About me
My passion is liberation… liberation of the heart.
I dedicate myself to this liberation by practicing and teaching Insight meditation, a Dharma path that frees the heart and mind. My teaching is rooted in Burmese Theravada traditions, the Thai Forest tradition, and textually to the suttas and other sources of early Buddhism. I offer the teachings of these traditions in a way that is relevant to contemporary lives.
My understanding of meditation and liberation expanded when I was introduced to Somatic Experiencing®. After witnessing profound transformations in myself and in my clients, SE became a vital new component of my offerings. Over time, it has deeply informed my support of students, as they discover how to allow their own individual physiologies to settle in ways that can support Dharma practices. I also sometimes offer SE sessions to people who are not Dharma students.
My sincere aspiration is to provide individuals with support for liberation and transformation through practices that work best for them.
Dharma Background
Embodying the Dharma has been an integral part of my life since I was 18 years old.
I have been consistently practicing Buddhist meditation since 1988. I have practiced in the Zen, Theravada and Tibetan schools of Buddhism and was ordained in the Rinzai Zen tradition in 1996. I spent 6 years living in a rigorous Rinzai Zen monastic environment before and during my time as a monk.
My training in Insight Meditation/Theravada includes extended meditation retreats in Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, and India as well as numerous retreats in the U.S. I was given permission to teach in this tradition by Eric Kolvig, and by the Spirit Rock and Insight Meditation Society Teacher training program.
Since 2000, I have taught meditation in a variety of settings, including prisons, schools and universities, wellness and drug rehabilitation centers, as well as various sitting groups and Sanghas throughout the U.S. I now spend most of my time serving local Sanghas and leading retreats.
In teaching the Dharma, I am interested in maintaining a close tie with this 2,600 year old tradition and conveying it in a way that speaks to our current situation. It is important to see that all aspects of our lives are gateways to following this path of liberation.
In addition to leading retreats and supporting Sanghas through various avenues of teaching, I have a keen interest in supporting practitioners in deepening their spiritual path with one-on-one guidance. In these individual interactions we explore how to deepen into a spiritual life and fully embody this path.
Somatic Experiencing® Background
I am a certified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner and an approved SE Assistant for SE trainings. I receive supervision from an approved SE Consultant, and continue to attend advanced SE trainings.
In my work, I take the role of an educator who supports clients in developing the necessary awareness towards physical and mental processes that leads to the resolution of symptoms resulting from unresolved trauma and stress.
I was Founding Partner and Co-Director of Equanimity Development Institute, an organization that provided meditation instruction and SE to clients in an inpatient drug rehabilitation center as well as to individuals in the general public.
My work as an educator in my SE sessions is also informed by my training in Focusing, my Master’s degree in Counseling and my Buddhist meditation practice which began in 1988.
I learned the process of Focusing under the guidance of Ann Weiser Cornell through doing the five levels of her focusing training as well receiving training in how to support others in the focusing process.
My sincere aspiration is to provide individuals with opportunities for such transformations through the Dharma and Somatic Experiencing®.
