Adriana Orellana de Rickebusch
Adriana Orellana de Rickebusch discovered meditation through mindfulness and Insight Dialogue programs in Switzerland. She then began attending retreats with different teachers including Anne Michel, Ajahn Sucittoand Bhante Bodhidhamma. She decided to deepen her practice in the Theravada tradition and since 2018 has been a Dharma study group led by Anne Michel. Adriana has been teaching the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program to individuals and corporations since 2018, mindfulness programs to children and young adults since 2020, Vipassana meditation classes since 2021 and the Interpersonal Mindfulness program since 2023. She also offers silent retreats at Maison Mudita, a meditation…
Alex Castanheira
Alex Castanheira (they/them) began meditation’s practice as a teenager through Taisen Deshimaru’s books. In 2011, after engaging in an 8-week course in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, they decided to train as a Mindfulness-Based Intervention teacher. Since then, they have practiced meditation with different teachers in Europe (e.g., Martin Aylward) and Insight Dialogue mainly with Anne Michel, Phyllis Hicks and Florence Meleo-Meyer. Currently, Alex teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, since 2014, and Interpersonal Mindfulness, since 2015. They also facilitate Insight Dialogue group practice in French, one monthly with Sandrine Rauter and a weekly drop-in practice. Deeply committed about supporting people in finding…
Angela Spaxman
Angela Spaxman joined the Insight Dialogue Facilitator Cohort Asia in 2020 and has since been a regular host of introductory courses and drop-in groups internationally online and in-person in Hong Kong. Angela has been experimenting with inner work including meditation since 1999 following many different teachers. She is inspired to bring more clear seeing and deep compassion into the world using Insight Dialogue and relational mindfulness practices to build bridges of insight into the world business and organizational leadership. She cultivates safe spaces through leadership coaching, team facilitation and as a convenor of groups. She is a regular contributor to…
Anita Bermont
Anita Bermont guides Insight Dialogue practice both online and in-person. When first encountering Insight Dialogue in the mid-’90s, the practice spoke immediately and strongly to her heart. With this recognition came a deep commitment to participating in the first face-to-face practice group. As the years have gone by, her commitment to the path inspired a return to school, earning an MA in Buddhist Studies. She participates in many of the Insight Dialogue Community teams and practice cohorts and coordinates the Insight Dialogue Teaching Community Coordinating team. Insight Dialogue gets called her ‘heart song’ practice and it is from this place…
Anna-Brown Griswold
Anna-Brown fell in love with Insight Dialogue practice in 2012 after nearly twenty years of practice and study in the Tibetan and Zen koan lineages of Buddhism, including monastic practice and extended solitary retreats. For most of her adult life she’s been experimenting with how to integrate the awakening power of dharma practice, the skills of psychotherapeutic healing, and an embodied lens of social justice. Anna-Brown currently shares Insight Dialogue practice online and locally in Seattle, WA, where she works as a trauma therapist and facilitator. As a mom to a toddler, bringing Insight Dialogue into the whole beautiful mess…
Anne Michel
Anne Michel has practiced vipassana meditation since 1973, mainly in Theravada tradition. She deepened her path with many monastic and lay teachers including Ajahn Sumedho, Ajahn Sucitto, Jack Kornfield, and Carole Wilson. Anne has taught meditation in Europe since 2001. Teaching Insight Dialogue has allowed an important deepening of her practice by way extending vipassana practice into interpersonal meditation. In 2006, the Mudita Association was created to support Anne’s teaching. In 2016, the association purchased a meditation center, Maison Mudita, in Abländschen, a retired hamlet in the Swiss Alps. Anne lives in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Antonella Commellato
Antonella Commellato teaches retreats, day longs, and guides Insight Dialogue and Dharma Contemplation groups in Italy. Antonella began to meditate in the Vipassana tradition in 1992, attending retreats led by Corrado Pensa and other Vipassana teachers. In 1998 she became deeply involved in the Advaita Vedanta (non-dual) tradition as a disciple of Raphael. Antonella leads Advaita Vedanta study and meditation groups. Since 2008 she has trained with Gregory Kramer, and co-teaches retreats with him and other Insight Dialogue teachers. Antonella, a professional counselor, teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Interpersonal Mindfulness, and other mindfulness-based programs. She co-designed and teaches the Italian Foundational…
Asaf Federman
Asaf Federman was invited to teach by the dharma teacher Christopher Titmuss in 2018. He began to offer Insight Dialogue in 2022. His meditation practice started in 1998 at the Vipassana Institute of S.N. Goenka and developed in retreats and courses with various teachers including Christopher Titmuss, Stephen Bachelor, Stephen Fulder, Thich Naht Hanh, Joseph Goldstein, and Ajhan Sucitto. Asaf considers the study of original Buddhist texts an important part of the path. He is the author of three books in Hebrew and several academic articles. He offers teaching in Haifa, Israel and online. He works as a psychotherapist. Since…
Ayya Anopama
