A SACRED PLACE TO BE
The Inner Quest Centre for Integrated Awareness is home to the Open Door Sanctuary, an independent centre of divine service and healing. In 1939, it opened its doors at its present location in Victoria, British Columbia, and has since offered its Traditions in an unbroken continuity of service to the public since it was founded in 1859.
The Open Door Sanctuary is a community dedicated to serving the Divine Intelligence, the God of Your Own Understanding, or that which animates all things. We strive to realize our spiritual potential in the honesty of our nature and our humanity, celebrating the Divine Consciousness through our sacred gatherings, esoteric education, and socio-environmental activism.
WHAT WE UNDERSTAND
At the Open Door we are guided by a set of principles. We do not espouse a creed, dogma, or acknowledge any figurehead, living or dead. We are each responsible for the creation of our own lives. Ours is a pathway of personal responsibility and conviction rather than conversion.
OUR PRINCIPLES ©
Reverent union with the Divine
The unity of humankind
Communion and communication with the Spirit
Continuous existence of the Spirit
Personal responsibility
Compensation of all thoughts, words and actions
The path of progression open to all that will to tread it
We are spiritual beings here and now. Life is eternal and we continue to exist beyond the event we call death. Communication with the spirit world, commonly called mediumship, is a sacred act of healing between those who have passed and those who remain on earth. The medium serves those in the afterlife who have a desire to communicate but can no longer speak for themselves. An ethical integral communication will always result in a healing of both the etheric speaker and the recipient of the communication.
OUR PHILOSOPHY FOR LIVING
Minimize suffering and maximize joy.
Honour diversity and equality.
Foster respect, gratitude, and unity.
Share our talents in service.
Seek the thread of truth in all things.
Care for the wellbeing of every living thing.
Be true to one’s nature.
Awaken to the sacredness of all life.
When you visit the Sanctuary, you will find a warm welcome and a sense of ease as we create a reverent and respectful space for each individual to discover their own truth, in their own way. Our diverse community comes together in the shared knowledge of the continuity of life, and in the desire to serve as healers, mediums, teachers and within our respective life vocations. The ministers of the Open Door conduct sacred services, offer private counselling in spiritual matters, conduct public weddings and funerals, and attend upon those in need.
Reverend Brian Robertson,
MSNU
is a minister of the Spiritualists’ National Union, founder and president of the Inner Quest Foundation, and senior minister at the Open Door Sanctuary. He is a tutor at the Arthur Findlay College of Great Britain and is an internationally recognized healer, medium, spiritual lecturer, and teacher.
Reverend Simon James,
MSNU
is an officiant and minister of the Spiritualists’ National Union, vice-president of the Inner Quest Foundation, and senior minister at the Open Door Sanctuary. He is a senior tutor and assessor at the Arthur Findlay College of Great Britain. He holds a degree in Applied Psychology and has an extensive knowledge of tarot and mythology.
Reverend Terri Woolgar,
CSNU
is a minister at the Open Door Sanctuary, spiritual counsellor, and senior administrator at the Inner Quest Foundation. She studied religion and philosophy at the University of Victoria and holds a Certificate in Spiritual Healing from the Spiritualists’ National Union.
At the Open Door Sanctuary, we are part of an ancient theurgical heritage rooted in ancient schools of thought including Alchemy, Monotheism, Gnosticism and Hermeticism, and teachings from the Kabbalist, Bon, Greek, and Celtic traditions. This esoteric lineage was furthered by 18th and 19th century philosophers such as Emanuel Swedenborg and Andrew Jackson Davis, two of many truth-seekers who dared to share their awareness of spiritual reality in defiance of prevailing religious doctrine. The 19th century also saw Quakers, Universalists, Shakers and other New Thought movements generating substantial mediumistic phenomena, thereby sowing the seeds for the tide of change that gave rise to modern Spiritualism, Theosophy, and it’s godchild, the New Age movement.
The Open Door Sanctuary itself emerged from this continuum of esoteric philosophy and has since embraced a spectrum of modern philosophical approaches to spirituality including transpersonal thought and consciousness studies.
Historically, spiritualists have been at the forefront of the western world’s greatest social reform movements including women’s rights, suffrage, racial equality issues of poverty, animal rights and the welfare of children. Today, the community of the Open Door actively continues this legacy as we serve the wider community, take part in political action when the need for justice requires it, and participate in environmental and human rights issues at both global and local levels.
WHAT WE OFFER
Sacred Sunday Community Gatherings
All are welcome to our Sunday Gathering of inspirational addresses, contact healing, music and mediumship. Special sacred celebrations are also held throughout the year highlighting our modern and ancient roots, honouring the cycles of nature, the solstices, and traditional festivals. Join us for some relaxed community time over coffee, tea and conversation following the Gathering, downstairs in our Lower Hall.
Thursday Contemplation
Join the blended communities of the Open Door and the Inner Quest for an hour of quiet contemplation and spiritual healing. Sitting in the Presence is an opportunity to withdraw from the noise of the outer world for a short while and listen to the still voice within. The evening concludes with a session of contact healing for those who wish it. All are welcome. By donation.
Education
The Inner Quest Centre hosts an expansive range of non-denominational courses and retreats for those interested in pursuing the Intuitive Arts as a pathway of unfoldment. We offer a rich variety of programs for all levels of experience exploring the connection between spirituality, nature, creativity, healing, science & psychology, archetypes, mythology and mediumship.
Community Events
The public is welcome to join us for our many social events which both support the work of the Open Door and benefit the wider community. Watch for our popular nature walks in and around Vancouver Island, Coffee Philosophy evenings, garden tours, art shows, fundraisers, and many other events. Visit our Photo Gallery to see our Community in action!
Spiritual Healing
The Inner Quest healers offer contact healing at the Open Door Sanctuary as part of our Sunday and Thursday gatherings. We offer a Public Healing Clinic on select Saturday mornings, and do outreach work in homes, hospitals and hospice. In addition, we offer animal healing, which may be contact or absent healing depending upon the circumstances most appropriate for the animal. Please contact us if you would like to receive absent healing for yourself or a loved one.
Harmonial Path Program
A two-year program of study designed to deepen the understanding and knowledge of aspects of spiritualism in the context of a wider esoteric tradition. Inquiries welcome.
Youth Lyceum
The Youth Lyceum is a gathering of children who meet during a Sunday service to sing, play, paint and garden. The focus is on encouraging responsible citizenship and nurturing their talents. Inquiries welcome.
Activism
Service is the coin of the Spirit. Service as spiritual activism is both inner and outer work. The Open Door continues its long history of service by volunteering and fundraising locally and globally, and supporting environmental and human rights action wherever there is a need of balance.
We Support:
CONTACT US
General Inquiries: ods@innerqf.com
Healing Request: healing@innerqf.com
Courses, Retreats, and Workshops
Mailing address: 1600 Cook St. Victoria, BC V8T 3P1, Canada
DONATIONS
The Open Door Sanctuary is entirely self-supporting and deeply grateful for donations that enable us to provide ongoing spiritual services to our community and to the wider world. As a charitable society, we operate a number of Trust Funds and accept bequests for any of these purposes.
Donations to the Open Door Sanctuary are managed by our educational arm, the Inner Quest Foundation, and are tax deductible within Canada.
Your support is greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
The Open Door acknowledges the generosity of the City of Victoria
for granting us the Permissive Property Tax Exemption.
