Sangha

Annual Report2020

+ Plans For

2021

Sangha

AnnualReport2020+Plans for2021

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Happy New Year! Dear Sangha,

2020 has been the most difficult, confounding, enraging, hopeless, hopeful, terrifying, and, at times, oddly peaceful year.  

Pema Khandro Rinpoche said, “the pandemic showed us our own mind”, and I find that to be so. If there was ever any doubt in

the truth of interdependence, Covid, in particular, showed us there is no way around it: my exhale is your inhale. This is a truth. If I

fool myself into thinking that what I do has no impact on you, I am a danger to you and thus, to myself. In 2020, we discovered

yet again that there is no us and them—there is only us. No matter where we looked, we could not escape our responsibility to

each other, this world, the truth of what lies in our hearts, and how it impacts the world we live in.

Pandemic. Racial injustice. Lockdowns. Fires. Political rage. Distrust in institutions. Loss of loved ones. Loss of livelihood. New

livelihood options. Children at home. Massive uncertainty. Glimpses into a new way of living. A new appreciation of home,

perhaps. A paring away of what is non-essential. More distress and more quiet. We learned things about ourselves, our

relationships, our leaders, our countries, and the world. Some of it has been horrific. Some, quite touching. The world seemed to

come together and fall apart over and over. 

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Some of us were fortunate enough to have a steady place to live and the possibility of working from home, and saw that much of

our former busy-ness was just that, busy-ness. Others, while also fortunate to have home and work, turned out to be busier than

ever with children at home, unpredictable school schedules, and fewer visits from relatives who could offer support. Some of us lost

jobs. Some discovered new sources of income. Some recommitted to our highest aspirations. Some slowed down and sloughed off

reflexive efforting. Some of us realized we had relationship problems we could no longer ignore and/or spent so much time together

that new stresses were created. Some fell in love. Some started college. Some decided to retire. Some of us lost homes in fires.

Some moved to a completely new place and a new life. Babies were born. Loved ones died.

Many of us experienced it all largely from our homes, in a strange combination of interconnection and isolation. Throughout, we had

each other. I watched as you reached out to help and care for one another. You offered endless kindnesses. We created new ways

to get together in real time, from twice daily live meditations to a weekly gathering with me (and my mom!!), and small-group circles

to get to know each other better. Channels of communication and connection opened wider and wider. Our sangha was

strengthened in 2020.

Personally, I have never felt closer to you. Whether we interact directly or not, I know you’re there, trying to make sense of it all, still

committed to your practice and unique spiritual journey, digging deep to find the resources to navigate through this day, and this

one, and this one. It has been an honor to walk with you and I’m very grateful to know you better. Thank you. 

To follow, please find a summary of what we did together in 2020 and where we are headed in 2021. 

May all the doors and windows open to a new day.

All my love, Susan

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2020: Seriously?!It seemed like a normal year at first. Then the pandemic that began in

the Far East took hold in Italy and other parts of Western Europe before

it reached North America by March. 

By April, the US took a deep collective dive into the reality of systemic

racism brought on by the violent and unpunished murders in early 2020

of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and others. 

By May, in the US, we knew our government was in disarray and was

not going to provide leadership and protection when we needed it

most.

For those outside the US, I could never describe what this has meant to

us, to see our society break so completely in two. Other countries have

much worse situations, but this has been traumatic, and not just for US

citizens. People outside of the US have been (rightfully) shocked and

frightened by our failures.

This combination of illness, divisiveness, isolation, loss, violence,

distrust in authority, and a much needed racial reckoning made

powerfully clear the necessity for sangha. Just as the whole world was

reaching out for new ways to feel connected, we found that we already

had what so many were searching for. Thank you for making it so.

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Some highlights:

Daily Live Meditations

As trauma after travail piled up, it seemed obvious that we needed

more togetherness. Luckily, the full infrastructure was already in place.