Ayya Anopama has practised Vipassana meditation since 2002 and spent extensive time in intensive retreat in Burma where she ordained as a Theravadian Buddhist nun with Pa Auk Sayadaw in 2013. After her monastic training she shared with various monastic communities across continents. Her teachers include Bhikkhu Analayo, Ajahn Brahm and Ashin Tejania as well as Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo and Mingyur Rinpoche. Her approach to meditation focuses on wakefulness and compassion and integrates Insight Dialogue as a powerful vehicle for awakening. She has been invited to the Insight Dialogue Teacher Development Cohort for Vipassana Teachers and Monastics and is affiliated…
Bart van Melik
Bart van Melik has been teaching Insight Dialogue and individual silent meditation since 2009, with a specific focus on working with diverse populations. He has studied with Gregory Kramer and the Insight Dialogue Teaching Community since 2007 and is a graduate of the Spirit Rock/Insight Meditation Society’s Teacher Training Program. Passionate about supporting people finding new ways to relate to stressful life circumstances, Bart brings meditation practice to juvenile detention centers, homeless shelters, and NYC public schools. Bart lives in New York City where he regularly offers Insight Dialogue at New York Insight. To learn more about Bart’s offerings, please…
Beatriz Rodriguez Vega
Beatriz Rodríguez Vega is a meditation practitioner and a MBSR teacher and teacher-trainer. She met the insight dialogue teachings in 2010 during a retreat with Janet Surrey and Gregory Kramer. The inspiration of these teachings brought her to continuing exploring the field and becoming Interpersonal Mindfulness teacher though the training of Phyllis Hicks and Florence Meleo. She is currently part of the ID teacher development group. She is psychiatrist working in La Paz University Hospital and Autonoma University in Madrid, Spain. She is also interested to bring the ID teachings to the health field and to the training to the health…
Bhante Anuruddha
The Venerable Anuruddha Thero Karuwelagaswewa was born in Sri Lanka in 1971. At 8 years old he joined the monastery, was ordained as a monk at age 12, and later studied Buddhist philosophy at the University of Jayawardhanapura and a Buddhist approach to counseling at the University of Kelaniya’s Postgraduate Institute of Pali Buddhist Studies. Bhante Anuruddha earned a postgraduate diploma in counseling in Vellour, India. Since 2003 Bhante Anuruddha has been the abbot of the Zurich Buddhist Vihara in Switzerland where he teaches Theravada Buddhism and Vipassana meditation to all those who want to expand their knowledge and their…
Bhikkhu Sukhacitto
Bhikkhu Sukhacitto was born in Germany in 1963 and first came into contact with Buddhism in 1986 in Thailand by attending a meditation retreat, offered through Wat Suan Mokkh. He ordained there as a monk in 1990. He returned to the West in 1993. Since then he has lived at various monasteries, including Dhammapala Monastery in Switzerland for six years and Amaravati Monastery in the UK for 4 years. On his first Insight Dialogue retreat in 2005, he was amazed by the powerful experience of meditating together with other people and subsequently joined many more Insight Dialogue retreats. In 2010…
Brent Beresford
Brent Beresford’s (they/them) greatest teachers are their children, showing them how unreasonable their expectations are, and encouraging the practice of relationship and community. Their work has been in engaging the power of relationship, accompanying individuals and groups since 2002. They have endeavoured to transmit teachings of Dhamma in various forms since 2013, through mindfulness-based approaches and the practice of Insight Dialogue. Brent aspires to lean into the darker places, finding “how the dark too blooms and sings.” A person of mixed racial heritage, they also identify as gender nonconforming. Brent is inspired to explore the living Dhamma with folks. Taking…
Chris van der Velden
Chris van der Velden has been practicing Insight Dialogue and vipassana meditation for over a decade and has offered guidance since 2022. He is part of the Insight Dialogue community in The Netherlands. Chris came into contact with Insight Dialogue by his vipassana teacher Inez Roelofs in 2014. Inez was his teacher until her passing away in 2022. He has been strongly influenced by Phyllis Hicks, Bart van Melik, and Gregory Kramer. Before retirement, Chris worked in mental healthcare. Chris lives in Zaltbommel, The Netherlands and offers Insight Dialogue at the meditation-centre ‘De Poort’ in Den Bosch (www.vipassanameditatiedenbosch.net)
Danica Jamison
Danica Jamison has been practicing Insight Dialogue since 2014 and has been a member of the Insight Dialogue Facilitator’s Cohort since 2016. She seeks opportunities to practice a loving, kind release from intoxication in all realms of life – as the parent of a young child, a partner, singer with the Threshold Choir, leader for a human services nonprofit agency, and member of local in-person and online Sanghas. Offering meditation and Insight Dialogue practice with others is one of her greatest joys. Danica lives in Bozeman, MT.
Dave Leggatt
Dave Leggatt practiced in the Vipassana tradition for many years. He was introduced to Insight Dialogue in 2011 and joined the Insight Dialogue facilitator program in 2016. Since then Dave has been facilitating and teaching in-person workshops, retreats and online offerings. Aware of the importance of spiritual friendship and the power of Insight Dialogue practiced in daily life, he enjoys expanding the boundaries of practice for himself and others. He founded the annual Kalyanamittata retreat and offers practice in the global Insight Dialogue community. He is active on a number of community teams. Dave lives in Toronto, Canada.
