- Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra is an Indian medical doctor and writer. He has written extensively on spirituality and diverse topics in mind-body medicine. He claims to be influenced by the teachings of Vedanta and the Bhagavad Gita from his native India, and quantum physics. He also said that he has been profoundly influenced by the teachings of J Krishnamurti. - John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9 October 1940 - 8 December 1980), was an Academy Award and Grammy Award-winning English songwriter, singer, musician, graphic artist, author and political activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founders of The Beatles. Lennon and Paul McCartney formed a critically acclaimed and commercially successful partnership writing songs for The Beatles and other artists. Lennon, with his cynical edge and knack for introspection, and McCartney, … - Jack Kornfield
Jack Kornfield (b. 1945) was trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma and India and has taught meditation worldwide since 1974. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1967, he joined the Peace Corps and was assigned to the Public Health Service in northeast Thailand, which is home to several of the world's oldest Buddhist forest monasteries. Here he met the Buddhist master Ajahn Chah, who became Kornfield's teacher for many years. - Naropa
Naropa (Tibetan; Sanskrit: "Nadaprada", 1016-1100) was an Indian Buddhist mystic and monk, the pupil of Tilopa and brother, or some sources say partner, of Niguma. Naropa was the main teacher of Marpa. Naropa is part of the Golden Garland, meaning a lineage holder of the Tibetan Buddhist Kagyu lineage, and was considered an accomplished scholar. A great meditator, he is best known for having enumerated and developed the six yogas of Naropa. - Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam Trungpa was a Buddhist meditation master, scholar, teacher, poet, artist, and a Trungpa tülku. Widely recognized, both by Tibetan Buddhists and by other spiritual practitioners and scholars (Midal, 2005), as a preeminent teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, he was a major figure in the dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism to the West, founding Vajradhatu and Naropa University and establishing the Shambhala Training method. - Sri Chinmoy
Sri Chinmoy (born August 27, 1931), born Chinmoy Kumar Ghose, is an Indian philosopher and teacher (guru) who emigrated to the U.S. in 1964. An author, composer, artist and athlete, he is perhaps best known for holding public events on the theme of inner peace and world harmony (such as concerts, meditations, and races). His teachings emphasize love for God, daily meditation on the heart, service to the world, … - Jiddu Krishnamurti
Jiddu Krishnamurti or J. Krishnamurti, (May 12, 1895-February 17, 1986) was a well-known writer and speaker on fundamental philosophical and spiritual subjects, such as the purpose of meditation, human relationships, and how to enact positive change in global society. After publically renouncing, at the age of 34, the fame and messiah status he had gained from being proclaimed the new incarnation of the Maitreya Buddha by the Theosophical Society, … - Sharon Salzberg
Sharon Salzberg is a teacher of Asian meditation practices, particularly Vipasannā, (mindfulness), and mettā (lovingkindess) methods. Her approaches also touches on the Brahmavihara meditations. All of these methods originate in the Theravada Buddhism traditions. Together with Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein, she founded the Insight Meditation Society in 1974. She also co-founded (with Goldstein) the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in 1989. - Mantak Chia
Mantak Chia is an author, teacher and self-described healer. He is known for his books and teachings on Taoism, qigong and Taoist sexuality. Mantak Chia is a controversial figure in Taoism, alternately praised for public disclosure of long-held secrets and condemned for idiosyncrasies such as giving undue weight to sexual practices and lore. His wife Maneewan Chia is the co-author of many of his books. - Jesus Prayer
The Jesus Prayer, also called the Prayer of the Heart by some Church Fathers, is a short, formulaic prayer often uttered repeatedly. It has been widely used, taught and discussed throughout the history of Eastern Christianity. The exact words of the prayer have varied from the most simple possible involving the name "Jesus," such as "Lord have mercy," to the more common extended form: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, … - Dean Ornish
Dean Ornish , M.D. Author of Love and Survival and Dr. Dean Ornish 's Program for the Reversal - Stuart Wilde
Stuart Wilde has been referred to as both an urban mystic and a visionary. There appears to be some controversy regarding his place of birth. In some of his books he writes that he was born in Africa, and previous revisions of this article have specifically stated that he was born in the British Colony of Tanzania shortly after WW II. However, his own website states that he was born in England), … - Prem Rawat
Prem Rawat (b. Prem Pal Singh Rawat, Dec 10, 1957 in Haridwar, northern India) also known as Maharaji (formerly Guru Maharaj Ji) has been a speaker and teacher on the subject of "inner peace" since the age of eight, as well as offering instruction of four meditation techniques he calls Knowledge. In June 1971, Rawat traveled out of India to speak in London and Los Angeles, where he was the subject of substantial media attention. - Robert Monroe
Robert Allan Monroe was a psychic researcher and author of "Journeys Out of the Body", a 1971 book that popularized the expression "out-of-body experience" (also called astral projection). Monroe was a conservative Virginia businessman who had his first out-of-body experiences in 1958. After much experimentation, he founded The Monroe Institute, … - Geoffrey Hodson
Geoffrey Hodson (born 12 March 1886 in Lincolnshire, died 23 January 1983 in Auckland, New Zealand) was a occultist, Theosophist, mystic, philosopher and esotericist, and a leading light for over 70 years in the Theosophical Society. He was educated in England. He served with distinction in the British Army as an Officer during the First World War, … - Richard Foster
