysical distancing (2m) amongst all visiting retreatants will be observed during this retreat.\nPlease bring your own face mask(s) that you will feel comfortable wearing. When physical distancing is not possible during this retreat\, you will be asked to wear a mask.\nSanitation and hand washing procedures will be explained when you come and must be followed.\n\nLearn more about our COVID-19 Policy here. \nBooking a Flight? \nAirport pickups can be booked when you register for the retreat. On the rare chance that this retreat is cancelled\, we highly recommend purchasing travel insurance. \nIn order to give enough time to rest from travel before the retreat starts\, we recommend that domestic travellers arrive one day early\, and long distance international travellers arrive two days early. \nAfter the retreat we also suggest staying for at least another day for integration. \nTravel Restrictions\, COVID-19 Policy: Please contact us – Email michelle@clearskycenter.org or (250) 429-3929 for details/options for local participation. \n\nRetreat at Home (Online) URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/dzogchen-meditation-retreat-aug-2021/ LOCATION:Clear Sky Meditation Center\, 3567 Cockell Road\, PO BOX 19\, Fort Steele\, British Columbia\, V0B 1NO\, Canada CATEGORIES:Group Retreats and Courses,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-Events-Square-Graphics.jpeg ORGANIZER;CN="Clear Sky Center":MAILTO:contact@clearskycenter.org END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210813 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210816 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20210123T185007Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251209T085656Z UID:9227-1628812800-1629071999@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Clear Sky's Sweet 16 & Tantric Empowerments DESCRIPTION:Celebration & Tantric Empowerments\nThree Vajrayana Empowerments\nIt’s time to pull off our masks\, give each other a hug and come together in celebration. \nCountless hands have contributed to building our incredible center. It is with deep gratitude that we invite you to join us in celebration\, connection and growth. \nJoin us for a weekend of Tantric Empowerments and community connection as we celebrate our past\, present and future. \nImportant Note: \nRegistration closes August 3rd for people staying at Clear Sky. \nRegistration closes August 10th for people joining online. \n\n \nThree Ways to Attend\nIn-Person Weekend Celebration \nWe’re open again – join in-person at Clear Sky! \nThe weekend includes: \n\nThree Wong Kur Empowerments at 4pm MT on Friday\, Saturday and Sunday;\nSpecial presentations from Qapel and Sensei on our Past\, Present and Future;\nJapanese cocktail party;\nDance Party;\nQuality time with our Teachers and community.\n\n\n\nIn-Person Registration Closed\n \nOnline Weekend Celebration \nIf you’re unable to travel\, we are using an interactive online platform to help you feel part of the festivities. \nThe weekend includes: \n\nThree Online Wong Kur Empowerments at 4pm MT on Friday\, Saturday and Sunday;\nSpecial presentations from Qapel and Sensei on our Past\, Present and Future;\n24-hour Online Shrine Room to practice with our global community;\nOnline Dance Party and Cocktail Party.\n\n\n\nRegister for Online Weekend\n \nOnline Empowerments Only \n\nRegister for one or all three of the Wong Kur Empowerments held at 4pm MT on Friday\, Saturday and Sunday.\n\n\nGreen Tara Empowerment\n\n\nAmitayus Empowerment\n\n\nVajrapani Hayagriva Garuda Empowerment\n\n \nWeekend Schedule\nThe following activities are available in-person and online.  Note: Some times may be subject to slight changes.  \nFriday\, August 13th \n\nArrival time: 11am Friday August 13th (onsite participants)\n4pm Green Tara Empowerment\n7:30pm Anniversary Opening and Japanese Cocktail Party with the Teachers.\n\nSaturday\, August 14th \n\n9:30am-11:30am MST: Catherine Sensei presenting on the History of Clear Sky\n4pm Amitayus Empowerment\n7:30pm: Community Sharing Open Mic\n8:30pm: Dancing\n\nSunday\, August 15th \n\n9:30-11:00am: Looking to the Future – Community visioning and temple update.\n4pm Vajrapani Hayagriva Garuda Empowerment\nCelebrations officially end with the wongkur on Sunday afternoon. There is also the option to stay for dinner.\n\nOnline Participants Wongkur Orientation \n\n2pm MST (Tentative. Time to be confirmed) before each wongkur on Friday\, Saturday and Sunday.