Deanna Burkett
Deanna Burkett was introduced to meditation in 2007 during a one-month residential yoga teacher training at Kripalu. This month of intensive practice established bodily awareness as a way of meeting suffering, and this changed her life. Deanna first practiced Insight Dialogue in 2015 during an 8-week online course. Often living in rural areas, she has found online dharma communities to be an important support, and she hopes to contribute to their further growth and development. Deanna is a psychotherapist, Certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher, and Kripalu Yoga teacher. She is in the current Insight Dialogue Teacher Development Cohort and is…
Deborah Ennis
Deborah Ennis lives on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, USA. She has been studying and practicing Vipassana meditation for over 30 years, primarily focused on early Buddhist teachings. She is an active member of a weekly insight meditation group. She offers holistic psychotherapy with an embodied, relational-based approach. She is a certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher through the Center for Mindfulness at the UMass Medical Center. Janet Surrey and the Northeast Insight Dialogue Community have inspired and mentored her growth as an Insight Dialogue facilitator. Please offer Deborah dana with venmo (@Deborah-Ennis-5).
Donna Strickland
Donna Strickland experienced a profound interpersonal transformation when she first encountered Insight Dialogue in 2006. Since 2011, she has shared this deeply heart-opening practice by leading a number of Insight Dialogue classes in Columbia, Missouri, where she is a member of the teachers’ council at Show Me Dharma. As a former English professor, Donna developed a relational “mindful writing” approach that she continues to share in workshops. Inspired by the power of dyadic practice, she changed careers and now has the privilege to work daily as a relational psychotherapist. She also serves on the Metta Foundation Board.
Elizabeth Faria
Elizabeth Faria has studied with Gregory Kramer and the Insight Dialogue Teaching Community since 2008. She began practicing vipassana on long retreats meditation in 1996. She took a two-year break from work to dedicate time to meditation practice in India, the US, Australia, and Thailand. Elizabeth is a graduate of the Australian Association of Buddhist Counsellors and Psychotherapists Professional Training Course in Buddhism and Psychotherapy. She is trained as a psychologist with 30 years of both meditation experience and practice as a psychotherapist. She is deeply moved by the Dharma and its potential to bring ease and wisdom through solitary…
Ellaya Ayal Mor
Ellaya Ayal Mor has been practicing Dharma and Vipassana for over 25 years, studying and practicing intensively in Israel, Europe and India. She became acquainted with Insight Dialogue 13 years ago through Gregory Kramer’s book, Insight Dialogue: The Interpersonal Path to Freedom. In the summer of 2019 was fortunate enough sit a retreat with Gregory that included several days of guidance in how to offer the practice. She in the current Insight Dialogue Teacher Development Cohort. Ellaya lives in Israel, where she is part of the Israeli Insight organization. She has been teaching for approximately 10 years, in silent retreat settings…
Emma Donaldson-Feilder
Emma Donaldson-Feilder has been practicing Insight Dialogue since 2010 and facilitating Insight Dialogue since 2012, when she became a founding member of the “London and Beyond” Insight Dialogue group. She was recognised as an Insight Dialogue Teacher in 2021 and is experienced in offering Insight Dialogue both online and in person. Emma’s doctoral research explored the use of Insight Dialogue-based relational mindfulness in leadership development and she now offers relational mindfulness programmes for leaders, coaches and other professionals. She is also an Occupational (Industrial and Organisational) Psychologist, Coaching Psychologist and accredited coaching supervisor. Insight Dialogue is a central theme in…
Fabiana Gomes
Fabiana Gomes holds a degree in Social Communications, a postgraduate degree in Anthropology and Cognitive Development, and has conducted research in drug addiction recovery, anxiety, and mindfulness trauma sensitivity. An MBSR instructor at the Global Mindfulness Collaborative, she trained with Florence Meleo-Meyer, Zayda Valejo, and Maria Noel. Since 2017, she has practiced Insight Dialogue, inspired by Elizabeth Faria, and joined the Insight Dialogue Facilitator Cohort Asia in 2020. Fabiana believes in the interconnectedness of meditation, relationality, self-knowledge, education, mental health, and social transformation. A social activist for child education and families and prisoners’ human rights, she is interested in exploring…
Fabio Giommi
Fabio Giommi teaches retreats, day longs, and guides Insight Dialogue practice groups in Italy. Fabio began to meditate in 1997 in the Vipassana tradition, attending retreats led by Corrado Pensa and monastic teachers from Thai and Burmese traditions. In 1998 he became deeply involved in the Advaita Vedanta (non-dual) tradition as well as a disciple of Raphael. Since 2008 he has been trained by Gregory Kramer, and co-teaches with him and other Insight Dialogue teachers. Fabio is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist and teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy. As a Senior Researcher at Radboud University in the…
Florence Meleo-Meyer
Florence Meleo-Meyer teaches Insight Dialogue retreats in the US and abroad and is co-developer of the Interpersonal Mindfulness Program (IMP). She has studied in India and the US with meditation masters, S.Muktananda and S.Chidvilasananda since 1976 and has practiced insight meditation for over 20 years. She met and began studying with Gregory Kramer in 2003. Florence has taught meditation for over 35 years and has taught and trained Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teachers and teacher trainers worldwide. As director of global relations and professional education at the Mindfulness Center in the School of Public Health at Brown University, she shares the…
Genevieve Heng
Genevieve Heng (she/her) has been practising Insight Meditation/mindfulness since 2013 and Insight Dialogue since 2019. She enjoys offering Introduction to Insight Dialogue courses and co-facilitates at various online and in-person practice groups. She is deeply appreciative of the long Theravada Buddhist tradition through which these living practices of waking up into freedom reach us today. Gen also offers mindfulness meditation programs and retreats via the Hong Kong Insight Meditation Society as well as the Hong Kong Mindfulness Teachers Network. Please offer Gen dana with this Paypal link .
