Awakening Truth

Compassionate Witness
2023-11-12 09:30 - 11:00, 2023-10-01 09:30 - 11:00, 2023-09-03 09:30 - 11:00, 2023-08-06 09:30 - 11:00 UTC
The first Sunday of every month- reoccurring
Compassionate Witness calls upon our shared humanity to embrace the complexity of our present time. We invite you to show up as you are. As facilitators, we invite you to share, ask you simple questions, and see what happens when what you are experiencing is received with a loving presence. It is a simple yet profound way to receive community support.
We live in a divided and increasingly complex society. We are experiencing the effects of a global pandemic, isolation, climate chaos, racial tension, hate crimes, political instability, war, disinformation, and more. As some of us are feeling intense grief, others are waking up to new ways of being and seeing and feeling more joy than they can contain. Sometimes both the level to which we have been tumbled and the newness through which we see all can use support to metabolize.
How: Compassionate Witness in practice
We begin with some basic guidelines to create safety and holding. Then offer a guided meditation to allow ourselves to settle. As we feel our bodies more, that invites sensitivity to the vast array of feelings, numbness, joys, and sorrows that may be present. We then make an open invitation for anyone to share what is alive for them at the moment. When someone is speaking, we practice deep listening, adding support and safety. An Awakening Truth teacher invites pauses and asks simple questions after someone shares until there is a natural place of completion, acceptance, and letting go. As one feels more at ease and settled, we all are impacted.
Who: All are welcome.
When: 9:30 am-11:00 am Pacific Time
(10:30am-12:00pm MT | 11:30am-1:00pm CT | 12:30pm – 2:00pmET)
Where: Online
Event details
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2431979037?pwd=[REDACTED]
Zoom Passcode: [REDACTED]
This community meditation support is offered without a registration fee. The teachings and the community are interdependent. Your donations make it possible to continue.
The poem that says what Compassionate Witness does:
When was the last time someone saw you?
Or cared enough to try?
Has anyone looked past your guards
Or held you as you cried?
How often do you feel you matter?
Safe to show your heart?
Free to tell your truth,
be “too much,” or fall apart?
Have you ever felt true love
with strangers you just met?
And what if we can all be here
with nowhere else to get?
You think that you aren’t perfect.
I plan to prove you wrong.
Come sit with us just as you are –
In being, you belong.
– s.ness

Register Now

Sunday morning meditation
2023-11-12 06:00 - 07:00, 2023-10-08 06:00 - 07:00, 2023-09-10 06:00 - 07:00, 2023-08-13 06:00 - 07:00, 2023-07-09 06:00 - 07:00, 2023-06-11 06:00 - 07:00, 2023-05-14 06:00 - 07:00, 2023-04-09 06:00 - 07:00 (America/Los_Angeles) and 3 more dates
6:00 – 7 am Pacific Time
Second Sunday of the month – ongoing on Zoom
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2431979037?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 243 197 9037
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Details
– Brief meditation instructions
– 35-minute silent sitting
– 3-5 minute talk (Dharmette)
Mindfulness meditation is led by experienced teachers of Awakening Truth. The hour begins with a brief, gentle instruction. We will guide you to focus on the present moment with non-judgmental awareness, helping you let go of distractions and embrace the stillness within.
The 35-minute meditation session blends guided and silent meditation. Following the meditation, there will be a short 3-5 minute Dharma talk on the teachings of Buddhism, mindfulness, and the art of living in harmony with oneself and the world around.
Our intention is that you leave feeling refreshed, focused, and ready to navigate the day’s challenges and opportunities.
Register Now

Anapansati Sutra Study and Practice
2023-11-07 17:00 - 18:00, 2023-10-31 17:00 - 18:00, 2023-10-24 17:00 - 18:00, 2023-10-17 17:00 - 18:00, 2023-10-10 17:00 - 18:00, 2023-10-03 17:00 - 18:00 UTC
Topic: Anapanasati Class series

5:00 – 6:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Continuing every Tuesday for 6 occurrence(s)
Oct 3, Oct 10, Oct 17, Oct 24, Oct 31, Nov 7

