In September 2025, The Sanctuary Studio marked its one-year anniversary with a weekend gathering devoted to music, poetry, philosophy, and artistic inquiry. Joined by Australian philosopher and poet Rocco Jarman, participants shared in a rich and enlivening conversation—one that many described as renewing, grounding, and transformative.
In March 2026, The Sanctuary Studio again opens its doors for a symposium entitled Becoming Free: An Intensive Introduction to Inner Freedom. Join best-selling philosophical author, musician, and speaker Sharon Lebell, alongside Sanctuary Studio founder Simon Drew, for a deeply immersive weekend of music, meditation, philosophy, poetry, and shared inquiry.
Through concerts, workshops, talks, and music-based meditative experiences, the symposium explores inner freedom as a lived capacity—the inner condition from which clarity, creativity, serenity, and authentic self-expression naturally emerge. Drawing from classical wisdom, creative practice, and present-moment awareness, these gatherings invite participants not to step away from life, but to meet it more fully, skillfully, and with greater effectiveness.
Above all, this weekend offers an opportunity to come together in community: to listen deeply, to reflect honestly, and to deepen our connection to one another as we navigate both the challenges and possibilities of our lives. We hope you’ll join us for this first Sanctuary Symposium of 2026.
Symposium Itinerary
March 6 • 6:00–8:00 PM
Weekend Welcome & Student Showcase
A Celebration of Presence, Creativity, and Community
We begin not with theory, but with belonging.
Sharon Lebell and Simon Drew open the weekend by introducing its central question:
What does it mean to be free inside—and why does it matter?
From there, the evening flows into a joyful celebration of the Sanctuary community, featuring Simon’s improvisational brass ensemble The Brasshoppers and heartfelt performances by Sanctuary Studio students.
This gathering creates a shared field of sincerity, courage, and creative warmth — setting the tone for the deeper explorations ahead.
March 7 • 3:30–4:30 PM
Inner Peace, Outward Effectiveness
A Music-Centered Meditation Experience
The weekend’s first immersive meditation invites participants into direct experience.
Through live improvised music — hammer dulcimer, piano, didgeridoo, horns, and voice — Sharon and Simon guide the group into a state of relaxed awareness where thought softens and presence comes forward.
This is not meditation as technique, but as living listening — discovering how inner quiet naturally expresses itself as clarity, creativity, and ease.
March 7 • 5:30–7:00 PM
How This Moment Changes Everything
A Keynote Talk & Q&A with Sharon Lebell
This is the intellectual and spiritual heart of the Symposium.
Drawing on Stoic philosophy and decades of teaching, Sharon offers deeply practical guidance on how to release resistance, meet life as it is, and discover the freedom available in every moment.
Clear, compassionate, and profoundly grounding, this session provides insights participants can carry immediately into daily life.
March 7 • 7:30–9:00 PM
Freedom & Flow
An Evening of Improvised Music & Expression
Here, philosophy becomes felt experience.
Led by Simon Drew and jazz vocalist Lia Booth, this entirely improvised concert is a living embodiment of the weekend’s theme. No scripts. No set forms. Just musicians listening deeply and responding in real time.
The music becomes a metaphor for a free life — spontaneous, honest, playful, and alive.
March 8 • 10:00–11:00 AM
Listening to the Moment
A Morning Meditation in Presence
A second meditation session invites participants even deeper into the art of listening — not just to sound, but to the subtle intelligence of the present moment itself.
Through silence, music, and gentle awareness, we practice the simple but radical act of being fully here.
March 8 • 11:30 AM–1:30 PM
The Magic in This Moment
Living with Quiet Confidence & Fearless Self-Expression
The closing workshop gathers everything into a grounded, forward-looking vision.
Sharon weaves philosophy, reflection, and music to illuminate how ordinary moments become extraordinary when met with presence and trust. Participants leave with a renewed sense of quiet confidence, creative courage, and clarity about how to live freely in their own lives.