Moving Day!

So quiet now on bustling Spring Street. Most of the boxes have left. Desktops usually filled with catalogues, schedules, and course descriptions, are empty. The Open Center’s home at 83 Spring Street is emptying out and we’re on our way uptown.

We feel some sadness, as one does when leaving an old house behind, with so many memories and passages, so much life, arrivals and departures, births, deaths. We are nostalgic, yes, but happy to recall how much we accomplished in our 25 years at 83 Spring Street, always willing to try the new, the different., always at the cutting edge.

For instance, one very early course called “Sailing: Taking the High Seas to Spiritual Freedom,” that actually took place on a sailboat. How thoroughly that course captured the open adventurous spirit of our community! We understood that spirituality could be a path of joy.

This commitment to full-sail living has guided the Open Center for 25 years.  And we went all out to provide exactly that to New Yorkers who wanted to be caring, compassionate people in all aspects of their lives and at the same time to have great fun. Over 600 courses a year spoke to every area of life – spiritual physical, psychological, environmental, and planetary – and created life-changing experiences for so many.

Several weeks ago, the staff held a ritual with some of our teachers to bring our memories with us, so that the depth embodied in this old building can be transferred to our new space. We are the same Open Center and we are the new Open Center.

As we anticipate being at 22 East 30th Street, we feel excitement that we’ve been able to succeed and are at a point where the Open Center is doubling its size. Our new home has  immense possibility and we are diving in this weekend, preparing our classrooms and studios, our bookstore and meditation room to welcome New York’s holistic community to its new home.  We are open at our new location on Monday, August 3rd and we hope y’all come.