Thu 12 Apr 2012, 19:00 - Thu 12 Apr 2012, 21:00
Integral Awakening Center presents….
THE DEEPEST ACCEPTANCE – RADICAL AWAKENING IN ORDINARY LIFE
with Jeff Foster
DATE
Thursday, April 12, 2012
TIME
7pm-9pm
LOCATION
Unitarian Universalist Church
1187 Franklin St, San Francisco
COST
by donation
REGISTRATION
Registration: register using the button below, then pay donation at the door. No drop in’s please, as this event is expected to sell out.
INFO:
Is it possible to discover deep acceptance in present experience, no matter what the circumstances?
We spend our lives seeking love, acceptance, wealth, success, and even ‘spiritual enlightenment’ in the future. We long to be complete. Yet right at the heart of life there is an intimacy, a simplicity, a completeness that is totally beyond words – and which cannot be reached through any effort of ours. And in our exhausting attempts to change, to improve ourselves, to become perfect or enlightened or perfectly enlightened, we end up ignoring this wordless intimacy which exists in the present moment – an intimacy which is really our true home, and the end of all our seeking.
In this meeting with Jeff Foster we will share, discuss and deeply explore the nature of our experience, not with the aim of ‘fixing’ it – but seeing the wholeness and completeness within it. With Jeff’s gentle and loving guidance we will be pointed back to life as it is, to the timeless present moment, and to the vast open space of Being which holds all experience as it comes and goes. We will take a deep look at how and why we suffer, and expose the seeking mechanism at the root of all our problems. We will talk about everything from relationships, to honest communication, to addictions and the search for spiritual enlightenment – and how suffering dissolves in clear seeing of what is.
Silence, laughter, lightness, and a sense of real intimacy, honesty and friendship are the hallmarks of encounters with Jeff. His meetings are very spontaneous and informal, and there are plenty of opportunities to share and ask questions, if you are so moved. And of course, if you just want to sit in silence and listen, without sharing, then that’s fine too.
ABOUT JEFF FOSTER:
Jeff Foster studied Astrophysics at Cambridge University. In his mid-twenties, after a long period of depression and illness, he became addicted to the idea of ‘spiritual enlightenment’ and embarked on an intensive spiritual quest for the ultimate truth of existence.
The spiritual search came crashing down with the clear recognition of the non-dual nature of everything, and the discovery of the extraordinary in the ordinary. In the clarity of this seeing, life became what it always was: intimate, open, loving and spontaneous, and Jeff was left with a deep understanding of the root illusion behind all human suffering, and a love of the present moment.
He presently holds meetings, retreats and private one-to-one sessions around the world, gently but directly pointing people back to the deep acceptance inherent in the present moment. He helps people discover who they really are, beyond all thoughts and judgments about themselves, even in the midst of the stress and struggle of modern day living and intimate relationships.
Jeff’s teaching style is direct and uncompromising and yet full of humanity, humor and compassion. He believes that freedom is everybody’s birthright. He belongs to no tradition or lineage, and makes his teaching accessible to all.
Jeff was voted #68 on Watkins Review’s 2011 list of the world’s 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People – the youngest teacher on the list. Jeff has published four books in over six languages. His latest book The Deepest Acceptance will be published in 2012 by Sounds True.