Embark on a transformative journey with the Mindfulness With Breathing: The Anapanasati Sutra course! This ancient teaching by the Buddha passed down through 2500 years, offers a systematic meditation technique using the breath – a path to liberation.
Join us in the comfort of your home and immerse yourself in the profound art of mindfulness and breath-focused meditation. Led by experienced and certified mindfulness teachers, each one-hour session creates a serene online space for growth and self-discovery.
Session 1: Introduces the four Foundations of Mindfulness, the five hindrances, and the seven factors of awakening.
Sessions 2 to 5 will delve deep into the Anapanasati Sutra, exploring each tetrad (4 lines of the sutra). Our teachers Brian and Holly will guide you in incorporating these ancient teachings into your daily practice, empowering you with practical tools for mindfulness and breath awareness.
Session 6 weaves together the essence of the Anapanasati Sutra and the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. Gain a comprehensive understanding of how this profound meditation method nurtures the seven factors of awakening, fostering beneficial qualities of mind for tranquility and happiness.
Reserve your spot now and let the wisdom of the Anapanasati Sutra illuminate your path to inner peace and liberation. Discover the power of mindfulness of breathing in this transformational practice!

In-Depth Trauma-Informed Satipatthana Sutta Study
2023-11-04 10:00 - 14:00, 2023-10-07 10:00 - 14:00, 2023-09-02 10:00 - 14:00 UTC
10:00 am – 2:00 pm Pacific Time
1st Saturday of the Month – Online on Zoom
Details
Join us online for an in-depth trauma-informed Satipatthana Sutta Study
Facilitated by Amma Thanasanti
September 2: Body
October 7: Vedana and Emotions
November 4: Hindrances, and Factors of Awakening
December 2: Four Noble Truths
This class series will use the Satipatthana Sutta as a guide to learn the Buddha’s teachings on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness and apply trauma-informed principles to these instructions.
This Sutta is highly regarded in all of the Buddha’s discourses because it contains a complete set of teachings designed for freedom. As extensive and liberating as the Four Foundations’ teachings are, when trauma is present, it can interfere with putting the teachings into practice.
Each class will have two 90-minute sections with a break in between them. Each section will contain, guided meditation, Dharma talk, and discussion.
Amma Thanasanti brings decades of experience studying and practicing a trauma-informed approach to The Four Foundations of Mindfulness.
This class is open to all meditators, regardless of their experience with trauma. We will provide a safe and supportive space to explore these topics.
The sliding scale to register is $50 – 100 per class or $180- $375 for the 4-class series.
Consider your income, assets, and standard of living as you decide on the sliding scale to make what you give manageable and generous.
Once you register, the recording will be available to you.

Introduction to Integrated Meditation
2023-10-24 19:00 - 20:30 UTC | 2929 24th St San Francisco, CA 94110, USA, 2929 24th St, San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
​Introducing the Integrated Meditation Program
​If you are ready to transform patterns that meditation hasn’t shifted, embrace a life filled with love, joy, and peace, and unlock the true benefits that meditation is meant to bring, join Amma Thanasanti for this exploration. She will describe the life-changing impacts she has experienced and some of her student’s experiences from attachment repair work, the principles of the Integrated Mediation program, and the hypotheses behind it.
​Amma has been meditating for over four decades. As a former Buddhist nun of 26 years and a Dharma teacher for over 25, she had extensive meditation training in the Ajahn Chah tradition. Despite the transformative experiences, a persistent core belief of unworthiness and an underlying sadness and basic fear remained. She will outline the 3-pillars that shifted these core beliefs positively impacting her health, close relationships, and resiliency. With her own experience of profound relief, she is passionate about sharing a program that would make these changes available to you.
​This class is open to everyone. No prior meditation experience is required.
​Amma Thanasanti supports you in growing up through developmental stages, cleaning up trauma and attachment wounding, waking up to your essential nature, and showing up fully to have authentic connections with others. She has been meditating for over 40 years. She was a Theravada Buddhist Nun for 26 years including 20 years in the Ajahn Chah Forest Tradition. She has been teaching meditation retreats internationally since 1996.
​Decades of living in monastic communities showed her several ways that ending suffering required more than what was available from Insight meditation practices and ethical guidelines; particularly true when individuals were dealing with developmental trauma. She returned to civilian life in 2017.
​Amma’s North Star is the truth where love, pervasive awareness, and the power of the land teach and support her every day.

