be kind to yourself

Just start by paying attention. 

Begin to be aware of what you’re aware of. Be caught up in what is happening, instead of what should be happening. Be conscious of whatever arises in your present. Because your life is right here in front of you, and that’s a beautiful thing. 

Meditation is so accessible, all you need to do is sit. It’s you and your cushion and there’s incredible value that it will bring to your life if you keep at the practice. It’s a simple practice, not an easy practice. But it’s absolutely worth the practice. 

What I try to do

Empower you to live in the moment and appreciate the life right in front of you.

My message to you

You are enough. Everything you need is right in front of you. You just have to pay attention. Center yourself and your whole life is right here. And when you come to understand that, you can live your life fully from moment to moment.

The method

It’s the practice itself. I’m just transmitting it. The less I get in the way, the better. It’s a question of taking whatever the practice is and showing you how to empower yourself with it.

Approach

It’s the study of the self. Settling into the self, noting how the self is interconnected to everyone and everything else, moment to moment, while being mindful that our well-being is conditional on nothing at all. It’s right in front of us, nothing is hidden. We just pull away all the layers of the mind. Let go of the map, let go of our story, let go of the tags and labels, let go of the idea of “good” or “bad,” and see the large, beautiful cloud-water that is our self. Or our "no-self" as one might see.

“Cloud-water" (unsui in Japanese) represents the idea of moving freely, without the constraints and limitations of attachment, like free-floating clouds or clear flowing water. This also touches on being able to see the cloud in your cup of tea. Knowing that the water in your cup was at one point a cloud in the sky. It’s really hard to drink your tea without seeing this, and being fully present, once you’ve seen this.

My story

I didn’t grow up thinking I’d ever be a meditation teacher - I mean, I didn’t even know that was a thing. I spent my whole life in consumer goods marketing. As a marketer you see the world through the eyes of consumers. So naturally, as I was seeing the transformative benefits of my personal practice, I started to see how this practice can benefit so many people. That’s when I became very passionate not just about exploring my own practice further, but about sharing my practice and bringing it to people. When you try something and you love it, you just want to share it.

I discovered meditation years ago during a trip to a Japanese temple, but I didn’t start taking my practice seriously until a few years ago. It really began when I was going through a very difficult time in my life and experiencing challenges professionally and emotionally. It was at a friend’s off-hand suggestion that I tried meditation again. At the time, there were no apps and I didn’t have a teacher. I was curious about meditation, but it was still something that felt exotic and a little foreign to me. But as I continued practicing, I noticed it was helping me understand a bit more about the emotional roller coaster I was on, and I gained a certain clarity from it. That’s when I knew there was something there. I felt like that was a big piece of the iceberg and I began to notice that I was letting go of a part of my life entirely. Meditation is such an empowering practice that if there’s a way I can show just one person going through a rough time how to start using it on a regular basis, that’s a great thing.

But that’s a story - and just that.

A perfect meditation doesn’t exist

There is no such thing as a perfect meditation. Let go of this notion. One isn’t better than another. The experience of sitting and meditating is enough in itself. There are techniques that help to bring you into the present moment, to bring you into the richness of life, and meet it where your life unfolds. But there is no mysterious potion, magic word, or “perfect” meditation that’s going to make you enlightened all of a sudden. And yet there is. The irony is that you have to let go of this notion. It’s the practice, just keep at it.