The Spiritual Path Begins Now...

Sometimes, the spiritual path chooses you.

Manhattan, 1990s, the financial world. It was Top Gun rolled into Wall Street with a little Flashdance mixed in. Between chasing down opening night tickets, procuring coveted dinner reservations, and bribing doormen to skip the line into nightclubs, I worked 80 hour weeks. It was thrilling, addictive, and exhausting. One day, as I waited on the phone for yet another rezzie, it struck me, "this will never end." I hung up and cried. Shortly thereafter, I asked for a sabbatical from my lending job, started writing fiction and detoxed mentally and emotionally. I went and saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and took my first Tae-Kwon-Do class which left me humiliated and searching, until my chiropractor suggested Yoga.

I walked out of my first class feeling 3 inches taller and 100 lbs lighter, and that was just the weight lifted off my heart. The intense focus on doing new postures while breathing steadily cleared my mind, soothed my body, and opened my eyes to a new perspective of how to live life, And so, I took my first step on the spiritual path. This is turn lead to teacher training, Zen Buddhism and insight meditation.

The lightness and wonder has continued to grow, and it is my hope to pass this on through Samaya by offering a fresh, spiritual perspective on everyday life. I am deeply grateful for this opportunity, and would not be here without the guidance of all my varied teachers, virtually, in-person and posthumously, including Leela, a stray Bengal cat who survived a rattlesnake bite.

I love them all.