Open Sky, Open Heart
18-month immersion in Essence Mahamudra Begins January 2027
An 18 Month Mahamudra Intensive for Serious Practitioners
Awareness is more like a river than a rock
A sustained practice and study immersion in Essence Mahamudra, centered on Pointing Out the Dharmakaya, Tilopa’s Ganges Mahamudra Upadesha, and the Six Yogas of Naropa approached as essence practice. Designed for experienced meditators, the course combines weekly group practice, disciplined study, contemplative reflection, and bi-weekly seminar presentations into a single integrated path of training.
Stripped of pretense: direct by design
The teaching is offered in plain-language English,
without requiring mastery of foreign languages,
cultural codes, or advanced ritual forms.
What matters here is not performance, but direct engagement with the heart of the instructions.
Uncompromising Container
For practitioners ready to deepen recognition, stabilize understanding, and bring the view into lived experience, this program offers a rare and rigorous container.
Move past the trap of just thinking about the practice and actually step into direct realization.
Open Sky, Open Heart - 18 Month Essence Mahamudra Intensive
Committment to 7 hours of practice and study each week
Intentionally designed as a strong container for serious practitioners who recognize the profound value of these instructions and are ready to transition from studying the view to living it. This is not a casual course. It requires a genuine commitment to full participation each week. Open Sky, Open Heart is designed for you if you are at a turning point in your practice and long to deepen your experience. If you value direct, personalized guidance and are ready to claim your seat alongside a dedicated cohort, this path offers the exact structure and depth needed to anchor realization into your everyday life.
Open Sky, Open Heart: 18 month Essence Mahamudra program
The Core Practice: Essence Mahamudra
- We meet three times a week, for one hour to practice together
- On your meditation seat, recognize the nature of mind
- Test and stabilize your recognition in the company of a committed group of meditators
- Practicing side-by-side accelerates the view, grounds your momentum, and turns abstract understanding into a shared, living reality.
Direct interaction with the teacher
- Ask your personal questions at the end of each practice session and talk
- Receive direct, live feedback from the teacher
- Hear other participants ask and discuss their questions
36 online presentations of the Essence Mahamudra teachings
- The Essence Teachings are presented in everyday, ordinary English. without jargon or complex tems
- The presentations are designed to lead you deeper and deeper into realization of the Essence
The curriculum
- Introduction to Essence Mahamudra Practice
- Exploring Pointing Out The Dharmakaya - 9th Karmapa: Wangchuk Dorje
- Exploring Tilopa's Ganges Mahamudra Teachings
- Transmission and practice of 6 Yogas of Naropa - as an Essence practice
- Integrating the teachings for stability and personal transformation
An emphasis on personal growth, transformation and integrating the teachings
- Transforming understanding into experience through a shared, warm, and deeply supportive practice container.
Open Sky, Open Heart
Realization is found together, not in isolation; it is awakened together in the vivid space of direct, lived experience.
Magic happens when we practice together. There is a magnifying strength in a dedicated group anchoring the space of awakening together. What completely sets this immersion apart is the radical accessibility of direct interaction. You aren't just listening to a recorded voice; you are stepping into a living, breathing laboratory with the rare opportunity to practice face-to-face with the teacher and in community.
- Direct, On-the-Spot: Bring your questions directly to the sessions,
- Shared Insights: Listen as your peers discuss their questions,
- True Lived Reality: Walk away with unshakeable confidence, a deeply integrated understanding of the mind's true nature, and the momentum to turn a beautiful concept into your everyday practice.
If you are ready to claim a warm, confident, and deeply supported practice, your seat is ready.
Contact Open Sky, Open Heart
Feel free to reach out with any questions you have about our Essence Mahamudra Intensive, Calm-Abiding practice or other trainings. The doors to our community are open to you, and we look forward to welcoming you soon.
Fun is important too, 'Selfie With Dinosaur' at the Smithsonian museum in Washington, DC.
