‘Anima’ Attraction

Anima: Theater of the Feminine Underground is a ritual performance art collaborative where women spend weeks or months workshopping material prior to each semi-annual performance. In the performances themselves, the artists bare their souls and share some of their secrets, dreams, yearnings, hard-won truths, and more in the course of a wide-ranging evening. The experience holds the intention to inspire individual and collective transformation through creative expression, and to amplify the voice of the feminine spirit in all beings. 

Founded by Lisa Citore a decade ago, the collaborative’s name is a Latin term for soul, breath, or vital force; a concept that in Jungian psychology represents the inner, unconscious feminine side, and the very embodiment of emotion, creativity, and intuition. Each new Anima production features both returning artists and first-timers who create pieces that are shared as individual rituals span media from theater, dance, and song to poetry, comedy, and visual arts. Anima performances are now under the direction of Teagan Rose, a frequent performer in the past, who last year explained that “There’s a layer of vulnerability and bravery that really has to take place for the artist to bring these pieces on stage. The process we’re all choosing to embark on is about transformation… You’re getting access to the souls of the artists, something that’s beautifully complex. (And) It’s an opportunity to view what you’re seeing as a reflection on yourself.” 

The spring pair of Anima: Theater of the Feminine Underground performances at Center Stage Theatre take place May 14-15, and are open to all adults. The performances boast 11 new pieces with almost two dozen performers in all. 

Visit https://centerstagetheater.org or www.animaritualtheater.com

A Gathering of Men 

Ishmiel Lounsbury and John Halcyon Styn host and lead the 2026 Gathering of Heart-Centered Men, a day of community connection for men to come together in honest, open exploration of emotions and more. Participants will examine the phenomenon of men – those who may lack the tools for healthy boundaries – turn to anger as the only language available. The cohort will discuss anger’s deeper roots, honor its protective instincts, and channel it in ways that build connection and strengthen relationships rather than harm self or other. 

The group will also explore the longing to belong, to community, to purpose, and to something greater than ourselves, and will address as well what happens when men make mistakes or feel judged, often pulling back from connection and turning that judgment outwards in an attempt to feel safe again. The gathering takes place over five hours on Saturday, May 16. 

Visit www.heartcenteredmen.org/product-page/men-in-community for more information and to register

Spiritual Stuff in Summerland 

It’s no surprise that the seaside village just south of Montecito has an outsize interest in spiritual pursuit, given that it was founded in the 1880s as an actual Spiritualist community. Today, that tradition is carried on at places such as the Sacred Space; a destination at once both expansive and intimate. The Sacred Space is teeming with crystals, oils, tea, chimes, books, jewelry, statuary – the mesmerizing ephemera that speak to the pursuit of those penetrating truths that are not self-evident. Sacred Space is as well a welcoming and beloved space for events. This month’s activities include a special Mala Making Workshop on May 23, limited to 14, where participants will design and make a wood and bead mala – traditionally used in Hinduism, Buddhism and yoga for meditation for counting mantras or affirmations which they will take home from the experience which concludes with a meditation to bless and set an intention for your mala. May 22 brings the monthly donation-based Guided Healing Meditation with reiki healer Jody Neal. The event, offered on a sliding scale starting at $1, includes hot tea in the outdoor covered workshop space. Madeleine Pizey’s breathwork and sound bath takes place on May 16, while Brandon Kaysen offers two of his own immersive, one hour sound baths on May 17 and 31. All limited to
10 people. 

Visit www.thesacredspace.com/events

Going Deep at Godmothers 

Just four blocks north on Summerland’s Lillie Ave. is the community-forward bookstore/gathering space known as Godmothers, whose book talks and conversations often dive into spiritual healing and/or other forms of personal growth. Such gatherings this month include psychic, medium, and spiritual teacher Sean Collyns who will discuss his book Your Soul Is the Source of Your Power (May 15), which aims to demystify mediumship for the modern era. The book suggests that communicating with the spirit world isn’t a rare gift reserved for a select few but a power that lies within every one of us offering the potential to transform your life, guiding you to live with purpose and clarity. 

Author Oneika Mays, who spent more than a decade volunteering and working at Rikers Correctional Facility as their first-ever mindfulness coach, comes to Godmothers on May 20 to discuss her book Sit with Me: A No-BS Journey to Mindfulness and Meditation, described as a love letter to presence and a field guide for finding your way back to it. She’ll be joined by Jennifer Pastiloff, the bestselling author of Proof of Life, On Being Human, and more, for an evening offered to help people heal, improve  communication skills, process forgiveness, and discover self-worth while teaching  Loving-Kindness meditation. 

In a Godmothers Grow event on May 24, experienced community circles and listening council guide Rendy Freedman offers a circle of compassion where participants will practice deep listening and authentic storytelling, honoring the richness of each other’s lives, and discovering the strength that rises when our stories meet. The workshop is intended to leave everyone with a renewed sense of connection, practical tools for bringing deep listening into your own communities, and the reminder that stories matter – yours, and everyone else’s. 

Visit https://godmothers.com/events

Meditating with Mindful Heart 

Longtime Santa Barbara meditation teacher and author Radhule Weininger’s Mindful Heart Programs offer multiple ongoing events every week, including a free session with music every Monday night at Yoga Soup that also streams online. Now she’s teaming up with similarly-experienced insight-trained meditation teacher, coach and attachment-informed practitioner Jessica Morey to offer a one-day online-only retreat on Compassionate Awareness. The facilitators will offer guided meditation, teaching, and reflection to explore how compassionate awareness opens the door to inner freedom on Saturday, May 16, over Zoom. Participants will be guided in self-compassion and awareness meditations, obtain tools for working with difficult emotions, move toward a felt sense of inner safety, support, spaciousness, and ease, and receive resources for continuing practice after the retreat. 

Weininger will be joined by MHP faculty including Michael Kearney, Andrew Smyth, Miranda Field, Karen O’Hara, and special guests for a workshop called “A Day on the Land at the Sedgwick Reserve” as part of the Deep Resilience program on May 30. Subtitled “Remembering Who We Really Are,” the event is an opportunity to connect with nature and your deep inner resilience to remember the human’s true essence as a luminous being. All this takes place at a stunning natural reserve only accessible to the public on a limited basis. The day features an introductory lecture, guided meditations, guidance on sit-spot practices, outdoor time on the reserve for a nature-connection vision quest, and group-circle discussion. 

MHP has also set a June 20 retreat with special guest Donald Rothberg, PhD, focusing on Loving-Kindness and developing a field of care and compassion. Rothberg, who has a half-century of teaching and practicing Buddhist meditation, and Weininger will lead participants in exploring two powerful resources to help us live with care, kindness and compassion – for ourselves and for others – during this day-long retreat in town. The goal is to develop loving kindness (metta), both as a meditation practice and as integrated in daily life, learning especially to manifest a center of radiating warmth and kindness and work with practices to develop a field of care and compassion for ourselves and our world. In each case, the focus will be on what works best for each person attending. 

Visit https://www.mindfulheartprograms.org/special-events

Dimensions in Healing 

Unity of Santa Barbara Spiritual Community Center is launching a new Multi Dimensional Spiritual Healing Series with Dr. Lee Moberly offered on a bi-weekly basis starting May 24. The series of Sunday gatherings and workshops make up an ever-evolving journey into higher consciousness and deep inner transformation. Through experiential workshops, guided practices and gentle community sharing, participants will raise conscious awareness to release old patterns; heal body, mind and spirit wounds; and embody practical spiritual principles that uplift everyday life. Among the topics to be explored are past lives, soul continuity, shadow work, near-death experiences, and more.  

Visit https://unitysb.org