\n24 hour online practice rooms will be available.\n\nParticipants coming onsite for empowerments only \n\nPlease register online and arrive by 3pm MST before each empowerment. Please also call 250-429-3929 to confirm we have received your registration.\n\nWhat is a Wong Kur Empowerment?\n“In the depth of the psyche lie all possibilities in a state of unrealized potential. In every being there exists the possibility of experiencing transcendental consciousness\, which when the student is ready\, the Teacher(s) can make accessible to him or her via empowerment\, initiation\, or wongkur.” -Namgyal Rinpoche \nEmpowerments give you an energetic blessing\, and access to practice mantra and visualisation of different transcendental archetypes from the Himalayan schools of Buddhism. \nThis retreat will empower you to practice: \n\nGreen Tara (Friday\, August 13 at 4pm MT);\nAmitayus (Saturday\, August 14 at 4pm MT);\nVajrapani Hayagriva Garuda (Healing Triad) (Sunday\, August 15 at 4pm MT)\n\nWhat if I Haven’t Attended an Empowerment Before? \nThese are special ceremonies that are best experienced in person\, therefore we welcome new people to join us in person. \nHowever\, if you can only attend online\,  we ask that you have attended events with us in the past\, or have some experience with vajrayana deity practice. \nWe also ask that you read the following text before your arrival: What is Wong Kur?  \n\n \nOur Founding Teachers\nDoug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat are Dharma and meditation teachers who founded Clear Sky Meditation Centre\, BC\, Canada. Achariya Doug Duncan received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 1978\, and is a lineage holder in that teaching. Known for his direct\, humourous and compassionate engagement with students\, Doug embraces various traditions\, contemporary psychology\, and science\, to mentor all beings to a more awakened state. Catherine Pawasarat has trained daily with Acariya Doug Duncan since 1998 in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life\, Catherine also draws on generative living and the arts. With Doug she is co-founder of Clear Sky Retreat Center in the BC Rockies. \n\n \nFAQs\nDana and In-Person Retreat Pricing \nDana: This course is offered by Doug and Catherine Sensei through the ancient principle of generosity\, or Dāna. The retreat fee covers the cost of food and accommodation\, whereas the Teachings are offered by generosity. Learn more about Dāna here. \nPricing: As a charitable organization\, we strive to provide locally sourced organic meals and comfortable accommodations at an affordable price. Fees vary depending on your accommodation choice and early bird pricing. \nArrival & Departure \nArrival is Friday\, August 13th at 11:30am. \nDeparture is Sunday\, August 15th at 7:30pm. \nBooking a Flight? \nAirport pickups can be booked when you register for the retreat. On the rare chance that this retreat is cancelled\, we highly recommend purchasing travel insurance. \nTravel Restrictions\, COVID-19 Policy: Please contact us – Email michelle@clearskycenter.org or (250) 429-3929 for details/options for local participation. \nDaily Schedule \nDetails coming soon. \nAbout Us\nLocated in the BC rocky mountains\, we offer over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature. Founded by Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat\, we are home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world. \nHere are some FAQs on how to get here\, what to bring and what to expect.  \nTo help you get acquainted with us\, some community members made this short video during our 2019 Buddhas in Action retreat. To learn more about us and our incredible community\, click here! URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/sweet-sixteen-and-tantric-empowerments/ CATEGORIES:Group Retreats and Courses,Online Courses ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Sweet-Sixteen-Square.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210806 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210813 DTSTAMP:20260429T032756 CREATED:20201114T234048Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210417T222216Z UID:9219-1628208000-1628812799@www.clearskycenter.org SUMMARY:Tantric Deep Dive: A Week of Empowerments DESCRIPTION:**COVID 19 UPDATE: The Tantric Deep Dive retreat will be modified for online empowerments\, due to travel restrictions. And\, the 16th Anniversary celebrations will be held online.