In March, we began offering multiple live meditation gatherings per day,

open to anyone, anywhere, completely free of charge. So many

generous and skilled teachers volunteered to lead practices! We began

with four sits per day, Monday-Friday. I thought this would last for the

duration of our lockdowns, but it quickly became apparent that the

opportunity to gather in real time would continue to be valuable. I

couldn’t keep asking teachers to show up for free, so in August, the

OHP began to offer a stipend and we reduced the sessions from 20

times per week to 10 times. We will keep going with them as long as

you keep showing up!

Weekly Sangha Gatherings

Also in March, I introduced a Friday sangha gathering so we could have

a set time to check in with each other, share about our lives, discuss our

practice, and just be together. Thank you so much for embracing this

opportunity. I have been so moved by your willingness to be vulnerable

with each other. It is a clear sign of your warriorship. Thank you.

As with the daily sits, this has turned out to be so useful that we will

keep it going indefinitely. 

Circles

Many of us have grown distrustful of Facebook (myself included). In the

latter part of the year, we migrated our Facebook page to a platform

called Circle. It enables us to have a Facebook-like platform but without

fear that our data will be used to sell cars, sow conspiracy theories, or

otherwise leave us vulnerable to invasions of privacy. (If you haven’t

discovered how to access this Facebook substitute yet, please look for

the icon in the Community tab to join.)

In addition to the larger Circle platform, we decided to create

inter-sangha circles for sangha members to be able to spend time in

small, peer-led groups to sit together and discuss life. We offered the

chance to sign up for a convenient time slot and, once a time slot had 9

or more people, sent the group a Zoom link and some rules of

engagement. These “rules” are very important. They give each

gathering a sense of containment and form. The hope is that the same

9 people will gather each week and really get to know each other. We

now have 11 active sangha circles and more are filling up as I type this.

(If you’d like to sign up for a small group Circle, please click on the

Sangha Circles tab to sign up.) I’ve heard such wonderful feedback on

these gatherings! Thank you so much for your generosity toward each

other. And don’t forget: please follow the format. This isn’t because I

want everyone to be militaristic, but because the form allows the

conversation to flow, gain traction, and remain focused on wisdom and

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compassion so that when you bring up something sensitive, all will feel

safe in the discussion.

2020 Themes Were Timely

In 2020, we committed to studying the 59 Lojong mind training slogans.

Crystal and I knew they would be potent, but I don’t think either of us

guessed just how amazing they would be as we traversed this year of

vast uncertainty. Week after week, whether the slogan was “Regard All

Dharmas as Dreams,” “Whichever of the Two Occurs, Be Patient,” or

“Don’t Be Frivolous,” each slogan seemed to offer the wisdom we

needed at that exact moment. Thanks, slogans! Thanks, Atisa! I’m not

sure how you knew a thousand years ago just what we’d need in 2020,

but well played, my friend. And thanks go especially to you, Sangha, for

the way you brought your intelligence, curiosity, and vulnerability to the

investigation. It has been a joy. (PS All 59 videos are on the Circle page

as well as in the video archive.)

Our Newsletter Expanded

Beginning in September, we changed the look and content direction of

our regular weekly newsletter. In addition to a new video talk on one of

the slogans (from me or the brilliant Crystal Gandrud) and a meditation

practice, we started a sidebar called “Guru Guide” to introduce you to a

great sage of the past or present and a second sidebar called “Art for

Contemplation” to offer you a non-verbal, less conceptual way to

contemplate the meaning of that particular week’s essay via an image

or a piece of music. 

In 2021, we’re adding yet another feature to the newsletter...but more

about that below.

