If there were a manifesto for the teachings of Mitra (and there decidedly is not) it would be “Braid all of yourself well”. Do your best to prioritize balancing the three disciplines of awakening, growing your human capacities, and healing.
The teachings of Mitra all share the common trans-lineage practices of becoming intimate with our own experience. We cultivate a friendly, or at least curious, attitude and develop our capacity to stay steady with the intensity of what’s challenging.
We don’t analyze from a distance or fix what seems broken, or settle for some impressive meditative state—we’re inherently interested in learning from the unfolding Now. These practices are inseparable from our lives which are perfectly adequate grist for awakening, growing and healing.
Meditation practice was definitely a thing for me. Back in 2008, on a retreat in India, a very sudden and positive shift occurred. I thought I was “done”, then became classically prideful, not realizing I was just at the beginning. Then several months later I was handed an unwelcome ultimatum that the real work was now emerging. I experienced terrors followed by a mother lode of unprocessed traumatic material from my childhood. My meditation teachers, as much as I’m grateful to them, didn’t seem to have the expertise to help me.
So I returned Stateside full time to get my act together “back in the world”. I had two great therapists, studied Integral Theory and trained at Naropa University in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology and then spent the next 13 years in private practice as a licensed psychotherapist. I also taught meditation in various capacities and in 2018 ordained as an Integral Rinzai Zen priest.
In my younger years I was an avid mountaineer which has greatly informed the character development aspect of my teaching and my philosophy of “the right kind of hard”. I worked as a mountain instructor for 13 years at Colorado Outward Bound School where I facilitated groups in expedition settings and developed wilderness meditation courses for young adults.
The synthesis of Mitra includes influence from my more recent training in the Diamond Approach and 100+ weeks of retreat in Therevada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhist schools. I’ve studied Gestalt Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, Three Pillars (Ideal Parents Protocol), Parts Work (Lumina Process), Integral Psychotherapy, Conscious Death Coaching, and Immunity to Change facilitation.
I work with people who are genuinely interested and ready to take responsibility for their growth, who lean into not knowing, and who have the adventurous sense there's always something at the edge wanting to be explored. Obviously, I welcome our flat moments, but it’s rare for anyone to arrive and engage with me without some enthusiasm for exploration.
In Mitra, people quickly develop a different relationship with their suffering. They become their own best friend rather than their own worst critic. They learn to trust their own process even when it's uncomfortable or unclear. They find ways to integrate insights from their practice into their actual lives. And they discover capacities they didn't know they had as they come into their own unique soul expressions.
The entry itself is straightforward. We meet together—whether in a group, in a triad or small group, or one-on-one. We pay attention to what's actually present. Typically, we find out pretty quickly if we’re a good fit.
This is the easiest way to experience the flavor of Mitra.
What's alive in you right now? We practice together, learning to track and trust what's actually arising moment to moment. Meditation, inquiry, somatic awareness, learning from what emerges.
There's no commitment required, no prerequisite to join and the group is funded entirely by donations.
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I was initially surprised by how firm Chad was willing to be, and then later on surprised by how deeply this was matched by his compassion and love.
Private guidance for people navigating significant thresholds or wanting more support for their practices.
Deep inquiry and mutual unfoldment in an intimate group setting. This is the signature container for Mitra.
I hold several retreats per year focused on awakening through silent sitting and trans-lineage meditation instruction.