POTLUCK DHARMA
Annual Community Celebration & Fundraiser for Mountain Home Sanctuary
With Joryu Myosei, John Prendergast & Christiane Prendergast
In partnership with Open Circle, honoring Rob Schwartz and his vision for maintaining Mountain Home Sanctuary, his home and land, as a retreat space for spiritual gatherings.
Featuring Mirabai as our special musical guest
Saturday, November 22, 2025
10 am to 3 pm
Fairfax, CA
Scenes from our 2024 Fundraiser.
About the Fundraiser for Mountain Home Sanctuary
This event presents an opportunity to practice generosity and to celebrate the blessings of gathering in spiritual community. The net proceeds from Potluck Dharma will be donated to Rosie Siscon to support her in honoring Rob Schwartz, co-founder of Open Circle, and his vision to maintain his property, Mountain Home Sanctuary, as a retreat space for spiritual gatherings. Your generous donations for this event help with the ongoing expenses inherent in keeping this special place open and available for sangha.
Joryu Myosei created and leads Potluck Dharma as a monthly community practice gathering and holds an annual fundraising event in November for Mountain Home Sanctuary with the help of so many in our community. John & Christiane Prendergast, have generously joined this year to offer their deep and embodied wisdom. Mirabai will be offering devotional music to open our hearts with her soulful voice and instruments. Rosie Siscon has lovingly stewarded Mountain Home Sanctuary as a place for us to gather. Phil Deardorff and Rick Bierman, along with the Open Circle team, have volunteered their time and efforts to get the word out and ensure the day runs smoothly. And so many others in the community have provided ideas, resources, and helping hands to bring the Potluck Dharma Annual Fundraiser to life.
And the last ingredient is you! We can’t wait to share the wisdom, the music, and the meal with all of you. Thank you so much for joining us and for your contribution!
Donations
If you are unable to attend the event and would like to make a donation or if you wish to offer additional financial support, you may do so here. Thank you!
An Urgent Need for Investors
In addition to the ongoing expenses, there is an urgent need to find investors for Mountain Home Sanctuary before January. Currently the property is in bankruptcy proceedings, with a pressing need to find an investor or group of investors to purchase the property and to partner with Rosie to keep Rob’s original vision alive and evolving for the future, maintaining the home and land as a place for spiritual gatherings. If you are interested in learning more and contributing or if you know of potential investors who might share this vision, please follow the link below.
Join us for Practice & Connection Featuring:
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Joryu Myosei
Joryu Myosei is a spiritual guide, nondual meditation and inquiry teacher, licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and holds a master certification as an intuitive energy healer. Myosei took formal bodhisattva vows in 2011, dedicating her life to awakening for the benefit of all beings and her work to supporting awakening in others and its expression in daily life. Through retreats, spiritual gatherings, and one-to-one inquiry work with clients, she invites all to experience their deepest knowing and to live authentic, fully engaged lives with joy and purpose. joryumyosei.com
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John Prendergast
John J. Prendergast, PhD, is a nondual teacher and author of Your Deepest Ground: A Guide to Embodied Spirituality, The Deep Heart: Our Portal to Presence, and In Touch: How to Tune In to the Inner Guidance of Your Body and Trust Yourself. He is a retired psychotherapist and a retired adjunct professor of psychology at CIIS where he taught and supervised masters-level counseling students for 23 years. John studied for many years with the European sage, Jean Klein, as well as with Adyashanti, who offered him dharma transmission in 2023. He co-leads retreats with his wife, Christiane, as well as offers a number of courses online. listeningfromsilence.com
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Christiane Prendergast
Christiane Prendergast, a native of France, studied for 20 years with Jean Klein, who invited her to share his unique Kashmiri-influenced approach to body sensing and yoga. Christiane offers an online class most Monday mornings as well as group sessions during residential retreats, which she co-leads with her husband, John, in the United States and Europe.
With Devotional Music by Mirabai
Kirtan singer and yoga teacher, Mirabai has been offering events in the Bay Area for two decades. She blends her folk music background with Indian harmonium and vocals to create unique melodies with mantras. This Bhakti yoga invites participants to sing together, calm the mind, and rest more in the heart. Her music can be found online on all listening platforms. mirabaiyoga.com
In Partnership with Open Circle
Open Circle is a non-sectarian community dedicated to supporting the practices of mindful and open-hearted awareness, drawing inspiration from a variety of traditions & fields of study, which point to direct experience as a source of wisdom and love. opencirclecenter.org
Followed by Our Shared Lunch Celebrating Fall:
We will provide a delicious, gluten-free, vegetarian meal that includes a seasonal soup, salad, and main dish, along with tea and an herbal tisane.
This year we’re inviting you to bring a favorite side or dessert from your family or lineage to share with the community. Food offerings are optional and not required to attend.
If you’d like to contribute, please bring a vegetarian dish serving 6-8 people, along with serving utensils and a notecard clearly listing all ingredients to accompany your dish on the buffet table.
Our Flow for the Day:
9:30am: Arrive & Settle In
10am: Devotional Music & Welcome
10:30am: Dharma Talk, Guided Meditation & Group Reflections
11:45am: Exploration in Stillness
12:30pm: Break & Time in Nature
1pm: Community Lunch
2:40pm: Closing & Announcements
3pm: Depart or Stay Longer to Enjoy the Land
Registration
& Financial Assistance
Please register at the highest tier that you can comfortably afford so that we may contribute to Mountain Home Sanctuary and support those with limited means in attending the event.
$250
I can cover my meal and event costs, donate a meal for a member of the community, and make a donation to Rosie and Mountain Home Sanctuary.
$150
I can cover my meal and event costs and make a donation to Rosie and Mountain Home Sanctuary.
$75
I can cover my meal and event costs.
In keeping with our mission to make gatherings available to all, we will be offering financial assistance for a limited number of spaces for this event. Please contact Myosei here to apply.
Registration closes November 19th.
Space is limited so register early to save your seat at our table.