About Trisha

After treatment for aggressive breast cancer in 2005, I became interested in teaching. My practice had been such a refuge during the fear and uncertainty of my diagnosis and treatment (did I mention that I was 34 years old with a newborn?) that I couldn’t imagine not sharing this gift with others. I trained in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) with Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli, and taught that transformative 8-week class for seven years. When graduates asked for a continued weekly meeting I said yes, but felt that the strictly secular mindfulness of MBSR could only go so far in alleviating true suffering. And thus began the weekly Sunday morning Buddhist Insight Meditation drop-in group that has now been meeting for nineteen years. 

Over these same years I raised three kids and cared for my parents, both of whom had chronic illnesses and passed away well before my kids were out of high school. This householder life with its “10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows” was perhaps the most profound dharma training I could have received. That said, I was fortunate to have many amazing teachers as mentors during over the years, including Tara Brach, Hugh Byrne, Jonathan Foust, Mary Aubry, Ven. Pannavati, and Dhammadipa Melissa Cardenas. 

These days I place a strong emphasis on how everyday people like us can wake up in the midst of our increasingly complex lives. Though the Buddhadharma is my own spiritual home, I also have a strong background in Christian and other contemplative practices, and enjoy working with individuals and groups from all walks of life. Some of my favorite teaching topics are life transitions and times of groundlessness, developing wisdom and compassion, and the exploration of happiness and purpose. It’s my firm belief that, through the steady observation of the mind and heart, we can not only reduce our stress and suffering, but actually taste the fruits of true awakening.