We Laughed, We Cried, We Were Confounded, We Went on

Retreats Together, Practice Deepened

Here is a list of the programs we had in 2020 (all but Meditation

Instructor Training were free for sangha members):

•21-Day Meditation Challenge (January)

•4 Creative Rave Retreats: A Day of Creative Pursuits! (February,

May, September, December)

•Buddhism in Modern Life: The Noble Path of Wisdom and

Compassion with Michael Carroll (a 9-month immersive program)

•3 Weekend Meditation Retreats: To Explore the Path and Practice

of Meditation in Depth (March, July, September)

•Meditation Instructor Training Program: Learn to Teach

Meditation Responsibly (a 9-week program)

•6 Day-Long Meditation Retreats: A Day of Contemplation in the

Midst of Chaos (Every Saturday, April - May)

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•2 Introduction to the Enneagram workshops (May and August)

•The Refuge Vow Ceremony (May)

•Online Meditation and Writing Retreat Weekend (June)

•A Posture Workshop with Michele Sapanaro (October)

•Loving Kindness Retreat for the USA (in preparation for the US

elections) (October)

•Right Speech Symposium with Crystal Gandrud (November)

•Building a Mindful New Year (December)

•And 35 Weekly Sangha Gatherings (April-December)

Crystal Taught More

If you’ve had a chance to listen to Crystal Gandrud teach in one of our

newsletter videos, during a Creative Rave, or at a special event like the

recent Communication Symposium she hosted, you know how lucky we

are to be able to practice and study with her. I know how lucky I am to

co-create the OHP curriculum and voice with her. In all the world, there

is no one like Crystal. I am not saying that for effect but because it is

true. Her discernment, brilliance, insight, and intense commitment to the

deeper journey may only be matched by the skill with which she is able

to express it all to others. Seriously, y’all. Crystal is in the house. Pay

attention.

On Systemic Racism, Trauma, Patriarchy, and Other Facts of Life

The Buddha said that we are not here for our own benefit alone. We are

alive to do everything (and he did mean everything) we can to alleviate

suffering for all. A fundamental question was: What will really help? He

also taught extensively on the interdependent nature of reality: no one

is free until everyone is. Truly.

In 2020, all of western culture received a major teaching in the palpable

effects of systemic racism and, for some, the part we play in maintaining

it. How to meaningfully contribute to the important and necessary work

of dismantling privilege without resorting to performance or vitriolic

public displays? is a question we strive to work with as deeply as

possible in our programs, language, financial choices, awareness, and

heart intentions.

In addition to recognizing systemic racism, the importance of

recognizing trauma, both societal and personal, continued to inform our

evolution as a meditation community. The cycle of trauma is personal

and ancestral, time-specific and continuous, particular and universal.

Meditation is not a way around trauma. Rather, it may be a way into it. It

is very hard to get this notion across in a world that looks at meditation

through the lens of, on one hand, incessant scientific proof that

meditation is awesome and, on the other, incessant advertising insisting

that meditation is a panacea, a bio hack, a problem-solving method.

Actually, it is a path of opening to what is, including...everything.

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2020 has shown us the reality and debilitating consequences of trying

to walk around trauma rather than through it. As students and as

teachers, we can bring trauma-awareness, whether societal or

individual, into our personal practice, our awareness of others, and the

language we use to discuss spiritual practice.

Finally, 2020 has shown us the vast limitations of patriarchy. This has

little to do with men v women and more to do with control v

collaboration, linear v intuitive, hierarchical v collective. It seems we

have gone as far as we can (and too far) with top-down models

of...everything: power, economics, and, certainly, spiritual practice

communities. As your teachers, Crystal and I are conscious of creating a

situation that neither bypasses the importance of holding the teacher’s

seat nor over inflates it as an egoic calling card. To walk this line is the

best practice I have ever encountered. It returns me over and over

again to my wisdom and lack thereof. What do I really know? Where do

I step in to correct misunderstandings and where do I step out to watch

what unfolds for the student? What is my wish to help and what is my

wish to be seen—and what happens when they coincide? What is

guided by love and what is guided by fear?

Very interesting questions that I know Crystal shares, too. Luckily, we

have been extremely well trained. The longer I teach, the more I

appreciate the wisdom I received early in my dharma life. 

