Thank you for reading about our work. I'm Christiaan, founder of Meditation Mind.
We've been working tirelessly with countless incredible volunteers across the world to create a cohesive, positive and supportive community online. From back when we started in 2016 up until now, we have had thousands of users join us on various platforms and benefit from the resources and activities we offer.
It is my sincere wish that everything we do will contribute to a better world and a healthier mind for all beings.
I'd love to welcome you to this incredible journey!
Born: 1982
Location: Japan
Current Practice: Surrender
Meditation Experience: General curiosity and fascination with the mind naturally brought me to meditation. I am familiar with and have dabbled in a number of methods and systems, albeit with a heavy bias toward (traditional and secular) Buddhist practices. I have been practicing consistently since late 2018 and have attended one 10-day silent retreat in the Goenka tradition. Rob Burbea's teachings have been and continue to be greatly influential in my journey.
Favorite Thing About Our Community: The Meditation Mind community is open and welcoming, and exists for the community, first and foremost, with no hidden agenda.
Favorite Quote: "Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything. Do not be a meditator. Do not become enlightened. When you sit, let it be. When you walk, let it be. Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing." —Ajahn Chah, A Still Forest Pool
Born: 1993
Location: South Africa/Zimbabwe
Current Practice: Mindfulness of breathing, yoga, and loving-kindness
Meditation Experience: Since August 2019
Favorite Thing About Our Community: The humility, diversity, honesty, patience and comradery
Favorite Quote: "Let go of self-centred attachment and hold your mind with non-abiding awareness in all your daily activities." —Ven. Beishi Guohan
Born: 1983
Location: St. Petersburg, Florida, United States
Current Practice: Yoga Nidra/Nondual/Open Monitoring
Meditation Experience: I started a non-commital meditation practice when I was around 32 years old or so, getting my introduction from the [then still quite new] Headspace app. Meditation felt unnecessary for me then, and I only practiced off-and-on for a few months, but the introduction would later remind me of the benefits possible with meditation when I later really needed it at 38 after quitting alcohol for good. Since then my practice has only grown more important and is an ever-more-integral part of my life.
Favorite Thing About Our Community: Discord has a bounty of youth that use it, and never was there a time when young people needed meditaton more than now. I am appreciative that we can spread the wisdom of a meditative practice to people so early in their lives.
Favorite Quote: Applicable to meditation pratice and most everything else: "Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race." —Calvin Coolidge
Born: 1985
Location: Germany
Current Practice: Unified Mindfulness, awareness of breath
Meditation Experience: Since early 2019. Breath awareness, metta, zazen, and a bit of NVC.
Favorite Thing About Our Community: The people who make it great and inspire me to continue.
Favorite Quote: "Every judgement is a tragic expression of an unmet need." —Marshall Rosenberg
Born: 1993
Location: The Netherlands
Current Practice: Metta / Vipassana
Meditation Experience: I’ve been practicing meditation and yoga since November 2021. It was recommended to me when I went through a very dark period in my life. And while it didn’t take away all the pain right away, it slowly guided me to a more peaceful mind. Since then I’ve been exploring different practices, mostly in Buddhist traditions.
Favorite Thing About Our Community: The intrinsic motivation of people to help each other out, regardless of their race, religion, opinions, or whatsoever.
Favorite Quote: "There is a river of feelings within us, and every drop of water in that river is a feeling. To observe our feelings, we sit on the bank of the river and identify each feeling as it flows by. It may be pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. One feeling lasts for a while, and then another comes. Meditation is to be aware of each feeling. Recognize it, smile to it, look deeply into it, and embrace it with all our heart. If we continue to look deeply, we discover the true nature of that feeling, and we are no longer afraid, even of a painful feeling. We know we are more than our feelings, and we are able to embrace each feeling and take good care of it." —Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching
Born: 1983
Location: California
Current Practice: Unification and insight
Meditation Experience: I began a consistent practice in 2021. It has been primarily influenced by Rob Burbea, Unified Mindfulness, and The Mind Illuminated.
Favorite Thing About Our Community: The culture of mindfulness.
Favorite Quote: "We live different ideas. Different concepts shape how we live, they inform how we live, but more fundamentally, they shape our way of looking. They’re part of, they’re included in, the way we look at everything, and therefore what we perceive, what appears to us." —Rob Burbea