Finding Home in the Midst of a Chaotic World
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.”
[Image of Michael’s complete letter]
You help bring Gangaji’s invitation into over 1,500 U.S. prisons!
This August, we will send out the 100th issue of the Freedom Inside newsletter. Each month, we are responding to ______ requests for information and to join the correspondence program. A new course on meeting self-hatred has been added to the library of courses on Edovo, a digital platform created for inmates. We are also in the planning phase of producing Questions from the Inside, Part Two, a new audio interview featuring Gangaji’s responses to questions from prisoners.
Yes, the World Is Listening
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.
“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
Since January, the Being Yourself podcast has been 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%.
“I woke up today saying to myself that I will not entertain thoughts about work today, and I will bring my mind back to center when they occur. Then I picked up my phone, and this popped up! 💜🤍💜”
[Image from the short video]
Behind every number is a moment of connection like this one. Your support allows us to keep sharing Gangaji’s invitation freely, so it can reach someone wherever—and sometimes precisely when—it is needed.
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.”
Scholarships Open the Door
“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 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.
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. 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.
Your support helps us care not only for what is needed now, but also for what will remain available long after us.
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:
We Are in This Together
As one donor recently expressed: “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. We would like 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.
[Video Clip taken from: In the Midst of Chaos—What Is Always Here?]
We are deeply grateful for you. And gratefully, we are in this together.
The Donor Collaborative is hosting Gangaji for a gathering on Saturday, June 13 at 11 AM PT. Register here to get the Zoom Link
A First Quarter Reflection – Barbara Denempont, Executive Director
I want to take a moment to share something with you—not just an update, but a glimpse into the impact you are having as a Gangaji Foundation donor.
What you are supporting is reaching people in ways that are often quiet, sometimes unseen, and yet deeply transformative.
Let me paint a picture for you…
The World is Listening…and Watching!
As the host of Being Yourself, Gangaji’s monthly podcast, I often find myself wondering,
“Who is listening—who am I speaking to as I sit down to record an introduction?”
The answer is moving and astonishing. A simple moment of connection can open something truly longed for—
“My heart said it is Gangaji when I watched the first podcast… I came to the website the very next day.”
In just the first three months of 2026…
Taken together—through the podcast, YouTube, social media, and the website—our online presence is extending this invitation to peace across the world—literally.
A Welcoming Oasis of Support
It is our joy to welcome all who are interested to this oasis of support that is alive online. Along with the in-person retreats Gangaji holds in Ashland, spiritual seekers can easily connect with Gangaji, her invitation, and be supported in their spiritual inquiry by a welcoming community. Free courses and the monthly Community Video Screening provide immediate ways to engage in self-inquiry.
“This is a beautifully simple but profound course… a quiet opportunity for a radical experience of the truth.”
In our With Gangaji online community, participants from 44 countries gather every month in inquiry with Gangaji. Collectively, we are this one heart—longing for itself and discovering itself. Here’s one beautiful report shared in the With Gangaji forum…
“Thinking, thoughts, the power of the mind is amazing, truly. But there’s more. More than what appears and disappears. More than words can ever say. It’s That. I Love. It’s That, I Am.”
Meeting People Where They Are - Scholarships
I am continually moved by what we hear from those engaging in self-inquiry through a wide variety of free content, free courses, and through the scholarship program.
“I want to express my deepest gratitude once again for giving me the scholarship and granting me the opportunity to be a part of this profoundly deep, beautiful and heart opening retreat. I am in awe with the space that was created and a wonderful sangha, all having a genuinely life-changing impact on me.”
In a time when financial strain is real for many, your support ensures that this work remains available—meeting people exactly where they are, without barrier. We estimate in 2026, approximately 120 full and partial scholarships will be gifted by donors for the With Gangaji online program, online retreats, and the eight in-person retreats being held in Ashland.
Awakening On the Inside – Prison Program
Every week, the Prison Program team and I read letters from men and women living in prison, participating in Gangaji’s Freedom Inside course. The Prison Program is proof of our capacity to recognize freedom within, regardless of circumstance.
One inmate wrote:
“You helped me… by opening my eyes to the real meaning of love, peace, forgiveness. Hate isn’t even in my life no more.”
And another shared:
“The biggest lesson for me… was to open my heart deeply to my pain. When I did that, I was filled with love and the pain was gone.”
These are not small shifts. They are profound recognitions—happening in the most constrained and often dire conditions. Our program currently provides over 750 inmates regular newsletters by mail, and on the digital platform Gangaji’s courses have been accessed in over 1,300+ US facilities by thousands of inmates.
And now, we have added the Freedom Inside newsletters to our Media Library for all to read and are working on publishing the Freedom Inside workbooks in e-book form.
For Future Generations – The Archive Program
While it is not yet publicly visible—something very significant is being built. The Archive Program is beginning to take real shape.
We are not simply preserving recordings—we are in the early stages of building a living archive of Gangaji’s teachings, spanning decades, that will be searchable, accessible, and available for generations to come.
New data systems for transcription and segmentation are now in place—thoughtfully combining AI with human verification, along with duplication and transcoding of media. It is intricate work, still unfolding, but a strong foundation has been laid.
One Last Beautiful Reflection - You
When I take a step back and feel into all of this—the listeners, the viewers,
the prisoners, the global community, the archive, and Gangaji herself, I profoundly feel what fuels it all—gratitude.
To offer what we have received. To extend to others, who are just like us, this depth of support is a gift. In times of uncertainty or challenge, there is something deeply meaningful in being able to support the possibility of peace in our lives and in the world.
You are the heart of this. The love of self Itself.
Thank you for making all of this possible—for people you may never meet, in places you may never go. You support their discovery of what is unshakably true within us all.
May all beings awaken to itself.
With endless gratitude,
Barbara
PS My door is always open. Please feel free to knock if you have any questions or just want to connect!
RSVP for the volunteer and donor event
RSVP for the Ashland local volunteer and donor event