Onward into 2021!

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Where we are headed in 2021

Authentic Presence:

A Year of Spiritual Warriorship

In the coming year, we are going to bring our practice off the cushion

and into our lives, out from between our ears and into our speech,

actions, decisions, and environment. 

You may have noticed (or will) that as your practice takes root, you

experience more moments of both gentleness and bravery. In fact,

there is no difference between these qualities.

Through our practice, we soften, first to ourselves, then to others, and

then to our world. To soften is to express courage. Normally, we

imagine we can arm ourselves with opinions, beliefs, preconceptions,

systems, strategies, judgments—and while some may be absolutely

accurate, none can protect you from the vulnerability of being human,

of being touched, disappointed, delighted, lost, uplifted, satisfied,

shattered. We see that we can’t actually predict or control our

experience, that all is vulnerable. This is where warriors are born.

How do we recognize a warrior? Their presence is surprising. Listening

to them, you feel like you just woke up. They are genuine and without

aggression. Something magnetizing is happening and at the same

time, nothing unusual is going on. You just know that you want to be

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around them. Have you been able to sense these qualities in yourself? I

have seen them in you.

A warrior has what is called authentic presence; that quality of being on

the spot, paying attention, mind and body fully synchronized—all of

which is cultivated quite directly through our practice.

When we sit, we are not trying to get someplace else.

We continually bring our attention back to right now.

Mind and body are synchronized on the wave of breath.

Thus, the path of warriorship unfolds.

In 2021, we will examine more closely that sense of being born into

warriorship and how to apply the warrior’s gentleness, bravery, and

authentic presence in all the moments of our lives. 

2021 Themes

If there is one thing we’ve learned in 2020, it is the value of slowing

down, simplifying, and focusing. In 2021, we will continue with regular

themes, but instead of introducing a new one every week, we will

introduce a new theme every month to give ourselves more time and

space to consider it. 

On the first of the month (no matter what day of the week it falls on),

you will receive an expanded newsletter from us. Each newsletter will

contain the following:

•A video talk on our theme, followed by a meditation (from me or

Crystal)

•An expanded essay on the theme (written by me or Crystal)

•A new “Guru Guide” to introduce you to a great sage of the past

or present (written by me or Crystal)

•The “Art for Contemplation” feature to bring in another way of

relating to our theme (now to be written by the wonderful Kevin

Townley)

• A feature on an aspect of the enneagram (because we want to

continue to weave this exceptional wisdom into everything we do.

The Weekly Dharma Gathering will slow its roll, too, and become a

Monthly Dharma Gathering. Each gathering will extend to an hour in

length and still include a talk on our theme from a wonderful teacher, a

guided practice, and a chance for dialogue. 

So, each month you will have two opportunities to explore our theme.

This will enable us all (me too!) to take a more considered approach,

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spend more time in contemplation, and not get caught up in anything

too speedy or busy. 

Crystal and I spent a lot of time considering what our themes should be

for 2021. We wanted something that felt like a path, but that you could

drop in to and out of as your life allows, without feeling a need to catch

up. 

We wanted it to be genuine and rooted in the wisdom of Vajrayana

Buddhism while also being completely relevant to our everyday lives. 

We wanted the year to feel like a journey into truth and magic in such a

way that you feel even more connected to yourself, your unique

wisdom and sources of guidance, and, of course, to each other. 

Forthwith, here are the themes!

The year will be broken down into four quarters according to the

extraordinary teaching given by the Kagyu lineage master, Gampopa,

around nine centuries ago. “The Four Dharmas of Gampopa” lay out the

entire spiritual journey in four succinctly perfect lines:

Grant your blessings so that my mind may be one with the dharma.

Grant your blessings so that dharma may progress along the path.

Grant your blessings so that the path may clarify confusion.

Grant your blessings so that confusion may dawn as wisdom.