Gregory Kramer
Gregory Kramer is the Founding Teacher of the Insight Dialogue Community and has been teaching insight meditation since 1980. He developed the practice of Insight Dialogue and has been teaching it since 1995, offering retreats in North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia. He has studied with esteemed teachers, including Anagarika Dhammadina, Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Mahanayaka Thero, Achan Sobin Namto, and Ven. Punnaji Maha Thero. Gregory is the author of A Whole Life Path: A Layperson’s Guide to a Dhamma-infused Life (Insight Dialogue Community); Insight Dialogue: The Interpersonal Path to Freedom (Shambhala); Seeding the Heart: Practicing Lovingkindness with Children; Meditating Together,…
Harald Tichy
Harald began practicing 1982 with Joseph Goldstein in Bodhgaya, India, and was a long-term student of Ajahn Runjuan in the tradition of Ajahn Buddhadāsa, Wat Suan Mokkh, Thailand. Since 2010 he has been mentored by Gregory Kramer. Harald has taught calm and insight meditation since 1991 and began offering Insight Dialogue in 2008. His doctoral research explored correspondences between early Buddhist meditation theory and the psychotherapy of Carl Rogers. Harald is a psychotherapist, MBSR and MBCT teacher, psychotherapy scientist and lecturer at the Sigmund Freud Private University in Vienna. There he founded and directs the two-year program “Mindfulness for medical,…
Holly Nelson-Johnson
Holly Nelson-Johnson teaches Insight Dialogue and Interpersonal Mindfulness and hosts a monthly practice group with Insight Dialogue facilitators-in-training. She participates in the Insight Dialogue Teaching Community Coordinating Team and the Awakening White Awareness cohort. She has studied Insight Dialogue since 2007 with Gregory Kramer and founded Illinois Insight Dialogue. Holly is a Family Nurse Practitioner, and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher/trainer. She is committed to engaged practice supporting social justice and bringing Relational Mindfulness into the everyday world. Holly lives in Evanston, IL. Please offer Holly dana with this Paypal link.
Irene Bumbacher
Irene Bumbacher lives in Switzerland and has been practicing Vipassana, Zen, and Mahamudra in Asia, Europe, and the US since 1989. She was trained as a Dharma teacher by Fred von Allmen and started teaching in 2008. In 2000 she co-founded the city center “Zentrum für Buddhismus” in Bern, which emphasizes and supports the integration of retreat practice in daily life and fosters community building by regular mindful dialogue practice. Her approach to teaching the Dharma includes all aspects of life, drawing on 35 years of therapeutic experience in the fields of physio-, shiatsu- und trauma-therapy. To learn more about…
Jane Cutler
Jane Cutler has been practicing and facilitating Insight Dialogue since 2008. With her life partner Jane Whitehead, she offers a program of Insight Dialogue evening practice, online practice, day-long, and weekend retreats. She also mentors those wanting to develop their engagement in Insight Dialogue. Jane has had a meditation practice since 1972 and been a zen student since 1999. She and her partner have supported a local zen community since 2003. Jane has worked as a psychotherapist since 1991. She sees the current climate emergency as the koan of our time. Supporting resilience in these troubled times through Insight Dialogue…
Janet Surrey
Janet Surrey teaches Insight Dialogue retreats internationally and leads a monthly practice group in the Boston area. Jan serves on the Insight Dialogue Community Teachers’ Council and the coordinating team for the Insight Dialogue Teaching Community. She has worked with Gregory Kramer since 2007. Her original teacher was Vimala Thakar. Jan has also done many retreats with Thich Nhat Hanh and Joanna Macy and completed the Community Dharma Leader training at Spirit Rock in 2008. Jan is a practicing clinical psychologist and is a faculty and board member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy in Boston, MA. She and…
Jaylene Summers
Jaylene Summers has practiced Insight Dialogue since 2008, studying with Gregory Kramer, Jan Surrey, Mary Burns and Phyllis Hicks. In 2009 she met Mu Soeng who continues to be her teacher. Others include Bhikkhu Analayo and Joseph Goldstein. During her professional life as a clinical psychologist, she met Baba Ram Dass which was a spiritual turning point and later turned to Vipassana, Theravada Dhamma practice and study. As an active member of the Unitarian Universalist church, she has led groups, talks and practices on ‘Embracing Aging’, ‘Awakening Racial Awareness’, ‘Climate Change’ and ‘Insight Dialogue’. Her experience with Insight Dialogue touched her heart-mind…
Jessica Mui
Jessica Mui worked in the Canadian telecom industry for many years, having had an undergraduate background in computer science. In 2002, she left her job to pursue spiritual development. Since then, Jessica visits Myanmar often to intensively practice insight (vipassana) meditation and lovingkindness (metta) meditation. She also goes to Myanmar to study the teachings of the Buddha, with different meditation masters for several months each year. Jessica graduated with an MA degree in Buddhist Studies from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. In 2006, she helped to found the Hong Kong Insight Meditation Society (www.hkims.org)to share Dhamma and meditation. Currently, Jessica…
