The Inner Sanctum is a thriving spiritual temple, warm water sanctuary, and community gathering space serving at the intersection of sound, water, earth, and human connection. Located on 85 acres of pristine land in Woodside CA, our work is in service to enacting a culture of harmony and integrity between humanity, nature, and spirit. 

As a California-registered church and non-profit, our mission is to foster a living temple space where we support individual in accessing their innate wisdom & truth, in service to creating a unified field of compassion and love on this planet. 

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Join Us

We’re excited and grateful to invite you to our first multi-day Inner Sanctum Community Event on May 17th & 18th. Please join us both old friends and new as we gather together to tend our hearts, and our humanity, and our inter-connectedness in community.

In light of the recent passing of the The Inner Sanctum Founder’s (John Delaplaine’s) service dog Roxy, this inaugural event will honor and work with the themes of Grief, Gratitude, and Celebration as integral practices for maintaining healthy culture and community.

The Weekend at a Glance:

SATURDAY (May 17) • 10am-9pm:
A Day Long Community Grief & Gratitude Ritual, facilitated by Maria Owl
Roxy’s Memorial & Celebration of Life
Community Shared Meals

SUNDAY (May 18) • 10am-9pm:
Morning Ecstatic Dance with DJ HoneyFroth
Dharma Talk with Arielle Brown
Guided Warm Water Experience in Our Temple Pool with John Delaplaine & KellyFish
Time on the Land to Connect with Friends & Community
Community Shared Meals

Our Intention for this Gathering:

There’s an immense amount of intense change happening in our country and on our planet at this time–and it’s understandably impacting many of us on a mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual level. In these unprecedented times, we believe it’s deeply important to cultivate resiliency in ourselves and our communities that lets us:

1. Keep our hearts open to each other.

2. Keep our energy grounded in the present moment.

3. Keep our souls connected to our Path and/or Purpose.

4. Keep our intuition fine-tuned so we can trust ourselves to discern the deepest truth.

You’re welcome to join us for just one of the days (Saturday or Sunday) or both days, with the option to stay overnight at The Inner Sanctum. 

The full event details and links to register for the weekend are below:

FULL WEEKEND SCHEDULE

*Please note, while the 10am start time and 9pm end time both days are set in stone, the exact schedule for each day during the day may shift slightly.

SATURDAY (MAY 17): Community Grief & Gratitude Ritual + Roxy’s Memorial

10am-10:40am – Arrival + Check-In (Must arrive on time to participate.)
11am – Opening Circle + Grief Workshop
1pm – Community Lunch
2pm-6pm – Roxy’s Memorial + Creation of Grief & Gratitude Shines + Community Ritual
6pm-7pm – Community Dinner
7pm-9pm – Cuddle & Connect Time
9pm – Saturday-Only Participants Depart/Quiet Hours for Overnight Guests

*For the Saturday Grief & Gratitude Ritual, you must arrive within the 10am-10:40am check-in window in order to participate. Opening Circle for the ritual begins at 11am and you’ll need 15-20 min to get settled before we begin. Late entry will not be allowed.

ABOUT SATURDAY’S EVENT:

Saturday Day-Long Community Grief & Gratitude Ritual: Everyone feels grief, but not everyone has been supported in understanding its true purpose and power. Many of us were raised to swallow our tears, or we were told that it’s weak to grieve, or that we’re too emotional. When we suppress this natural function within us, we create energy blocks which in turn create health imbalances. People who regularly honor their tears will tell you emotions are like waves in the sea; when we give them permission to flow, they will rise and fall, rise and fall, and then naturally subside, leaving us with a sense of feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and more connected to what has heart and meaning in our lives. That is why we are calling this gathering a “Grief and Gratitude Ritual”. These two states are two-sides of the same coin. As we kneel at the feet of our grief as a teacher, we are poised to receive profound gifts that lead to profound personal openings. 

Francis Weller, author of The Wild Edge of Sorrow, teaches that we are all walking around with incomplete grief. Grief needs two things to complete: containment and release. Yet it is challenging to give yourself both of these experiences at the same time, by yourself. We need community to truly transform our grief. This Community Grief & Gratitude Ritual is a container for each member of the community to be held and witnessed as they release the bound up energy. As we release, we are lifting the weight from the whole community. As we support others releasing, we offer the gift of bearing witness to that transformation. Together, the healing can truly occur. 

This community ritual is offered with humble appreciation to the Dagara people of Burkina Faso, in West Africa, brought to California in the 1990s by Malidoma and Sobonfu Some. We honor these people and ancestors who saw that we in the Western Industrial mind-set had lost touch with a state of emotional balance and resiliency. Their offering has touched tens of thousands of lives and supported so many to heal!

