Activities

Contact us or sign up for email notifications (via the link in the banner) if you would like information about how to attend bi-weekly talks in the Saturday Night Talk Series online via Zoom, which start at 7:00 p.m. Arizona time, or for other U.S. and international activity and study group information.

August 29, 2026. The Rambling Musings of Two Longtime Practitioners
Sometimes the most useful contemplations in our spiritual journey arise during intimate conversation with companions on the Path.
Unexpected insights find space for expression and then evolve in ways not possible otherwise.
Matthew and Jim (with a total of 90 years in the Western Baul Tradition under the guidance of Lee Lozowick) have always enjoyed the playful art of "exploration through conversation" and look forward to seeing where it will lead when combined with an active audience of spiritual practitioners from any tradition or path.
Please join us, goad us on, feed us with questions and feast on good company.

Speakers: Jim Capellini and Matthew Files
Jim has been a student in the Western Baul Tradition since 1987 and now lives in rural British Columbia with his wife and guru in the lineage of Lee Lozowick, where he oversees the management of Kripa Mandir Ashram. His sadhana (focus of spiritual work) has primarily been that of karma yoga (that of action and service), which has resulted in a multifaceted life of construction, world travel and numerous writing projects.
Matthew facilitates groups that support people to look deeper into their process, formulate their own questions, and become responsible for their choices.

Previous talks in 2026:
August 15, 2026. Conversation As Spiritual Practice: The Legacy of Robert Daniel Ennis (Rob Schmidt and Stuart Goodnick)
August 1, 2026. What Am I Practicing Now? (Elise Erro/e.e.)
July 18, 2026. The Search for the Indestructible in Us and the Basis of Fear (VJ Fedorschak)
July 4, 2026. Is There a Need for Social Action on the Spiritual Path? (David Herz)
June 20, 2026. Arising the Sacred Feminine (Myosho Ginny Matthews)
June 6, 2026. Is Suffering Necessary? (Matthew Files)
May 23, 2026. What Would You Die For? From Quiet Desperation to Making a Difference (Juanita Violini)
May 9, 2026. Your Life Is a Tree (Mary Angelon Young & Regina Sara Ryan)
April 25, 2026. Quietude Disturbs the Brain (Lalitha)
April 11, 2026. The Benefits of Recapitulation Practice and How to Engage It (Rick Lewis)
March 28, 2026. Lessons in Fur and Faith (Christina Sell)
March 14, 2026. Sensation: The Language of the Body (Naomi Worob)
February 28, 2025. A Creative Life is a Conscious Life (Karl Krumins)
February 14, 2025. Walking Side By Side With Grief For A Lifetime (Nachama Shahar)
January 31, 2025. Accessing Sources of Spiritual Inspiration (VJ Fedorschak)
January 17, 2025. Halfway Up the Mountain—25 Years Later (Mariana Caplan)
January 3, 2026. Gurdjieff’s Aphorisms 3: The Nature of the Path (Carl Grimsman)

December 20, 2025. Lessons in Fur and Faith (Christina Sell)
December 6, 2025. Rhythm, Ritual & Reverie (Mary Angelon Young)
November 22, 2025. Staying Put in Your Vibratory Atmosphere: Eating Impressions (Red Hawk)
November 8, 2025. Union (Barbara Du Bois)
October 25, 2025. Fun with Self-Hatred (Bandhu Dunham)
October 11, 2025. Third and Fourth Quarter Plans: Spirituality in the Second Half of Life (Regina Sara Ryan)
September 27, 2025. Feeding the Body of Light (Clelia Lewis)
September 13, 2025. Obsession for God (Matthew Files)
August 30, 2025. The Crisis of Continuity of Wisdom (Rob Schmidt and Stuart Goodnick)
August 16, 2025. Don't Know, Go Straight (Elise Erro / e.e.)
August 2, 2025. Irritation—It's a Godsend! (David Herz)
July 19, 2025. From Rigidity to Fluidity: The Art of Easeful (and Even Elegant) Transitions (Michael Menager & Mic Clarke)
July 5, 2025. Making the Work Your Own (VJ Fedorschak)
June 21, 2025. Living a Fluid Life (Juanita Violini)
June 7, 2025. “O Earth, when will we hear you sing…” Thomas Merton and Journal Writing as Prayer (Regina Sara Ryan)
May 24, 2025. Does Traditional Spiritual Training Apply Anymore? (Lalitha)
May 10, 2025. Bittersweet: A Refuge in Troubled Times (Mary Angelon Young)
April 26, 2025. In Relationship (Myosho Ginny Matthews)
April 12, 2025. Encouraging Boredom in Our Lives (Matthew Files)
March 29, 2025. The Essence of Creation is Transformation (Nachama Greenwald)
March 15, 2025. Cultivating Virtue: The Stoic Traits of Wisdom, Courage, Temperance, and Justice (Bandhu Dunham)
March 1, 2025. Storytelling Is a Core Competency of Spiritual Practice (Rick Lewis)
February 15, 2025. Yearning, Longing, and the Desire for Oneness (Debbie Hogeland-Celebucki)
February 1, 2025. Beginner’s Mind: The “Goal” of Spiritual Practice (VJ Fedorschak)
January 18, 2025. Divine Alchemy: What Is It? (Mary Angelon Young)
January 4, 2025. Gurdjieff’s Aphorisms 2: Crystallizing the Permanent I AM (Carl Grimsman)