From January to March, the umbrella theme will be My Mind is One With

the Dharma. We will explore and re-explore the steps one takes to get

on the path altogether. We will go back to basics and revisit

foundational concepts. Believe me, after 25+ years of practice, I can

personally certify that one cannot return to the foundations too many

times. “You can always go back to square one,” my meditation teacher

has often told me, and, indeed, you should always go back to square

one. Within this general framework of Dharma #1, we will explore the

following:

January: Take Your Seat

A chance to revisit the foundations of sitting meditation practice.

February: Establish Self-Trust

The most important teacher is your own mind. How can you discover a

way to hear that voice clearly and with confidence?

March: Not Afraid to See

From these important building blocks, doors and windows open, yet we

may still be stuck seeing only what we want to see (or dread seeing).

How can we cleanse the doors of perception, take back our projections,

actually see our own lives, and inhabit our experience fully?

From April to June, our umbrella theme will be Dharma #2, Dharma

Progresses Along the Path.

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The awakened mind is said to have three qualities. It is fearless. It is

compassionate. It is wise. All of these qualities arise from our sitting

practice. How can we amplify the goodness we discover there and

apply it in every aspect of our lives? We will explore how to bring the

fruits of mindfulness-awareness meditation off the cushion. 

April: Discovering Fearlessness

What is fearlessness? How does meditation make more of it? What

could it mean to live in the light of our fearlessness rather than our fear?

May: Discovering Compassion

As many of you know, when we sit and explore the three jewels (our

own wakefulness, the path we are on, and the power of community),

rather than becoming more impenetrable, we become softer. This

softening is the gateway to compassion for self, others, and this world.

We laugh more and we cry more. We feel more. Uh-oh! Now what?

June: Discovering Wisdom

Meditation is often called the practice of clear seeing, or of insight. How

does this happen? We are just sitting there, doing “nothing”, after all. 

I think of it like this: Imagine that your mind is like a snow globe that is

shaken all day, and, often, all night. The flakes swirl and swirl. When we

meditate, we set the snow globe down. One by one, each sparkly flake

settles to the surface and what is left is clear and spacious. We can

actually see where we are. This is called wisdom. How can we

recognize and abide within it more directly?

From July to September our general theme is The Path Clarifies

Confusion, Dharma #3. Now that we have established a foundation and

discovered the brilliance we have always possessed, what could this all

mean in terms of our ordinary lives? In this period, we’ll get very

down-to-earth.

July: Enlightened Home

We are not monastics. We live in homes and have jobs, bills, partners,

family, roommates, yards, elevators, meals to cook, and floors to sweep.

These are not departures from practice, they are our practice. During

this month, we’ll look at creating a sacred environment exactly where

we are.

August: Enlightened Relationships

I was talking to someone just the other day whose friend is an ex-monk,

now married. He said to her, “being a monk in solitude was so much

easier than being in a relationship.” Ha ha! We know that! This is where

the rubber seriously meets the road. This month, we will contemplate

the twistiest of all the paths, the path of love.

September: Enlightened Speech

No matter how strong your practice or how detailed your study, no

matter how committed you are to wisdom, compassion, and living life

deeply, it can all fly out the window the moment we open our mouths.

What does it mean to communicate wisely, well, truthfully, and fully,

whether we are delighted, enraged, confused, or all/none of the above?

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To close out the year, from October to December, our general theme

will be Confusion Dawns as Wisdom, Dharma #4. 

The first three dharmas are relatively easy to make sense of. My mind is

one with the dharma. Dharma progresses along a path. That path

clarifies confusion. Though the mechanics may be mysterious, there is

nothing confusing about this sequence. 

And then we get to the fourth dharma, Confusion Dawns as Wisdom.

Wait a minute, I thought confusion was bad, something to see through

and around, something to get out from under. Now you’re telling me

that it’s not a problem? Yes. In fact, it’s even a source of blessings. This

theme launches us firmly into the territory beyond territory, into the

realm of magic. As such, we will explore the openings that lead to the

vast wisdom beyond conventional thought.

