Self-Enquiry Enlightenment Intensive and Awareness Intensive Meetups

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A Request for Support

We intend to continue offering these gatherings free of charge and would like some help to cover costs. If that is something you feel moved to help with, please see our Donate page. Thank you!

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For New People without Experience of Self-enquiry Dyads

As a new person, you are warmly invited to attend all the presentations which occur at the beginning of each monthly event. To participate in dyads in breakout rooms (the second part of each event), it will be necessary for you to be introduced to the particular dyad technique we use. There is an opportunity for this during the first dyad period so that you may then, if you wish, join the second dyad practice with another participant. For more information and an explanation of terms used, see ‘New to Dyads?’

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With special thanks to Osha Reader, Lawrence Noyes, and Grace Honore for their support and suggestions. Dedicated to Murray Kennedy and Edrid for their inspiration and personal guidance. Dedicated to Osho. 

If you have any queries, please email us at info@selfenquirydyads.org 

The Presentations

Each month an Awareness Intensive Leader from the Osho communities or an Enlightenment Intensive Master will present an informative and inspiring talk about various aspects of these intensives and of the dyad process.

“Awareness Intensive (AI)” is the name used in Osho communities; the process is the same as in other communities where they use the name “Enlightenment Intensive (EI)”.

Each monthly presentation will include the unique, and often inspiring, personal experiences of the presenter.

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There are many benefits of these intensives, especially how they are an opportunity for you to discover and “directly experience” the truth of who and what you actually are, of what life is, of what love is, and of what others are.

This process is suitable for every sincere seeker of truth in their lives, regardless of religious or spiritual orientation. Care is taken so that no belief system is introduced or taught. Only a method is provided to facilitate effective and satisfying personal enquiry and experience.

Previous Presenters

These monthly gatherings started in April 2022,  So far we’ve had presentations by Edrid (a student of Charles Berner, the creator of Enlightenment Intensives); Murray Kennedy leading a tribute to Jeff Love; Lawrence Noyes, Ganga and Garimo, Simone Anliker from Global Dyads, Zen Reverend Pitaka Christie Close, Forest Dalton, founder of the Love Intensive, Avikal Costantino, Colleen Santini, Smaran Stockard, Bill Savoie, Osha Reader, Russell Scott, Emma and Barry McGuinness, Murray Kennedy, Yoah Wexler, Doug Seeley, John Heron, Emir Salihovic, Paul Weiss, Grace Honore, Jake Chapman, Shivam O'Brien, Lila Paradigm group, Joseph Rubano, Satyen Raja, Luke and Matthew Farren, Attila Kalo, Sally Dearman-Cummings ,Zarina Parpia, Katrin Potticary, Ava Harrison (Berner), Tim Wang and Jessica Lamm.

Event Dates and Times

All events in this Zoom series occur on the first Wednesday of each month.

Events begin at:

• 8pm Central European time
• 7pm London time
• 2pm in Eastern USA/Canada  
• 11am Pacific Time  

Privacy: If you would like to remain anonymous on the Zoom call, please see Privacy on Zoom.

Next Presentation in this Series

Wednesday, August 5, 2026 - presentation by Matt Shinkai Kane

The Face to Face Encounter in Zen and the Beauty of the Enlightenment Intensive

I'd like to talk about my journey of finding the Way of the Enlightenment Intensive/dyad practice within the context of my Zen practice in Japan. It seems that many people in the meditation and Zen world meditate for many years but don't have definitive shifts. They can waste a lot of time. My Zen teacher, Shinzan Roshi, was creative and encouraged us to face each other when working with our questions/koans (group sanzen) rather than only having the face to face encounter between a teacher and student (sanzen), as is often the case at Zen temples. Koans are deeply embedded in the Zen tradition and I witnessed them being practiced individually, with a partner, and within a group in Japan.

In addition to the face to face koan practice we did at the temple, I found that attending Enlightenment Intensives or Breakthrough to Zen Retreats over the years helped me immensely, especially as I was integrating back into "normal life" in the US. The combination of maintaining a daily practice and of the deep immersion/shifts at E.I.s has been transformative. Also, an emphasis on staying grounded, both in life and at intensives, feels crucial to integrating and deepening what one finds to be true.

