Cancelled: Soup and Stories
2020-03-15 17:00 - 18:30 (Europe/London) | The Dragon Sanctuary, 34 Bossell Road, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0DD, United Kingdom
We’re sorry, this event has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.

Kirtan
2020-03-17 19:30 - 21:00 | Devon
Accompanied by harmonium and guitar, we will sing Indian devotional chants based on simple mantras. These are like beautiful forms of prayer in which we invoke the qualities that are expressed in Indian deities like Shiva, Krishna, Durga, Saraswati and Ganesha, qualities that are all present within us as well and that can be brought to our awareness and celebrated singing together. No prior experience is necessary. Arrive a little earlier if you like for a cup of tea and some time to connect before we begin.

How to Unlock Your Heart - online live stream
2020-06-11 19:30 - 20:30 | Online, United Kingdom
Our hearts tend to get “locked” when we experience an overwhelming loss or hurt. In this locked state, we don’t let ourselves receive all the love that the world wants to give us, or allow all the love inside us to flow out into the world.
But love wants to flow, nonetheless. Sometimes life knocks so hard on the door that it becomes impossible to resist. Sometimes the love in us feels like it is bursting to be shared.
How then to unlock our hearts? This is the question I posed my inner storyteller recently. In this live stream I’ll be sharing the story that came to me.
Note: Jellyfish is still closed to the public. This is an online event, streamed live from Jellyfish. Click the link below to watch it online.
Watch it on You Tube here.

Healing Separation
2020-07-23 19:30 - 20:30 | The Dragon Sanctuary, 34 Bossell Road, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0DD, United Kingdom
We are all born whole – with no limitation and no lack. Babies do not separate themselves from nature like adults do. They do not perceive the “outside” world as any different from the “inside” world, nor do they have a sense of “me”.
Because of this they live in the most amazing freedom. This is a freedom of BEING. They are whole and complete because there is no separation between them and the world.
But the separation slowly starts to creep in. Our world, our society trains us all to differentiate not just between self and other, but between self and nature and self and the divine. Adults living in this modern, technological society are so very far from the freedom and wholeness of our babyhood. Cut off from others, cut off from nature, cut off from the divine. Isolated and alone.
What can bring down the walls? What can restore our sense of interconnection with the world, with nature and the divine?
Come and listen to a story by Leo Sofer, which tells of a Queen who discovers a hidden palace in the mountains where an elder Queen instructs her in the art of union – union of heart, mind and body – a healing which restores her whole realm to goodness and vitality.
Leo has been telling intuitive stories for almost 25 years. His storytelling unlocks the hidden parts of our psyche, that have been lying dormant, waiting for the right story.
Note: Jellyfish is still closed to the public. This is an online event, streamed live from Jellyfish. Click the link below to watch it online.

Finding Your Purpose
2020-09-17 19:30 - 20:30 | The Dragon Sanctuary, 34 Bossell Road, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0DD, United Kingdom
What are we here to do? Have we done it yet?
This is a story all about purpose, but also about how maddening it can be not to find one.
What are we really, really here to do? And how do we find that?
This story tells of a weaver who comes upon a tree growing in the forest, from which luminous strands of thread are hanging.
Every day he goes out there to find more threads hanging. They glow with a light of their own, seemingly filled with magic.
What to do? At first he keeps them hidden in a drawer, but eventually life draws him into action. This seems bound to get him into trouble, but turns out to get him into something even more impactful: it gets him into his purpose!
Duration 60 minutes

Note: Jellyfish is still closed to the public. This is an online event, streamed live from Jellyfish. Click the link below to watch it online.