October: Sense Perceptions

The sense perceptions are the gateway to enlightenment. What does

this even mean? How can what I see, smell, taste, and so on be the

doorway to liberation? This will be our contemplation in October.

November: Creative Chaos (is Good News)

Chogyam Trungpa once said, “Chaos is good news,” and in 2020 we

had some serious opportunities to test this notion. One aspect of chaos,

however, is that it can be very creative. To explore our confusion as a

source of wisdom may feel chaotic—and therefore creative. In

November, we will play with the mechanics of creativity, spirituality, and

whatever synchronicities they may have.

December: The Wisdom of Knowing Nothing

T.S. Eliot’s “Little Gidding” contains these lines:

We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.

We begin an exploration because we think there is something to find.

We go on a journey. The journey ends where it began—with yourself. 

My interpretation of the final line, “And know the place for the first time,“

is this: We realize there is nothing to find. There is nothing to know. No

journey ever occurred because there is no place to go and no

journey-er. There is only here. Now. Now. Here. The path opens our

senses so that when we realize there is nowhere to go, what we see is

ALIVE with sensorial life force and, therefore, always new. To glimpse

that is to glimpse everything. What a perfect place to end our year of

practice! 

Ongoing Programs

We will continue to offer a variety of programs, classes, and gatherings.

Here are some highlights:

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Monthly Dharma Gathering

As mentioned, this year, we want to go deeper with everything while

continuing to give you the perspectives of a variety of deeply trained

Buddhist teachers. Instead of a shorter weekly gathering, we will

convene a longer monthly dharma gathering on the 3rd Thursday

evening of each month with one from the same group of wonderful

guest teachers. Each gathering will be an hour long and focus on that

month’s theme.

Creativity, Writing, and Art

We heard you: You loved the 2020 Creative Raves (day-long gatherings

to do our creative work alone/together within a practice container) and

the meditation and writing retreats we offered in 2020. In 2021, we will

convene a full art-writing-creativity sub-community, to meet every

month.

There will be three full meditation and writing/art practice retreats in

2021. In between, we’ll meet for a Creative Rave every month. This way,

whatever you begin in the retreat, you will be able to continue within

community. If you have a writing/artistic/personal project you’ve been

longing to start/complete/explore, 2021 will offer regular opportunities

to do so. The retreats and Creative Raves provide seriously loving

support and the gentle accountability of community, no matter what

your project or intention. 

The Enneagram

There will be three enneagram gatherings this year: two “Introduction

to the Enneagram” workshops and one “Enneagram 2.0” designed for

those of you who have taken the intro program and want to look more

deeply into the system. We will focus on talking styles and how the

enneagram can be used to improve relationships to self and other. In

addition, each monthly newsletter will have a separate feature on the

enneagram. BECAUSE I CAN’T SHUT UP ABOUT IT.

Sunday Meditation Intensives

We’re really excited about this one. Many of you have expressed

interest in opportunities to practice for longer, more formal periods. The

wonderful teacher, Maho Kawachi, has offered to lead a retreat on the

second Sunday of every month from 10a ET to 1p ET. This will be three

hours of full-on practice. Shorter sessions of walking meditation will be

alternated with longer sitting sessions. Thanks, Maho!

Special Programs

Lending a Hand: Avalokitesvara and the Art of Mind Protection

Michael Carroll will be back to teach another immersive program,

beginning in early April. (Exact dates to be determined.) “Lending a

Hand: Avalokitesvara and the Art of Mind Protection” is about

protecting others and, like his last program, it is bound to inspire,

challenge, confound, and delight you. Thanks, Mikey!

