Everyone has their own unique path in this life and I don’t expect yours to resemble mine. With that said, a natural question (that arises frequently) is what made me passionate about meditation and the teachings of the Buddha. So here’s a rough timeline if you are curious:

December 2016: I quit my job at a prototypical SF startup. My brother Benjy was having a major surgery and I wanted to be able to spend time and support him. Admittedly the decision was simplified by the startup not living up to the hype (it was prototypical in this way, too). I had no immediate plans other than supporting my brother. So this left me with plenty of time. Much of it was spent idling away – watching shows, reading, and listening to podcasts.

January 2017: One of the podcasts I regularly listened to was Waking Up with Sam Harris. He released an episode with Joseph Goldstein called Why Meditate?. A few parts of the conversation really resonated with me. Shortly after, I started a meditation practice using the 10% Happier App where Joseph Goldstein does the intro course. I pretty quickly took to the practice, finding real value in the space that can open between thought and action and seeing the patterns of my own mind.

April 2017: Benjy’s surgery, which removed a kidney, his gallbladder, and part of his intestines, did not successfully remove its intended target: the cancer in his stomach. The diagnosis was grim. I knew I wanted to be able to support him as best I could. My intentions were clear and yet I saw my ego, my emotional barriers, and neuroses as blocking myself from being fully present. I could see that meditation practice was helping me be more present and have more capacity in being with him.

August 2017: A discussion point on that podcast episode is the encouragement of doing a meditation retreat. This is a time where one joins a group all sitting and practicing together in silence for about a week. I went to a young adult retreat at Spirit Rock. I found the experience transformative, heart-opening, and it gave me a new and kinder access to the landscape of my own mind.

This experience is really what has kept me going with practice. I felt like I could see the sources and patterns of stress and suffereing in my mind in a new and more wholesome way.

The tragedy really clarified some things for me, around the fragility of life and finding contentment that is not bound to conditions. Since then I have continued finding value and meaning in the practice. I am involved with a community in the Bay Area: IMC and IRC. And I have spent many months on meditation retreats and practiced in India and Burma.

I have continued to find more value in the practice, in finding the capacities and limitations of my own emotional and mental landscape. This is some of what I hope to share on this blog.