Shambhala Meditation Center of Sonoma

Shambhala Meditation Center of Sonoma The Sonoma Shambhala Meditation Center is part of an international community of urban meditation centers. Rooted in Buddhist wisdom, open to all.

The Sonoma Shambhala Meditation Center is part of an international community of urban meditation and rural retreat centers founded by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. A welcoming space for meditation, mindfulness, and community in Sonoma. Join us to explore meditation and mindful living.

SADLY, WE'VE NEEDED TO CANCEL THIS EVENT DUE TO INSUFFICIENT REGISTRATION.Birth of the Warrior: Meeting Fear with Gentle...
09/26/2025

SADLY, WE'VE NEEDED TO CANCEL THIS EVENT DUE TO INSUFFICIENT REGISTRATION.

Birth of the Warrior: Meeting Fear with Gentleness & Bravery with Joanne Martin Braun & Irv Kirschbaum

🗓️ Sat Oct 18 (8:30–5)
🗓️ Sun Oct 19 (8:30–5)
📍 Sonoma Shambhala Meditation Center + Zoom

This hybrid weekend retreat explores bravery not as perfection or aggression, but as the courage to be fully present with our fear and our hearts.

Through meditation, reflection, and community, we’ll learn to:

- Sit with awareness
- Meet fear as a doorway to wisdom
- Discover warriorship rooted in gentleness

Everyone is welcome—whether new to meditation or seeking a deeper path.

Early bird pricing: 20% off before Oct 8!

Learn more + register:

https://sonoma.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=810351

07/10/2025

Looking for a spiritual practice that helps you meet the world with courage, clarity, and compassion? Shambhala meditation offers a grounded path rooted in the wisdom of the present moment. It invites us to return to ourselves—again and again—with gentleness and bravery. In this tradition, mindfulness is more than a technique; it’s a doorway into sacred everyday life. Whether you’re new to meditation or returning to your cushion after a long pause, the Shambhala Meditation Center of Sonoma welcomes you.

05/17/2025

In this gentle yet powerful teaching, beloved Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön explores the radical idea that fear itself is not the enemy, but a gateway to awakening. With her signature warmth and clarity, Pema invites us to turn toward our fear with curiosity and compassion—not to overcome it, but to befriend it. Facing fear directly can open us to courage, tenderness, and an unshakable confidence in our own basic goodness.

“To be a warrior is to learn to be genuine in every moment of your life.” — Chögyam TrungpaIn the Shambhala tradition, w...
05/08/2025

“To be a warrior is to learn to be genuine in every moment of your life.” — Chögyam Trungpa

In the Shambhala tradition, warriorship isn’t about aggression—it’s about bravery, tenderness, and radical authenticity.

The true warrior meets each moment with openness and heart, grounded in the belief that basic goodness is always present.

Want to learn more?

Join Sonoma Shambhala for their monthly community gathering. Whether you’re new to meditation or have an established practice, these sessions offer an opportunity to slow down, connect, and cultivate awareness.

Second Saturday of each month: 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM

Location: 255 West Napa Street, Sonoma, CA 95476

Everyone is welcome, and there is no cost to attend.

Each session includes:

• A short talk by an experienced teacher on a monthly topic.

• Guided and silent meditation practice.

• Time for discussion and questions.

No need to RSVP—just come as you are.

Questions?
Call us at 415-412-8570 or email sonoma.shambhala@gmail.com

Sonoma Shambhala is part of Shambhala Global, a network of meditation centers committed to creating spaces where everyone can explore meditation and mindful living.

You’re warmly invited to a weekend of courage, connection, and stillness. In a world that often feels overwhelming, how ...
05/05/2025

You’re warmly invited to a weekend of courage, connection, and stillness. In a world that often feels overwhelming, how can we meet each moment with clarity, gentleness, and strength?

Join us for Fearless Heart in an Unsettled World, a hybrid weekend retreat (in-person or online) at Sonoma Shambhala, led by longtime teachers Joanne Martin Braun and Irv Kirschbaum.

Together, we’ll explore how meditation and mindful community can help us reconnect with our innate goodness and show up more fully for ourselves and the world. Whether you're new to meditation or deepening your journey, this retreat offers a welcoming space to pause, reflect, and root into your inner wisdom.

Saturday & Sunday, May 31- June 1 | 8:30 am–5:00 pm
Offered in-person in Sonoma and online via Zoom

Sliding scale pricing available
Everyone is welcome — no experience necessary.
Let’s gather in community to rediscover what’s possible when we lead with open hearts.

Check out the Sonoma Shambhala website to register and learn more.

When mindfulness begins to grow and expand, you become more aware of the environment around you, of something more than ...
04/24/2025

When mindfulness begins to grow and expand, you become more aware of the environment around you, of something more than just body and mind alone. And then, at some point, mindfulness and awareness are joined together, which becomes one open eye, one big precision. At that point, a person becomes much less crude. Because you have been paying attention to your thoughts and actions, you become more refined.

Out of that precision and refinement comes gentleness. You are not just paying attention, but you are also aware of your own pain and pleasure, and you develop sympathy and friendship for yourself. From that you are able to understand, or at least see, the pain and suffering of others, and you begin to develop a tremendous sense of sympathy for others. At the same time, such sympathy also helps the mindfulness-awareness process develop further. Basically, you become a gentle person. You begin to realize that you are good: totally good and totally wholesome. You have a sense of trust in yourself and in the world. There is something to grip on to, and the quality of path or journey emerges out of that. You feel you want to do something for others and something for yourself. There is a sense of universal kindness, goodness, and genuineness.

When you experience precision and gentleness, the phenomenal world is no longer seen as an obstacle—or as being particularly helpful, for that matter. It is seen and appreciated as it is. At this point, you are able to transmute the various defilements of passion, aggression, and ignorance into a state of wisdom.

~ ChĂśgyam Trungpa, The Collected Works of ChĂśgyam Trungpa, Volume 2

03/16/2025

Join us Saturday, April 5

Creative Dharma: A Day of Self-Expression & Group Exploration at the Sonoma Shambhala Center.

🧘‍♀️🌿

Through meditation, poetic imagery, collage, and expressive writing, facilitators Deborah Hill & Kerry Schwartz will guide you in a journey of deep listening, self-discovery, and creative flow.

No experience needed—just bring scissors, a glue stick, a journal, and a bag lunch!

📍 In-Person Only | 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM
💰 Sliding scale: $75-$95 (or pay what you can—no one turned away!)
🔗 Space is limited—register now!

✨ Let go, explore, and create from the heart.

Address

Sonoma, CA

Opening Hours

9am - 11am

Telephone

+14154128570

Website

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