Reclaiming Who We Are
With Self-Compassion
An in-person or online event with Caverly Morgan and Kristin Neff
Hosted by InsightLA
Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4, 2026
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM PT
Caverly & Kristin at a recent workshop they led.
Most of us have internalized a voice that says we're not enough. That we need to be different — more disciplined or more together— to finally be okay.
That voice isn't the truth of who you are. It's conditioning. And self-compassion is one of the most powerful tools we have for seeing through it. For quieting the voice that tells us again and again, “I am not enough.”
In this online or in-person program, Caverly Morgan and Kristin Neff will guide you in untangling from the conditioning — familial, cultural, genetic — that keeps you self-critical, so you can open to a larger, more connected sense of who you already are.
Learn simple practices to bring self-compassion into your day to day life. Because you deserve the same kindness you'd offer anyone else.
What we will explore:
How the voices of family, culture, and genetics became your inner critic — and how to stop letting them run the show (that loop of "I should have handled that better" after a hard conversation? This is where it loosens)
Trading self-criticism for something that actually works — why being kind to yourself makes you more motivated, not less
Learning to see your conditioned patterns clearly — so the anxious thoughts, the people-pleasing, the perfectionism stop feeling like you
How to meet difficult emotions — the 3am spiral, the shame after conflict, the low-grade dread — without being swallowed by them
Self-compassion and the nature of Being: who you are beneath the stories you've been told about yourself
Bringing it all home — concrete practices you can return to when life gets hard
When someone is suffering — really suffering — it can feel almost impossible to access the vast, open awareness that meditation points to. That spaciousness can seem very far away. Almost cold. Unreachable.
This is where self-compassion comes in, like a lifeboat that takes us out of the identification with small self and carries us home. To being.
Not a bypass. Not a technique to paper over pain. But a genuine way of embodying the loving, connected presence that is our true nature — and offering it directly to the part of us that is hurting. When we do this, something remarkable happens. We are no longer only suffering. We become, simultaneously, the one who holds the suffering with warmth. And in that shift, even for a moment, we are no longer identified with a small, separate self.
We are home.
What Caverly and Kristin have discovered in leading workshops and retreats together is that this works — deeply and quickly — even for people who have never been on a meditation retreat before. Because this isn't exotic. Everyone has touched moments of this. When they held a newborn. When they stood on a mountain. When a friend looked them in the eyes and truly saw them. This peace is accessible to you because it is your truest nature.
What You Can Expect:
Teachings and Guided Meditations: Engage in insightful teachings and guided meditations to deepen your understanding and experience of compassion.
Dyads and Group Discussions: Connect with fellow participants through structured dyads and open group discussions, fostering a supportive community.
Q&A Sessions: Gain clarity and personal insights during interactive Q&A sessions with Caverly Morgan and Dr. Kristin Neff.
Journaling: Reflect on your experiences and insights through guided journaling exercises.
What People Are Saying
A message from a recent participant.
“The co-teaching leaders were amazing. Their synergy made the program deep, relevant. The balance between the research and the spirit based tenants was powerful and reinforcing. The balance between personal and global was exceptional. The balance of teachings, meditations, exercises, writing, break outs was great. The teachers are exceptional in their knowledge but also really personable and funny!”
—2025 Participant
“When Caverly and Kristin teach together, you really feel their friendship, their joy, and the spontaneous teachings that emerged between them - creating a deeper experience.”
—K.R.
Continuing Education Units (CEs)
Psychologists: Continuing Education Credit for this program is provided by UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. The UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness maintains responsibility for this program and its content. This course offers 12.0 hours of credit.
California licensed MFTs, LPCCs, LEPs, LCSWs: Continuing Education Credit for this program is provided by UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. The UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. 12.0 contact hours may be applied to your license renewal through the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. For those licensed outside California, please check with your local licensing board to determine if APA accreditation meets their requirements.
Nurses: UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP16351, for 14.4 contact hours.
About the Teachers
Caverly Morgan
After eight years as a Zen monk, Caverly Morgan discovered something unexpected: nothing was missing. The freedom she'd been searching for was already here.
Named one of 2025's powerful women of the mindfulness movement, Caverly is a teacher of awakening, nonprofit founder, speaker, and author who blends the original spirit of Zen with a modern nondual and relational approach.
Caverly supports others in remembering our true nature—not through more techniques or self-improvement strategies, but through presence, inquiry, and togetherness.
She is the author of The Heart of Who We Are: Realizing Freedom Together and A Kids Book About Mindfulness. As founder of the nonprofits Peace in Schools (the nation's first for-credit mindfulness program in U.S. public high schools) and Realizing Freedom Together, she has pioneered ways for communities to awaken collectively, making teachings that lead to liberation accessible to all.
Kristin Neff
Kristin Neff, PhD is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and one of the most influential scholars in modern psychology. Over 20 years ago, she became the first researcher to empirically study self-compassion — developing both the theory and the scale to measure it. Her 2003 papers sparked a field: more than 5,000 studies have followed. She is the author of Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself and Fierce Self-Compassion, and is recognized worldwide for making the science of self-compassion accessible.
Together with colleague Dr. Chris Germer, she developed the Mindful Self-Compassion training program, now taught by thousands of teachers globally, and co-founded the nonprofit Center for Mindful Self-Compassion. Their collaborations include The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook and their latest, Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout. Learn more and access free guided practices at self-compassion.org.
About InsightLA
InsightLA’s mission is to cultivate wisdom, compassion, and peace within our community and beyond. We are dedicated to providing a sanctuary where individuals from all walks of life can explore the transformative practices of meditation.
Practitioners of all experience levels and all backgrounds are welcome.
Pricing
Class Fee $395
Class Fee with CEs $495
There are a limited number of pay-what-you-can spots available to support members of marginalized groups (people of color, queer people, people with disabilities) and those in financial need (those for whom the cost to attend is not financially possible). These spots are offered on a first come, first served basis.
This is a hybrid 2-day event which will take place in-person or online.