Jill Shepherd
Jill Shepherd leads Insight Dialogue courses and non-residential workshops internationally. She began studying and practicing insight meditation in Thailand in 1999, and recently spent seven years on staff at the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts, where she participated in several long retreats and Buddhist study programs, as well as offering weekly meditation classes at a nearby men’s prison. Jill is a graduate of the IMS/Spirit Rock teacher training program in the US, under the guidance of Joseph Goldstein and Gil Fronsdal, and has been practicing Insight Dialogue since 2007. Currently, Jill divides her time mostly between the US,…
Joyce Curnan
Joyce Curnan has practised meditation since 2006. Drawn by its transformative power, she became an MBSR teacher in 2010 and attended her first Insight Dialogue retreat with Gregory Kramer that same year. Since then, she has been an active member of the Dutch Insight Dialogue community, offering introductory courses and co-facilitating monthly practice groups. She has been an Interpersonal Mindfulness teacher since 2013 and was recognized as an Insight Dialogue teacher in 2021. Joyce has served as a mentor in the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program. She completed the Committed Practitioner’s Programme through Bodhi College with Christina Feldman, John Peacock,…
Judy Bernstein
Judy Bernstein has been practicing vipassana meditation since 2000. Her experience of mind-body integration is enhanced by more than 40 years studying and practicing yoga. Buddhist psychology and meditation practices are woven into her clinical work as a psychologist. Judy’s engagement with Insight Dialogue began in 2007. She facilitates Insight Dialogue and teaches Interpersonal Mindfulness. Judy participates in multiple groups focused on race equity within and beyond the Insight Dialogue Community. Judy lives in Maplewood, NJ. Please offer Judy dana with venmo (@jbernsteinpsyd). If you would like to use Zelle, please email us.
Malcolm Frow
Malcolm met his first Tibetan Buddhist teachers, Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche in the 1970s and later became closely involved their work in the UK. His connection to Tibetan Buddhism now spans many decades, training programmes and retreats. He discovered Insight Dialogue in 2009 and started facilitating Insight Dialogue practice in 2012 as a founding member of the “London and Beyond” Insight Dialogue group, initially in person and then online. His varied professional career began as a Civil Engineer and has subsequently included working as a construction finance specialist, a business consultant, a psychotherapist and an executive coach.…
Marieke Duijvestijn
Marieke Duijvestijn has been practicing Insight Dialogue since 2010 and is deeply committed to the practice. She is a member of the Insight Dialogue Teaching Community Coordinating Team. She translated the book Insight Dialogue: An Interpersonal Path to Freedom into Dutch. Marieke lives in Groningen, Netherlands, where she regularly offers Insight Dialogue and Vipassana meditation through the Groningen Vipassana Meditation Centre. Marieke teaches Nonviolent Communication and Mindfulness Based Compassionate Living and works as a coach.
Marsha Lawson
Marsha Lawson is a recognized teacher for the Insight Dialogue Community. She has been practicing with and studying the wisdom teachings of the Buddha since 2009. Marsha started practicing and facilitating Insight Dialogue at about that same time, noticing with interest that Insight Dialogue practice directly addresses suffering and release in relationship with others. Marsha is committed to the investigation internally, and with others, of releasing suffering and cultivating joy, friendship, and compassion. Influential teachers include Christina Feldman, John Peacock, Mu Soeng, Leigh Brasington, Jan Surrey, Rodney Smith, and Gregory Kramer. “For that’s the purpose of discussion, that’s the purpose of…
Mary Burns
Mary Burns teaches Insight Dialogue internationally and also offers the practice online. She engages actively in the Insight Dialogue Community by participating in the Teachers Council, Guiding Sangha, Awakening White Awareness cohort and by mentoring facilitators and teachers in development. For more than three decades she has been drawn to the intersection of eastern and western healing practices and has had the good fortune to study with many gifted meditation teachers including in-depth study with Gregory Kramer since 2004 and decades of study with Stephen Gilligan, and John Welwood. Mary lives in Chapel Hill, NC, where she also works as…
Michael Wilder
Searching the world in the early 1970s, Michael Wilder experienced Buddhist meditation in India with Lama Yeshe and S.N. Goenka. He continued with Vipassana in various forms and with other teachers. Insight Dialogue was added after experiencing the practice guided by Gregory Kramer and Mary Burns. Photography, a horse farm, cycling, painting, life, and friendship are also part of his practice. Michael’s home is in Hamilton, MT.