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Five Buddha Wisdoms

Kevin Townley is working on a book about art and the Five Buddha

Wisdoms or Families. (The publication date is later in the year, through

Lionheart Press.) This body of teachings describes five primary forms of

wisdom. Insight into this teaching goes very well with, well, everything,

but particularly with Michael Carroll’s program on Mind Protection, as

well as knowledge of the Enneagram—all three could be considered an

upaya or form of skillful means necessary to bring more compassion

and fierceness into the world. In 2021, Kevin will offer two full retreat

days on the Five Wisdoms. Thanks, Kevin!

Refuge Vow

In 2021, I’ll offer two opportunities (in March and December) to take the

refuge vow, for anyone who is interested. (This is the vow one takes to

formally become a Buddhist. No one has to do this! Just for those who

want to take this step.) When we get closer to the dates, I’ll send out

additional information. If this vow interests you, we will schedule time to

discuss it one-to-one. 

Practices for Grief and Loss

In April, the wonderful teacher, Emily Bower, will lead a full day retreat to

teach and explore Buddhist practices for death and dying.

Also

We will continue to offer our acclaimed Meditation Instructor Training

Program, beginning in March. And our weekly Mommy Sangha is an

ongoing lifeline for moms of all ages. Jenna Hollenstein is instrumental

in both offerings. Thanks, Jenna! 

In addition, our daily live meditation gatherings will continue at 9a ET

and 6p ET (6p is with Sokuzan), you will still get a daily audio meditation

via email, and a chance to get together with me on Fridays at 3p ET for

a weekly sangha check-in.

To close, I want to thank Crystal for everything she has done to

co-create this curriculum, and Lisa Fehl for her unstinting focus on

making the Open Heart Project work for everyone, day in and day out.

She solves a thousand problems a day! She is tireless and kind in equal

measure. We have Kevin Townley to thank for making sure the daily

meditation teaching slots (at 9a and 6p ET) are filled and for scheduling

all the weekly (now monthly) dharma gatherings. Many thanks to those

who host the dharma gatherings—Susie Bertie, Silvia Garcia, and

others. And extra special thanks to the wonderful guest teachers who

add so much nuance and depth to the journey: Sokuzan, Marisa Viola,

Kristy Krivitsky, Ericka Phillips, Maho Kawachi, Ernesto Yanez, Bridget

Bailey, Robert Chender, Pema Khandro, Lilyan de la Vega, Thupten

Phuntsok, Michael Carroll, Kevin...we are so lucky to receive teachings

from such practitioners. Thank you, thank you.

We, you and I, are co-creating something unique in all the world, a

meditation community rooted in real dharma, focused on helping you

source your wisdom (not that of a teacher speaking from a removed

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position), at once very personal while still in accord with ancient

principles, no hoops to jump through beyond what one senses within, all

held by an ambient sense of ever-present community. Thank you, thank

you for being on this journey with me, with Crystal, with the dharma. You

are truly pioneers.

All my love, Susan

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The Community Is Our Body

Community building is the most important action of our century. As individuals, we

have suffered tremendously. Due to the predominance of individualism, families are

breaking down, and society has become deeply divided. For the twenty-first century to

be a time of spirituality, the spirit of togetherness must guide us. We should learn to do

things together, to share our ideas and the deep aspiration in our hearts. We have to

learn to see the sangha, our community of spiritual support, as our own body. We need

each other in order to practice solidity, freedom, and compassion so that we can

remind each other that there’s always hope.

When we have a community to practice mindfulness with, we can sit in meditation

together, and it’s very powerful. In life, people produce food, objects, and technology,

among many other things. In a sangha, we also produce things. We produce the

powerful energy of peace, the powerful energy of mindfulness. People can go to the

supermarket to buy food or lightbulbs. But to produce mindful energy, we need to be

with our community, our sangha, and produce this energy through our sitting,

walking, and peaceful and joyful living.

This takes practice and training. I invite you to think deeply about practicing

mindfulness as a wonderful way of providing spiritual food for yourself and your

community. You can nourish the world with that energy. When you see that this

practice provides nourishment for the world, then you will feel very joyful, because

you are connected with all of life in a real way, and you are serving life.

