Friends of California Grief Center,

We owe much to the women who have nurtured our beloved InsightLA for many years and shaped the landscape of mindfulness, healing, and secular Buddhism—through their dedication, wisdom, and an unwavering commitment to alleviating suffering. To Dr. Christiane Wolf, whose deep understanding of Buddhist teachings and modern mindfulness has guided countless practitioners toward presence, resilience, and self-compassion. As a physician and meditation teacher, she bridges science and contemplative practice, illuminating a path to healing that is both accessible and profound. To Beth Sternlieb, whose work integrates mindfulness, yoga, and Buddhist wisdom, offering transformative practices that address both the mind and body. Her leadership in meditation communities has helped foster spaces where people can cultivate awareness, balance, and inner peace. And to Lisa Kring, LCSW, a dedicated practitioner and teacher who brings the wisdom of Dharma into the realm of psychotherapy, offering compassionate guidance for those navigating grief, trauma, and the complexities of human suffering.

May their work remind us that the path to healing is shaped not just by those who are remembered, but by those who dare to teach, to hold space, and to walk with others through the journey of awareness and transformation. It is through their dedication that so many have found refuge, insight, and the courage to be fully present in their lives.

Help Beth Sternlieb’s Family: A Call to Action

Our beloved teacher, Beth Sternlieb, is facing an unimaginable crisis. Her in-laws, Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez, have lived in the U.S. for over 30 years, raising their children and now a grandchild here. Despite following every legal step, they were detained by ICE and are being held separately in Louisiana, awaiting deportation to Colombia.

Their daughters describe them as devoted parents and hardworking members of their community—Gladys, a homemaker, and Nelson, a phlebotomist—who never missed an immigration check-in. Now, they find themselves in detention, separated and unable to appeal.

This is a moment for us to rally. Their family has set up a GoFundMe to help them start over if they are deported. For the entire community of teachers, students, practitioners, and community members: let’s stand with Beth and her family in this time of need. Any contribution, big or small, makes a difference.

🔗 Full story: Fox LA
💙 Donate: GoFundMe

Let’s come together and show that this family is not alone.

Trudy Goodman: Mindfulness, Deep Suffering & Finding Light in the Darkness (HOPE Group - Free Virtual Event)

Five Years of Mindfulness & Deep Suffering: A HOPE Group Gathering

Saturday, March 29th | 10:00 – 11:30 AM (PST)

Life rarely moves in a straight line. Grief, change, and resilience weave through our days like tides—sometimes gentle, sometimes crashing. In uncertain times, we don’t need all the answers. We just need a moment to breathe. A place to land. A hand to hold.

Join us as we mark five years of the Mindfulness and Deep Suffering HOPE Group (Healing Ourselves through the Present Experience)—a space where presence meets healing, and where the heart, no matter how heavy, can find rest.

We are honored to welcome back Trudy Goodman—renowned mindfulness teacher, psychotherapist, and founding teacher of InsightLA—for her annual dharma talk. Trudy has spent decades weaving mindfulness into the fabric of modern mental health, blending Buddhist wisdom with the raw, unvarnished truth of being human. In times like these, her voice is a lantern in the dark.

We’ll begin with a grounding meditation, settling into the moment before Trudy leads us in a talk on staying present through life’s upheavals and unknowns. From there, we’ll open the space for reflection and conversation—exploring what steadies us, what heals us, and what carries us forward.

Come as you are—hopeful, weary, searching, or simply curious. Together, let’s find the stillness within the storm.

🔗Register Here

Upcoming Opportunities for Connection

🔥 Women of the Fire: A Catharsis Theater Experience for Grief

The 2025 Los Angeles fire took much, but not everything. If you’ve lost something—or someone—you are not alone.

Join us for an afternoon of Catharsis Theater, a space where grief can move, breathe, and be witnessed. Led by grief therapist and psychodrama specialist Brian Stefan, LCSW, this gathering is for women who have experienced loss in any form—homes, possessions, animals, loved ones—or those who want to stand beside them.

📅 Sunday, March 30, 2025
⏰ 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM
📍 West LA (address provided upon registration)
🎭 Facilitator: Brian Stefan, LCSW (California Grief Center)
💵 Free

🔗Register Here

No theater experience needed—just a willingness to show up. However you arrive, you are welcome.

💛 Mindfulness-Based Grief Relief (MBGR) Practice Group

Healing Ourselves through the Present Moment (HOPE)

📅 Next Virtual Session: Saturday, April 26 | 10:00 AM (PT) | 1.5 hours (Zoom)

🔗Register Here

At the California Grief Center, we offer grief therapy and group experiences designed to support you through loss. Visit www.caligrief.com to learn more about our services and upcoming events.

With care and compassion,

Brian Stefan, LCSW

Founder, California Grief Center