In this grief roundtable, SCP facilitators Lakshmi Abrol, Janaki Barbush, and Chelsea Forte sit down with Carly Misenheimer for a tender and enlightening discussion on the nature of grief, death, impermanence, and love.

If this episodes inspires a quality of deep rest and nourishment, consider joining our monthly grief circle facilitated by Chelsea and Janaki.

Carly Misenheimer (she/her) is an ordained Presbyterian minister, hospice chaplain, and yoga teacher whose work centers on grief and end-of-life care. She accompanies individuals and families through some of life’s most sacred thresholds, helping them make meaning through story and ritual.

Her path into this ministry began with early personal loss and a season of spiritual unmaking in divinity school. She describes herself as a hopeful agnostic — deeply shaped by the Christian story while holding space for uncertainty. Carly is especially interested in how grief lives in the body and how practices like breath and movement can become part of the healing journey.

Chelsea Forte (she/her) is a grief work facilitator, yoga teacher, somatic coach and recently a creator of small books and tiny zines. Her approach is rooted in curiosity and play and honors grief not as something to overcome but as a sacred teacher that deepens our capacity for presence and connection. She believes that when we can learn to allow all parts - the messy and the magnificent, the insignificant and the inconceivable, the mundane and the marvelous, we take the first steps towards wholeness (and she loves some alliteration).

Megan "Janaki" Barbush (she/her) is a trauma-informed yoga teacher with certifications in Yin, Restorative, and Baptiste Power Yoga. She specializes as a caregiver to developmentally disabled adults and offers spiritual support and mentorship. Her simple intention is to create an environment where beings from all walks of life can feel included, safe, and Loved.

Emily Lakshmi Abrol (she/her) is a retreat facilitator and volunteer for Sacred Community Project as well as a Hospice volunteer and end-of-life companion. She finds spiritual connection in supporting those at the end of their lives. Inspired by her Guru Neem Karoli Baba, Lakshmi loves exploring how seva and the path of karma yoga can deepen her spiritual practice.

The Sacred Community Podcast is an inter-spiritual hub of the universal teachings, “Love, Service, Remembrance, and Truth.” Home to Sacred Community Project interviews, live workshop recordings, dharma talks, and meditations, each episode is carefully curated to ensure its alignment with SCP values.

Sacred Community Project works to lower the barriers of access to contemplative and devotional practices through free, donation-based, and affordable offerings, spiritual support, and prison outreach. Learn more and make a tax-deductible donation at: https://sacredcommunityproject.org

Related Credits and Links

A/V: zander cole

SCP Logo: Beverly Hsu

Podcast Intro Music: Carl Golembeski

This Q&A from the 2025 Sacred Community Retreat contains a discussion on the final moments of Ram Dass's life, the events that led to the creation of Hanuman Maui, and ways to apply Ram Dass's teachings of Loving Awareness. Featuring Ram Dass caregivers Pavan Das and Sitaram Dass and joined by zander cole and Vasu jon Seskevich.

We are sharing this now because Hanuman Maui has started a fundraising campaign to secure Ram Dass's home as a permanent sanctuary for future generations to come.

Ram Dass’s Maui home has long been a place of satsang, service, spiritual practice, and loving awareness. Now, Hanuman Maui is under contract to purchase it. This is an opportunity to give the mission a permanent home, expand the people that can be served, and carry loving awareness forward for generations to come.

Learn more and donate to the campaign

The Sacred Community Podcast is an inter-spiritual hub of the universal teachings, “Love, Service, Remembrance, and Truth.” Home to Sacred Community Project interviews, live workshop recordings, dharma talks, and meditations, each episode is carefully curated to ensure its alignment with SCP values.

Sacred Community Project works to lower the barriers of access to contemplative and devotional practices through free, donation-based, and affordable offerings, spiritual support, and prison outreach. Learn more and make a tax-deductible donation at: https://sacredcommunityproject.org

Related Credits and Links

Podcast Host and Producer: Sitaram Dass

A/V: zander cole

SCP Logo: Beverly Hsu

Podcast Intro Music: Carl Golembeski

This second Q&A from the 2025 Sacred Community Retreat features a discussion on acting with kindness and the creative tension between acceptance and ambition and how it intersects with our careers, artistic pursuits, and spiritual lives. It ends with a few Ram Dass stories for good measure.

It also contains an in-depth discussion about cultural appropriation. This topic is a big one, and though the facilitators don't claim to offer any universal answers, as a group they explore the question from multiple viewpoints and cultural perspectives.

We are sharing it here because at SCP we don't shy away from systemic issues. In our retreat invocation we state, "We have come together to invoke the Sacred through our shared humanity. During this retreat, we each agree to attend to five things: ourselves, each other, the group, the world, and the shared Presence unifying it all. We do this as an act of devotion, knowing that God is manifest in all five." And, "We tend to the world by acknowledging we are not separate from collective sorrow, collective aid, or systemic influences associated with race, class, gender, sexuality, or ability."

Learn more about this year’s Sacred Community Retreat in British Columbia.

The Sacred Community Podcast is an inter-spiritual hub of the universal teachings, “Love, Service, Remembrance, and Truth.” Home to Sacred Community Project interviews, live workshop recordings, dharma talks, and meditations, each episode is carefully curated to ensure its alignment with SCP values.

Sacred Community Project works to lower the barriers of access to contemplative and devotional practices through free, donation-based, and affordable offerings, spiritual support, and prison outreach. Learn more and make a tax-deductible donation at: https://sacredcommunityproject.org

Related Credits and Links

Podcast Host and Producer: Sitaram Dass

A/V: zander cole

SCP Logo: Beverly Hsu

Podcast Intro Music: Carl Golembeski