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| A Time of Renewal
With the awakening of spring, we are reminded of the sacred cycles of renewal and transformation. At the Charis Foundation, we remain devoted to nurturing the deep connections of spiritual paths—connections that we believe are essential for societal transformation and inner development.
Your support makes it possible for us to continue offering sacred space, retreats, and programs that catalyze spiritual growth and honor the wisdom of diverse traditions. This season, we invite you to join us in sowing seeds of unity, presence, and transformation.
In the coming days, you’ll receive an email outlining the many programs, structural improvements, and expansions we’ve undertaken over the last year—made possible through your generosity.
Your donation helps us grow this work and carry the message forward. |
| | Check out all about Charis Foundation in this 5 minute video |
| | | | | We offer condolences on the death of His Holiness Pope Francis. Pope Francis was the first Jesuit and Latin American pope, and in 2019, Rory attended a private audience with Pope Francis during an interreligious conference at the Vatican. Rory still recalls fondly his meeting, and how earnestly Pope Francis asked Rory to pray for him, even grabbing Rory as he walked away to repeat this request. Here was a prayerful soul, vulnerable and open, who knew that he could only survive on the prayers of others. Pope Francis leaves us a legacy of passionate work in addressing ecological justice and advocating for the marginalized in society. We pray for his peace and glory in this transition to new life! |
| | | Charis Circles Facilitator Retreat
March 19th – 23rd we were blessed to hold our Charis Circle Facilitator Graduation Retreat at the Charis Mandala Sanctuary in the heart of Des Moines, NM. Our new facilitators traveled from all over the country to share space and time together, growing deeper in practice and understanding of Charis Mediation and Charis Circles. We were honored with the joy of a new born, as one of our facilitators brought her 3-month old, reminding us of the importance of spontaneity and coming together to support one another in community.
Interested in joining a Chris Circle Community? New in-person and online circles are starting! Email us at chariscircles@charisinterspirituality.org |
| | | | Have you been on a Charis Retreat?Join us July 3 – 12!
Charis is holding its first 10-day retreats in 2025!Sign Up for an upcoming retreat at Charis Mandala Sanctuary!These retreats will be taught by Charis teachers Rory McEntee, Alejandra Warden, and Netanel Miles-Yépez
Space is limited! Please reach out if you’re interested in more information. admin@charisinterspirituality.org |
| | July 3 – 12 10-day Charis Retreat Stages of the Path All Practitioners Welcome Join us for an enriching 10-day Charis Retreat, where we’ll explore the Stages of the Spiritual Path through diverse religious traditions, including Christianity, Buddhism, Sufism, and the Sacred Feminine. Led by Rory McEntee, Netanel Miles-Yépez, and Alejandra Warden this interspiritual retreat invites you to deepen your practice and understanding of spiritual growth. Set amidst the serene Charis Mandala Sanctuary, the retreat includes meditation, contemplative practice, spiritual dialogue, and periods of silence. Explore the stages of the spiritual path while integrating transformative wisdom into your everyday life. Whether you’re new to Charis Meditation or looking to deepen your practice, all are welcome to this unique opportunity for shared learning and spiritual awakening. REGISTER HERE |
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| Oct. 24 – Nov. 2 10-day Charis Retreat Nature of the Path Experienced Practitioners Welcome
Join us for an advanced 10-day Charis Retreat, where our experienced Charis teachers, Rory McEntee, Netanel Miles-Yépez, and Alejandra Warden, will guide you through diverse contemplative traditions, including Christianity, Buddhism, and Sufism. Together, we will explore how each tradition approaches the spiritual path—what sets them apart and where they intersect. Diving deeper into question like: “What can we learn from the similarities and differences between Christian and Buddhist perspectives? What does it mean to have insights from varying traditions on the path?And how can we use these insights to deepen our own transformative journey?” This retreat is designed for practitioners with at least a few years of daily meditation experience.
REGISTER HERE |
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| | | | Vows to Live By | Charis Community Vows
During our recent facilitator retreat, we took time to contemplate the Charis Community Vows to live by. In this 2 minute video below, Charis co-founders, Netanel Miles-Yépez and Rory McEntee, read through them, as something you may reflect more deeply on. |
| | The Charis Community Vows represent the everyday values, guiding principles, or ethos that holds the Charis community together. They are ideals we strive to live into, not meant as binding vows for everyone. These values consciously infuse all of our Programs. We offer the Charis Community Vows as guidelines for one’s spiritual journey.
Learn more at charisinterspirituality.org/values/ |
| | Charis CirclesCharis Circles are small, interspiritual practice communities which may be established anywhere in the world by trained facilitators. Featuring a communal practice of Charis Meditation, Charis Circles provide a broadly accessible way to experience interspiritual community. Charis Circles are held either in-person or online, and serve to feed a deep hunger for spiritual community and practice. |
| | Learn all about Charis Circles in this 5 minute video |
| | | | | Keating-Schachter Center Update |
| | “A Jewish-Buddhist Dialogue on Resourcing Ourselves for Transformation in Changing Times”
On April 2nd, the Keating-Schachter Center for Interspirituality at Naropa University held an lively Jewish-Buddhist Dialogue with esteemed teachers, Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, Dr. Amelia Hall, Rabbi Or Rose, and Löpon Charlotte Rotterdam, discussing how Jews and Buddhists can resource themselves in challenging times. The event was attended online and in-person by over 160 people. |
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Rabbi Tirzah Firestone is a fellow student of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, an author and psychotherapist focusing on intergenerational trauma, and one of the senior rabbis of the Jewish Renewal movement. Tirzah is the author of Wounds into Wisdom: Healing Intergenerational Jewish Trauma, The Receiving: Reclaiming Jewish Women’s Wisdom, and the newly republished With Roots in Heaven: One Woman’s Passionate Journey into the Heart of Her Faith.
In this episode, we talk about the evolution of Tirzah’s work on intergenerational trauma, pros and cons of the popularization of the concept of ‘trauma,’ Tirzah’s recent teaching trip to Berlin amidst the rise of Neo-Fascist politics, Jewish & Israeli reactions to the events of Oct. 7th as an unhealthy trauma response, the conflation of Jewish identity with Jewish nationalism, the search for authority in the opinions of Reb Zalman (Tirzah and Netanel’s teacher), Reb Zalman’s desire to pray across dividing lines and include God in worldly decisions and problems, the ‘seeds’ we inherit from our ancestors and which we choose to water, the potentially transformative impact of psychologically based ancestral healing, and the image of the two cherubs atop the Holy of Holies as a metaphor for masculine/feminine balance. You can learn more about Tirzah and her work on her website.
The New Monastics Podcast can be found on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, iHeart radio, and more. |
| | Nature’s Corner from Charis Mandala Sanctuary |
| | Crows often represent a call to embrace new beginnings and reminder to tap into our intuition. A symbol of transformation, change, and adaptability, the crow helps us to soar into balance, navigating the spaces between… light and dark, life and death. Flying away from what no longer serves us toward a new horizon. Though some cultures seem them as ominous omens and messengers of death, the Hindu tradition believes them to serve as messengers to departed ancestors. |
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Vow EightTo live a life of simplicity, clarifying my own needs and Relationship to the Earth in support of its continued life and health.
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