Friends & Sites

The Sacred Art of Living Center has connection to many diverse groups with a common vision of integrating spirituality into every dimension of human activity. Below are links to some of our special Friends.

Anam Cara Caregiving

Anam Cara Caregiving, LLC provides custom care at the end of life, collaborating with an established medical team (like home health and hospice) to implement an individualized plan of care – so caregivers can stay engaged, connected, and healthy while individuals requiring care are able to experience comfort and safety at home.

Ceile De Community

The Ceili De Community is located in Kippen, Scotland.  The abbess or main teacher – called the “Anam Chara” – of the Céile Dé is Fionntulach.  Since 2003, she has also been head of the Order.  The Celtic Spiritual tradition has been her life for almost thirty years.  Fionn has also become an important teacher in the evolution of the Anamcara Project.  Click on the Ceile De link to find out more about this remarkable community and the ancient Celtic spiritual tradition.

Becoming Forest Project

The Becoming Forest Project was founded in 2023 to help people everywhere cultivate resilience in a time of climate insecurity and other great challenges. The goal is to find resilience in the midst of the uncertainty of our era.  Founder, Dr. Michael Kearney has been the honorary medical director for Becoming Anamcara.

Center for Action and Contemplation

The Center for Action and Contemplation, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was founded in 1987 by Franciscan Richard Rohr, who saw the need for a training/formation center.  It would serve as a place of discernment and growth for activists and those interested in social service ministries—a place to be still, and learn how to integrate a contemplative lifestyle with compassionate service.  The Center’s purpose is to serve not only as a forum for peaceful, non-violent social change but also as a radical voice for renewal and encouragement in the modern world.  Click on the Center for Action and Contemplation link to find out about Richard Rohr who has been a special friend and mentor to the Groves and Sacred Art of Living Center.

Center for Courage & Renewal

When we reconnect who we are with what we do, we approach our lives and our work with renewed passion, commitment, and integrity. Since 1997, the Center for Courage & Renewal has helped foster personal and professional renewal through retreats that offer the time and space to reflect on life and work. These retreats, called Courage to Teach®, Courage to Lead®, or Circle of Trust®, are led by skilled facilitators and make use of poetry and stories, solitude, reflection, and deep listening. Developed with the author, educator, and activist Parker J. Palmer, Ph.D., and the Fetzer Institute, this approach was initially created to renew, sustain, and inspire public school teachers. Educators remain at the heart of our mission, but retreats are also offered to those in serving professions such as health care, clergy, and law, as well as to anyone yearning to become more wholehearted in their life and work.

Center for Loss and Transition

Led by death educator and grief counselor Dr. Alan Wolfelt, we are an organization dedicated to helping people who are grieving and those who care for them. Perhaps someone you love has died, or you want to help a grieving friend or family member. Or maybe you are a professional or volunteer grief caregiver. Either way, we are here to offer resources and understanding. We invite you to explore our website by clicking the link below or call us at (970) 226-6050 

Coma Communication

Coma communication is taught under the larger discipline of Process Work, also known as Process Oriented Psychology.  The main North American center is the Process Work Institute located in Portland, Oregon founded by Drs. Arnie and Amy Mindell.  Process Work operates through the deeply democratic belief that all parts of a person, the environment, relationships, groups, and the world are valuable and meaningful.  We work with a diversity of issues through body symptoms…  Coma Communications is an integral teaching in the Sacred Art of Living & Dying program series.  Teachers Stan Tomandl and Ann Jacob have been part of the SALC faculty for 13 years. 

Final Season Doula

As an end of life doula, Julie Jaecksch, founder of Final Season Doula, can help guide you, empower you, and support you in implementing your choices. Doulas provide emotional, spiritual, and physical support at an intensely personal and crucial time. They assist people in finding meaning, creating a legacy project, and planning for how the last days will unfold. Doulas also guide and support loved ones through the last days of life and ease the suffering of grief in its early stages.