Michele Zukerberg
Michele Zukerberg has been practicing Insight Meditation, including Insight Dialogue, since 2007. She currently facilitates an Insight Dialogue group in her hometown of Olympia, Washington. Drawing on her background in mediation and environmental conservation, Michele is committed to bridging spiritual, ecological, and social divides in her mindfulness offerings. Please offer Michele dana with venmo (@michele-zukerberg).
Natalie Eldridge
Natalie Eldridge values the way spiritual friendship and community have nourished her lifelong meditation practice. For more than a decade she has practiced with the Insight Dialogue Northeast community, where she frequently facilitates. She has been a psychotherapist for over 30 years, integrating Eastern and Western understandings of psychology and contemplative practice in clinical settings. Her motivation to facilitate Insight Dialogue is to nourish the liberative power of relationship for awakening and resilience. She brings this intention to climate, racial and social justice activities in her local community of Boston, MA.
Nicola Redfern
Nicola Redfern has an extensive background in both Zen and Vipassana meditation. She has been trained to teach Insight Dialogue by founding teacher Gregory Kramer. With a strong belief that awakening is not simply a solo endeavor, Nicola is particularly interested in getting meditation off the cushion and fully integrated into life, work, and relationships. She has also taught Nonviolent Communication and co-teaches courses on unlearning racism. Nicola lives in Santa Fe, NM. Please offer Nic dana with this Paypal link.
Nobantu Mpotulo
Nobantu is very new to Insight Dialogue having over 3 year of practicing Insight Dialogue rigorously. Nobantu was introduced to Insight Dialogue 7 years ago through attending an Insight Dialogue retreat. She was struck by the power of this relational practice. Nobantu is a graduate of the Community Dharma Leader Program and a Buddhist teacher having trained under Thanissara and Kittisaro. She is a Dharmapala graduate, a Diamond Approach Practitioner and facilitator of Peace Circles. Nobantu is an executive coach that utilizes Ubuntu, which is closely similar to Insight Dialogue in the relational aspect. She is a Director at Dharmagiri…
Nolitha Tsengiwe
Nolitha Tsengiwe, based in Johannesburg is a meditation teacher trained by the Insight Meditation Society, a teacher for Cloud Sangha and Dharmagiri meditation center, and a mentor for Sounds True Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program. She has practiced under Kittisaro and Thanissara (disciples of Ajahn Chah) for more than 20 years. Nolitha is a mother, licensed psychologist, executive coach and a leadership development consultant. She has a trauma sensitive lens in supporting clients who are in search of truth as a doorway to healing, well-being and freedom. Nolitha is based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Nynke Humalda
Nynke Humalda has been teaching Vipassana and Insight Dialogue since 2016. She is a member of the Insight Dialogue Teaching Community Coordinating Team. Nynke offers Vipassana meditation and Insight Dialogue in a variety of formats, including small retreats. As a Vipassana teacher she is connected to Sangha Metta and Vipassana Meditatie Leiden. She is voluntary care worker with people who are dying and their networks and brings an interest in serious illness, death and dying to her teaching. Nynke lives in Leiden, Netherlands.
Patricia Fontaine
Patricia Fontaine co-facilitates Insight Dialogue in a weekly online drop-in session. Her twenty+ year meditation practice is steeped in Vipassana meditation. With Masters in Counseling Psychology and Transformative Language Arts, Patricia offers art and writing classes for those dealing with illness and transition. She’s engaged Insight Dialogue since 2008, and sees relational meditation practice as an essential resource for a deep commitment to climate, social, queer, and racial justice. Patricia lives in Shelburne, VT, where she shares Co-chair for the Equity & Diversity Committee.
Patricia Genoud-Feldman
Patricia Genoud-Feldman began practicing Vipassana and Brahma Vihara on intensive retreats and Dzogchenin in Asia in 1984. Her two main teachers were Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Sayadaw U Pandita. After much time spent on retreat, Patricia completed teacher-training at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA. Patricia was introduced to Insight Dialogue at a retreat in the autumn of 2003 and participated in the first Insight Dialogue teacher-training meeting. Patricia has led Vipassana retreats worldwide since 1997. In 1999 she became the co-founder and guiding teacher of the Vimalakirti Meditation Center in Geneva Switzerland where she lives with her husband.…
Peace Twesigye
Peace Twesigye has benefited from the practice of Insight Dialogue for several years and recently started teaching Insight Dialogue in 2018 with the mentoring and support of Gregory Kramer, Bart van Melik, and Tuere Sala. Peace is currently in the Insight Dialogue Teacher Development Cohort lead by the Insight Dialogue Community Teachers Council and also serves as a practice leader, event manager, and sometimes teaches at New York Insight Meditation Center. Peace is the Program Manager of Buddhist Studies at Union Theological Seminary and as part of that work creates and supports spaces for contemplative practice that serve as a basis for…
Phyllis K. Hicks
Phyllis Hicks teaches Insight Dialogue retreats internationally and serves on the Insight Dialogue Community Teachers’ Council. Phyllis has trained and taught with Gregory Kramer since 2004. She has worked as a psychotherapist for over 30 years, bringing together Eastern and Western understandings of psychology and contemplative practice in a clinical setting. She is a co-developer of the Interpersonal Mindfulness Program, teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction at Duke Integrative Medicine and is a guiding teacher for Triangle Insight. Phyllis lives in Chapel Hill, NC. Please offer Phyllis dana with this Paypal link.
