Insights and Practices with Dr. Jerome Freedman, PhD, CMT, OI
Embracing Mindful Practices
At Mountain Sangha, we are committed to sharing transformative Meditation Practices. Our endeavors are guided by four core objectives, designed to enrich your journey:
- To serve as your central wellspring for the latest meditation news and insightful videos, alleviating the need for extensive personal searching.
- To equip you with potent meditation techniques aimed at diminishing stress, anxiety, worry, and other forms of suffering, thereby cultivating an enduring sense of well-being.
- To offer profound wisdom through curated quotes from revered meditation teachers across diverse global traditions.
- To ignite profound mindfulness, sharpen concentration, and deepen insight, empowering you to embrace and live your life authentically, just as it unfolds.
Among the many facets of mindful living, some of our most cherished topics include:
- Mindfulness In Healing: Inspiring individuals to mindfully engage with and take charge of their personal healing journey.
- Mindfulness Mentoring: Providing personalized, one-on-one guided support, founded on the principles of deep listening and loving speech.
- Health Coaching (especially for cancer patients): Offering compassionate, individualized guidance in navigating the healing process for cancer and other significant illnesses.
- The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path: Presenting the first teachings of the Buddha.
- The Four Foundations of Mindfulness: Exploring these foundational practices, as imparted by the Buddha, which form the bedrock of all mindfulness disciplines.
- The Four Divine Abodes (also known as Bhrama Viharas or Four Immeasurable Minds): Delving into these transformative teachings, which were a significant part of the MMTCP and an integral aspect of my personal practice.
- The Six Paramitas: Practicing the way of awareness and leading to the perfection of wisdom.
- The Neuroscience of meditation: Investigating the scientific underpinnings and empirical research supporting the profound benefits of meditation.
- Mindful consumption: Cultivating conscious awareness in our daily consumption habits for a more sustainable and compassionate way of living.
- Cosmology, Buddhist thought, and the intricate nature of interdependence.
On that note, we invite you to consider signing The Declaration of Interdependence!
Within the comprehensive framework of our articles on meditation practices, many other profound themes and insights into the nature of reality are woven throughout. These are presented for your personal contemplation, inviting you to discern their truth and resonance within your own experience.
Your active participation is deeply valued and encouraged through comments on our posts and sharing via social media.
Should you wish to connect directly, please feel welcome to reach out through our contact form.
Thank you for visiting and engaging with the essence of Meditation Practices at Mountain Sangha.
About Jerome
My personal meditative journey commenced many years ago while pursuing graduate studies at the University of Chicago. Over the decades, I have been profoundly fortunate to study with both widely recognized and equally impactful, though perhaps less known, teachers.
My first foundational teachers were Swami Rama of the Himalayas and his chief disciple, Dr. Arya, who later became Swami Veda Bharati. From Swami Rama, I was initiated into mantra meditation—the practice of repeating a sacred sound or phrase during meditation. Dr. Arya imparted the fundamental practices for entering into meditation and achieving states of deep relaxation, techniques I continue to utilize and impart to my students to this day. I am eternally grateful for the invaluable wisdom I’ve received from both Swami Rama and Swami Veda Bharati.
Early in my exploration, I undertook the Silva Mind Control course. Subsequently, through a serendipitous connection, I discovered and studied with Jose Silva’s own teacher, Father Eli.
Father Eli, my third foundational teacher, was a truly enigmatic figure, deeply schooled in both Eastern and Western wisdom traditions, including Zen with D. T. Suzuki following WWII. His teachings were immensely transformative, and I remain profoundly grateful for his guidance.
A truly pivotal breakthrough in my life occurred during two transformative summers spent with Father Eli in the Ozark mountains of Arkansas. He not only instructed me in the art of guided meditation but also meticulously trained me to teach it to others. This has been a continuous aspect of my dedication ever since.
My next influential teacher was Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (also known as Osho). My four-month retreat at his ashram in India was an intensely transformative experience, where I delved into chaotic meditation.
Despite various narratives surrounding Osho, he was an extraordinary teacher, and I am deeply indebted to him for influencing nearly every facet of my life. It was through our shared connection to Bhagwan that my wife, Mala, and I found each other and began our journey together.
Through my connection with Bhagwan, I subsequently met Gabrielle Roth, who further guided me in “dancing away my problems.” We collaborated on an event honoring Bhagwan for 250 people. She later relocated to New York, where she founded the Five Rhythms and authored a book about them.
By 1984, having embraced the three refuges of Buddhism, I identified as a Buddhist practitioner. In my quest for a teacher, I connected with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, whose name I had first encountered during my time as a social activist opposing the war in Vietnam.
My meeting with him was profoundly auspicious, and I have since become a member of his Order of Interbeing (OI). I have had the privilege of visiting Plum Village, his tranquil home in southern France, on two occasions, and was deeply honored to share breakfast with him in his room. It is my earnest aspiration to carry forward his profound teachings.
