John Prendergast - In Victoria
Daylong Retreat
In-Person at the Victoria Friends Meeting House in Victoria, BC
Saturday, May 17th, 2025
YOUR DEEPEST GROUND -
A Daylong Retreat to Embodied Spirituality
Join us for a daylong introduction to John’s new book from Sounds True – Your Deepest Ground: A Guide to Embodied Spirituality. In this meeting we will explore different dimensions of the ground – individual, archetypal, and universal – and experience how to recognize and effectively welcome resistance to opening to our deepest ground. There will be silent and guided meditations, a talk, a group or dyadic inquiry, and experiential conversations.
Based upon his newly published book by Sounds True - Your Deepest Ground: A Guide to Embodied Spirituality - John Prendergast Ph.D. will introduce us to an understanding and direct experience of the multidimensional nature of the Ground: personal, archetypal, and universal (the ground of Being).
While most spiritual approaches accent the awakening of the head (spacious clarity) and the heart (love, gratitude, compassion, oneness), the “hara” or belly, especially its lowest region at the base of the spine, is generally overlooked or devalued. This is understandable since opening to our deepest ground usually requires seeing and feeling through our personal and existential survival fears.
As we face our fears, we find our ground - the felt-sense of spacious stability beneath us. This unfolding sense of unconditional safety, core aliveness, and well-being supports a sustained openness of the heart and mind - an embodied spirituality that transposes into our personal relationships, work, and care for our community and planet.
While this daylong retreat is divided into two parts, participants are encouraged to attend both parts for a more complete understanding and experience.
Part 1: 10:30 am - 12:30pm
Description: Part 1 of this daylong retreat will include a guided meditation for sensing into the Ground, a talk, experiential conversations, and a silent meditation.
Part 2: 2pm - 5 p.m.
Description: Part 2 of this retreat will include guided and silent meditations, a partnered meditative inquiry into the nature of our deepest ground, experiential conversations, and a shorter talk.
“Your Deepest Ground is a book of wise and subtle guidance through the intricate process of embodying our greatest spiritual insights and transformations.”
—Adyashanti, author of Falling into Grace
A Daylong gathering with John
When: Saturday, May 17th
Time: 10:30am - 5PM
Where: Victoria Friends (Quaker) Meeting House - 1831 Fern St, Victoria, BC
Cost: $75 USD
Registration: There is limited seating at the Quaker House, so we will not be selling tickets at the door. Please register below.
Cancellation Policy: Sales are final.
Questions: Please contact Marlene, Associate Director at PGI, at jonathan@purposeguides.org
John J. Prendergast was born and raised in Silicon Valley before there was any silicon. Instead, Santa Clara valley was full of orchards - plum and cherry - and wild mustard in the spring. He attended UC Santa Cruz when it was still small and experimental. There his spiritual search began in earnest. He attended a series of long meditation retreats in his twenties, before beginning his graduate studies in psychology.
He met his first teacher, the European Advaita master Jean Klein, in 1983 and studied with him until his death in 1998. He began studying with this second teacher, Adyashanti, in 2001.
He was a professor of psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco for twenty-three years where he taught and supervised masters level counseling students. He has had a private psychotherapy practice since 1985.
Non-Duality Victoria - Non-Duality Victoria offers meditation gatherings at the Friends (Quaker) Meeting House on Fern St in Victoria and Meditation Retreats in Ucluelet, BC.