—Thich Nhat Hanh

A Personal NoteFor me, as for many, this has been a year of difficulty, new insights, and

increased commitment to the journey we are on together.

There were deaths in the family. The stress that comes with

unpredictability. Shock at the events that transpired in my country. A

new understanding of how our electoral processes work (and don’t

work). The discovery of people in my world who believe things I thought

were crazy.

I know many of you can relate. 

There were also wonderful occurrences. My husband, Duncan, and I

deepened our connection. (This year has been a test for relationships!) I

drew closer to my closest friends. Our community really came together

to support each other. Working with Crystal continues to be enriching

and inspiring. Too, though the isolation has been difficult, I’ve found that

the current rhythm of the world actually matches my natural rhythms

more closely. I like staying home. I enjoy being relieved of the

expectation to be sociable. Everything has slowed down in an

enjoyable (usually) way. I am lucky. I know there are many who don’t

enjoy these changes—or can’t. Still, it has been good for my nervous

system to be holed up. 

The biggest event for me personally in 2020 (in addition to the hair

raising ride of our electoral process) has been around wrangling chronic

pain and headaches. Maybe because this year has been so volatile or

maybe it’s just age (or both) but the pain and frequency progressively

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worsened as the year went on. One morning in September (September

5th, actually, I won’t forget it), I was sitting on my couch willing myself to

get up and do...anything. Work. Write. Practice. Clean. Make food. Read.

ANYTHING. But I couldn’t. I just felt too shitty, absolutely without

energy, foggy. I could feel a headache coming on, again. I started to cry.

For whatever reason, in that moment, I said enough is enough. I’ve

done every damn thing over the last 15 or so years: pills, injections,

massage, yoga, no yoga, pain clinics, new pillows, standing desk, ice

packs, heat packs, visualizations, all manner of supplements, going

dairy-free, gluten-free, more caffeine, no caffeine, Alexander Technique,

cranio-sacral work, sobbing, praying, even spinal surgery. NOTHING

HELPED. So, as one does, I googled something like FUCK YOU

HEADACHES (actually, more like “migraine miracle”) and found a book

called, of all things, “The Migraine Miracle.” I decided on the spot to

employ this program which rests on making two critical changes: 

1). Stop taking migraine medication, and

2). Adopt a ketogenic diet

I did both on September 5. While I’ve definitely had to take migraine

medication since that date, I’d say my consumption is down by at least

50%. And I have been solidly on the keto diet, no exceptions.

Without boring you, the basic premise of the keto diet is to cut out

added sugar, almost all carbohydrates (with the exception of certain

vegetables and berries)—basically anything that can spike glucose—

and adopt a high fat, moderate protein diet. At some point, the body

depletes its stores of glycogen and starts using fat for energy instead.

The body and brain that run on fat tend to run more steadily. Most

importantly, inflammation is reduced. What the hell, I thought. I‘ve tried

everything else.

My friends, it was a truly radical thing to do. I didn’t think I could do it.

The first few months were deeply foggy. It was like a battle royale with

my own metabolic processes until, by mid-November, I felt some pretty

big shifts in my energy. I guess I had become what they call “fat

adapted,” meaning my body had learned to use fat for energy, not

carbs. 

Headaches and pain are still a thing, but I am going to stay the course

because I think this is going in the right direction. It can take time for a

brain grown dependent on triptans (migraine medication, not a

narcotic!!) to rebalance itself. As you read this, it has been four months.

I’m going to check-in with myself at the six month point. In the

meantime, bring on the unsweetened coconut curries and cauliflower

pizza crusts.

My motivating question is: Who would I be without neck pain and

headaches? I long to meet that person. I will introduce you to her as

soon as I do.

Please wish me luck! 

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The OHP creative hub

Questions, Comments, Suggestions?

Don’t hesitate to let us know.

Susan susan@openheartproject.com

Crystal gandrud@actuallyorange.com

Lisa lisa@openheartproject.com