Rachel Hammerman
Rachel Hammerman (they/them) teaches Insight meditation as faculty of the Community Meditation Center of New York, the Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science and Tibet House US. They offer Insight Dialogue and Dharma Contemplation practice online and with centers including the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies and New York Insight Meditation Center. An executive coach and communications consultant, Rachel helps people integrate mindfulness and lovingkindness into their livelihoods to live, work and speak with ease. Please offer Rachel dana with this Paypal link.
Renate Löseke
Renate Löseke is a social educator and a mother of four almost-grown children. She has been practicing vipassana meditation since 2002 with different teachers, mainly with Renate Seifarth, and has been practicing Insight Dialogue since 2016. Insight Dialogue has deeply impressed her from the beginning and has become an important part of her everyday practice. It’s a way for her to bring the fruits of silent meditation practice into relationships and daily life. In 2017, Renate started leading in-person and online German-speaking Insight Dialogue groups and assisting Bhante Sukhacitto. ( einsichtsdialog.de ) Renate lives near Berlin.
Riët Aarsse
Riët Aarsse, whose practice is rooted in the classic vipassana school, encountered Insight Dialogue in 2012. Being a research psychologist and long-term student of the Abhidhamma expert Sayadaw dr. Nandamala, Riët tries to integrate Buddhist and western psychological understandings. She initiated Amsterdam Insight Meditation where she teaches courses and offers Insight Dialogue. Riët mentors several Insight Dialogue practice groups. She is deeply inspired by the power of Insight Dialogue that allows for peaceful transformations in and between people. Riët lives in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Rosalie Dores
Rosalie Dores is an Insight Dialogue Retreat Teacher. She has practiced meditation and yoga since 1992. Her dharma roots are within the Vipassana,Theravada, Insight Meditation traditions and Insight Dialogue. Rosalie is dedicated to offering teachings that engage at the interface between ancient wisdom and the challenges of our modern world. She recognises that Insight Dialogue addresses the urgent need for a meditative practice that incorporates the social and interpersonal domains of human experience as intrinsic to awakening. She co-teaches courses and workshops dedicated to raising awareness about climate and social justice. She teaches retreats, workshops and online programs in the UK,…
Sandra Ramos Amézquita
Sandra has been practicing Insight Dialogue since 2020 and individual silent meditation since 2004. She is a member of Teacher Development 2 cohort and Spanish Insight Dialogue group. She studied with a variety of meditation teachers including Dr. Alan Wallace, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and Mingyur Rinpoche. Sandra spent three years in monasteries in Myanmar, under the tutelage of Sayadaw U Tejaniya and later in Pau Auk Tawaya monasteries under the guideless of Sayalay Dipankara and Sayadaw U Paññānanda. She is co-founder and director of the Centro de Meditación Theravada where she shares the Dhamma with Hispanic public. She facilitates the…
Sandrine Rauter
Sandrine Rauter entered the path of meditation through yoga practice in the early 2000s. With a strong commitment to share these transformative practices to many, she became a certified yoga and mindfulness teacher and trainer, offering MBSR programs since 2014 and Interpersonal Mindfulness programs since 2017 both to individuals and organisations. She was introduced to Insight Dialogue in 2014 with Anne Michel and is part of the current Insight Dialogue Teacher Development Cohort. She is co-facilitating with Alexandre Castanheira a monthly Insight Dialogue online group practice in French. She is also assisting Dharma teachers in silent Insight Meditation and recently…
Sharon Beckman-Brindley
Sharon Beckman-Brindley is an Insight Dialogue Teacher who has taught Insight Dialogue retreats worldwide. She also is a co-founder and senior teacher of the Insight Meditation Community in Charlottesville, VA. A clinical psychologist with over 30 years of both meditation experience and practice as a psychotherapist, she has a special interest in developing programs for mental health professionals.
