Hybrid Karma Yoga Program

As a student of Sensei and Catherine, this program is a good fit for you if you are …

• eager to spend quality time onsite with the teachers’ and resident sangha community
• wanting to work remotely from Clear Sky, our supportive spiritual container
• wanting to combine a retreat with working remotely at Clear Sky
• wanting to do full time karma yoga for an extended period of time
• completing a body of your foundation work
• tuning back into a sane wholesome spiritual life 

You probably find that after spending time with Doug and Catherine Sensei once or twice a year that your confusions and stress drop away and you rest into empty spaciousness with them. Being in their presence, you feel nourished and get a full injection of motivation to awaken more speedily and more quickly.

When you depart after retreat you vow to make some positive changes, finish the practise you are doing, continue to do that weekly, monthly or yearly challenge, and maybe change a bad habit. For the first few weeks you are all gung ho, and yet returning to a life full of distractions and competing commitments, the confusions settle back in. You forget and lose touch with the vibrancy of the awakened mind and awakening energy. 

What you really need to do is find a way to spend more time with the teachers and other sangha members actively practicing. A lot of people say they can’t because it is expensive having the teachers once a year, or they don’t have the time necessary in their schedule to do. The thing is, the Teachers are onsite, year round and we have created a package to support you to spend more time on retreat and living in community at Clear Sky. With the new resident accommodations at Clear Sky, called Oasis, and our new business model which supports personal livelihood and sustainability we are able to live and embody the principle, it’s easier with others. This means that you can combine a retreat with working remotely from Clear Sky. BONUS: you also get to participate in community living.

Benefits of our Hybrid Karma Yoga Program include:

• Profound, compassionate and powerful teachings every day from the Teachers
• Learning directly from the Teachers in seeing how they maintain equanimity every day
• Immersion and training in a challenging and supportive growth-focused community
• Daily meditations and support in areas of growth with built in accountability
• The opportunity to address personal blind spots with support from the teachers and sangha 
• Deepening your foundation work and personal practice
• Integrating your karma yoga, meditation and work-life away from regular distractions
• Being healthy thanks to the community, lifestyle, meals, and activities you participate in
• Being in nature and on the land 
• Deepening calm, more energy, and alignment of purpose
• Being part of something bigger than yourself

What can I expect?

In the following list are examples of the activities you would be engaged in at Clear Sky, depending on your abilities and skills. We do not assign tasks by preference.  Though there may be tasks you are more suited to, part of the learning is to engage in whatever comes your way.

• Karma Yoga in service to the teachers’
• Karma Yoga in service to leaders of Planet Dharma and/or Clear Sky
• Serving personal retreatants
• Being on the meal rota
• Cleaning
• Maintenance and outdoor physical activities
• Land activities (eco-restoration, harvesting and food forest care)

Technical/ skilled labor based on abilities such as:

• chainsawing
• building
• marketing (video production, writing, admin)

How much free time will I have to connect with family, friends ?

Very little and this is intentional. Our program has been consciously crafted as an immersion experience so that you can dive deep and reap the benefits of a retreat. Like when you go on retreat, you are encouraged to take space from your regular activities, relationships, and habits (not that there is anything wrong with them, necessarily). This space gives you the opportunity to become more conscious about yourself and how you spend your time. As a result of our program, we find that participants learn to fast track their spiritual growth, engage in their lives more fully, and prioritize their personal time more wisely.

I do not have a car, how can I get around?

Often there are people on site with vehicles that you can ride-share with and offer money for gas. You will need to communicate and plan in advance in order to make this a workable option for all involved.  There are also 310 acres of beautiful nature to explore at Clear Sky itself.

Where will I stay?
Over three month periods, a number of retreats and events can take place at Clear Sky. For this reason, you can expect to change rooms more than once. There may be small windows where you have your own room. At other times you can expect to share with at least one other and up to three others. During the summer months you are welcome to tent if you enjoy sleeping outdoors and watching the starry skies.

What kind of meals will you serve me?
We ask all participants to come with a mind of curiosity and non-clinging to preferences. For vegetarians and vegans, you can expect to be well fed, however there will be less options as we do cater mostly to omnivores. We are all encouraged to use our relationships with food for meditation and exploration. We source our food from our gardens, food forest, local suppliers, and eat organic as much as possible. Most people who visit rave about how nourishing the food is.

Can I have a friend or family come and stay?
We welcome guests who are genuinely interested in what we do. Since we are running a working monastery with a particular purpose and focus, we ask that you get approval from the on-site management team before inviting family and friends to visit you.

Can I work while I’m at Clear Sky?

Yes. There is an option to do a combination of Karma Yoga and personal livelihood while participating as a member of the CS community.

Program length

The Hybrid Karma Yoga Program requires a minimum two week stay. If you are staying for less than 2 weeks, we recommend the Clear Sky Experience program.

Requirements

• A minimum of 2 days of karma yoga/week is required in the program and a maximum of 4 days personal livelihood/week.
• Everyone onsite takes one day for integration a week

Pricing

Rates for the Hybrid Program are based on the number of days of karma yoga/week prorated for the length of time onsite.

• $1600/4 weeks for food and accommodation: 4 days/wk for  livelihood/personal work and 2 days/wk for Karma Yoga
• $1400/4 weeks for food and accommodation: 3 days/wk for  livelihood/personal work and 3 days/wk for Karma Yoga
• $1200/4 weeks for food and accommodation: 2 days/wk for  livelihood/personal work and 4 days/wk for Karma Yoga
• $1000/4 weeks for food and accommodation: 1 days/wk for  livelihood/personal work and 4 days/wk for Karma Yoga
• $800/4 weeks for food and accommodation: 6 days/wk for Karma Yoga only

A Day in the Life of a Karma Yogi on the Clear Sky Hybrid Package

Below is a typical schedule you can expect.  It’s a full schedule, aiming to provide a supportive structure and routine balancing meditation, karma yoga, livelihood, nourishing meals and self-care time.

Additional Notes:

This is the ideal schedule for participating fully in the community rhythms.  With pre-agreement with the Clear Sky team some adjustments to the schedule can be made to fit livelihood needs.