Explore the Wide World of Inquiry Free of Charge
Join us for an open, group session every week via Riverside.fm webinar service.
Bring your questions about The Work, or bring a stressful situation to explore with the four questions and turnarounds of The Work. I will be facilitating each session (up to 7 people can sign up each week).
Because Open Sessions are recorded and go out to my podcast, YouTube channel, etc, I would need you to sign the release form in order to participate. If you’re willing to do that, it would be great to have you on the calls. Join us to ask your questions, do The Work, or just to be with us as we discuss.
Upcoming Sessions
Check the times in your time zone here.
Tue, Jul 26 at 10:30 AM Pacific Time (Vancouver)
Thu, Sep 1 at 1:00 PM Pacific Time (Vancouver)
Fri, Sep 9 at 4:00 PM Pacific Time (Vancouver)
Thu, Sep 15 at 10:30 AM Pacific Time (Vancouver)
Frequently Asked Questions
How long are sessions? Sessions are 30 minutes long.
What should I bring to the sessions? Bring a completed Judge-Your-Neighbor Worksheet, or a stressful thought to question, or just a stressful situation to look at, or bring your questions about anything related to The Work. Or if you come just to listen, bring your open mind as we explore together. I will facilitate volunteers to do The Work.
Do I have to bring a completed Judge-Your-Neighbor Worksheet? No. If you don’t have a worksheet ready, I can support you to write a worksheet.
Do I have to use the Judge-Your-Neighbor Worksheet format? No. You can bring any thought you want to question, whether it fits in the Judge-Your-Neighbor Worksheet format or not.
Can I bring questions about The Work? Yes. If you have any question about The Work, this is a good place to bring it up.
Can I bring work I’ve started but got stuck on? Yes. If you’ve started doing The Work on your own and have gotten stuck somewhere in the process, bring what you’ve done to the group. We’ll see if we can support you to find anything that you couldn’t find on your own.
Will there be a recording available? Yes. All participants who are subscribed to my Open Sessions list, will receive a download link after the call for the recording. By default, when you sign up for any of my products or services, you will be added to the Open Sessions list. You can unsubscribe at any time using the Email Preference Center at the bottom of any group email you receive from me.
Do I need to complete The Work 101 course in order to participate? No, Open Sessions are open to everyone. In fact, this is a great way to get familiar with The Work before going deeper with it.
What platform do you use? I use a service called Riverside.fm. It allows for 7 people to participate each week.
Why don’t you use Zoom? I used to use Zoom for many years for Open Sessions (and I still use it for all other online meetings), but I use Riverside.fm because it allows us to record higher quality audio and video. I use the recordings in my podcast, on YouTube, etc. The live sessions at Riverside.fm are a little less quality (more pixelated) because Riverside.fm focuses on making a really good recording at the expense of the live stream quality.
How do you sign up? The first step is to request the release form. It usually takes us about one business day to send you the release form to sign. Once you sign it, it may take us another day to update your account and send you the sign-up link for scheduling Open Sessions.
There are only 7 seats. Who gets in? There is no limit to how many people can register for each session using the online calendar, but only the first seven people to show up before each call get in. That way, you can sign up for all of the upcoming sessions if you like but you are not obligated to show up to any of them.
How do I know if I didn’t get into a session? We start Open Sessions on time. If the time has come to start and you have not been admitted to the call, then the call is already full. You will not get any notice about this. You may want to give it another few minutes to be sure—sometimes participants who were admitted have poor internet and you could take their place. If you didn’t get on the call this time, join us for another Open Session in an upcoming week. The recording will be available as well.
How often do I have to sign the release form? The release form covers a period of six months (either January to June or July to December). If you sign the release form in May, then it will expire on June 30 and you’ll need to sign the next release form for July to December. After that, you will only need to sign a new release form every six months in January and again in July to continue participating in Open Sessions.
What are the system requirements for using Riverside.fm? You can access Open Sessions through Riverside.fm on three different platforms:
- On a computer using only the Chrome or Edge browser – recommended
- On an Apple device using the Riverside.fm iOS app
- On an Android device using the Riverside.fm Android app
How important is a stable internet connection? This is important. If your internet is unstable or slow, please don’t join Open Sessions.
Is video required? Yes, please plan to leave your video on during the whole session. If you do not have video, please don’t join these calls.
Can I call from a noisy location? No, please don’t join us if you have a lot of background noise.
This Is Totally Free-Form
There is no curriculum. Each session will be different. Learn from your peers as we work together. Sometimes, I may even ask a volunteer to facilitate me. This is a meeting of minds as we do The Work together.
Join us for the next session using the online calendar below.
Sessions happen once a week, on different days of the week, and at different times depending on my schedule. Times are generally between 10:30 AM and 5 PM Pacific Time Monday through Friday. You will have access to the scheduling calendar which shows the times in your time zone after you sign the release form.
Open up a deeper way of doing The Work
For anyone who wants to see how effective The Work can be I recommend Todd Smith’s Open Sessions – not only is there generously no charge for the Open Sessions but because the process works in the same way no matter what the issue, you can bring something you feel comfortable to share and within this supportive context learn how to apply The Work with greater efficacy. Todd is a skilled facilitator and can really open up a deeper way of doing The Work, I’d recommend his facilitation to anyone new or experienced to this process.
Join Us
Open Sessions are a place where we all come together as human beings to share and explore as one mind. These sessions are not meant to be polished productions, but rather unscripted, unedited inquiry. I will continue to support everyone who participates with love and understanding. Your courage in participating means a lot to me. Please sign the release form to get started.
Get all of the 2021 Open Session Recordings
If this is your first time signing the release form, you will also get the following:
- All of the 2021 Open Session recordings (45 half-hour sessions, 22.5 hours total)
- My weekly Newsletter
- Start up Kit (Templates for doing The Work on your own)
- Weekly Open Session Reminders
- Weekly Open Session Recordings
- And more!
If you have signed up before, you will not receive these downloads again. You can manage which emails you want to receive using our Email Preference Center (accessible at the bottom of any email).
Get Started Here
I look forward working with you. Here’s how to get started.