December 21, 2024. Red Hot Sadhana: In the Fire of Love and Loss (Jessica Jenns)
December 7, 2024. Entering Silence: An Invitation and a Possibility (Regina Sara Ryan)
November 23, 2024. All Things Lovely Exist (Naomi Worob)
November 2, 2024. The Urge to Win, Dominate, and Control (Bandhu Dunham)
October 19, 2024. Present-Attention is Objective Love: The Radical Inner Shift (Red Hawk)
October 5, 2024. Just This and the Practice of Assertion (Matthew Files)
September 21, 2024. Telling the Truth and Trust: Bridging the Inner and Outer World (Juanita Violini)
September 7, 2024. Languaging Nonduality (Rob Schmidt and Stuart Goodnick)
August 24, 2024. What Can My Secret Life Offer Me on the Path? (David Herz)
August 10, 2024. Seeing the Bigger Picture (Elise Erro / e.e.)
July 27, 2024. Conscious Surrender: Deepening Our Role in the Spiritual Process and Why It Matters (VJ Fedorschak)
July 6, 2024. Keep My Heart Open in Hell (Nachama Greenwald)
June 22, 2024. Waking to Ordinary Life (Lalitha)
June 8, 2024. The Art of Japa (Michael Menager and Mic Clarke)
May 25, 2024. Regulating the Nervous System in Spiritual Work (Clelia Vahni Lewis)
May 11, 2024. The Only Grace Is Loving God (Mary Angelon Young)
April 27, 2024. If You Don't Act Right, You Don't Feel Right (Matthew Files)
April 13, 2024. Walking the Razor's Edge: A Talk on Attention (Juanita Violini)
March 30, 2024. Spiritual Practice in a Human Body (Myosho Ginny Matthews)
March 16, 2024. Teachings of Dune: Clues for Living Like a Human from the Writings of Frank Herbert (Bandhu Dunham)
March 2, 2024. The Power of Identification (Red Hawk)
February 17, 2024. What the Heck is a Guru? (Rick Lewis)
February 3, 2024. Calling in Our Angels: Protectors, Friends, Guides and Midwives for Transitions Through Life and Death (Regina Sara Ryan)
January 20, 2024. An Ethical Will: What Values Can We Pass on to Future Generations? (Elise Erro/e.e.)
January 6, 2024. Gurdjieff's Aphorisms: Essence of a Teaching (Carl Grimsman)

