Michele and Pablo Sender
Weekend Seminar

September 22 – 24
Friday 7:30 – 9 pm, Saturday 10 – noon, 2 – 4 pm
Sunday 10 – noon

Bringing harmony to our often disorderly emotions and actions is a main focus of spiritual traditions. An essential discipline for this is the cultivation of an awareness that is free from judgment or justification. Although awareness is an intrinsic aspect of our nature, discovering how to witness our mental and emotional activity with equanimity can be challenging. Michele and Pablo will guide awareness practices to help us explore together the subtle workings of our internal and external worlds. Discover how cultivating awareness may enhance mindful, heartfelt relations within ourselves, the wider community, and the natural world.

Michele Sender joined the Theosophical Society in 2006. She has a degree in education and has taught positive thinking skills to high school at-risk students. When serving on the TSA national headquarters staff, she also was president of the Wheaton-Olcott TS lodge. Michele has given lectures and seminars on the practical application of Theosophy, both in the US and UK.

Pablo Sender, PhD, has served the TS since joining in Argentina in 1996, including several years as a staff member at the international (Adyar) and American national headquarters. Pablo presents theosophical programs worldwide in English and Spanish, guides on-line classes, and contributes regularly to theosophical journals. http://www.pablosender.com. Pablo and Michele are Krotona residents.

Pablo Sender
Four Mornings

September 26 – 29
Tuesday – Friday 10 – noon

“Man Know Thyself” is a famous aphorism inscribed at the entrance of the Delphi oracle in Greece. Many spiritual traditions have pointed out that the root of suffering and conflict lies in our ignorance of who we really are. However, self- knowledge is not easy. It requires the peeling back of the layers of false conceptions and mistaken identities, as well as the awakening of a deeper perception able to realize our essential natures. We will engage in and explore four meditative practices: self-examination, self-inquiry, self-observation and self-dwelling.

Series $50, Single session $15

Pablo Sender, PhD, has served the TS since joining in Argentina in 1996, including several years as a staff member at the international (Adyar) and American national headquarters. Pablo presents theosophical programs worldwide in English and Spanish, guides on-line classes, and contributes regularly to theosophical journals. http://www.pablosender.com. Pablo and Michele are Krotona residents.

Cecil Messer

Four Mornings + Weekend
October 3 – 6
Tuesday – Friday 10 – noon

Oct 6 – 8
Friday 7:30 – 9 pm, Saturday 10 – noon, 2 – 4 pm
Sunday 10 – noon

Based on Cecil Messer’s book, Out of Darkness: From Chaos to Clarity via Meditation, this class provides a GPS to guide us on a homeward-bound journey to our primordial source of being, our personal mythical Eden. The format is an open-minded inquiry into prerequisite qualities distilled from core teachings of wise ones. This opens us to a spectrum of meditation approaches for liberation from suffering and enlightenment for the benefit of others. Meditation practices connect us to a profound spiritual experience. Short practices will progress in nuanced stages to unfold a coherent wholeness and begin the process of relating to the fruits of meditation - radiant love and luminous clarity.

The weekdays focus on experiencing the foundations necessary for meditation practice. The weekend is oriented towards exploring a variety of paths and approaches to meditation.

Four Mornings: Series $50, Single session $15
Weekend: Series $50, Single session $15
Full course: $90

Cecil Messer, a retiree of the NASA Space Program science and engineering team, and an ardent inquirer into the core values of spiritual traditions, has presented classes for Krotona School on meditation and related spiritual teachings. He conducted a year-long online seminar, Exploring the Heart of Meditation, for the Theosophical Society in America, and has published articles in national and international periodicals. Currently he resides in the mountains of North Carolina where he practices non-sectarian Buddhism.

