Your Truth

let's build community & wisdom together

I served as an educator within Stanford Children’s Hospital for the past ten and a half years.

For four years, I taught ICU nurses. Concrete things, like how to manage a ventilator or bedside dialysis.

During the following six years I taught resilience frameworks throughout the organization: self-regulation, emotional agility, Non-Violent Communication, HeartMath, The Empowerment Dynamic, Compassion Cultivation Training, and so on.

During that time, I continued to skew further and further away from didactic lectures, and deeper and deeper into facilitated conversations.

My growing conviction was that consistently turning everyone towards their own wisdom, based on their own experience, would be infinitely more valuable than hearing me deliver content.

It worked.

Not only does it work, I found that people are hungry for spaces where their experience and wisdom is respected and drawn out.

Now, I’ve been fortunate enough to sit at the feet of great masters—Pema Chödrön, BKS Iyengar, and Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, among others— and absorb phenomenal teachings. Sometimes there was a question and answer after the lecture (often called a “dharma talk”), sometimes not.

I’ve also been exposed to other great teachers, such as David Bedrick, and, through him, the late Arnold Mindell, who believe in the wisdom of their students, and continually orient their teaching in that direction.

This route— believing in you and your process— is the route I’m taking, and I’m inviting you to join me for the first of what will become ongoing, regular gatherings to build community and shared wisdom.

I’m calling this space a “dharma group,” and in this context, the word dharma means truth.

Your truth.

The design of these gatherings minimizes hierarchy, reduces the power differential between teacher and student, and gives more space to your unfolding truth.

If you are hungry to explore, join me.

Dharma Group

In these first two gatherings, we will explore what Richard Rohr calls “the two major roads” to liberation: the way of great suffering, and the way of great love.

All people, from all cultural / spiritual / religious backgrounds, are welcome.

The format

These dharma gatherings are spaces for you explore your own experience, your own burgeoning wisdom on these topics.

Here’s how the gatherings will unfold:

· We will start with a brief settling practice.

· Then we will have a facilitated conversation. I’ll offer a series of prompts for reflection, and we’ll see where the current takes us.

· Towards the end of the time together, I’ll offer a closing practice and poem.

Registration

These will be live gatherings, via Zoom.

Registration is required; links are below:

The Way of Great Suffering | Dec 2, 3-4:30 pm Pacific

The Way of Great Love | Dec 9, 3-4:30 pm Pacific

All are welcome, and there is no cost. Those who feel moved to make a love offering (donation) at the end may do so.