Earlier this month, I sat down with Andrea Grill (pictured at Fallen Leaf Lake) to ask her some questions about her involvement with the Finding Home series.
Andrea is an attorney in the Washington, DC area who was first introduced to Gangaji over 25 years ago. This year, she has been an invaluable support to the production team of Finding Home, helping with licensing and contracting music for the series.
It turns out the invitation to help with Finding Home came at just the right time. Andrea had been the lead attorney for a federal agency that provided critical services across the U.S. to communities in need. In January 2025, immediately after the presidential inauguration, unconstitutional executive orders were being issued. It became clear to Andrea that she could no longer stand in the Truth of who she is and also stay in her job. She was being called to support and advise on unlawful, destructive, and inhumane actions and policies. She decided to retire from her government position, leaving behind her wonderful legal team who were in the beginning and prime of their careers. A few weeks later, the "Department of Government Efficiency" largely dismantled her agency.
It was during this stormy and confusing time that, out of the blue, GF staff reached out and asked her to help with Finding Home. “It felt like an honor. I felt nervous and surprised by this acknowledgement”. Although she did not have expertise in this area of law, Andrea quickly agreed. “Gangaji, and what she points to, are the most important things in my life.”
Andrea says she provided a “supporting role” and that Deborah Games did the lion’s share of the work. “Copyrights and licensing are complex, and we were all learning together.”
Despite living across the country from Ashland, working on the project deepened her connection to Gangaji and her teachings. “Gangaji embodies Truth. She’s fully awake. When I’m in her presence or read something she’s written, my mind is blown. Without fail. She and her teachings are a confirmation of what I know is the Deepest Truth, that I’m always Free.”
In reflecting on the first two episodes of Finding Home, Andrea found that what resonated most with her is the notion that “I could not grow if I stayed where I came from” and also, “the hunger and adoration for Freedom.” She has faced many difficult barriers with her family and in society, some of which continue to this day. Born in the Bronx, Andrea grew up in a Jewish household in the 1960s and realized as an adolescent that she was a lesbian. The rules of her family and society led her to believe that she "could never have what she truly wanted." She spent her early adult years restructuring her life. The American saying, “getting out of Dodge,” aptly applies here. It has been a common experience for many of us. Andrea expressed her lifelong attachment to Freedom, which has evolved into a living experience as part of the Sangha.
Andrea also spoke about how the Finding Home episodes led her to examine her own life and those pivotal points along the way, many of which were not pleasant but for which she is deeply grateful. She, like many of us, was brought up to feel that “exposing your true feelings was dangerous,” to the point of being shunned or ultimately experiencing death. Andrea was surprised at the resurgence of these memories, which she views now through the lens of Gangaji’s teaching.
Lastly, I want to add that Andrea is also a volunteer with the Prison Program correspondence team. She states that every letter she receives from her assigned inmate is “Satsang from beginning to end” and provides her with the experience that there is true Freedom Inside.
