Awakening Together is a warm and informal in-person gathering for spiritual seekers who long to come together with like-minded individuals to share, practise, reflect and connect. It is inspired by the Buddhist concept of sangha (Sanskrit for “community” or “assembly”): the coming together of people around shared spiritual practice and inquiry.

 Established by Dr Gabriella F. Buttarazzi (Uma Shakti Devi), Awakening Together offers space for connection, contemplation and community — an antidote, or perhaps a “soothing balm”, to the potential overwhelm of our volatile and uncertain times.

Inspired by the work of Larry Yang (2017), Awakening Together is radically inclusive and welcomes people of all cultures, backgrounds, spiritual paths and stages of practice. No particular spiritual or religious affiliation is required.

At the heart of our gatherings are four simple principles:

1. Active Listening: We listen to one another with attention, curiosity and care — creating space to hear and be heard without rushing to judge, advise or respond.

2. Action Learning: We bring reflection and action into conversation, exploring questions and challenges together in a spirit of inquiry. This asks us to remain open, acknowledge what we do not know and allow insight to inform how we live and act.

3. Shared Practice: We practise together, sharing lived experience, contemplative practices and ways of knowing. Through regular gathering, individual practice becomes part of a collective journey of learning and discovery.

4. Unconditional Positive Regard: Drawing on the work of Carl Rogers (1961), we seek to meet one another with acceptance, respect and an understanding of each person's inherent worth. This helps create the trust and psychological safety from which authentic relationship and growth can emerge.

Gatherings take place every Friday evening from 7 pm. Children and pets are more than welcome; this is a space for community in the fullest sense. A selection of Ayurvedic and Chinese teas is always served. Come as you are; there is nothing to prepare, achieve or prove.

References

Yang, L. (2017). Awakening Together: The Spiritual Practice of Inclusivity and Community. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications.

Rogers, C. R. (2021). On Becoming a Person: A Therapist's View of Psychotherapy (60th Anniversary Ed.). London: Constable. (Original Work Published 1961).