Golden Healing Publishing

Webhealing.com was one of the internet’s first sites to help the bereaved. Created by Tom Golden, LCSW, it continues to function as a meeting place for grieving people from around the world to offer mutual support and understanding.

Jennings Center for Older Adults

Jennings Center for Older Adults is a vibrant, Catholic-based continuum of care campus for senior adults. With more than 65 years of experience in serving the aging population in the Cleveland area, Jennings offers assisted living, adult day services, Alzheimer’s/dementia care, nursing home care, rehabilitation, respite/short stay suites, senior apartments, villa homes, infant/child care and more.

Mindful Heart Programs

The home of accessible meditation practices – with members around the world.
Founders and Teachers: Michael Kearney @ michaelkearneymd.com and Radhule Weininger @ radhuleweiningerphd.com

Providence Renewal Centre

Providence Renewal Centre (PRC) is an ecumenical retreat and conference center, located in south Edmonton on 20 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds. Established by the Sisters of Providence in 1983, it has evolved and changed over the years. Today Providence Renewal Centre opens its doors to those who are looking for a Christian environment in which to nourish their spiritual lives as well as those who are looking for a peaceful environment to hold their meeting, seminar, or conference.

Sage-ing International

Sage-ing International is about aging consciously through life’s transitions and challenges in community with like-minded older adults. The Sage-ing view is one of aging as a spiritual practice that can elicit joy and contentment, positively benefiting our families and the communities and cultures we serve. Richard Groves and Sacred Art of Living are regular contributors to Sage-ing International workshops. 

Spiritual Directors International

SDI is an organization dedicated to cultivating the practices of deep listening and spiritual presence across all faith traditions and spiritual orientations. Many graduates from Sacred Art of Living training courses are listed and networked with the SDI organization and directory

Star of the North Retreat Centre

In 1953, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate opened the doors of Star of the North Retreat Center to provide spiritual retreats, workshops, and seminars for persons seeking spiritual renewal in their lives. The Oblates are a missionary, religious order of the Roman Catholic Christian tradition committed to walking with and serving alongside the poor. Their houses of retreat offer formation in spirituality, contemplative private retreat for personal renewal, and human growth, psychological, emotional, spiritual as well as wisdom teachings around justice, peace, and integrity of creation. They also offer hospitality for groups seeking an alternative and affordable place to gather for their meetings, conferences, and retreats.

Taize Community

Founded in 1940 by Brother Roger, a Lutheran Pastor from Switzerland, the Taizé Community is made up of over a hundred brothers from Orthodox, Catholic, and various Protestant backgrounds, coming from around thirty nations.  By its very existence, the community is a “parable of community” that wants its life to be a sign of reconciliation between persons divided by faith and culture.  The brothers of the community live solely by their work and do not accept donations. Certain brothers live in some of the disadvantaged places in the world, to be witnesses of peace there, alongside people who are suffering.  They strive to be a presence of love among the very poor, street children, prisoners, the dying, and those who are wounded by broken relationships, or who have been abandoned.

Walking Each Other Home

Walking Each Other Home is a comprehensive resource for End-of-Life care and education. We offer hope and share practical information for individuals, family members, and health care professionals. This new resource has been created by Dr. Kevin Dieter, a teachers and board member of Sacred Art of Living. To search the Walking Home network click the link below.

Yerusha Academy/Institute for Deep Ecumenism

Based on the legacy of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, the Yerusha Academy, our mission is to empower and unite individuals from diverse faith traditions and backgrounds in a transformative journey of education, spirituality, and service. We are not a seminary, but a pioneering institution that trains and certifies clergy and laity alike to serve as compassionate leaders, educators, and change agents within the broader religious and spiritual community. Our unique programming transcends denominational, generational, and cultural boundaries, fostering a deep sense of connection, understanding, and shared purpose. 

Principle Yerusha Academy teachers Rabbis Nadya and Victor Gross are long time mentors and collaborators with the Sacred Art of Living Becoming Anamcara program.

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