Biographical
information on the Practice Intensive participants follows below. In
general, WoK readers will probably find the posted Practice summaries
to provide a sufficient account of the participants' experience and
perspectives, but if you wish to discuss a point directly with one of
the
participants, please send your email (with the name of the intended
receiving participant) to the WoK
Editor.
(WoK does not guarantee that contacted participants will reply.)
Biographical Sketches
Frank
My age is 42 and I was born in Germany. After
receiving a doctoral degree in mathematics I moved to the United States,
where I have been living for 10 years. I work as a research scientist
in the
computer industry on the East Coast.
About 4
years ago I began
to meditate and took an interest in Buddhism. I have been practicing in
the
Tibetan tradition, and feel particularly drawn towards the Dzogchen
teachings.
Besides that I also read with great interest about other non dual
spiritual
tradition, such as Zen or Advaita Vedanta.
Jake
My university training is in Mathematics.
During my mathematical research on the foundation of mathematics, I
realized
that the closer you get to the deep questions of mathematics the closer
you are
to philosophical inquiries.
Having
traveled in India, Nepal,
Thailand and Laos I
had the
chance to interact with different cultures and systems. I was exposed
to
tantric yoga and various meditation techniques such as Vipassana
meditation.
Although my
domain is rarely seen as compatible
with contemplative studies, I find that they require the development of
the
same qualities such as rigor, logic, concentration, intuition and
open-mindedness. I intend to continue in parallel both paths and would
like to
see them merge.
Maria Yung
I was born in Taipei,
Taiwan and moved to Hong Kong when I was 6 years old. My family
immigrated to
the United States
when I was
9 years old and I have lived in California,
Bay Area, since.
After
receiving my undergraduate degree in
Economics from UCLA, I worked for 6 years in commercial real estate,
managing
various office buildings in downtown San Francisco. The job was demanding
and not quite
satisfying. I couldn't see myself in that career for the rest of my
life. When
I turned 30, I decided to fulfill a childhood dream of traveling and
living
abroad in various countries. My trip took me to Europe, Northern
Africa, Middle
East, and finally Asia.
It was on
this trip that I became interested
in spiritual matters and took special interest in Buddhism. I studied
for 6
months with various rinpoches in Nepal and read works from
different
Tibetan, Indian and Chinese masters.
Upon
returning to the U.S.,
I studied
acupuncture and Chinese medicine. To me, this was a return to my family
roots
as my grandmother, aunt and uncle are all in this field. Currently I
have a
clinical practice in Oakland,
CA specializing in pain
care and
woman's health. (Maria's
WoK Experiment entry round)
Miles
Born in rural Missouri
and weaned on the banks of the mighty Mississippi,
I grew up loving science, the outdoors, and Cardinal baseball. College
was
spent at Yale, where I studied biochemistry, played rugby, and worked
in an
applied physics lab dedicated to devising nanoscale electronics.
A semester
studying marine
biology in Australia
convinced me that I needed to see the world, and I spent the first two
years
after graduation teaching math, planting trees, and doing HIV/AIDS
education in
West Africa with the Peace Corps. I
treasured
my time there, during which my spiritual senses opened and I began to
practice
yoga. The couple of years after Peace Corps were spent teaching
environmental
education in Nicaragua,
traveling
in Africa and Europe, and doing health economics and outcomes research
in Washington, DC.
My path then
took me to medical
school, where during the first month I took a meditation class and have
been
sitting ever since. I am currently a 3rd year medical
student at
Penn interested in how the scientific tradition overlaps with
meditation and
yoga in their understanding of reality. Of particular interest to me is
how
this understanding can improve the doctor-patient relationship and aid
in the
healing of patients. When I am not in the hospital or
on the cushion, I can be found tending my garden, cooking a tasty meal,
or
flying around Philadelphia
on my bicycle.
Nicole
Born in Montreal,
Quebec, I studied Psychology (BA) and
Neuroscience (MSc) at McGill
University. I have
always
been fascinated with the workings and potential of the human mind.
After my
formal scientific training failed to answer my deeper questions, I
started to
explore yoga, holistic medicine and spirituality.
I traveled
alone in Asia
for one year, exploring tantric yoga, Buddhism and myself. Other
travels have
led me to Europe, Egypt,
Morocco and Peru.
I am constantly drawn to
mystical places and new culinary and personal experiences.
I am
currently teaching Psychology and
Humanities at a Liberal Arts College near Montreal.
I am inspired daily by the potential and development of my students. My
current
passions include rockclimbing, interpersonal psychology and ceramics.
Rod
Rees
Born a small town
midwesterner, I'll soon
turn 65. My undergrad degree was from the Design Department at Southern
Illinois University (1965). This was a radical program in its day,
emphasizing
a generalist approach to problem solving. Our star professor was
Buckminster
Fuller, so you could say that early on I was indoctrinated in the
Fulleresque
way of looking at the world.
My doctorate was from Brown University
in experimental psychology (1970), specializing in learning in
non-human
primates. My training during those years was hard-core behavioral
research, and
I got involved in some of the early uses of lab computers
in
psychology. My minor field was sensation & perception.
My next 20
years were spent in
a smallish west coast state university. Within a few years I was
teaching
courses primarily in sensation/perception/states-of-consciousness, as
well as
statistics (ANOVA) & research design. My favorite course was the
History of
Psychology which allowed me to range freely over the story of
consciousness. My
research interest was the experiential exploration of self-hypnosis,
delving
into what we called "mutual trance states."
Since
retiring in 1990 I've
had a low-key lifestyle pursuing a wide variety of interests, including
two
years in Costa Rica.
Living now in southwestern New
Mexico,
I find my life filled to the brim with the sorry state of affairs in U.S.
politics; with hiking; with digital photography; and with yet another
attempt
to codify my world view in a way that satisfies me. (Rod's WoK Experiment entry
round)