Paradise Retreat Trailer
with John David, 22–31 May in Spain
Early bookers save €400
Register now:
India Retreat 2027
Group photo from the 2026 India Retreat at the foot of Arunachala
More info
Centre for inner transformation
between Cologne & Düsseldorf on the Rhine
at Open Sky House — a place for awareness, meeting and inner growth, right on the Rhine between Cologne and Düsseldorf.
The next Buddha
“The next Buddha may take the form of a community; a community practising understanding, mindfulness and loving kindness. This may be the most important thing we can do for the survival of the Earth.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Film
A film about the community
The house
Open Sky House
An oasis of conscious living that shines into the world.
Our international centre for inner transformation in Germany, between Cologne and Düsseldorf, is a creative place of lived awareness and a refuge for finding peace in yourself. For more than 19 years a strong field of love, silence and creativity has grown here around John David.
Developing mindfulness together
Right on the banks of the Rhine in Hitdorf, a small place between Cologne and Düsseldorf, a community has grown in a handsome 17th-century house. Here people of different countries and ages can become quiet in the middle of a busy society, develop mindfulness together, and connect with what lies beyond thoughts and feelings: their essence.
Awareness and planet Earth
The centre is for people who see that mindfulness is the condition for their own transformation. Inner peace is an essential contribution to caring for nature and for peace on our planet. Only when we bring mindfulness into daily life can we recognise that we are one with everything and separate from nothing. When we begin to live from this seeing, it keeps radiating further into society.
Who am I?
The question “Who am I?” is the most important one in our life. John David, the spiritual teacher of the community, stands in the tradition of the Indian saint Sri Ramana Maharshi and his direct teacher, the Advaita master Papaji, who both taught self-enquiry through this central question.
Living from our essence
Meditation and a shared focus support this process of becoming aware. They help you fall deeply into silence and bring it into daily life. A deep healing begins, in which we can live more and more from our essence, from the love and peace that are already here.
Films
Impressions and inspiration
Summer retreat trailer
with John David, 4–20 September in Spain
India Retreat
Aftermovie
Open weekend
Aftermovie
Mantra concert
Open weekend 2025
Finding Happiness
Short film with words by Papaji
Freeing yourself from the conditioned mind
Frequency
how we are shaped by what surrounds us
Spain
Our partner community in Spain
A spiritual oasis between Valencia and Alicante, only three minutes from the Mediterranean.
Open Sky Oasis is in Dénia, a beautiful coastal town on the Mediterranean in Spain. Surrounded by a lush garden with palms and a swimming pool, and looking towards the Montgó mountain, it offers a peaceful setting for retreats and inner transformation. A growing international community is unfolding here and warmly welcomes guests, volunteers and new residents.
John David offers regular international sangha weekends, and one retreat at Whitsun and a summer retreat in September . There are also meditation and Vipassana weekends with Indira.
If you feel drawn to this place, the best way to meet us is to write to us directly, or to join a Transformation Week in our German community, so you can get to know us in person.