About

I have been engaged in spiritual practice for many decades. My journey began with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Transcendental Meditation, where I was initiated and participated in retreats for many years.

In 2002, seemingly by chance, I attended a weekend retreat with Lama Surya Das, an
American-born Lama trained in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Teaching alongside him was Lama John Makransky, a professor of Buddhism at Boston College and a meditation teacher within the Nyingma tradition. These encounters led me to attend numerous retreats with Lama Surya Das, Lama John, and other teachers in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition over the years.

In 2007, Lama John Makransky published Awakening Through Love: Unveiling Your Deepest Goodness, a book focused on contemplative practices to empower people in their relationships, work, service, and social action. The following year, he co-founded the Foundation for Active Compassion, offering contemplative training in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, accessible to people of all faiths and those seeking to awaken their innate love and compassion. I joined the Foundation in 2009, leading practices inspired by John’s teachings. You will find that many of the Meditative Moments in this book are grounded in the practices of Innate Wisdom and Compassion taught by John.

Since 2010, I have led a weekly meditation group in Providence, Rhode Island. When the pandemic made in-person gatherings impossible, we transitioned to virtual meetings via Zoom.

The Meditative Moments in this book are a collection of weekly emails I sent to my meditation group. They reflect the concepts and concerns that were arising for me during our meetings, offering insights or prompts to deepen our spiritual practice together. Nothing I present here is original. All I know and understand I have learned from my teachers, friends, and family. The only unique element may be my presentation.

These weekly thoughts are organized mostly by title for easy reference. Some topics are grouped together for clarity. They were not delivered in this order, and you are free to read them in any order based on what draws your interest in the moment. There are tags for each post that you can use to search for common topics.

You may find many of the pieces in this collection to be repetitive, covering the same topics over and over again. That is because there is only One True Nature to be found, and its expression is always the same: Open, Aware, and Compassionate. So, you find those themes repeated in various ways in the text.

I have tried to acknowledge the source of all the quotes from other sources directly in each post and include a link to the source material. However, I apologize for any unintended omission or error in citations.

My hope is that these readings may offer you some inspiration or clarity on your own spiritual path and that the resource links will help on your journey.

May you find peace and joy on your path, and may all beings be deeply well and happy.