Special Compassionate Witness for Israel/Gaza
2023-10-15 08:00 - 09:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom
Hello Friends,
With the war in the Izrael/Gaza and so many dysregulated from it, we will be holding a special Compassionate Witness event this Sunday, October 15 from 8:00am-9:30am Pacific time.

Join Amma & Brian: Compassionate Witness for Israel/Gaza. Meditate for Healing and harmony. Restore Balance and embrace Interconnectedness.
Who: All are welcome. No one turned away.
By Donation
When: Sunday October 15, 8:00am – 9:30am PST
Where: Online
Zoom Details
https://soundstrue.zoom.us/j/95323892815?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 953 2389 2815
Passcode: [REDACTED]
This community meditation support is offered without a registration fee. The teachings and the community are interdependent. Your donations make it possible to continue.

A poem that says what Compassionate Witness does:
When was the last time someone saw you?
Or cared enough to try?
Has anyone looked past your guards
Or held you as you cried?
How often do you feel you matter?
Safe to show your heart?
Free to tell your truth,
be “too much,” or fall apart?
Have you ever felt true love
with strangers you just met?
And what if we can all be here
with nowhere else to get?
You think that you aren’t perfect.
I plan to prove you wrong.
Come sit with us just as you are –
In being, you belong.
– s.ness

A Trauma-Informed Approach to the Satipatthana Sutta
2023-10-10 19:00 - 20:30 UTC | 2929 24th St San Francisco, CA 94110, USA, 2929 24th St, San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
The Satipatthana Sutta or the Four Foundations of Mindfulness is regarded as one of the most significant of all of the Buddha’s Theravada discourses. It contains a complete set of teachings designed to integrate meditation into all parts of daily life, promote balance, and realize the end of suffering. Yet for many, even after decades of practice, we are not able to realize the potential that the Buddha promises these teachings can bring. Join us this evening as we look at different kinds of trauma, how they limit our ability to practice, and an overview of trauma-informed approaches to the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.
​This class is open to everyone. No prior meditation experience is required.
​Amma Thanasanti supports you in growing up through developmental stages, cleaning up trauma and attachment wounding, waking up to your essential nature, and showing up fully to have authentic connections with others. She has been meditating for over 40 years. She was a Theravada Buddhist Nun for 26 years including 20 years in the Ajahn Chah Forest Tradition. She has been teaching meditation retreats internationally since 1996.
​Decades of living in monastic communities showed her several ways that ending suffering required more than what was available from Insight meditation practices and ethical guidelines; particularly true when individuals were dealing with developmental trauma. She returned to civilian life in 2017.
​Amma’s North Star is the truth where love, pervasive awareness, and the power of the land teach and support her every day.

Belly Bonding with Gaia
2023-09-06 18:30 - 19:30 UTC
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM Pacific time
Details
Belly Bonding with Gaia
Stories and videos about changing my origin story with ceremony in National Parks:

Zoom Meeting ID: 991 3435 9340
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Register Now

Intro course to Integrated Meditation
2023-08-25 18:30 - 20:00, 2023-08-18 18:30 - 20:00 UTC
Details
Transform patterns, embrace love. Learn about Integrated Meditation Program’s benefits.
Are you ready to transform patterns that meditation alone hasn’t shifted? Experience a life filled with love, joy, and peace. Unlock the benefits that meditation is designed to bring. If this resonates with you, the Integrated Meditation program could be your path forward. The Integrated Meditation program is a 6-month program beginning in October 2023. This introductory course will share the basic principles of co-regulation, mentalization, and changing imprints, why these are important, particularly for meditators, and answer questions to see if the 6-month program is a match for you.
Visit here for more information on Integrated Meditation.
Register Now