Robert Ellwood
Four Mornings

October 10 – 13
Tuesday – Friday 10 – noon

Among topics to be presented will be the Gnostics, including the Gospel of Thomas and newly-discovered Gospel of Judas, with reference to Helena Blavatsky’s writings on the Gnostics. We will then move on to controversial but significant medieval figures like Joachim of Flora, Margery Kempe, and Mechtild of Magdeburg. Next will come more recent personalities like Thomas Traherne, the English seer, and Emanuel Swedenborg. We will end the survey with Harriet Tubman, “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, soon to appear on the $20 bill, who was guided by a series of remarkable spiritual experiences.

Series $50, Single session $15

Robert Ellwood, PhD, is emeritus professor of religion at the University of Southern California. He has served as vice president of the Theosophical Society in America, as director of the School of the Wisdom at the TS headquarters in Chennai, India, and has presented internationally for the Society.

Robert has published widely and authored several books on comparative religion and theosophy.

Gwen Wyatt
Four Mornings

October 17 – 20
Tuesday – Friday 10 – noon

There are many ways to approach well-being and quality of life. Health and illness can be viewed on a continuum, but what role does spirituality play in our state of being? We will look at what science tells us about health from a biological perspective and what theosophy tells us about well-being from a spiritual perspective. We will examine how complementary therapies differ from medical therapies and explore the balance between quality of life and length of life. This will include an examination of the philosophical intersection between spirit and science with regard to our state of health. Looking through our theosophical lens, we will question where truth lies for each of us.

Series $50, Single session $15

Gwen Wyatt, PhD, RN, FAAN, professor, College of Nursing, Michigan State University, has been a theosophist since 1983, drawn through her training with Dora Kunz and Delores Krieger in the practice of therapeutic touch. She has honed her skills in complementary therapies with an emphasis on the care of cancer patients, during 30 years of teaching, scholarship and service at MSU. Gwen’s research is recognized internationally for its contribution to supportive care for cancer patients. Her current NCI (National Cancer Institute) study explores the efficacy of home-based reflexology and meditative practices for symptom management.

Adelle Chabelski
Weekend

October 20 – 22
Friday 7:30 – 9 pm, Saturday 10 – noon, 2 – 4 pm
Sunday 10 – noon

Serling, the creative genius and writer behind The Twilight Zone series, realized the impact of words and the imagination on the heart and conscience. He also understood that film can help us question our perceptions and social norms, and can inspire change. Serling addressed contemporary issues such as social injustice, racism, prejudice, scapegoating, fear, and the profound moral questions posed by war. After encountering censorship from networks and their sponsors, he wrote using fantasy and science fiction. Many of his stories examine our values and teach important lessons about empathy, ethics, freedom, and death. We will view several episodes of The Twilight Zone, exploring themes which reflect higher philosophical truths and that each of us has the ability to change the world. Additional showings may be arranged for Saturday evening.

Series $50, Single session $15

Adelle Chabelski, translator, writer, and human rights advocate, was historical advisor and interviewer for two award-winning documentaries, one on the former Soviet Union and the other, produced by Steven Spielberg, on the Holocaust. She served on the Women’s Rights Committee of Human Rights Watch, has chaired international conferences on human rights issues, and has guided academic and professional delegations, including peace delegations, to Asia and Europe. Adelle has also served as president of the Theosophical Society in the Ojai Valley.

Minor Lile
Four Mornings

October 24 – 27
Tuesday – Friday 10 – noon

This experiential workshop helps us to reflect on and gain a deeper sense of self and purpose based on the wisdom tradition teachings on dharma. The basic premise of the course is that each of us comes into life with a calling or unique gift, something that we have earned and have the opportunity to express in this lifetime. It is our responsibility, or duty, to discover and endeavor to fully live into this offering of one’s self. As our lives unfold, our understanding of how to do this evolves and we must learn to adapt to changing circumstances. We explore methods, practices and insights that support continually being in touch with this dynamic process, and work collaboratively to develop a theoretical and practical approach to dharma.

Series $50, Single session $15

Minor Lile has served as executive director at Indralaya, the theosophical center on Orcas Island, WA, where he and his wife Leonie Van Gelder have lived and worked for 18 years. He also serves on the Theosophical Society in America’s national board of directors for its western district.

