Awakening Joy

James Baraz -Teaching Schedule


DATE/TIME

 

LOCATION AND EVENT

San Francisco Standard Time is UTC-8. (California practices Daylight Savings Time, during which San Francisco is UTC-7)
James' Weekly Meditation Group - Online

Every Thursday

7:30 - 9:00 PM
San Francisco Time

19:30 - 21:00
(UTC-8, except during daylight savings time, when California is UTC-7)

 

Weekly Meditation Session with Dharma talk and discussion, Insight Berkeley, Berkeley, California

www.insightberkeley.org

Annual Awakening Joy Course - Online starting Each Year in January

Starting
Jan. 26, 2027

Every Other Tuesday

6:00 - 8:00 PM
San Francisco Time
(UTC-8)

18:00 - 20:00
UTC-8, except during daylight savings time, when California is UTC-7

2027 Awakening Joy Course runs for 5 months, January 26 - June 1

 

Registration for the 2027 Awakening Joy Course

 

Ten themes are presented and practiced.

Recordings of online sessions + practice letters are available through the end of 2027.

Join a s small practice group- they form all over the world.

New enrollees may join after the course has started.

If interested in the accompanying Teacher Training, you can find more information and the application here.

SEPTEMBER 2026

Sept 2 - 7

Wed. Arrive
2:30 - 4:30 PM

Mon. Depart
11:00am

5-night silent retreat, sponsored by Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Woodacre, California

Traditional Labor Day Retreat
with James Baraz

This retreat emphasizes quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing clarity and depth of practice. Traditional instructions will be combined with a spirit of lovingkindness, and our time together will include a schedule of silent sitting and walking periods, guided Yoga/movement sessions, as well as practice meetings with teachers and daily Dharma talks.


Information and registration

September 20 - 27

 

8-day silent retreat, Insight Meditation Society (IMS) , Barre, MA

Awakening Well-Being: Cultivating Wholesome States in Difficult Times

with James Baraz, Carol Wilson, Gullu Singh, Jeanne Corrigal, Alexa Redner

This silent retreat will focus on cultivating various states of well-being (kusala in Pali) and will include periods of sitting, walking, instructions, daily talks and meetings with the teachers. Both new and experienced meditators are welcome.

 

Information and Registration

Sept. 29 - Oct. 26

 

First Month of 2-Month Silent Retreat, Insight Meditation Society (IMS) , Barre, MA

with James Baraz, Andrea Fella, Greg Scharf, Matthew Hepburn, Eowyn Ahlstrom

This four-week partial of the two-month course is a special time for practice. Because of its extended length and ongoing guidance, it is an opportunity for students to deepen the powers of concentration, wisdom, and compassion. This silent retreat will encourage a balanced attitude of relaxation and alertness, and the continuity of practice based on the Buddha’s Four Foundations of Mindfulness.

 

Information and Registration

OCTOBER 2026

Oct. 1 - 26

See month-long Retreat, above, starting Sept. 29.

 

Oct. 3

First Saturday of each month
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM PT

A Nine-Month Program for Men

with James, Daniel Ellenberg and Keith Martin-Smith

"Strength with Heart"

Strength with Heart is a 9-month training in embodied masculine maturity for men who want to become steadier, more honest, more connected, and more fully alive. Through meditation, embodied practice, psychological insight, small-group connection, and real-life integration, you’ll develop the presence, courage, and emotional range to meet work, family, conflict, aging, purpose, and change with greater clarity and care.

Registration and Information

NOVEMBER 2026

Nov. 15

Daylong at Berkeley Buddhist Monastery

with James and Eve Decker

Details to be Provided

DECEMBER 2026

Dec. 13

 

Daylong (onland and online), Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Woodacre, CA

with James and Tara Brach

"Intimacy with Life: Undoing the Habits That Armor the Heart"

This will be a day of meditation and inquiry devoted to loosening the habits that separate us from our inner life and from each other. As our hearts open, we rediscover our capacity for joy, deepen our sense of kinship with
all beings, and engage more actively in caring for our world.

 

Information and registration can be found, once posted, on the Spirit Rock calendar.

Dec. 31

New Years Eve at Spirit Rock

with James and Jennifer Berezin

Details to be Provided

JANUARY 2027

January 15 - 17

Friday 5:00 PM - Sunday 12:00 PM

See Schedule here

In-person, long weekend with James at Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California

“Embodying Joy: Relaxing the Body Into Being

Through guided meditation, gentle movement, somatic inquiry, partner exercises, and contemplative reflection, you’ll discover practical ways to release chronic tension, deepen presence, and allow joy to move more freely through your body and life.

Register at the Esalen Instistute:
https://www.esalen.org/workshops/embodying-joy-relaxing-the-body-into-being-011527

January 26
Tuesday

6:00 - 8:00 PM
San Francisco Time (18:00 - 20:00 UTC-8)

First Live Zoom session for the 2027 Awakening Joy Course

Registration for the 2027 Awakening Joy Course

Registrations are accepted after the course begins. It's easy to catch up.

FEBRUARY 2027

 

 

 

MARCH 2027

 

 

APRIL 2027

 

 

 

MAY 2027

 

 

 

 

 

JUNE 2027

 

 

JULY 2027

 

 


 

AUGUST 2027

 

 

 

JANUARY 2027

January 15 - 17

Friday 5:00 PM - Sunday 12:00 PM

See Schedule here

In-person, long weekend with James, Esalen Institute
Big Sur, California

“Embodying Joy: Relaxing the Body Into Being

Through guided meditation, gentle movement, somatic inquiry, partner exercises, and contemplative reflection, you’ll discover practical ways to release chronic tension, deepen presence, and allow joy to move more freely through your body and life.

Register at the Esalen Instistute:
https://www.esalen.org/workshops/embodying-joy-relaxing-the-body-into-being-011527

January 26
Tuesday

6:00 - 8:00 PM
San Francisco Time (18:00 - 20:00 UTC-8)

First Live Zoom session for the 2027 Awakening Joy Course

Registration for the 2027 Awakening Joy Course

Registrations are accepted after the course begins. It's easy to catch up.

FEBRUARY 2027

 

 

 

MARCH 2027

 

 

APRIL 2027

 

 

 

MAY 2027

 

 

 

 

 

JUNE 2027

 

 

JULY 2027

 

 


 

AUGUST 2027