Kirtan Singing
2021-09-16 19:30 - 21:00, 2021-11-11 19:30 - 21:00, 2022-02-17 19:30 - 21:00, 2022-04-14 19:30 - 21:00, 2022-05-19 07:30 - 21:00 | The Dragon Sanctuary, 34 Bossell Road, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0DD, United Kingdom
With Leo and Sundara.
Accompanied by harmonium and guitar, we will sing Indian devotional chants based on simple mantras. These “sung prayers” invoke the qualities of Indian deities like Shiva, Krishna, Durga, Saraswati and Ganesha, qualities such as love, creativity, courage and compassion that are all present within us and that can be brought more fully into our lives by singing together in this way. No prior experience is necessary. Arrive a little earlier if you like for a cup of tea and some time to connect before we begin. No need to book in advance.
Sundara and Leo Sofer have been leading singing events together since 2003. They previously taught in Findhorn (a spiritual community in Scotland), with an especial focus on the songs of Taize (a Christian monastery in France) and Nickomo Clarke’s Harmonic Temple songs (based on sacred phrases from diverse spiritual traditions).
In recent years they have fallen in love with bhajans, the devotional songs of India, which are sung mostly in Sanskrit at gatherings known as kirtans. They are also creating songs in English which are short and easy to learn, and that can also be sung in a devotional spirit.
Sundara plays the harmonium and Leo plays the guitar to accompany these songs. Having two instruments present enables people to sing freely and to relax into the experience, supported by the music.

Rob Carney LIVE
2021-11-20 19:30 - 22:00 | The Dragon Sanctuary, 34 Bossell Road, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0DD, United Kingdom
An intimate evening of original songs and harmony singing by local singer-songwriter/choir leader Rob Carney.
Rob is doing a series of local gigs in November to promote his indiegogo crowdfunder for realising his lifelong dream of creating his first album. Proceeds from tonight’s event will go to the production of the album!
Doors open at 7pm, concert starts at 7.30pm.
Tickets here
LISTEN:
You can listen to a couple of Rob’s songs here:
“The ground I walk” https://soundcloud.com/robcarneysong/the-ground-i-walk?si=f76c040e936343c0874d5f4575b15be0
“Rags to Robes” https://soundcloud.com/robcarneysong/rags-to-robes-1/s-iraeHLHPdrF?si=d48f2bc2539e44ffa9e65391a15fb0fd
“I Depend On You” https://vimeo.com/634773693
VIDEOS:
Watch a video of Rob’s band rehearsing “Love me like you used to do” for the album here: https://vimeo.com/518562859

Singing Sanctuary
2021-11-25 19:30 - 21:00 | The Dragon Sanctuary, 34 Bossell Road, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0DD, United Kingdom
With Leo and Sundara
Accompanied by harmonium and guitar we’ll sing devotional songs in English. These original songs are based on prayers and sayings from spiritual traditions around the world. No prior experience is necessary. Arrive a little earlier if you like for a cup of tea and some time to connect before we begin. No need to book in advance.
About these songs

Sundara and I have been leading singing events together since we met in 2003 in the Findhorn community, an eclectic spiritual community in the north of Scotland. We started with the songs of Taize, an ecumenical Christian monastery in France. Although Findhorn is not a Christian community, these simple and easy-to-learn songs were very popular there because they expressed a universal spirituality that many people could relate to.
These songs gave us a taste for the beauty of singing together in a devotional spirit. Devotional singing isn’t a new thing, but it’s one of the many ancient-yet-essential things that we’ve lost in the modern world.
We also explored gospel songs and the Harmonic Temple songs of Nickomo Clarke, which take sacred phrases from many traditions and set them to four-part harmony. We kept learning new songs and sharing our favourites.
And then a few years ago, Sundara started singing bhajans, the devotional songs of India. She taught herself to play the harmonium and I joined her with the guitar, and we found that the music could support people to drop into a devotional way of singing together without feeling self-conscious. We’ve been singing those songs ever since, and have led many “Kirtan” evenings here at The Dragon Sanctuary.
But a niggle started to arise. What about songs in English? How could we write songs that were equally devotional but sung in our own language? We’d experienced that with the few Taize songs that we’d sing in English, and with gospel songs and some of the English-language Harmonic Temple songs too. Sometimes singing in your own language can make the experience even more powerful.
So Sundara wrote about half a dozen songs and we’ve found a few from other song-composers that we love, and we now have a small set, enough for an evening at least!
There’s a fine line to be walked with these songs. Singing in one’s own language can be potent, but it can also be fraught. No-one likes being told what to think or feel, and for some of us the legacy of church hymns can make us wary of this sort of singing. And some “new age” songs can be a bit “cringey” (as our teenage daughter would say).
The songs we’ve found are (we hope) devotional without being didactic, heart-felt without being hammy. Just like the best devotional songs, they help you get out of your mind and into your heart. Like the bhajans, we sing them with the harmonium and guitar. For this, our first evening, we’ll sing about six of these songs, over an hour and a half. We hope you will want to join us!

