Cecil Messer

April 14 – 17

Tuesday – Friday, 10 – noon

Drawing on teachings of the sages presented in the book, Pathways to Enlightenment: A Journey of Discovery and Radical Transformation, we will explore diverse ways of approaching a meaningful spiritual life. Each morning begins with a short guided meditation, leading us to connect with our own experience in meditation and the harmony within our group. Then we will explore together several traditions to examine what they say about the nature of the spiritual path, the qualities needed for the journey, and their approach to meditation. Our inquiry will also address the fundamental nature of the Self, the core of our being and existence, and the implications of a radical transformation. Series $50, Single session $15


Cecil Messer, author of Pathways to Enlightenment: A Journey of Discovery and Radical Transformation, a revision of his earlier book, Out of Darkness, has presented classes at Krotona and elsewhere on meditation and spiritual teachings from Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sufism, Taoism, Theosophy, and Krishnamurti. He has published related articles in national and international periodicals. Born in Alabama, he resides currently in the mountains of rural North Carolina. He practices non-sectarian Buddhism and is a retiree of the NASA Space Program science and engineering team.

Padmanabhan Krishna and David Moody

April 18 – 19
Saturday 2 – 4 pm, Sunday 10 – noon

Professor Krishna and Dr Moody will explore some of the confusing or contradictory issues that arise in the study of the teachings of Krishnamurti. A wide variety of topics will be explored. For example, Krishnamurti says time is not necessary for transformation, but he also urges people to be attentive to their thoughts and feelings throughout the day. Is that not a process that occurs in time? Extensive familiarity with the teachings of Krishnamurti is not required. Series $25, Single session $15

David Edmund Moody, PhD is the author of An Uncommon Collaboration: David Bohm and J Krishnamurti. He is the former director of Oak Grove School, founded by Krishnamurti in Ojai, California, where he worked closely for more than a decade with both Bohm and Krishnamurti. His experiences there are described in his previous book, The Unconditioned Mind: J Krishnamurti and the Oak Grove School.

Padmanabhan Krishna, is a life member of the Theosophical Society and a trustee of the Krishnamurti Foundation, India. He was a professor of physics at the Banaras Hindu University before joining the Krishnamurti center in Rajghat, Varanasi, as its rector in 1986. He has lectured worldwide on education, science, and spirituality, and has written several books in these fields. He is presently in charge of the Krishnamurti study center in Varanasi. His thoughts and ideas can be found on his website pkrishna.org.

Rabbi Rami Shapiro

April 21 – 24

Tuesday – Friday, 10 – noon

The Bible is black fire on white fire (Midrash Tanhuma, Genesis I). Reading the black fire, the printed letters on the page, we learn what the Bible says; reading the white fire, the liminal space around and between the letters we discover what the Bible might mean. It is this search for meaning that leads us to Lady Wisdom, the Divine Feminine speaking to us of the nature of reality and calling us to take our rightful place within it. While often undervalued if not actually ignored, the Wisdom Books of the Bible provide us with insights and ideas we grow into rather than out of. Series $50, Single session $15

Rabbi Rami Shapiro, PhD co-directs the One River Foundation, a global network of spiritually independent seekers, creatives, activists, and holy rascals reclaiming and proclaiming the Perennial Wisdom at the mystic heart of the world’s religions. oneriverfoundation.org Over the past 40 years, he has been a USAF chaplain, a congregational rabbi, a business consultant, a university professor, and an author of three dozen books on religion and spirituality including The Divine Feminine in Biblical Wisdom Literature and Embracing the Divine Feminine.

Cynthia Overweg

April 28 – May 1

Tuesday – Friday, 10 – noon

   We need silence, just as much as we need air.
       - Thich Nhat Hanh


Sages and mystics have said for centuries that interior silence is the foundation of spiritual unfoldment, and necessary for a fuller understanding of life and death. Is silence merely the absence of noise, or is it “printed in the center of our being,” as Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, described it. This dimension of silence has been referred to as Holy Silence; the Eternal; a vast Stillness; or an unnamable Presence. But words can only point to a very great mystery. Silence just IS. What is our relationship with silence? Is it possible to be utterly silent, similar to the way a flower silently opens to sunlight? Can we approach silence as a great work of art that brings us closer to what the Buddha called the “other shore,” and what the Christ referred to as the “kingdom of heaven?” These are some questions we will explore together. The workshop includes a mixture of speech, imagery, sound, and of course, silence. Series $50, Single session $15

Cynthia Overweg is an educator, retreat leader, author, and filmmaker. Her focus is on inner transformation and our shared aspirations to live in harmony and peace. Her articles about the spiritual quest have been published internationally, and her documentary work has won awards from the American Film Institute and the National Endowment for the Arts. She is the author of The Silence We Don’t Know, available Spring 2020. cynthiaoverweg.com

E Carbonell, M Leiderman, P Sender, G Torres


Mayo 15 – 17
Viernes 7:30 – 9 pm, sábado 10 – 12 y de 2 – 4 pm, domingo 10 – 12

¿Cómo surgió la humanidad? ¿Quiénes son nuestros antecesores? ¿Cómo fue desenvuelto el programa de transformaciones físicas y psíquico espirituales en las diferentes razas y sub razas que han surgido hasta el presente? ¿Qué fuerzas e inteligencias en nuestro Sistema Solar y Planetario han cooperado en este proceso? ¿Cuál es el plan para el futuro de la humanidad? Daremos respuesta a estas y otras preguntas en relación a las 12 Estancias de Dzyan de Antropogénesis de La Doctrina Secreta de HP Blavatsky y de sus comentarios. Serie completa $50, una sola sesión $15

Eneida Elena Carbonell es graduada de UCLA con Licenciatura en Matemáticas Aplicadas y es maestra de Matemáticas para Adultos en Los Ángeles. Ha trabajado en la Biblioteca de Adyar, India y en el Instituto Teosófico de Krotona. Ha dado diversos seminarios en inglés y español, en Krotona y para la Federación Teosófica Interamericana.

Martin Leiderman, es un ingeniero industrial por profesión. Es el fundador del Grupo de Estudios Teosóficos de West Los Angeles y es miembro activo de la Directiva de Krotona. El conduce programas de estudios Teosóficos internacionalmente sobre temas de Teosofía, simbología y filosofía. Sus clases combinan los estudios comparativos con bellas ilustraciones y discusiones animadas.

Pablo Sender, PhD, ingresó a la Sociedad Teosófica (ST) en 1996, en Argentina, donde obtuvo su doctorado en Ciencias Biológicas. Vivió y trabajó en el Centro International de la ST en Adyar, Chennai, India, y luego en el Centro Nacional de la ST en América, en Wheaton, Illinois. En este momento vive trabajó en el Instituto de Teosofía de Krotona. Pablo ha presentado charlas, seminarios y clases en múltiples países, incluyendo una sesión de la Escuela de la Sabiduría en Adyar, India. Muchos de sus escritos y charlas están disponibles en su sitio web pablosender.com.

Gaspar Torres nació en un hogar teosófico en Cuba, se unió a la Sociedad desde joven, y fue Presidente de la Sección de ese país. Desde 2011 vive y trabaja en Krotona, y guía grupos de estudio por internet sobre las obras de HP Blavatsky, I.K. Taimmi, así como otros temas y autores teosófico.