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About us

The Leela School

Committed to Awakening for all

The Leela School is part of the Leela Foundation - a non-profit corporation founded in 2006 by spiritual teacher and author Eli Jaxon-Bear and dedicated to the awakening of the world, one heart and one mind at a time. From this ground of awakening, we train highly skilled, ethical and compassionate facilitators to support healing and self-realization for others. 

We serve a diverse and growing global community around the world, with training retreats in  Ashland, OR US, Byron Bay, Australia and Europe.

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Our offering

We offer facilitator training programs, private mentoring and retreats for deep healing and self-realization. Our flagship programs include:

The True Friend Method™

A bridge between therapy and non-duality

Simply put, the True Friend Method is a powerful combination of a silent compassionate stance and the skillful means for healing and self-inquiry.

The TRUE FRIEND STANCE

At the basis of all our work lies the principle of being a True Friend, which simply but powerfully means meeting ourselves and one another with a quiet mind and an open heart, not taking anything personally. A True Friend holds no position for or against; does not agree, nor disagree, is not full of answers, nor ignorant. A True Friend models the possibility to meet whatever arises in another without reacting, providing a clear wisdom mirror for the individual’s own essence and intelligence to shine through. This powerful stance supports and transforms everything else.

In order to be a True Friend, you have to be out of the way. It starts with you. During the first part of all our programs, we offer skillful, honest, loving and direct support for your own healing, awakening and deepening. We support you to inquire into the structure of your ego and realize your True Nature, which is already free, empty and deeply fulfilled. 

The Skillful Means

Out of this quiet ground arise the skilful means to support others and serve the awakening of the world. They include:

  • Entering deep therapeutic rapport
  • Compassionate inquiry  and skillful means for eliciting a powerful present and desired condition
  • Effective interventions at all 3 levels of therapeutic work: 1) symptoms removal, 2) deep emotional healing for ego strengthening, 3) self-inquiry, insight facilitation and insight integration for ego transcendence
  • Insight into the structure of our ego through the powerful wisdom mirror of the Enneagram of Liberation
  • Safe and effective guidance of expanded states of consciousness, including hypnotherapeutic trance & plant medicine-assisted journeys.
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Learn more about our work

Free 3-part Introduction to the True Friend Method

Eli Jaxon-Bear and the Leela School Teachers present the foundation of the True Friend Method in this free 3-part course -  a glimpse into the possibility of a happy, free and fulfilled life.

OUr People

in quiet service

open meeting with eli october 2023

Eli Jaxon-Bear

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Lisa Schumacher

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Jared Franks

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Yigal Joseph, Ph.D

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Leigh Estok

Casey Frieder, Leela School Mentor

Casey Frieder

Joey Bloom, Leela School Skills Mentor

Joey Bloom

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Jasmin Lace

Meet our broader team

Our Values

Quiet mind, Open Heart, Integrity, Dignity, Equality, Diversity

Through our work, we seek to inspire unconditional respect for human dignity, equality and diversity. All our students, certified practitioners, mentors and teachers are called to embody the following principles:

  • Embody the qualities of a True Friend in rapport
  • Facilitate sessions in a compassionate and heart-based manner
  • Commit to self-examination
  • Demonstrate ethical integrity treating all individuals justly, fairly, and with empathy and grace
  • Act responsibly within scope of practice
  • Foster the well-being of both individuals and society by facilitating the realization of our true nature
  • Embrace vulnerability - increase capacity to meet and open to what is uncomfortable and unknown
  • Think critically and creatively assimilating a broad range of knowledge
  • Demonstrate social and cultural awareness - the ability to acknowledge and deal effectively with cultural and ethnic diversity issues
  • Demonstrate capacity to practice in a trauma-sensitive manner
  • Work cooperatively effectively giving and receiving feedback.

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Our Certifications

Become a licenced facilitator

Upon completion of our 1-year Psilocybin Facilitator Program, you can apply to be certified as a licenced Psilocybin Facilitator with the State of Oregon.

Upon completion of our 2-year Leela Facilitator Program, you can apply to be certified as a Leela Facilitator. Our program is also accredited by the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners and you can additionally apply to be certified as ACHE Clinical Hypnotherapist.

Upon completion of at least 3 years of our Leela Facilitator Program, you can apply to become part of our Mentor in Training program, become a Certified Mentor with the school and support new students.