About Susy

I have been practicing Buddhist meditation since 2001, and began working with Insight Meditation approaches in 2005.  The Samatha/Vipassana path has been the heart of my own practice, and forms the basis of what I convey as a meditation teacher.

I studied directly with Rob Burbea for five years, and was authorized to teach Insight Meditation by him in 2020. I am grateful for the ways in which Rob’s teachings have expanded my understanding of what is possible to include within spiritual work (practices that lead to liberation, practices that open up mystical perspectives, and practices that ensoul our lives and bring beauty and meaningfulness to our experience). I have also studied with Shinzen Young and feel deeply indebted to his teaching and framing of the contemplative arts. Both teachers detailed and precise approaches to meditative practice have influenced the way i teach insight meditation to a great degree.

I enjoy working with artists and others who wish to open up their relationship to creativity alongside developing a meditation practice. My own path began through art making (BFA in painting at the Rhode Island School of Design, and MFA in film directing at UCLA).   I have also practiced and done retreat work engaged in a spiritually-oriented painting practice developed by Michele Cassou.

My deep appreciation of meditative practice stems from it’s capacity to profoundly transform our relationship with how we experience this life. Meditation offers the radical possibility to shift and open up what is nourishing and meaningful to us. My own path involved pursuing intensive practice while parenting, and I have a particular interest in how a deep, powerful meditation practice can be maintained in the midst of a busy householder’s life.

At present my teaching is happening online. I teach courses focusing on emptiness practice with Yahel Avigur (you can see this project here at dharmacourse.org) among other things. I work with individuals one-on-one to support their meditative practice. I am developing different courses/teachings within the intersection of art making & dharma practice – some are for meditators who want to explore in creative directions, others are for artists seeking to open their creative process through meditation & dharma perspectives.