Napa Valley Insight Meditation

An Evening with Special Guest Ayya Santacitta
2025-11-11 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA, 94559
Ayya Santacitta was born in Austria and did her graduate studies in Cultural Anthropology, focusing on dance, theatre and ritual. She also worked in avant-garde dance theatre as a performer and costume designer. In 1988 she met Ajahn Buddhadasa in southern Thailand, who sparked her interest in Buddhist monastic life. She trained as a nun in England and Asia from 1993 until 2009, primarily in the lineage of Ajahn Chah. Since 2002, she has also received teachings in the lineage of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.
Ayya Santacitta co-founded Aloka Vihara in 2009 and received Bhikkhuni Ordination in 2011. She is committed to Gaia as a living being and resides at Aloka Earth Room (https://alokavihara.org/aloka-earth-room/), currently located in San Rafael, CA.
To learn more about Ayya Santacitta go to: https://alokavihara.org/
COVID Recommendations For Gathering Safely
(recommended by https://covid19.ca.gov “Current Safety Measures”):

If you have recently been exposed to COVID, it is recommended that you wear a mask indoors through day 10.
If you test positive for COVID without symptoms, please do not attend sangha for at least 5 full days and wear a mask indoors through day 10.
If you test positive for COVID and have symptoms, please do not attend sangha for at least 5 full days; and then do not return until your symptoms are mild, improving, and you are fever-free for at least 24 hours. Wear a mask indoors through Day 10.

Thursday Morning Online Meditation
2025-11-13 09:00 - 10:00 | https://napainsight.org/event/thursday-morning-online-meditation-8/2025-11-13/
NVIM will continue to host our Thursday morning meditations by Zoom. Morning meditation is led by Debbie Darrin, and others, and begins promptly at 9:00am. All are welcome.
Thursday morning sits begin with an inspirational reading, followed by a 30-minute mostly silent meditation period and a short 10-minute period in which individuals may comment on their own practice while the group listens in silence.
To receive the Zoom link one day in advance, sign up for our mailing list at: https://napainsight.org/contact/newsletter/

Meditation & Discussion with Mike Coughlin
2025-11-18 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-01-13 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-02-10 19:00 - 20:30 | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA, 94559
This Tuesday evening sangha will be led by Mike Coughlin. Mike is a public school administrator, trained mediator, and has been practicing mindfulness in the vipassana tradition for over 15 years. He has received training through Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Mindful Schools and is a Certified Mindfulness Facilitator through the Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior at the University of California, Los Angeles. Mike has over 20 years of experience working with high-risk youth, most specifically in residential and day treatment programs, as well as years of mediation experience in Alternative Dispute Resolution.
COVID Recommendations For Gathering Safely
(recommended by https://covid19.ca.gov “Current Safety Measures”):

If you have recently been exposed to COVID, it is recommended that you wear a mask indoors through day 10.
If you test positive for COVID without symptoms, please do not attend sangha for at least 5 full days and wear a mask indoors through day 10.
If you test positive for COVID and have symptoms, please do not attend sangha for at least 5 full days; and then do not return until your symptoms are mild, improving, and you are fever-free for at least 24 hours. Wear a mask indoors through Day 10.

Thursday Morning Online Meditation
2025-11-20 09:00 - 10:00 | https://napainsight.org/event/thursday-morning-online-meditation-8/2025-11-20/

No Meditation - Thanksgiving - November 25, 2025
2025-11-25 19:00 - 20:30
Our regular Tuesday evening meditation group will take a pause this week in observance of Thanksgiving. We invite you to enjoy the holiday, take time for rest and reflection, and give thanks for the many wonderful things in your life. May your week be filled with gratitude, connection, and moments of quiet mindfulness. We look forward to practicing together again next week.

Thanksgiving Break: No Online Meditation
2025-11-27 09:00 - 10:00
The meditation held on November 27th will not be held due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Please join us next week as we resume our weekly schedule.
To receive the Zoom link one day in advance, sign up for our mailing list at: https://napainsight.org/contact/newsletter/

Meditation & Discussion with Lori Stelling
2025-12-02 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-01-27 19:00 - 20:30 | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA, 94559
This Tuesday evening sangha will be led by Lori Stelling. Lori has practiced Insight Meditation since 2002 and serves as a local teacher and Board member for NVIM. She has received mentoring from vipassana teachers since 2007, is a Certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher through UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and has engaged in on-going Buddhist Studies through Aloka Vihara, Sacred Mountain Sangha, Dharmagiri, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and others, for two decades. Lori is a certified life coach, with advanced Enneagram training, offering life coaching for women, and community meditation classes for adults of all ages.
COVID Recommendations For Gathering Safely
(recommended by https://covid19.ca.gov “Current Safety Measures”):

If you have recently been exposed to COVID, it is recommended that you wear a mask indoors through day 10.
If you test positive for COVID without symptoms, please do not attend sangha for at least 5 full days and wear a mask indoors through day 10.
If you test positive for COVID and have symptoms, please do not attend sangha for at least 5 full days; and then do not return until your symptoms are mild, improving, and you are fever-free for at least 24 hours. Wear a mask indoors through Day 10.

