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Get a free meditation from Susan every Monday morning
30 Days of Dharma
Living the Householder Path
with Susan Piver and Crystal Gandrud
September 13–October 11, 2026
Deepen spiritual insight | RECOVER VITALITY | REST IN THE power of friendship
Limited to 25 participants
we're not meant to go it alone on the spiritual path
It is difficult to navigate the spiritual path by willpower and self-help books alone. When we practice with others, inexplicable magic takes hold and our native intelligence, creativity, and courage blossom.
This Fall, I’m offering something I have never offered before—a deeply personal, intensive way of working together called 30 Days of Dharma, co-taught with teacher, artist, and friend, Crystal Gandrud.
We will not teach you anything. We will help you to discover something: your unique brilliance, worthiness, and personal power.
We will live the dharma rather than only studying it, right in the middle of our ordinary, messy, beautiful lives.
Before we begin, you and I will meet privately for 45 minutes. I want to understand your practice — where it has depth, where it goes flat, what you’re actually working with. We’ll look together at your enneagram type and subtype and your astrological chart if you wish (weirdly, I know a lot about astrology) — not as personality labels, but as precise instruments for self-understanding. We’ll also look at your home environment and how to shape it into a genuine container for a month of serious practice. Most important, we will develop a personalized practice plan for you and keep the details in a google doc shared just between us.
Midway through, you’ll meet one-on-one with Crystal to take stock of what’s shifting, what’s resisting, what deserves closer attention.
After the program concludes, there will be a final private meeting with Crystal or me to integrate what you’ve discovered and consider where you go from here.
The heart of this program is YOU.
Your relationships.
your home.
your gifts.
your confusion.
us.
If you know me, you know i don’t like to make big promises,
but i feel confident in saying:
By the end of this program, you will know how to
live a life of ordinary magic.
Together, we will:
- Bring balance and simplicity to your outer environment, including creating a personally meaningful shrine as a focal point for practice
- Establish practice rhythms that protect your mind and heart (this is not a digital detox, but it is a gentle re-orientation concerning technology)
- Discover how ancient teachings can come to life in our modern, complicated lives
- Investigate and discuss Buddhist teachings on the Four Reminders, the Middle Way, and the power of lineage
- Experience what is possible for you when practice is supported by friendship and consistency
This program asks (and offers) a lot.
Please read the details carefully.
Registration is open now
space is intentionally limited.
KEY DATES
Pre-Program
Schedule a 45-minute one-to-one with Susan
This meeting is to talk about your practice and your journey. We will discuss your enneagram type and subtype to shed light on your gifts and challenges as a practitioner. For those who are interested, Susan will also read your astrological chart.
We will establish a daily practice schedule that works for you and discuss your home environment to prepare it as a gateway for entering this 30-day experience.
Introductory online gathering
September 10, 7pm ET – 8pm ET
For all participants to meet and go over the key details of the program in advance of the start date.
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
Sunday Sanity Summits
Sundays · Sept 13, 20, 27 & Oct 4 · 3:00–4:30 pm ET
A short talk from Crystal and Susan, followed by group meditation and journaling. Together we’ll reflect on the journey, work through the past week’s challenges, and set intentions for the week ahead.
Live Online Meditations
Wednesdays · Sept 16, 23, 30 & Oct 7 · 10:00–11:00 am ET
A live, guided sit with Susan or Crystal.
One-to-One Meetings
Up to 45 minutes to talk through your practice and your experience in the program.
- Round 1 — Susan · Aug 20–Sept 10
- Round 2 — Crystal · Sept 16–30
- Final Round — Susan or Crystal · dates announced during the program. A closing conversation to reflect on your experience and plan your next steps.
Final Sunday Sanity Summit & Celebration
Sunday, Oct 11 · 3:00–4:30 pm ET
This is the first time we are offering a chance to work together in this intensive and personal manner.
We look forward to it!
Cost: $1260
Upon payment, you will receive 2 videos to help prepare for our time together.
One full scholarship offered. Please apply here by August 19th.
Scholarship applicants will be notified by August 21st.
Refund Policy
Please note: Our refund policy is very strict.
Since attendance is limited, there are no full or partial refunds offered.
YOUR TEACHERS
Susan Piver
Susan Piver is the New York Times bestselling author of many books, including The Wisdom of a Broken Heart; Start Here Now: An Open-Hearted Guide to the Path and Practice of Meditation; The Four Noble Truths of Love: Buddhist Wisdom for Modern Relationships; and The Buddhist Enneagram: Nine Paths to Warriorship, and Inexplicable Joy: On the Heart Sutra. Her latest is Inexplicable Magic: Meditation for Mystics.
Susan has an international reputation as a skillful meditation teacher. She has given talks everywhere, including Procter & Gamble, Google Paris, Google London, and Harvard University.
A student of Buddhism since 1993, Susan graduated from a Buddhist seminary in 2004. In 2012, she founded The Open Heart Project, the world’s largest online-only dharma center. The Open Heart Project offers meditation classes, virtual retreats, and community gatherings.
Crystal Gandrud
Crystal Gandrud bears the marks of a Conservatory Classical Theatre degree and an advanced degree in Experimental Fiction. She dropped out of pre-med and joined the circus. After conservatory, she subsisted as a stage and indie film actor for over a decade, the humiliations of which drove her to Vajrayana Buddhism. She co-founded Lionheart Press with Susan Piver in 2018, exploring Buddhism for everyday mystics. In 2022, she founded The Owl Circus to excavate the minds of everyday art-mystics. Her practice is an on-going experiment in literature as art installation as alchemy. Since 2009 she has been in ongoing collaboration with visual artist Nuala Clarke. Their online installation, Dream of the Drawing for Everything, plays with the oneiric as art. Their feminine-centric commentary on the slogans of Atișa, Radiating Outward, Incrementally: A Manual, was released in 2024. Crystal has been a practicing Vajrayana Buddhist for 25 years and a writer for over 50.
FAQs
What if I can’t make all the gatherings?
None are mandatory. Though you will get the most value by participating in real time, we know that life is complicated, so please just do your best. Group gatherings will be recorded so you can still have access to all that is offered.
I’m an introvert. Will I have to talk and share a lot?
No! Participate, contribute, speak, listen, appear, disappear, as you wish. This program is for you to discover your style of working with sacredness, not to tell you what or how to be.
This program sounds like it may be best for experienced meditators. I’m fairly new to the practice. Can I still participate?
Yes. No prior experience or knowledge is required. Due to the personalized nature of the program, it will benefit all levels of practice equally. We will enter the practice together and full instruction will be offered.
How many will be in the program?
This 30-day intensive is limited to 25 people. This will enable your teachers to give specialized attention to all.
Ordering my environment sounds good, but it may be impossible. (Work, children, roommates, clutter, etc.) What if it’s just impossible for me to control my environment alone?
Instead of trying to Marie Kondo your entire home, simply pay attention to your practice space. Whether it is a chair in the corner of your bedroom, a nook in a common space, or your kitchen table, do your best to keep it orderly and clean.
Do I have to pay in full before the program begins?
If you choose to pay in installments, you will have 3 months to make all payments. As long as all three payments are made, it’s fine.
If I start the program but then realize it’s not for me, can I get a refund?
No. Since there is limited space and we will not be able to fill your spot once the program begins, no refunds are offered. Please review all the details and dates before signing up.
If I start the program but then life interferes, can I get a refund?
Please see above. However, we can apply your payment to a future program or commit it to our scholarship fund.
Will you repeat this program at a later date?
Currently, there are no plans to offer this again.
Please be in touch with any additional questions.
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