Roxy’s Memorial (Saturday): An opportunity to celebrate the life of founder of The Inner Sanctum, John Delaplaine’s service dog Roxy, who passed away last November and touched many people’s lives during her time on this planet.

About Maria Owl (Grief Ritual Facilitator): Maria began training in Community Grief Work in 1999, focusing her bachelor’s degree on community healing through the Work That Reconnects, the modality developed by Joanna Macy. In 2005 she participated in a 10-month Dagara-style women’s initiation process, later she participated in a Village experience with Sobonfu Some, and participated in many grief rituals with Sobonfu after that. Maria has offered Community Grief Rituals in the Dagara style for over 15 years, while also training facilitators to carry on the work in Tel Aviv, Israel, the Big Island of Hawaii and California. She holds a Master’s degree in Integral Counseling Psychology with an emphasis on eco-psychology and trauma, and has taught Indigenous Wisdom at many institutions of higher learning, including Naropa and Dominican Universities.

Register to join us on Saturday here. 

SUNDAY (MAY 18) SCHEDULE: 

9am – Breakfast for Overnight Guest Who Signed Up for the Full Weekend Event
10am – Check-in for Sunday-Only Guests
10:30am – AM Ecstatic Dance with DJ HoneyFroth
12pm – Break
12:30pm – Dharma Talk facilitated by Arielle Brown
2pm – Community Lunch
4pm – Guided Warm Water Experience in our Temple Pool with John Delaplaine & KellyFish
(Plus free time on the land to connect with community)
6:30pm – Community Dinner
7:30pm – Cuddle & Connect
9pm – Departure

*Note: For Sunday-Only guests, while we encourage you to arrive at 10am on Sunday to join us for the entire experience, you are welcome to arrive any time on Sunday.

ABOUT SUNDAY’S EVENT:

Sunday Morning Ecstatic Dance: A 90-min dance journey to support you in coming fully into your body and your aliveness as you feel, alchemize, and integrate whatever is. For those who attended the Saturday Grief & Gratitude Ritual this is an opportunity to move and integrate whatever energy/emotions were stirred from the day before. And for those just joining us for Sunday, it’s an opportunity to get into our heart, body, and aliveness to start the day and then glide from that right into our Sunday Dharma Talk.

Sunday Afternoon Dharma Talk: Gather with community and Lead Pastor Arielle Brown as she offers a short transmission into the spiritual philosophy of The Inner Sanctum, exploring the themes of wholeness and self-trust, with space for breakout group shares between community members and time for Q&A with Arielle.

Time in Our Warm Water Temple Pool & On Our 85-Acres of Land (Sunday): IS Founder John Delaplaine & Aguahara Facilitator KellyFish will lead a communal, warm water experience in our Warm Water Temple Pool, and people feeling more land-bound will have the opportunity to explore our beautiful 85-acre property and hike to various breath-taking vista points.

REGISTER TO JOIN US:

If you’d like to join us for one or both days of our first Inner Sanctum Community Event, please click on the corresponding link below:

Click Here to register and join us Saturday (May 17)

Click Here to register and join us Sunday (May 18)

Click Here to register and join us for the Full May 17 & 18 Weekend.

LOCATION & LODGING:

The Inner Sanctum is nestled in 85 acres of rolling hills with expansive views and a thriving ecosystem in Woodside CA. We are located less than an hour’s drive from SFO and Santa Cruz. Address and directions will be sent after registering.

For those who join us for the full weekend event, you are welcome to stay overnight at The Inner Sanctum through either renting an accommodation on property, or bringing your own tent to camp on the land at no additional fee. Camper Vans up to the size of a Sprinter Van are also allowed to stay on property overnight at no additional cost.

FOOD:

• For those attending Saturday (5/17), your ticket includes a vegetarian lunch & dinner

• For those attending Sunday (5/18), your ticket includes a vegetarian lunch & dinner.

• For those who join us for the full weekend and stay overnight, your ticket includes lunch and dinner on Saturday along with breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Sunday.
  

WHAT IS THE INNER SANCTUM:

The Inner Sanctum is a thriving spiritual temple, warm water sanctuary, and community gathering space serving at the intersection of sound, water, earth, and human connection. Located on 85 acres of pristine land in Woodside CA, our work is in service to enacting a culture of harmony and integrity between humanity, nature, and spirit. 

As a California-registered church and non-profit, our mission is to foster a living temple space where we support individuals in accessing their innate wisdom and truth in service to creating a unified field of compassion and interconnectedness on this planet. 

We hope you’ll join us for our first event as a community, as we deepen and expand our relational root system together.

If you have any questions about the event, please email Arielle at arielle@theinnersanctum.org.

With Love & Gratitude,
The Inner Sanctum