Magical Gems and Mystical Jewels!
2021-12-04 17:00 - 18:00 | The Dragon Sanctuary, 34 Bossell Road, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0DD, United Kingdom
The Palace of Stories presents two magical tales about mysterious gems and jewels!
Storytelling from Leo Sofer with music from Sundara Sofer
Suitable for children aged 5+
Running time 60 minutes
Tickets £7. Online booking recommended as spaces are limited
Find out more here about The Palace of Stories

Cancelled - Singing Sanctuary
2021-12-19 19:30 - 21:00 | The Dragon Sanctuary, 34 Bossell Road, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0DD, United Kingdom
Now that the government has mandated mask-wearing at venues like ours, we’ve sadly decided to cancel this event, sorry!
We tried to imagine singing while wearing a face mask, but it didn’t look like a good idea. But we’ll be resuming our singing events as soon as these restrictions have been lifted.
Until then, we’re wishing you a lovely Christmas and New Year!
Leo and Sundara

Singing Sanctuary
2022-03-02 19:30 - 21:00 | The Dragon Sanctuary, 34 Bossell Road, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0DD, United Kingdom
With Leo and Sundara
Accompanied by harmonium and guitar we’ll sing devotional songs in English. These original songs are based on prayers and sayings from spiritual traditions around the world. No prior experience is necessary. Arrive a little earlier if you like for a cup of tea and some time to connect before we begin. No need to book in advance.
Here’s an example of the songs we sing. This is Love Flows Like a River, by Sundara.

About these songs
Sundara and I have been leading singing events together since we met in 2003 in the Findhorn community, an eclectic spiritual community in the north of Scotland. We started with the songs of Taize, an ecumenical Christian monastery in France. Although Findhorn is not a Christian community, these simple and easy-to-learn songs were very popular there because they expressed a universal spirituality that many people could relate to.
These songs gave us a taste for the beauty of singing together in a devotional spirit. Devotional singing isn’t a new thing, but it’s one of the many ancient-yet-essential things that we’ve lost in the modern world.
We also explored gospel songs and the Harmonic Temple songs of Nickomo Clarke, which take sacred phrases from many traditions and set them to four-part harmony. We kept learning new songs and sharing our favourites.
Inspiration from India
And then a few years ago, Sundara started singing bhajans, the devotional songs of India. She taught herself to play the harmonium and I joined her with the guitar, and we found that the music could support people to drop into a devotional way of singing together without feeling self-conscious. We’ve been singing those songs ever since, and have led many “Kirtan” evenings here at The Dragon Sanctuary.
But a niggle started to arise. What about songs in English? How could we write songs that were equally devotional but sung in our own language? We’d experienced that with the few Taize songs that we’d sing in English (they are mostly in Latin, and other European languages), and with gospel songs and some of the English-language Harmonic Temple songs too. Sometimes singing in your own language can make the experience even more powerful.
So Sundara wrote some songs and we’ve found a few more from other song-composers that we love, and we now have a small set, enough for an evening at least!
There’s a fine line to be walked with these songs. Singing in one’s own language can be potent, but it can also be fraught. No-one likes being told what to think or feel, and for some of us the legacy of church hymns can make us wary of this sort of singing. And some “new age” songs can be a bit “cringey” (as our teenage kids would say).
The songs we’ve found are (we hope) devotional without being didactic, heart-felt without being hammy. Just like the best devotional songs, they help you get out of your mind and into your heart. Like the bhajans, we sing them with the harmonium and guitar. We hope you will want to join us! As stated already, no prior experience is necessary, and there’s no need to book in advance.

The Mystic Rose
2022-03-05 19:30 - 21:30 | The Dragon Sanctuary, 34 Bossell Road, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0DD, United Kingdom
Storytelling from Leo Sofer, with music by Sundara Sofer
This performance charts a course through three interwoven stories, showing the challenges of the spiritual journey, in three different ways.
The first story begins with a young man, lost in the desert, and coming upon a rose of unparalleled beauty….

