Meditation

Meditation is a method of training the mind so that you start to experience life in a fuller, more “whole” way. Through meditation, you gain insight into how your mind operates and you become more adept at promoting ease and well-being. With practice, you develop beneficial mental skills like focus, clarity, and patience. 

I’ve studied and practiced meditation for decades, beginning with a 2-year residence in a Zen Buddhist monastery in my early 20s. At the time, I was so devoted to the meditative path that I was seriously considering taking the “life vows” of a monk.

I ended up stepping away from monasticism, but meditation remains central to my daily life. The thing I love most about it is that it helps you get “underneath” the thinking mind. It’s so easy to get stuck in our thoughts! So, a tool that guides you beyond the level of superficial internal dialogue is a valuable tool indeed.

In meditation, we weaken our addiction to our thoughts and feelings by cultivating stabilized attention. To me, stabilized attention is the most important skill that a person can develop. When our awareness is stable, we start seeing things more clearly. And when we see clearly, we make wise decisions—decisions that serve our well-being (as well as the well-being of those around us!).

I help clients hone this skill of stabilized attention—in particular, I help them develop the capacity to really “listen” to their present-moment experience. The body, in particular, is an excellent anchor for our awareness. Becoming deeply attuned to one’s own bodily aliveness is often an essential part of any healing process.

Interested in establishing or strengthening your meditation practice? I offer instruction in meditation, in individual sessions as well as in group classes. I work with beginners as well as experienced meditators.

You can learn more about my individual sessions here. To book a session, click here. For group classes, be sure to get on my email list!

Like meditation, Qigong is a method of cultivating the mind through body-based awareness. For more on Qigong, click here.