December 16, 2023. The Gospel of Thomas (David Herz)
December 2, 2023. Threshold: Spirituality and Ecology, Here at the Changing of the Guard (Mary Angelon Young)
November 18, 2023. Staying in Love (VJ Fedorschak)
November 4, 2023. Shadow And Luminosity, Descent and Transcendence (Nachama Greenwald)
October 21, 2023. Whatever Happened to Enlightenment? (Matthew Files)
October 7, 2023. The Direct Path: Taking the Backward Step (Peter Cohen)
September 23, 2023. The Value and Necessity of Suffering (Red Hawk)
September 9, 2023. One's Face on the Path (Jocelyn Del Rio)
August 26, 2023. What If…? An Exploration of Transformational Possibility (Regina Sara Ryan)
August 12, 2023. Cultivating Transparency: Realizing the Emptiness of the Stories You Tell Yourself and Others (Rob Schmidt and Stuart Goodnick)
July 29 2023. The Myth of Enlightenment (Karl Krumins)
July 15, 2023. It’s Not the Fall That Kills You: A Talk on Groundlessness (Juanita Violini)
July 1, 2023. What's Your Pleasure? Poetry & Perspectives on Pleasure as It Relates to the Spiritual Path (Karen Sprute-Francovich)
June 17, 2023. Women Talking: Power, Dominance, and Agency in the Age of ‘Me Too’ and on the Path (Elise Erro)
June 3, 2023. Removing Obstacles to Our Heart's Desire (Lalitha)
May 20, 2023. Conscience and the Law of Identification (Red Hawk)
May 6, 2023. Losing the Taste for Drama (Bandhu Dunham)
April 15, 2023. Working with Money as Spiritual Practice (Panel Discussion: Regina Sara Ryan, Tom Lennon, and VJ Fedorschak)
April 1, 2023. The Shadow on the Path (VJ Fedorschak)
March 18, 2023. My Last Bully Is Me (Rick Lewis)
March 4, 2023. Honey In The Heart: The Rasa of Enjoyment, Delight and Celebration on the Path (Nachama Greenwald)
February 18, 2023. Wisdom Teachings of the Ancient World: Celtic Spirituality and Tantra (Mary Angelon Young)
February 4, 2023. Deep Dharmic Doo-Doo: Resistance is Futile… But So Also Is Acceptance (Peter Cohen)
January 21, 2023. Lies We Tell Ourselves (Karl Krumins)
January 7, 2023. How Do We Enter the Heart, and What Do We Find When We Enter? The Way of the Pilgrim and the Prayer of the Heart (Regina Sara Ryan)

December 10, 2022. The Rough Road to Self Awareness: Intention, Attention, and Risk (Juanita Violini)
November 26, 2022. The Restoration of Love (Elise Erro)
November 12, 2022. Survival, Healing, and Freedom: The Body Knows (Matthew Files)
October 29, 2022. Eating Bears: Notes on How to Go About It (Jocelyn del Rio)
October 15, 2022. Spiritual Bypassing and Adulthood on the Path (Deborah Auletta)
October 1, 2022. Pairs of Opposites (Bandhu Dunham)
September 17, 2022. Escape From the General Law (Red Hawk)
September 3, 2022. The Obstacle is the Path (Chris McMaster and Debbie Hogeland-Celebucki)
August 20, 2022. The Recognition of Our Own Heart (Karen Sprute-Francovich)
August 6, 2022. We’ll Never Be Prepared for Life--We Might as Well Start Living It (Rick Lewis)
July 23, 2022. Timing is Everything: Opening to Windows of Opportunity in Life and on the Path (VJ Fedorschak)
July 9, 2022. Fourth Way Magic: How Hermetic and Indigenous Traditions Interface with the Gurdjieff Work (Rob Schmidt and Stuart Goodnick)
June 25, 2022. Stop the World, I Want to Get Off (Regina Sara Ryan)
June 11, 2022. Kneel and Kiss the Ground: The Poetics of Presence and Purpose (Mary Angelon Young)
May 28, 2022. Basic Trust: The Soul's Key to Being (Peter Cohen)
May 14, 2022. Do You Want to Be Right or Do You Want to Be in Relationship? (Matthew Files)
April 30, 2022. War: What is it Good For? (Bandhu Dunham)
April 16, 2022. Cultivating Spiritual Maturity: An Honest Look at Our Commitments (Lalitha)
April 2, 2022. The Two Experiences of Life and Their Impact: Being In-the-Box or Out-of-the-Box (VJ Fedorschak)
March 19, 2022. Writing as a Transformational Path (Mary Angelon Young and Regina Sara Ryan)
March 5, 2022. Living From Paradox (Juanita Violini)
February 19, 2022. Why Questions Are More Useful Than Answers on the Spiritual Path (Karl Krumins)
February 5, 2022. Survival Is Not the Issue (Clelia Lewis)
January 22, 2022. Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For… Why? (Matthew Files)
January 8, 2022. Giving Ourselves to Love. (Nachama Greenwald)

