Gangaji Community

Finding Home in the Midst of a Chaotic World

by Barbara Denempont, Executive Director

Dear friends,

In the midst of a chaotic world full of individual and collective challenges, it can be easy to wonder whether what we do truly makes a difference. I want you to know that it does.

Through your steady gifts of time, care, and financial support of the Gangaji Foundation, you are serving peace in the world and in the hearts of many thousands. And together, we are creating a place, a space—an oasis—where anyone in the world can be supported in calling off the search, recognizing the truth of who they are, and deepening in the peace that is always present.

The reflections in this report offer just a few glimpses of the lives you touch—beginning with Michael, who is incarcerated in Arizona…

The Freedom Alive Behind Prison Walls

“Finding the practice of self-inquiry and satsang has been the most significant discovery in my life and in myself. My life, regardless of location, has changed, is blessed, and is better than words can describe.”

You help bring Gangaji’s invitation into more than 1,500 U.S. prisons!

This August, we will mail out the 100th issue of the Freedom Inside newsletter to our over 750+ course-by-snail mail participants.
A new course on meeting self-hatred has also been added to Edovo, a digital learning platform for the incarcerated accessible via tablet. Over 33,000 inmates have freely accessed Gangaji's content on Edovo.
Each month, our Prison Program volunteer team receives and responds to more than 100 letters and supports 57 pairs of people in prison and volunteers who correspond with one another.
We are also planning Questions from the Inside, Part Two, a new audio interview in which Gangaji responds to questions from people in prison.

Yes, the World Is Listening

“I woke up today saying to myself that I will not entertain thoughts about work today... Then I picked up my phone and this video popped up! 💜🤍💜”—Facebook user

Through your support a message of peace is shared with the world, and as I have said many times, “the world is listening.” Gangaji’s invitation is widely and freely available through introductory courses, podcasts, videos, articles, interviews, YouTube, and social media.

Often, a brief video or podcast episode becomes someone’s first encounter with Gangaji and the invitation she offers. For others, it arrives at exactly the moment they need to hear they are already home.

Since January, the Being Yourself podcast was downloaded 77,000 times across 150+ countries. Monthly listening rose to almost 15,000 in June.

On Facebook, Gangaji’s videos and posts were viewed more than 550,000 times since January—an increase of 322%—while engagement grew by 294%.

Behind every number is a moment of connection. Your support allows us to keep sharing Gangaji’s invitation freely, so it can reach someone wherever—and sometimes precisely when—it is needed.

“Throughout this course, I experienced a deepening into presence and into allowing myself to be as I am, no matter what situation I find myself in.”—Ending Patterns of Unnecessary Suffering course participant

The Deep Purpose in Gathering and Giving

This global oasis also lives in the ways people meet and support one another online through With Gangaji. In “Wake Up First,” a moving report from Forum member Juan Carlos Castro, he shares what becomes possible when there is a place to tell the truth and deepen together—not apart from the complexities of life, but in their midst.

“Through bliss, addiction, concealment, ambition, beauty, confusion, grief, success, failure, terror, love, and loss, something has remained untouched.”—Juan Carlos

Scholarships Open the Door

For those who want to participate more deeply but cannot afford the full cost, donor support has made more than 100 scholarships available for With Gangaji.

Full and partial scholarships are also available for every in-person retreat. You help ensure that financial circumstances do not stand in the way of someone discovering what is already here.

“Thank you so much for awarding me this scholarship. It’s with tears in my eyes that I read your message. I will cherish this gift for the coming year.” —Leila

For Generations to Come

We are also making steady progress in the long-term work of organizing and preserving Gangaji’s extensive archive of recordings thanks to the staff and volunteers on the transcription and duplication teams. This project reaches beyond what any of us may see in our own lifetimes. It is an act of stewardship—ensuring that future generations will be able to encounter Gangaji’s invitation in her own voice and discover its relevance in their lives.

Full of Love

As one donor shared with me: “We are living in very disturbing times—times we perhaps never thought we would experience, yet here we are. Gangaji’s message is simple, full of love, and waiting for us to open to it: peace from within.”

If you are able, we invite you to continue your support. It allows this invitation to reach across the world, behind prison walls, and into someone’s life at precisely the moment it is needed.

And this oasis is here for you, too.

At a recent Donor Collaborative gathering, Gangaji spoke about being true in the midst of chaos and discovering what is always here. I want to leave you with this excerpt—not as another update, but as a moment to stop, rest, and receive the support you help make possible for us all.

May all being awaken to Itself.

With endless gratitude,
Barbara Denempont, ED Gangaji Foundation

P.S. My door is always open. Please feel free to knock if you have any questions or just want to connect!

Coming This Fall

Your steady support allows us to keep creating new ways to encounter and deepen in Gangaji’s invitation. Here is a glimpse of what is ahead:

Let Yourself Be Found — a new, free mini-course offering a direct invitation to end the search and discover what is already here will be released in September.
An October Silent Retreat in Ashland — an opportunity to gather with Gangaji and drop deeply into silence and inquiry.
A new edition of Just Like You — including, for the first time, a Kindle edition.
The Donor Collaborative Hosts Gangaji for a volunteer/donor gathering. We will send you an email invitation for the October 10^th online meeting.
The Donor Collaborative Hosts Barbara: Celebrating 100 Episodes of Being Yourself — join me online in November for a celebration with podcast listeners, donors, and volunteers. After nearly 100 episodes of sitting behind the microphone, now I get to hear from you. Thank you, Donor Collaborative!

Recording of a Conversation with Gangaji: In the Midst of Chaos — What Is Always Here?

“This is your resting place, your watering hole. Find what supports you, what includes you, and drink it in. Be nourished. Be enlivened. And when you feel thirsty again, drink some more.” —Gangaji