Natural Awareness
Resting in Effortless Presence
with Diana Winston
6 Tuesdays, May 5 - June 9, 2026
Explore the effortless presence and mindfulness possible through Natural Awareness meditation.
Most of us are familiar with mindfulness practices that steady attention, calm the mind, and bring clarity to emotions, sensations, and thoughts. There is another dimension of practice—one that turns toward awareness itself. Natural Awareness is the luminous, spacious presence that is already here. Rather than striving to cultivate a particular state, this approach invites you to recognize what is effortless, organic, and naturally occurring within you.
Drawing on decades of teaching and insights from The Little Book of Being, Diana will guide experiential meditations, reflections, and inquiry designed to offer direct glimpses of awareness itself. In this class series, you will learn to release striving in meditation, recognize and rest in awareness, discover the presence that has always been here, and integrate Natural Awareness into daily life. This practice deepens and complements traditional mindfulness meditation.
While beginners are welcome, this class will be most relevant for practitioners with some experience in meditation.
$349 $299
First 30 spots: Save $50
What You'll Practice
- Guided meditations to help you recognize and rest in Natural Awareness
- Releasing striving in meditation and allowing awareness to reveal itself naturally
- Experiential inquiry and reflection to explore awareness, thoughts, sensations, and emotions
- Integrating Natural Awareness into everyday life and ongoing meditation practice
This Course is for You If...
- You’re curious about a dimension of meditation that turns toward awareness itself
- You’d like to move beyond striving in meditation and explore a more effortless approach to presence
- You have some meditation experience and want to deepen or refresh your practice
- You’re interested in bringing Natural Awareness into daily life, not just formal meditation
What You Receive
Live Immersive Sessions
6-Weekly live sessions with practice guidance
Community Connections
Build meaningful relationships through our online forum
Practices Between Sessions
Tools and practices to help you integrate learning into everyday life
Lifetime Access to Course
Revisit the teachings, practices at any time at your own pace
Meet Your Teacher
Diana Winston
Diana Winston is the Director of UCLA Mindful, the mindfulness education center of UCLA Health. She has taught meditation retreats at Spirit Rock since 2004 has been a pioneer in the field of mindfulness where she has taught and helped seed the establishment of mindfulness into variety of settings including in healthcare, universities, businesses, non-profits, and schools in the US and internationally. She created the evidence-based Mindful Awareness Practices Program (MAPs), is the founding director of UCLA’s Training in Mindfulness Facilitation and is a founding board member of the International Mindfulness Teachers Association.
She is the author of “The Little Book of Being: Practices and Guidance for Uncovering your Natural Awareness”, “Wide Awake: A Buddhist Guide for Teens”, “Glimpses of Being: A Training Course in Expanding Mindful Awareness”, and co-author (with Susan L. Smalley, PhD) of “Fully Present: The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness”. Diana’s meditations have a worldwide reach and are available on the UCLA Mindful, 10 Percent Happier, and Waking Up Apps.
She has practiced vipassana meditation since 1989, including a year as a Buddhist nun in Burma, and each day she tries to be a mindful mom.
- 6-Weekly Live Sessions
- Supportive Online Community
- Weekly Guided Practices
- Lifetime access to the content
- Grow Together Through Dialogue & Reflection
$299
$349 Save $50
Course Schedule
Schedule
Tuesdays
4pm – 6pm PDT
- May 5
- May 12
- May 19
- May 26
- June 2
- June 9
Course FAQ
Although our Programs are available on any device, we suggest using a computer (if possible) and Chrome or Firefox browser to log in: https://courses.spiritrock.org
Note: The login for our Online Learning Platform differs from your Spirit Rock login.
Accessing Your Program Page:
Click on it from your Dashboard after you’ve logged in. Once there, navigate through the sections on “My Courses” on the dashboard.
Are you logged in? Use the “log in” button on the top right of the page. This will give you the access you need to see all the content.
Although the Online Learning Platform works on mobile and tablet devices, for the best experience, use a desktop or laptop. This might be an easier way to find all the areas of the site as you are learning how it works.
The course is delivered LIVE online over a 6-week period over Zoom.
If you notice a link, content, or anything that isn’t working properly, please email us at courses@spiritrock.org
Try refreshing your browser and check your internet connection. Check another website to see if it’s just our site or something in your system.
Yes, once you’ve completed the course, you will retain lifetime access to all course materials, allowing you to revisit lectures, exercises, and meditations whenever needed.
Spirit Rock offers scholarships for those in need. If the course fees are a barrier, please complete the scholarship form HERE.
If you need to cancel before the course begins, we’ll provide a refund with just a $25 cancellation fee.
For cancellations made by the end of day on March 12, we’ll happily refund your payment, keeping only a $49 course fee.
- After March 12, we’re unable to offer refunds. Thank you for your understanding.
- To assist you with your cancellation, please reach out to us directly at courses@spiritrock.org. We’ll take care of the process for you.
