Giving Spirit Form is based on the model of a Tiospaye, the Lakota word for extended family. A Tiospaye is grounded in the spiritual truth that none of us heals outside of community. Within that extended family, there are several individual circles that meet in Sebastopol. Two circles are structured to meet on Saturday or Sunday, all day, one time a month, from 10:30 AM - 4:30 PM.  Another circle is structured to meet every other week on Tuesday evening from 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM (Depending on demand, a Wednesday evening every other week may also be set up.)  All circles start in January and continue for a year.

As a mirror of life, the circles are comprised of people from a broad range of ages and professional backgrounds. Some members have been doing this work for years and some are just beginning. The common denominator is the desire to heal and a commitment to that healing journey. A year's commitment is required of each member of the circle.

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Each meeting is a blend of checking in, giving and receiving feedback, teaching and experiential work. The focus is on developing each person's capacity to make contact with their own spirit and the larger sense of Spirit. This involves assisting and empowering each person's ability to develop their capacity to soften and relax their habitual defenses, and to experience direct intimate contact with themselves in the loving presence of others. Each person learns how to deepen their capacity to be present with themselves without judging, withholding or conceptualizing. As one begins to recognize oneself as a Sacred being, the sense of separation dissolves and the essential truth that we are all related emerges. There is the open invitation for any member to come forward and work individually. This is always in the service of all present, as we are mirrors for one another.

Creativity is a doorway through which we have the opportunity to recognize ourselves more fully. It is an opening to the Spirit world. Throughout the year we focus on a sacred art project, such as making gratitude hoops, masks, collages and rattles.



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A vision quest provides the opportunity for each person to have time alone in nature for reflection and prayer. It is a time when we let go of the typical luxuries of life in order to contact our spirit more directly. This takes place during the Fall at Wind Dance, 125 acres of beautiful, wild land in Mendocino County, California. This is also an opportunity for members of different circles to come together and meet each other.



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In support of community, we have one or two work weekends during the year. Members from the different circles come together on the land to cut wood, care for the land and prepare vision quest sites. Other members contribute by preparing food. This is a time to deepen the connection between members of the Tiospaye, and an opportunity to develop a relationship to the land itself.

At various times during the year, weekend workshops are offered. Native American spiritual leaders are brought out to teach and share their Spiritual wisdom.

To enter Giving Spirit Form, you would have a personal interview with Ellen between August and December prior to the beginning of the new year. If accepted, you would be placed in the circle that is most appropriate for your personal journey.

Pema Chodron