Simin Abravesh
Simin Abravesh (1960, Iran) has been practicing vipassana and metta meditation since 2004 under the guidance of Jotika Hermsen, a Dhamma teacher in the Netherlands. In 2016 she was recognized as a vipassana teacher by her teachers in Sangha Metta (Netherlands). She attended her first Insight Dialogue retreat in 2012. She experiences Insight Dialogue as a valuable addition to (individual) vipassana meditation. For Simin, the Dhamma is her source of insight, especially the teaching of dependent origination. She is well versed in classical Buddhist psychology (Abhidhamma) and also draws a lot of inspiration from Persian wisdom. She is practical, inviting,…
Stefan Hanser
Stefan Hanser began meditating in the Vipassana tradition 2004. Since 2020 he has been practicing Mahayana Mind Training in the Nyingma und Sakya tradition. Being introduced to Insight Dialogue in 2017 and having participated in facilitator trainings with Gregory Kramer, the practice has become an integral part of his everyday life. He facilitates the practice since 2017 in various formats, including day-longs. Furthermore, he is passionate about somatics, bodywork and movement studies with the aspiration to bring mindfulness practice into movement experience. Stefan lives in Berlin, Germany. Since 2021 he is in long-term retreat. Website: http://einsichtsdialog.de. Dana to Stefan can be offered…
Stéphane Benoist
Stéphane Benoist has been practicing meditation in the Insight tradition since 2015 and Insight Dialogue since 2018; he has been offering Insight Dialogue since 2020. He is particularly interested in bringing gentleness to the deep commitment to formal and informal practice. Mentored by Insight Dialogue teacher Jan Surrey, Stéphane is a student of Soto Zen teacher Rev. Tenku Ruff, and is influenced by the teachings of Michele McDonald. He currently lives in Queens, New York. Please offer Stéphane dana with this Paypal link.
Sue Brown
Sue has been practicing Insight Dialogue since 2006 and offering the practice online and in person since 2011. Over the years, she has included in her offerings many core Buddhist teachings, as she finds the relational nature of ID practice brings the teachings to life and enables fresh understanding. Sue has been co-leading a weekly online group for those with previous ID experience since 2011. She also co-created a racial awareness curriculum for white-identified people that is grounded in ID practice and continues to co-lead monthly practice groups for those who have participated in the course. Sue lives in Raleigh,…
Susie Clarion
Susie Clarion had her first taste of Insight Dialogue, and a joyful experience of living dhamma, as a participant in a Community Dharma Leader Training at Spirit Rock in 2001. She has been facilitating Insight Dialogue groups and programs since 2010. Her background is in psychiatric nursing and transpersonal studies. Susie has a flourishing commitment to bringing meditative qualities and Insight Dialogue to social, racial, and climate justice. She resides in Montana, USA. Please offer Susie dana with this Paypal link.
Suvi Laukkanen
Suvi Laukkanen has been practicing meditation and mindfulness since 2003 and Insight Dialogue since 2007. She has been facilitating Insight Dialogue locally and online since 2012. Committed to a lifelong career of healing, she has shifted from medical practice to psychotherapy and currently mentors and teaches medical doctors and psychotherapists e.g. in relational mindfulness and compassion focused therapy. Suvi lives in Tampere, Finland.
Tuere Sala
Tuere Sala, one of the guiding teachers at the Seattle Insight Meditation Society, is a retired prosecuting attorney who has practiced Vipassana meditation for over 25 years. Tuere believes that urban meditation is the foundation for today’s practitioner’s path to liberation. She is inspired by bringing the Dharma to nontraditional places and is a strong advocate for practitioners living with high stress, past trauma and difficulties sitting still. Her teachings reflect an approach to Dharma that is both easy to follow and understand – making it accessible to everyone.
Viveka Bhikkhu
Viveka is a Buddhist monk who teaches mindfulness practice and compassionate living. He began exploring meditation in the early 90’s, attended his first retreat in 2002, and was ordained with Sayadaw U Tejaniya in 2013. Over a 20-year period, he was fortunate to train with various well-respected lay teachers in the West and Buddhist masters in Asia. Five years ago, he began offering meditation retreats, weekly sessions, and facilitating Insight Dialogue events internationally. He currently lives in Eastern Canada. Please offer Bhante dana with this Paypal link. It’s under the name of Bhante’s kappiya (a lay person who supports monks),…
Yenkuei Chuang
Yenkuei Chuang 莊琰珪 (she/her) lives near Boston, USA. As an immigrant woman of color, she is keenly interested in building a beloved inclusive community. Yenkuei began her daily life dharma practice with Zen Masters Thich Nhat Hanh and Sr. Annabelle in 1998. She has also been studying Vipassana and Early Buddhism with other teachers at the Insight Meditation Society and Barre Center for Buddhist Studies since 2013. In addition to teaching mindfulness meditation and facilitating sanghas, she offers psychotherapy and life coaching. Introduced to Insight Dialogue by Jan Surrey, she is part of the current Insight Dialogue Teacher Development Cohort. For more…
Ajahn Sucitto
Ajahn Sucitto is a British-born Theravada Buddhist monk who was ordained in Thailand in 1976. He returned to England in 1978 to train under Ven. Ajahn Sumedho in the lineage of Thai forest master, Ven. Ajahn Chah. In 1992 he was appointed abbot of Cittaviveka Monastery, the first Buddhist forest monastery established in the West. He resigned from his post in 2014 but still maintains a base at Cittaviveka. Ajahn Sucitto has taught extensively since 1981 and is the author of several books and many articles. He is also largely responsible for the creation of detailed protocols and standards that guide the…