The second story concerns a young sailor, so skilled at her craft that she can sail to any destination, in any conditions.
But then she discovers a way of travelling without a destination in mind, and a whole new world opens up.

The third story concerns a Prince and Princess, both besotted with the same dream of the Mystic Rose.
The journey they take to fulfill their dreams is the thread that ties all these three stories together.

The structure of the story-within-a-story-within-a-story has been used by storytellers for thousands of years to take listeners into a deeper and deeper space of listening and quiet inside. We use this structure to allow our audience to take a journey in themselves, opening up to their own relationship to the object of their deepest desires.
The Mystic Rose is a symbol for this “most wanted” thing, and although we might all have our own path to it, and picture it in different ways, it is ultimately the same for all human beings – a place of intimate rest and beloved beauty, which is also a gift to the world.
We hope you will join us on a journey to the heart of the Mystic Rose!

Leo Sofer has been telling stories for over thirty years, Sundara plays handpan and flutes to create a magical musical soundscape for the stories.
This performance is aimed at an adult audience. However, if you feel your child can sit through a 90+ minute evening performance you are welcome to bring them. The show is not especially dark or “adult” but it has been created with adults in mind. Email us if you have any questions: info@dragonsanctuary.co.uk

Kirtan Singing
2022-03-17 19:30 - 21:00 | The Dragon Sanctuary, 34 Bossell Road, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0DD, United Kingdom
With Leo and Sundara.
Accompanied by harmonium and guitar, we will sing Indian devotional chants based on simple mantras. These “sung prayers” invoke the qualities of Indian deities like Shiva, Krishna, Durga, Saraswati and Ganesha, qualities such as love, creativity, courage and compassion that are all present within us and that can be brought more fully into our lives by singing together in this way. No prior experience is necessary. Arrive a little earlier if you like for a cup of tea and some time to connect before we begin.
No need to book in advance.

Singing Sanctuary
2022-03-30 19:30 - 21:00, 2022-04-27 19:30 - 21:00, 2022-06-22 19:30 - 21:00, 2022-07-20 19:30 - 21:00, 2022-09-21 19:30 - 21:00, 2022-10-19 19:30 - 21:00 | The Dragon Sanctuary, 34 Bossell Road, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0DD, United Kingdom
With Leo and Sundara
Accompanied by harmonium and guitar we’ll sing devotional songs in English. These original songs are based on prayers and sayings from spiritual traditions around the world. No prior experience is necessary. Arrive a little earlier if you like for a cup of tea and some time to connect before we begin. No need to book in advance.
Here’s one of the songs we often sing: Love Flows Like a River

About these songs
Sundara and I have been leading singing events together since we met in 2003 in the Findhorn community, an eclectic spiritual community in the north of Scotland. We started with the songs of Taize, an ecumenical Christian monastery in France. Although Findhorn is not a Christian community, these simple and easy-to-learn songs were very popular there because they expressed a universal spirituality that many people could relate to.
These songs gave us a taste for the beauty of singing together in a devotional spirit. Devotional singing isn’t a new thing, but it’s one of the many ancient-yet-essential things that we’ve lost in the modern world.
We also explored gospel songs and the Harmonic Temple songs of Nickomo Clarke, which take sacred phrases from many traditions and set them to four-part harmony. We kept learning new songs and sharing our favourites.
Inspiration from India
And then a few years ago, Sundara started singing bhajans, the devotional songs of India. She taught herself to play the harmonium and I joined her with the guitar, and we found that the music could support people to drop into a devotional way of singing together without feeling self-conscious. We’ve been singing those songs ever since, and have led many “Kirtan” evenings here at The Dragon Sanctuary.
But a niggle started to arise. What about songs in English? How could we write songs that were equally devotional but sung in our own language? We’d experienced that with the few Taize songs that we’d sing in English (they are mostly in Latin, and other European languages), and with gospel songs and some of the English-language Harmonic Temple songs too. Sometimes singing in your own language can make the experience even more powerful.
So Sundara wrote some songs and we’ve found a few more from other song-composers that we love, and we now have a small set, enough for an evening at least!
Devotional songs in English
There’s a fine line to be walked with these songs. Singing in one’s own language can be potent, but it can also be fraught. No-one likes being told what to think or feel, and for some of us the legacy of church hymns can make us wary of this sort of singing. And some “new age” songs can be a bit “cringey” (as our teenage kids would say).
The songs we’ve found are (we hope) devotional without being didactic, heart-felt without being hammy. Just like the best devotional songs, they help you get out of your mind and into your heart. Like the bhajans, we sing them with the harmonium and guitar. We hope you will want to join us! As stated already, no prior experience is necessary, and there’s no need to book in advance.