December 11, 2021. Nonduality: Speaking the Unspeakable. (Peter Cohen)
November 27, 2021. The Awakening of Conscience: The Potential Value of Not Expressing or Suppressing Negative Emotions. (Panel: Red Hawk, Clelia Lewis, and VJ Fedorschak)
November 13, 2021. Using Death as an Advisor: What Death Can Teach Us About Living (VJ Fedorschak)
October 30, 2021. Know Your Character: Who’s Running the Show? (Elise Erro)
October 16, 2021. Being Where We Are: Grounding Spiritual Teaching in the Body (Bandhu Dunham)
October 2, 2021. Grace and Mercy: The Breath of the Goddess (Mary Angelon Young)
September 18, 2021. Hospitality: the Practice and the Art (Regina Sara Ryan)
September 4, 2021. Conscience: The Transformative Effect of Working with Inner Conflict (Clelia Lewis)
August 21, 2021. The Way of the Wise Woman: A Deeper Dive into the Awakening of the Mother Spirit (Red Hawk)
August 7, 2021. The Benefit of Good Company on the Spiritual Path (Tom Lennon).
July 24, 2021. Love and Longing: May the Heat of Suffering Become the Fire of Love (VJ Fedorschak).
July 10, 2021. Understanding the Persistence of "Sleep" (Unconsciousness) (Matthew Files).
June 26, 2021. Sun. Moon. Tantra: Navigating the Ocean of Chaos and Coherence (Mary Angelon Young).
June 12, 2021. A Deeper Yoga: Moving Beyond Image to Wholeness and Freedom (Christina Sell).
May 29, 2021. Faith: How Necessary is It on the Spiritual Path? (Karl Krumins).
May 15, 2021. Contemplating Continuity — A Conversation with Spiritual Friends (Barbara Du Bois).
May 01, 2021. Good Enough is Good Enough: Discerning What is Wanted and Needed (Debbie Hogeland-Celebucki).
April 17, 2021. Creative Life: The Art of Getting Out of Our Own Way (Bandhu Dunham).
April 3, 2021. To Build Castles on Sand (VJ Fedorschak).
March 20, 2021. Spiritual Warriorship and the Undefended Life (Nachama Greenwald).
March 6, 2021. Everything is Food: A Gourmet’s Guide to the Spiritual Path (Regina Sara Ryan).
February 20, 2021. Having a Spiritual Aim (Matthew Files).
February 6, 2021. The Alchemy of Being Willing to Suffer for Love (Chris McMaster, Clelia Vahni Lewis).
January 23, 2021. Building Resilience and Inner Strength on the Path (Mary Angelon Young).
January 9, 2021. Learning to Live with Reality: Ring Out the Old, Ring in the New (VJ Fedorschak).

December 12, 2020. Home for the Holidays: Remembering the Spiritual Path in the Midst of a Pandemic.
November 28, 2020. We Have Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself: Questioning the Root of All of Our Fears.
November 14, 2020. Love What You Do Not Love: The Doorway to Ever Present Peace.
October 31, 2020. The Alchemy of Grief and Love.
October 17, 2020. Being with Reality in Wild, Wild Times.
October 3, 2020. Not What “Should Be,” But “What Is.”
September 19, 2020. Exploring the Depth of Spiritual Tradition: A Panel Discussion.
September 5, 2020. Maintaining Presence in the Midst of Chaos.
August 22, 2020. Path without Goal: Misconceptions about Enlightenment.
August 8, 2020. My Body is a Temple: Creating a Life of Practice.
July 25, 2020. Cultivating the View that Everything is in Transit: A Consideration of Death in the Spiritual Traditions.
July 11, 2020. There is a Crack in Everything—That’s How the Light Gets In: The Myth of Self-Perfection.
June 27, 2020. What's Love? and What's Love Got to Do With It? The Eternal Questions and the Easy Misunderstandings.
June 13, 2020. Contemplation: Awareness and Presence in Ordinary Life.
May 30, 2020. Deepening Compassion in Times of Uncertainty, Groundlessness, and Fear.
May 16, 2020. The Transformative Power of Guarding One's Speech.
May 2, 2020. You Can’t Change What Is But You Can Learn to Like It.