Winter Solstice Eve & Sound Ceremony

Winter Solstice Eve & Sound Ceremony
Saturday, December 20, 2025 • 5:30–7:30 PM

DOORS OPEN AT 5:10----- DOORS LOCKED AT 5:40 (REQUIRED BY LANDLORD)
PLEASE NOTE: RSVP'S from this platform NOT accepted. To save your seat, you MUST register at THIS LINK

Join us on the Solstice Eve, Saturday December 20, to slow down, honor the dark, and prepare ourselves for the longest night of the year on Sunday December 21.

In times of great change and uncertainty, ritual, beauty, and community become essential nourishment. When we come together in sacred space, we remember who we truly are: Love. Compassion. Awake. Alive.

On this evening, we will create a Gratitude Bundle known as a despacho or haywarikuy (high-wah-ree-kwee), a contemporary expression of an ancient Andean ceremony. This offering is a way to give thanks for all we have received and to restore harmony and balance in our lives.

The Q’ero people of the Peruvian Andes encourage us to share this high ritual so that balance may return to all people, all beings, and our Earth. You are invited to join us in community to offer your highest forms of gratitude and love, for personal and planetary healing.

After completing the haywarikuy, we will move into a healing soundscape with gongs, crystal bowls, chimes, and other powerful vibrational instruments to amplify this inner healing and welcome the winter season into our hearts.

PLEASE BRING:
• Yoga mat / blanket / eye pillow for comfort during sound healing- streamline your items, as space is a thing!!
• Warm socks or slippers (this is a shoes-off event)

WHY:
To celebrate the season, offer thanks to Spirit and Earth, prepare for the longest night of the year, and be held in community with like-hearted humans.

WHERE:
St. Alban’s Community Hall
1501 Washington Ave. (at Curtis)
Albany, CA 94706
Note: Washington becomes San Lorenzo—Berkeley address—just one block away.
WHEN:
Saturday, December 20 • 5:30–7:30 PM (Doors open 5:10 PM)
Please arrive early so we can begin promptly.
COST:
Sliding scale: $30 / $40 / $50
Please choose the rate that best fits your circumstances.
(Link or payment option goes here)

PLEASE NOTE: RSVP'S from this platform NOT accepted. TO save your seat, you MUST register at THIS LINK
Space is limited—RSVP required to hold your seat.
Families: Kids are welcome and free. If your child cannot remain quiet for the sound journey, please join us for the despacho portion only—thank you for your understanding.
Hosted and led by: Jnana Gowan of Balance Point Shamanism. Jnana is a shamanic practitioner, certified transpersonal hypnotherapist, and founder of Balance Point Shamanism, with over 25 years of experience in the healing arts. Her work weaves together the intelligence of the body, the guidance of spirit, and the transformational power of sound, ritual, and trance-based healing. Known for her grounded presence, deep intuition, and skillful facilitation, Jnana helps individuals and groups access inner clarity, let go of outdated patterns, and reconnect with their true essence.
Jnana’s path has been shaped by decades of study in Peruvian shamanism, breathwork, yoga, and cross-cultural healing traditions. Her accolades include a nine-year run of a workshop at the Esalen Institute, and collaboration with Cassandra Vieten during her leadership at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), including offering a shamanic ritual/ceremony for IONS founder and astronaut Edgar Mitchell. Her written contributions appear in the books Mindful Motherhood, Executive Stamina and Love Notes from the Soul: Stories of Transformation and Hope.
In private sessions and group ceremonies, Jnana creates sacred containers where transformation feels both safe and possible. Whether guiding shamanic journeys, leading soundscapes, or teaching earth-honoring practices, her work offers an oasis of groundedness as well as a dose of humor and the invitation to remember that healing is possible at any time.
To learn more, visit: www.balancepointshamanism.com