Subject: Celebrating a New Chapter at CCI ☀️

Celebrating a New Chapter at CCI

CCI is excited to announce programming in our new space in Berkeley at 2210 Harold Way! Directly next door to Mangalam Research Center, CCI’s new space is brighter and more accessible - providing new opportunities for in-person programming in Berkeley. Our theme for this fall will be A Peek Beneath the Veil.

Please join us for our inaugural event and celebration, What is Creative Inquiry?, which will be immediately followed by an informal social hour and toast. Attendance is free, but we appreciate RSVPs - please see the full description below!

And if you are not located in the Bay area, don’t worry - we will still be offering online programs! Plans for online drop-ins and classes this fall are currently in progress. Stay tuned!

Warmly,

Morgan Wells,

Director, Center for Creative Inquiry

What is Creative Inquiry?

We are the Center for Creative Inquiry (CCI)… but what is creative inquiry? Join us at our inaugural event at our new space at 2210 Harold Way in Berkeley for a discussion and Q&A with CCI directors Jack Petranker and Morgan Wells.

At its core, “creating” is about making something new, and “inquiry” is about asking questions. Putting those together, creative inquiry can be described as asking questions to make something new. Or perhaps we can put it another way… it’s asking new questions to unlock something different in our experience. However you would like to think about is a good starting point, because creative inquiry is a method that asks questions… and keeps asking questions, rather than settling on easy or obvious answers. We inquire into all the aspects of our experience that we often take for granted – including who we are and what it means to be here.

This event will feature a conversation between Jack Petranker and Morgan Wells, followed by Q&A (or maybe Q&Q, since this is creative inquiry we’re talking about!) and a celebratory reception to honor our new space.

Date and Time

Saturday, August 16, 1:30-3pm

Location

2210 Harold Way, Berkeley, CA 94704

This event is FREE and open to the public!

The Time of our Lives

Time as we experience it is completely different from the linear past-present-future structure we impose on it. When we reconnect with the inner dynamic of time, our lives become rich in meaning and appreciation.

In this workshop, we will explore in our own experience what it means to live in the heart of time, a key theme in developing full presence mindfulness. Sessions will mix practices with discussion, harnessing the power of creative inquiry. The approach grows out of non-Buddhist writings of Tibetan lama Tarthang Tulku.

Join us for this 1-day workshop exploring the vision and practice of Full Presence Mindfulness. This course is appropriate for both beginners and experienced practitioners.

Date and Time

Saturday, August 23rd, 10-12:30, 2-4pm

Location

2210 Harold Way, Berkeley, CA 94704

Price

$40-$80 sliding scale.

Final Registration Deadline: August 21st

Annual Time Space Knowledge Retreat Europe by Jack Petranker

Neu Plaue Retreat Center, Germany

September 16 – 21, 2025

Based on the book Knowledge of Time & Space by Tibetan Lama Tarthang Tulku.

In searching for ways to speak to the West after leaving India and Tibet, Tarthang Tulku began with an inquiry into the interplay of time, space, and knowledge. In this retreat, we follow out that inquiry, exploring three short chapters from the book Knowledge of Time and Space, an illuminating, but little-studied, celebration of our human being.

The retreat is held in the beautiful Neu Plaue Retreat Center in Germany. It is in person only.

This retreat is a co-production of Nyingma Centrum Nederland, Neu Plaue Retreat Center and Center for Creative Inquiry, Berkeley, California.

The Center for Creative Inquiry (CCI) explores alternate forms of knowledge and inquiry and their potential to bring about fundamental change at the individual, cultural, and social level.

CCI headquarters is located in downtown Berkeley, California, USA.