Cynthia Overweg
Four Mornings

October 31 – November 3
Tuesday – Friday 10 – noon

The quest for meaning and a longing for freedom are fundamental questions of human existence. We long to be free of restraints and entanglements, yet we often seek meaning in the very things that enslave us. Spiritual understanding seems to grow slowly within us, much like a spiral. We seek, we falter, we learn, we grow; and then we begin again, though it seems we never quite reach the wholeness we seek. What does it mean to be free? Is it possible to be free of seeking? What is human existence for? We will approach these questions from both Eastern and Western perspectives. Our guides in this inquiry will be HP Blavatsky, J Krishnamurti, Christian mysticism, Ramana Maharshi, and the Upanishads. Our intention will be to delve deeply into our own being.

Series $50, Single session $15

Cynthia Overweg is an educator, spiritual storyteller, writer and filmmaker. Her focus is on the interconnectedness of life and our shared aspirations to live in wholeness and peace. Her work has won awards from the National Endowments for the Arts and the American Film Institute. Cynthia lives in Krotona with her husband. http://www.cynthiaoverweg.com

Cynthia Overweg
Weekend Retreat

November 4 – 5
Saturday 10 – 4 pm, Sunday 10 – Noon

We live in a world that has become ever more divided. Yet as human beings, we are more alike than different; we all have the same basic needs, and we share a mutual longing for happiness and fulfillment. So why can’t we be at peace and live harmoniously with each other and with nature? Sages from every tradition tell us that peace has to be cultivated from within before it can flourish in our lives and in the world. Through stillness, contemplation, deep listening and communion with nature, we will relax and explore the stability and comfort of inner peace.

A box vegetarian lunch is available on Saturday or participants may bring their own vegetarian lunch.

Retreat $40 + $12. Pre-registration is required

Cynthia Overweg is an educator, spiritual storyteller, writer and filmmaker. Her focus is on the interconnectedness of life and our shared aspirations to live in wholeness and peace. Her work has won awards from the National Endowments for the Arts and the American Film Institute. Cynthia lives in Krotona with her husband. http://www.cynthiaoverweg.com

E Carbonell, M Leiderman, P Sender, G Torres
Seminario de fin de semana, en español

17 – 19 de Noviembre
Viernes 7:30 – 9 pm, Sábado 10 – 12 y 2 – 4 pm
Domingo 10 – 12

Hacia el final de su vida, H. P. Blavatsky escribió el libro La Doctrina Secreta, considerada como su magnus opus. Al publicarse en 1888 fue una fundamental contribución a la filosofía esotérica. El núcleo de la obra son las “Estancias de Dzyan,” una serie de aforismos secretos que describen la evolución del cosmos y la humanidad desde un punto de vista esotérico. En este programa los cuatro explorarán las Estancias de Cosmogénesis de La Doctrina Secreta sobre el despertar del cosmos al final de la “noche universal,” la formación del sistema solar, y la evolución de este planeta.

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 ingeniero industrial, fundador y miembro del Centro de Estudios Teosóficos del Oeste de LA y es parte de la Junta Directiva del Instituto de Krotona. Ha dado programas para la ST internacional en varias áreas y ha desarrollado nuevas formas de estudiar La Doctrina Secreta y otros materiales con bellas y vívidas ilustraciones.

Pablo Sender, PhD, ingresó a la ST en Argentina, en 1996. Vivió y trabajó en la sede internacional en Adyar, India, luego en la sede de la ST de América, en Wheaton, vive ahora en Krotona. Presenta programas en inglés y español, clases sobre La Doctrina Secreta, publica artículos en varias revistas teosóficas y ha escrito dos libros en español.

Gaspar Torres nació en Cuba, teósofo desde joven y fue Presidente de la Sección T. de ese País. Desde 2011 vive en Krotona, dando conferencias y estudiando con un grupo en internet La Doctrina Secreta y otros temas teosóficos.