Thay, as he is affectionately known by his followers, continues to inspire me daily, and I am immeasurably grateful. I am committed to contributing significantly to his vision of fostering an ethical society through mindful consumption.
In 1990, I became a Certified Teacher of the Enneagram in the Oral Tradition, studying with Helen Palmer and David Daniels. It was during one of the concluding retreats of the certification program that a fellow student’s casual mention of tennis as a practice for conscious conduct ignited a fresh perspective within me. This spark led me to joyfully resume playing tennis after a hiatus of more than two decades.
In 2021, I embarked upon the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP) with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach, completing my certification in 2023. During this period, my training expanded to include David Treleaven in Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness, and Russ Hudson in the Keys to the Enneagram and Enneagram and Creativity.
I subsequently completed the Mindfulness Mentor Training (MMT), again under the guidance of Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. In a recent MMTCP session, Jack generously authorized me as a dharma teacher, empowering me to share the wisdom I have cultivated.
Following the completion of MMTCP and MMT, I became a Radical Remission Health Coach, a program developed by Dr. Kelly Turner, acclaimed author of . The Harvard Study of Radical Remission’s findings, highlighting 10 factors that enhance patients’ quality of life for at least six months, provided compelling evidence-based validation. This research concurrently affirmed the 7 Principles of Mindfulness in Healing due to the significant congruence between Radical Remission’s findings and these principles.
Presently, my daily practice includes morning meditation and mindful walking four to five times a week. Most mornings, I engage in the four “touchings of the earth” as an expression of profound gratitude and respect: honoring the three jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha), my cherished blood family (my wife, three children and their spouses, and my granddaughter born in 2019), my spiritual ancestors (including those mentioned above and Anna Halprin), and my land ancestors here in Miwok territory.
I have the privilege of facilitating the Mindfulness in Healing group at the Pine Street Clinic in San Anselmo on Wednesday evenings (currently conducted via Zoom). This group was initiated during the summer solstice of 2009, with the aspiration to empower individuals to utilize <b>meditation practices</b>and mindfulness in healing to take conscious charge of their lives and personal healing experiences.
I am the author of seven books and six guided meditations. You will find them here. My latest work, How to Use Mindfulness to Be Happy!, has recently been released and was showcased at an event on June 23, 2023. I am also a contributing author to I Am With You: Love Letters to Cancer Patients, alongside Nancy Novak, PhD, and Barbara K. Richardson.
<p>My service extends to various compassionate initiatives. Between 2007 and 2010, I served on the Board of Directors of the Marin AIDS Project and the Advisory Council of the Institute for Health and Healing. In 2019 and 2020, I served as a patient advocate for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) and a presenter at the 2022 Bladder Cancer Summit. Additionally, I have been honored to speak at Google on two occasions, with MMTCP teachers numerous times, and have substituted for Deborah Eden Tull multiple times. I am a dedicated contributor to the Earth Holder Sangha—the Plum Village climate response community—as an activist promoting earth protection, and presented at the Earth Holder Retreat at Deer Park Monastery in 2016. Furthermore, I served as a former technical advisor for Operation Diana, an NGO dedicated to the survival of elephants in Africa.</p>
Academically, I hold a Ph.D. in computer science, complemented by two master’s degrees in physics and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. In 2011, I had the distinct honor of interviewing Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson on cosmology and Buddhist thought. An excerpt from my book, Cosmology and Buddhist Thought: A Conversation with Neil deGrasse Tyson, was featured on the Lion’s Roar website. I was also interviewed on the Artfully Mindful Podcast by Don Thompson, which you can watch here. Additionally, I was interviewed by the Radical Remission Project Podcast by Karla Mans-Giroux, which you can watch here.
I have had the privilege of designing and contributing to several websites that foster mindfulness practices globally. These include the website for the 30th Anniversary of Plum Village and the Thich Nhat Hanh Sangha Support website for Northern California.
Dana: The Practice of Generosity
“Dana (pronounced ‘daa-nuh’) is the Pali word for giving. Dana is the first perfection of the heart (parami), and the foundation of Buddhist practice, based in the understanding that giving opens the heart, creates connection to others, and teaches letting go.
“According to the Buddha, generosity and sharing of resources is a central pillar of spiritual life, the foundation of wholesome kamma—action that bears fruit in our lives and the lives of others. Dating back to the Buddha and the first monastic practitioners, those who preserve and offer the teachings have always lived in interdependence with the community around them. Buddhist monks and nuns rely completely on the generosity of lay people for support in continuing their teaching and spiritual life.” – Spirit Rock
These classes and teachings are offered in the profound spirit of generosity. They are freely accessible, and your thoughtful donations are gratefully accepted. By offering dana, you not only express your gratitude but also directly support the teacher and the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation, honoring his recent passing and the continuation of his profound legacy.
Support Information
For any support needs, please feel welcome to contact Jerome Freedman directly via email: jerome@mountainsangha.org.