Diving Into Life with Gayan: The Deeper Dive 2024-25
Two Year Commitment 2 years
For seekers in their 30’s and 40’s, the Deeper Dive is a community of continuous study of the art of inner guidance.
- Time: 2024-25
- Duration: 2 years
- Format: on Zoom
- Teacher: Gayan Macher
- Eligibility: Diving Into Life Inner Guidance Participants
- Questions? Contact us for questions about registration, eligibility and scholarships.
There is a light within every soul... that gives an answer to every question we would ask.
Two Levels of Participation
There are two levels of involvement in Diving into Life:
● Open Participation
DIL retreats are 3-day weekend intensives, given twice a year in May and November. You are welcomed to attend any of these as your time and schedule allows. Steady attendance has great benefits, yet we recognize that your life may not permit the biannual rhythm. Please note that enrollment in individual retreats is at a higher cost.
If you are new to DIL, we invite you to apply for an upcoming retreat.
● The Deeper Dive
The Deeper Dive is for people experienced in DIL retreats. It offers the potential to join a core group who commits to a steady, focused practice for a period of time. If you’ve participated in at least one Diving in Life retreat, you’re eligible to join The Deeper Dive!
The Deeper Dive commitment is for a two-year cycle. The next cycle begins in 2024. Please register by December 21st to begin with us. We gather six times a year (with opportunities for additional focused study) to deepen our inquiry practice and spiritual friendships. Two gatherings are the May and November retreats; in addition are four 2-3 hour inquiry training sessions, where we hone our skills as guides of the inquiry process.
Ready to commit to the Deeper Dive? Please click here to sign up.
There are two significant benefits to the Deeper Dive:
One is gaining greater mastery in the capacity for inner guidance. This includes the ability to help guide others.
The second value is in forming deep bonds of trust and support with other sincere seekers. It is unusual and precious to journey together over time with the degree of intimacy that occurs in these groups.
Those committing to the Deeper Dive pay a $200 deposit at the start of the two year cycle as a commitment to the process. This becomes a $50 discount off each retreat registration for the duration of the cycle. If you are unable to make a retreat, that $50 is a contribution to the group’s ongoing work. Also, Deeper Dive members pay a reduced rate for the retreats.
To begin, payment for inquiry trainings will be on a pay-what-you-can basis. Proceeds will benefit the Scholarship Fund. We will discuss this further when the group forms.
2024 Dates for the Deeper Dive
- January 14 (9:30 am–12 pm PST) Inquiry training
- March 10 (9:30 am–12 pm PST) Inquiry training
- May 17–19 Spring retreat
- July TBD (9:30 am–12 pm PDT) Inquiry training
- September TBD (9:30 am–12 pm] Inquiry training
- November 8–10 Fall Retreat
Retreat cost by participation
Deeper Dive participants pay reduced rates for retreats. The current rates for our retreats are as follows:
- Deeper Dive member: $165-350 (member applying coupon at checkout will reduce this price by $50)
- Welcome Rate for first time participant: $165-350
- Returning participant: $240-350
For an in-depth description of the Inner Guidance process, visit the event page for the next Diving Into Life Retreat.
Teacher(s)
Gayan Macher
Gayan is a companion and guide to those who are called to the courageous path of love. He has practiced and taught the universal Sufism of Hazrat Inayat Khan his entire adult life. In addition, he has studied Buddhist practice, the Diamond Approach, and psychology, where he explored emerging understandings of the formation of the ego.
Gayan leads group retreats and has guided scores of individual students. He collaborated with Pir Zia Inayat Khan in designing Suluk Academy, and taught at Suluk for eight years. Along with Taj Inayat he created Sufi Retreats, and then New Rain, which became laboratories for the process of awakening and spiritual maturation.
A specialty of his work is leading Inner Guidance Groups, a process in which people learn the art of listening to the voice of truth and understanding coming from within.
Gayan also has a 40-year career as a consultant to executives of organizations, having worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies as well as non-profits of all sizes. Being a confidant to people in positions of significant responsibility has given him a front row seat for the study of leadership and human nature.
Among Gayan’s great loves is music. He plays guitar, and as a singer-song writer has recorded two CDs of original songs.