\n  \n \nIn Vajrayana Buddhism\, initiations\, empowerments or wongkur (Tib. དབང་\, wang) are considered the spring from which all blessings flow. Join us for a week of twelve initiations\, followed by a weekend of joy to celebrate our 16th anniversary. \n  \nA week of Vajrayana Initiations and Clear Sky’s 16th Anniversary\nNot only is 2021 Doug Duncan Sensei’s 71st year\, it is also our 16th anniversary!  To celebrate\, we invite you to join us for a week of rarely given vajrayana initiations / empowerments\, followed by a weekend of sangha celebrations. \n  \nRegister for Tantric Deep Dive\n  \nRegister for Tantric Deep Dive + 16th Anniversary Celebration\n  \n \nWhat are Vajrayana Empowerments\, Initiations and Wongkur?\nNamgyal Rinpoche\, our lineage root guru\, put it best: \nIn the depth of the psyche lie all possibilities in a state of unrealized potential. In every being there exists the possibility of experiencing transcendental consciousness\, which when the student is ready\, the Teacher(s) can make accessible to him or her via empowerment\, initiation\, or wongkur. \nOne should regard Wongkur as an event in which the Lama sows the seed of transcendental consciousness in the depth of the student. The seed will lie in the unconscious until the student brings it to realization in the practice of meditation. \nWhy a Week of Empowerments?\nDetails about the new online schedule will be coming soon. \nDoug and Catherine Sensei will be offering a total of twelve empowerments during this celebration week.  They have chosen to do so\, to honour lineage\, and to sow the seeds for future realization.  Many of the initiations given will be rare empowerments that they have not given recently. \nThere will be two empowerments a day\, with practice time in between. It will be a busy\, bustling\, engaging\, immersive and quite frankly incredible week. \n  \nMeet the Teachers\n \nDoug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat are Dharma and meditation teachers who founded Clear Sky Meditation Centre\, BC\, Canada. Achariya Doug Duncan received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 1978\, and is a lineage holder in that teaching. Known for his direct\, humourous and compassionate engagement with students\, Doug embraces various traditions\, contemporary psychology\, and science\, to mentor all beings to a more awakened state. Catherine Pawasarat has trained daily with Acariya Doug Duncan since 1998 in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life\, Catherine also draws on generative living and the arts. With Doug she is co-founder of Clear Sky Retreat Center in the BC Rockies. \n \nCourse Details\nFees and Dāna\nDana: This course is offered by Doug and Catherine Sensei through the ancient principle of generosity\, or Dāna. Learn more about Dāna here. \nCost: As a charitable organization\, we strive to provide locally sourced organic meals and comfortable accommodations at an affordable price. Fees vary depending on your accommodation choice and early bird pricing. More information about cost is coming soon. \nDaily Schedule\nMore specific details about the new online schedule are coming soon. \nAbout Clear Sky\nLocated in the BC rocky mountains\, we offer over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature. Founded by Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat\, we are home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world. \nHere are some FAQs on how to get here\, what to bring and what to expect.  \nTo help you get acquainted with us\, some community members made this short video during our 2019 Buddhas in Action retreat. To learn more about us and our incredible community\, click here! \n \nRegister for Tantric Deep Dive\n  \nRegister for Tantric Deep Dive + 16th Anniversary Celebration\n  URL:https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/tantric-deep-dive-a-week-of-empowerments-2021/ LOCATION:Clear Sky Meditation Center\, 3567 Cockell Road\, PO BOX 19\, Fort Steele\, British Columbia\, V0B 1NO\, Canada ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.clearskycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/dharma-10anniversary-CS-crop.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Clear Sky Center":MAILTO:contact@clearskycenter.org END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR