Engaged Nonduality Series 2025
Monthly Meetings Exploring Awakened Response to Our World in Crisis
This series weaves nondual awakening and an embodied response to our world in crisis (e.g., climate breakdown, potential ecological and systems collapse, severe injustice and inequality, rising authoritarianism, unaligned tech and AI). The path of nonduality has much to offer in these times, including a deep recognition of our wholeness and shared Being, and opening to the wellspring of our wise response.
This series invites guest presenters to share their unique offering of nondual wisdom and respond to planetary crises. These sessions may include guided meditations, group and dyadic inquiry and group interaction. Hosted by Lisa Ferguson
Saturday, January 11th - with Loch Kelly
Responding to the World Outside and Within from Awake Loving Flow
9am-11am Pacific (convert time zone)
Loch Kelly, M.Div., LCSW, is an award-winning author, meditation teacher, psychotherapist, and founder of the 501(c)(3) non-profit, Effortless Mindfulness Institute. His teachings synthesize ancient wisdom practices, neuroscience, and contemporary psychology. Loch is dedicated to relieving suffering at its root and supporting people to live from their basic goodness. Loch is known for his warm sense of humor and his trust that awakening is the next natural stage of development. He teaches advanced, yet simple, nondual pointers and direct methods of nondual mindfulness, informed by psychology and social justice.
“Loch Kelly is one of the clearest expressions of authentic, awakened freedom and love that I know.” ~ Adyashanti
Saturday, February 8th - with John Prendergast
Re-Sourcing Ourself in a World in Crisis
9am-11am Pacific, Online
As an informal community of nondual contemplatives who feel deeply moved by the historically-unique existential crises that we now face, how do we respond in a truly creative way? And how do we not succumb to the burnout that political activists so frequently experience?
The answer lies in our capacity to repeatedly re-source ourself in the ultimate source – the heart and ground of being. As we consciously discover the Great Heart behind the human heart and the Groundless Ground beneath our self-constructed ground, we experience a sense of well-being independent of outer circumstances. This discovery is profoundly nourishing to our conditioned body-mind, allowing us to replenish from the deepest source of life. This brings an openness, freshness, spontaneity, and love for life that inspires our creative action in the world.
This meeting will include silent and guided meditations, self-inquiry, a talk, and experiential conversations.
John Prendergast, Ph.D is a spiritual teacher, retired psychotherapist, and retired Adjunct Professor of Psychology at CIIS, well known for his pioneering work in integrating non-dual wisdom and psychotherapy. He studied with the European sage Jean Klein for many years, as well as with Adyashanti, who gave him dharma transmission in 2023. He is the author of The Deep Heart (2019), In Touch (2015), and a new book, Your Deepest Ground: A Guide to Embodied Spirituality (March, 2025) from Sounds True.
Hosted by Lisa Ferguson
Lisa Ferguson, Ph.D., has initiated an exploration of Engaged Nonduality: how the recognition of non-separation moves in response to our planetary crises. This includes themes of personal and collective awakening and action. Engaged Nonduality as a practice explores how love and truth moves through us, as well as how we can compassionately tend to our conditioned parts and intense reactions – such as terror, despair, rage and numbness – that may emerge as we face the enormity of our Metacrisis. We could define Metacrisis as the underlying sense of separation that gives rise to the fragmentation, suffering, and harm in our world today. Thus, the understanding of our shared Beingness is foundational to responding to our personal suffering and collective crises.
Lisa has worked closely with John Prendergast as a mentee and co-facilitator of Engaged Nonduality offerings. She has facilitated a meditative inquiry group based on John Prendergast’s work since 2022. Other nondual or “direct path” teachers who have had a significant impact are Adyashanti, Loch Kelly, Riyaz Motan, and Tsoknyi Rinpoche.