Buddhism and Recovery
2025-12-03 19:00 - 20:00, 2026-01-07 19:00 - 20:00, 2026-02-04 19:00 - 20:00 | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA, 94559
Join us for our monthly meeting of Buddhism & Recovery as we come together to support our various 12-step recovery journeys with mindfulness and compassion. This meeting offers a calm, non-judgmental space where recovering individuals can practice meditation, deepen self-awareness, share experiences, and build supportive connections. The structure of the meeting will include movement, meditation, and reflections grounded in Kevin Griffin’s book Buddhism & the Twelve Steps: Daily Reflections – Thoughts On Dharma & Recovery.
COVID Recommendations For Gathering Safely
(recommended by https://covid19.ca.gov “Current Safety Measures”):

If you have recently been exposed to COVID, it is recommended that you wear a mask indoors through day 10.
If you test positive for COVID without symptoms, please do not attend sangha for at least 5 full days and wear a mask indoors through day 10.
If you test positive for COVID and have symptoms, please do not attend sangha for at least 5 full days; and then do not return until your symptoms are mild, improving, and you are fever-free for at least 24 hours. Wear a mask indoors through Day 10.

Thursday Morning Online Meditation
2025-12-04 09:00 - 10:00 | https://napainsight.org/event/thursday-morning-online-meditation-8/2025-12-04/

Meditation & Discussion with Forrest Hill
2025-12-09 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-02-03 19:00 - 20:30 | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA, 94559
The evening will be led by Forrest Hill. Forrest has been practicing Insight Meditation since 2004, starting at the East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland CA. He is the founding member of Napa Valley Insight Meditation (NVIM) and has served as a facilitator at NVIM since its inception in 2011. Forrest is a graduate of the two-year Community Dharma Leaders Program, a Buddhist teacher training program sponsored by Spirit Rock Meditation Center. He is also a singer-songwriter and over the past ten years has released 6 albums inspired by the dharma and his meditation practice. He has a PhD from MIT in Biological Oceanography and currently works as a socially responsible financial advisor.
COVID Recommendations For Gathering Safely
(recommended by https://covid19.ca.gov “Current Safety Measures”):

If you have recently been exposed to COVID, it is recommended that you wear a mask indoors through day 10.
If you test positive for COVID without symptoms, please do not attend sangha for at least 5 full days and wear a mask indoors through day 10.
If you test positive for COVID and have symptoms, please do not attend sangha for at least 5 full days; and then do not return until your symptoms are mild, improving, and you are fever-free for at least 24 hours. Wear a mask indoors through Day 10.

Thursday Morning Online Meditation
2025-12-11 09:00 - 10:00 | https://napainsight.org/event/thursday-morning-online-meditation-8/2025-12-11/

An Evening with Eve Decker
2025-12-16 19:00 - 20:30 | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA, 94559
Eve Decker (she/her) began Insight Meditation practice in 1991, and has attended more than 50 silent retreats in the western Vipassana tradition of Buddhism ranging in length from 8-90 days. She is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley; the Path of Engagement (social justice and spiritual practice training); and Community Dharma Leader training at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California. She has trained in the Hakomi Method (a mindfulness centered somatic healing practice), Awakening Joy developed by James Baraz, Transforming Judgmental Mind developed by Donald Rothberg, and Mindful Self Compassion developed by Kristen Neff and Christopher Germer.
Eve is also an accomplished musician, and has released four collections of “Dharma Music” (songs inspired by Buddhist teachings) for adults, and a fifth for children and families. She offers weekly classes and coaching, and has a podcast, “Loved: Mindful and Musical Perspectives on Daily Life”. Eve lives with her wife Diane in Berkeley, CA.
COVID Recommendations For Gathering Safely
(recommended by https://covid19.ca.gov “Current Safety Measures”):

If you have recently been exposed to COVID, it is recommended that you wear a mask indoors through day 10.
If you test positive for COVID without symptoms, please do not attend sangha for at least 5 full days and wear a mask indoors through day 10.
If you test positive for COVID and have symptoms, please do not attend sangha for at least 5 full days; and then do not return until your symptoms are mild, improving, and you are fever-free for at least 24 hours. Wear a mask indoors through Day 10.

