Meditation, Embodiment and Awakening in Nature

Leaders

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  Peter Williams Co-Leader
  

  Peter Williams

  Co-Leader

  Peter Williams has practiced meditation for 31 years, primarily in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, with much practice in the Tibetan tradition as well. He has done more than 41 months of silent retreat. He has taught insight meditation (mindfulness) since 2003 and has completed the Community Dharma Leader training through Spirit Rock Meditation Center. His primary teachers have been Joseph Goldstein, Michelle McDonald, and Guy Armstrong. Peter leads meditation retreats and dedicated practice groups based out of Longmont, CO. He has taught mindfulness to diverse audiences, from juvenile justices to school teachers to environmentalists. He is one of the founders of the Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center in the mountains near Boulder, CO.

  Since 2007, Peter has worked as an emotional wellness consultant, using mindfulness and spirituality to heal emotional distress. In an 18-year career in the environmental field, Peter worked as an environmental educator for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, as a consulting ecologist for groups such as The Nature Conservancy, and as a lecturer in wildlife biology at the University of Vermont. Peter enjoys playing piano, golfing, bird watching, hiking and being outdoors as much as possible.

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  Carla Brennan Co-Leader
  

  Carla Brennan

  Co-Leader

  Carla Brennan, M.Ed., has trained in the Zen, Insight Meditation, and Tibetan Buddhist traditions since 1975 and is an authorized Spirit Rock Teacher. She founded Bloom of the Present Insight Meditation (bloomofthepresent.org) in 2014. Carla also taught Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for 18 years and is a former transpersonal psychotherapist. Currently, she teaches with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach in the Mindfulness Meditation Teachers Certification Program (MMTCP) and with Cloud Sangha. Carla has spent many months in silent retreat including two month long solos in the wilderness.

  Her dharma approach emphasizes integrating wisdom into everyday life, releasing the qualities of the awakened heart and abiding in the openness of presence. Her work also includes guiding people to the direct experience of our indivisibility from the living world, thus uniting our inner and outer nature to discover our true nature. As a photographer, she is dedicated to documenting the disappearing beauty and wonder of the natural world. Carla believes that we must now mobilize our wisdom and compassion to respond to the dire consequences of climate collapse and social injustice. Dedicated to spending as much time outdoors as possible, Carla is a nomad, exploring the world alongside her partner of 20 years.