An Introduction to Ayurveda
2022-05-05 19:00 - 21:30 | Devon
Come to an evening where this (at least) 5000 year old holistic and traditional system of medicine will be introduced. I will go over the basics of understanding the doshas and how they relate to the elements, plus how imbalances in them are responsible for health conditions. We will also look at how fundamental digestion is and the journey of nutrition, to help gain an understanding of how food affects our body. Learn also about the concept of ‘Ama’ and how the presence of toxins are at the root of disease. I will provide an overview of how to cleanse ayurvedically and Spring is the perfect time for this!
You will be able to complete a questionnaire during the workshop to get an indication of your current dosha and learn how you can improve health through diet, herbs, lifestyle and yoga. We will try some relaxing and nourishing techniques – breathing, massage, chanting and meditation. In the chanting we will have a go at using Mantra for balancing the Doshas.
Go away feeling empowered to make a difference to your health, well-being and access peace/stillness.

Singing Sanctuary
2022-05-25 07:30 - 21:00 | Devon

Adventures in Psyarchaeology
2022-05-31 19:30 - 21:30 | Devon
A book event with the author of ‘Sesonsfin: A Tale from the Bronze Age’.
S D Anugyan (‘Anu’) will be giving a presentation on the background to his new book. The tale depicts a time of great transition: from nomadic to agricultural lifestyles, a largely matriarchal society to patriarchal, and a shifting emphasis from the spiritual to the material. The protagonists, aware of what is about to be lost, take extraordinary, daring steps to save it.
He will describe how being trapped on the Wiltshire downs during the hot summer of the first lockdown provided the perfect backdrop to the late Bronze Age; and how he used the practice of what he calls psyarchaeology – a combination of empirical research, meditation and imagination – to elicit enriching details. Noteworthy mentions include the importance of water to sustain both body and soul, the attitudes to time, birth and death, and the use of stone circles and alignments.
For more details see the book on Amazon.
Copies of ‘Sesonsfin’ will be available at a discounted price.

Cancelled - Kirtan Singing
2022-06-16 19:30 - 21:00 | The Dragon Sanctuary, 34 Bossell Road, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0DD, United Kingdom
We’re sad to say that we are cancelling this event. We both have covid and have lost our voices!
We’ll be back next week, with the Singing Sanctuary on 22nd June, see below. We’ll both be out of the recommended 10 day quarantine period by then. I trust that our voices will have recovered, also!

Kirtan Singing
2022-07-14 19:30 - 21:00, 2022-09-15 19:30 - 21:00, 2022-10-13 19:30 - 21:00 | The Dragon Sanctuary, 34 Bossell Road, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0DD, United Kingdom
With Leo and Sundara.
Accompanied by harmonium and guitar, we will sing Indian devotional chants based on simple mantras. These “sung prayers” invoke the qualities of Indian deities like Shiva, Krishna, Durga, Saraswati and Ganesha, qualities such as love, creativity, courage and compassion that are all present within us and that can be brought more fully into our lives by singing together in this way. No prior experience is necessary. Arrive a little earlier if you like for a cup of tea and some time to connect before we begin. No need to book in advance. But please bring a cushion of a backjack if you can.
Sundara and Leo Sofer have been leading singing events together since 2003. They previously taught in Findhorn (a spiritual community in Scotland), with an especial focus on the songs of Taize (a Christian monastery in France) and Nickomo Clarke’s Harmonic Temple songs (based on sacred phrases from diverse spiritual traditions).
In recent years they have fallen in love with bhajans, the devotional songs of India, which are sung mostly in Sanskrit at gatherings known as kirtans. They are also creating songs in English which are short and easy to learn, and that can also be sung in a devotional spirit.
Sundara plays the harmonium and Leo plays the guitar to accompany these songs. Having two instruments present enables people to sing freely and to relax into the experience, supported by the music.