Thursday Morning Online Meditation
2025-12-18 09:00 - 10:00 | https://napainsight.org/event/thursday-morning-online-meditation-8/2025-12-18/

WINTER HOLIDAY BREAK
2025-12-23 - 2025-12-24
NVIM will be closed this Tuesday (1/23) for the holiday season. May you have joy, good health, and peace during this time of reflection and celebration.

Winter Holiday Break - No Online Meditation
2025-12-25 09:00 - 10:00 | https://napainsight.org/event/thursday-morning-online-meditation-8-2/
The meditation held on December 25th will not be held due to the Winter holiday. Please join us next week as we resume our weekly schedule.
To receive the Zoom link one day in advance, sign up for our mailing list at: https://napainsight.org/contact/newsletter/

Pre New Year's Eve with Forrest Hill
2025-12-30 19:00 - 20:30 | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA, 94559

Thursday Morning Online Meditation
2026-01-01 09:00 - 10:00 | https://napainsight.org/event/thursday-morning-online-meditation-8/2026-01-01/

Special Guest Lev Michael Moses
2026-01-06 19:00 - 20:30 | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA, 94559
Lev is a love and compassion activist. He offers mindfulness, coaching, mediation, and diversity trainings as tools for shifting towards more authentic, conscious and passionate living. He teaches and writes about how love and self-compassion are the ultimate gateways to loving and understanding others; thus, healing our communities, and planet. Lev is also co-author of Real World Mindfulness for Beginners, Ed. with Brenda Salgado and is mindfully grounded at the East Bay Meditation Center, as well as a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leadership program. Learn more about Lev here: https://affirmativeacts.org/about-us/
COVID Recommendations For Gathering Safely
(recommended by https://covid19.ca.gov “Current Safety Measures”):

If you have recently been exposed to COVID, it is recommended that you wear a mask indoors through day 10.
If you test positive for COVID without symptoms, please do not attend sangha for at least 5 full days and wear a mask indoors through day 10.
If you test positive for COVID and have symptoms, please do not attend sangha for at least 5 full days; and then do not return until your symptoms are mild, improving, and you are fever-free for at least 24 hours. Wear a mask indoors through Day 10.

Thursday Morning Online Meditation
2026-01-08 09:00 - 10:00 | https://napainsight.org/event/thursday-morning-online-meditation-8/2026-01-08/

Thursday Morning Online Meditation
2026-01-15 09:00 - 10:00 | https://napainsight.org/event/thursday-morning-online-meditation-8/2026-01-15/

An Evening with Richard Shankman
2026-01-20 19:00 - 20:30 | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA, 94559
Richard Shankman has been a meditator since 1970 and teaches internationally. He is the guiding teacher of the Metta Dharma Foundation, a non-residential meditation center in Berkeley, CA that offers a weekly meditation group, as well as monthly daylongs, classes, workshops, and residential retreats. Richard is the co-founder of Mindful Schools, a leading organization training educators to learn mindfulness and teach it to youth. He is also co-founder of the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies. Richard is the author of The Experience of Samadhi: An In-Depth Investigation of Buddhist Meditation (Shambhala Publications, 2008), and The Art and Skill of Buddhist Meditation (New Harbinger Publications, 2015). Learn more about Richard at: http://richardshankman.org/about/
COVID Recommendations For Gathering Safely
(recommended by https://covid19.ca.gov “Current Safety Measures”):

If you have recently been exposed to COVID, it is recommended that you wear a mask indoors through day 10.
If you test positive for COVID without symptoms, please do not attend sangha for at least 5 full days and wear a mask indoors through day 10.
If you test positive for COVID and have symptoms, please do not attend sangha for at least 5 full days; and then do not return until your symptoms are mild, improving, and you are fever-free for at least 24 hours. Wear a mask indoors through Day 10.

Thursday Morning Online Meditation
2026-01-22 09:00 - 10:00 | https://napainsight.org/event/thursday-morning-online-meditation-8/2026-01-22/

Thursday Morning Online Meditation
2026-01-29 09:00 - 10:00 | https://napainsight.org/event/thursday-morning-online-meditation-8/2026-01-29/

Thursday Morning Online Meditation
2026-02-05 09:00 - 10:00 | https://napainsight.org/event/thursday-morning-online-meditation-8/2026-02-05/