At the Zen center where I currently teach in Oregon, we encourage students to have a sitting practice and to also attend intensives. This blend of the two seems instrumental in the unfoldment of their spiritual paths. I'm looking forward to talking about some of these dynamics and also the Zen-infused intensives that we offer.

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About Matt

Matt found intensive work while practicing Zen at Gyokuryuji Temple in Japan for 7 years. It was clear to him that working with a partner in the dyad format ("group sanzen" in Zen) could allow for deep, faster shifts into the world of truth, rather than strictly doing meditation practice. Matt became a Zen teacher in the Rinzai Zen lineage through Zen master Shinzan Miyamae (a lovely Japanese Zen teacher who passed away 5 years ago) and in the Soto Zen lineage through Zen master Julian Daizan Skinner (founder of Zenways). 

Matt incorporates the way of the awareness/enlightenment intensive at Blue Cliff Zen Center where he teaches in Eugene, Oregon. He completed his senior monitor training with Lawrence Noyes and his master's training with Julian Daizan Skinner. He also studies with Murray Kennedy and Patsy Boyer. Matt is dedicated to offering intensives throughout the year as a way of providing an opportunity for people to get an initial taste of awakening and of integrating it more fully into their life.

The intensives Matt offers at Blue Cliff are called "Breakthrough to Zen Retreats". BZRs are essentially Zen infused E.I.s with some slight differences, such as the incorporation of different questions (koans) and the use of Zen movement and energy practices within the schedule of the retreat.

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Matt's websites: Breakthrough to Zen Retreats | Blue Cliff Zen Center | YouTube Channel 

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The presentation will be followed by two optional dyad sessions. If you have not participated in online dyads before, you are welcome to join a free training session during the first dyad and then participate in the second one if you wish.

Join the Zoom Call

A few minutes before the event start time (we have music playing 15 minutes before the start), click the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83979867311?pwd=aFJjTkN5b0FzRDYvMkNVTkFjZmVnUT09

Meeting ID: 839 7986 7311

Passcode: 768440

Future Presentations

Wednesday, September 2, 2026 – presentation by Peter Ralston

Dangers of Beliefs and Assumptions in Pursuing Consciousness

I intend to talk about the dangers of beliefs and assumptions in pursuing consciousness or any spiritual path. Very often there are hidden beliefs within a practice that people don't notice. These are damaging to the effort of contemplation. Getting free of overlooked assumptions allows a much more powerful contemplation to take place. This applies not only to enlightenment questions but to all questions whose purpose is to experience what's true on any level. 

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About Peter 

Peter Ralston is one of the founders of the consciousness movement that began in the San Francisco Bay Area—the birthplace for much of the personal growth work generated in the late Sixties and early Seventies. 

Peter was fortunate to study with the top facilitators of this groundbreaking era in human potential. He worked for Stewart Emery in Actualizations and helped Werner Erhard create a fundamental shift in his work from EST to developing the Forum. Peter also spent many thousands of hours in contemplation, and participated in dozens of intensives with the founder of the Enlightenment Intensive, and many more EI's with others. 

After having several powerful enlightenment experiences in the early 70’s, he continued to increase consciousness over the following decades. In 1978 he was the first non-Asian to win the full-contact World Martial Championships in the republic of China. Later, he created his own art, the Art of Effortless Power, and a new school of consciousness that contributed a powerful new direction, pressing for a deeper level of honesty and a more authentic approach than most other spiritual practices. In both his consciousness and physical work his approach has always been to lead students away from what is merely believed, and toward a powerful personal experience of discovering what is true for themselves. 

He is the author of over a dozen cutting edge books such as: The Book of Not Knowing, Pursuing Consciousness, The Genius of Being, The Art of Mastery, Ending Unnecessary Suffering, and more recently Whereof One Cannot Speak. 

Peter’s website: chenghsin.com

Some Appreciation

"Thank you so much for this!

I'm training to be a Master and all this early history helps me learn more about the nature of the intensive.

Warmly, MM, US"