Richard J. Foster is a Christian theologian and author in the Quaker tradition. His writings speak to a broad Christian audience. He has been a professor at Friends University and pastor of Evangelical Friends churches. Foster resides in Denver, Colorado. Foster is best known for his 1978 book "Celebration of Discipline" (ISBN 0-06-062839-1), which examines the inward disciplines of prayer, fasting, meditation, and study in the Christian life, … - Eknath Easwaran
Eknath Easwaran (December, 1910 - October, 1999) was born in a village in Kerala, India. His translations of the "Bhagavad Gita", the "Upanishads", and the "Dhammapada" are critically acclaimed. His best-selling book is called "Meditation: A Simple Eight Point Program for Translating Spiritual Values into Daily Life". He was influenced by Gandhi, whom Easwaran met when he was a young man. - Richard Davidson
Richard J. Davidson a scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his B.A. in Psychology from New York University and his Ph.D. in Personality, Psychopathology, and Psychophysiology from Harvard University. Currently Director for the Laboratory of Affective Neuroscience as well as the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, both at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, … - B. Alan Wallace
"B. Alan Wallace" is an author, translator, teacher, researcher, interpreter and Vajrayana practitioner interested in the intersections of consciousness studies and scientific disciplines such as Contemplative Neuroscience. Stated simply, Wallace endeavours to chart relationships and commonalities between Eastern and Western thought and traditions. Since 1976, Wallace has taught Buddhism, philosophy and meditation. - David Hykes
David Hykes (1953 -) is a composer, singer, musician, author, and meditation teacher. He is founder of Harmonic Chant, a musical system for exploring harmonics of sound, listening, consciousness and harmony. An original pioneer in the modern harmonic, healing sounds and contemplative chant movements, he founded Harmonic Chant as a universal sacred music in New York in 1975, the year he also founded The Harmonic Choir, the first of his pioneering groups, … - Gopi Krishna
Gopi Krishna of India was a yogi, mystic, teacher, social reformer, and writer. His autobiography is known under the title "Kundalini: The Evolutionary Energy in Man". In the 1970s he founded together with Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker a research foundation "for western sciences and eastern wisdom". He chose the path of yoga due to his circumstances. - Ledi Sayadaw
Ledi Sayādaw was a famous Theravadin Buddhist monk in Burma (now Myanmar). He was recognized from a young age as being developed in both the theory and practice of Buddhism and so was revered as being both scholarly and saintly. He wrote many books on Dhamma in Burmese and these were accessible even to a serious lay person, hence he was responsible for spreading Dhamma to all levels of society and reviving the traditional practice of vipassana meditation, … - Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros (born May 30, 1932 in Houston, Texas) is an accordionist and composer who currently resides in Kingston, New York. Her instrument is tuned in just intonation and she often includes it in her meditative improvisational music. Her music is not meditative in the sense that it is intended for listening to while meditating; rather, each piece is a form of meditation, such as her aptly titled "Sonic Meditations". - Swami Janakananda
Swami Janakananda is a Danish yogi who was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1939. He learned to use simple yoga poses as a child, and decided when he was 19 that he wanted to be a yogi. In the years that followed he explored the possibilities of using yoga on himself, body and mind. In 1968 he met Swami Satyananda and followed him to India. After the preliminary intensive training he stayed and travelled around India with his teacher. - Ralph Metzner
Ralph Metzner Ph.D., born 1936 in Germany, is an American psychologist, writer and researcher, who participated in psychedelic research at Harvard University in the early 1960s with Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (later Ram Dass). Dr. Metzner is a psychotherapist, and Professor Emeritus of psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, where he was formerly the Academic Dean and Academic Vice-president. CIIS Faculty - Ralph Metzner Dr. - Roger Walsh
Roger N. Walsh (MD, Ph.D.) is a professor of Psychiatry, Philosophy and Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine, in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, within UCI's College of Medicine. Walsh is respected for his views on psychoactive drugs and altered states of consciousness in relation with the religious/spiritual experience, and has been quoted in the media regarding psychology, spirituality, and the medical effects of meditation. - Vilayat Inayat Khan
Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan was the eldest son of Sufi Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan, head of the Sufi Order International. Pir Vilayat’s mother, Ora Ray Baker, was a cousin of Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science movement. Born in London, England, Pir Vilayat was a teacher of meditation and of the traditions of the East Indian Chishti Order of Sufism. - Webu Sayadaw
Webu Sayadaw was a highly respected monk in Myanmar, who was said to be fully liberated, an arahat, who had extinguished all suffering, free from the cycle of birth and death, who taught the way of liberation, 'anapana' in the simplest of terms. He was born of U Lu Pe and Daw Kyin Nu at Ingyinbin village near Ma daunghla railway station in Khin U township on Monday 2nd February 1896. - Kathy Freston
Kathy Freston is a self-help author and personal growth and spirituality counselor. She is the author of "The One: Discovering the Secrets of Soul Mate Love" and "Expect a Miracle: Seven Spiritual Steps to Finding the Right Relationship." Her Transformational Meditation CDs offering guided meditationshave been featured in W, Self, and Mode. - Peter Davison
Peter Davison is a composer and instrumentalist whose works range from meditation and yoga music to well known TV and film themes and scores. - Goa Gil
Goa Gil (real name Gilbert Levey) is an American-born musician, DJ and party organizer. He is one of the founders of the goa trance and psytrance movement in electronic dance music. Gil was born in 1951 and grew up in San Francisco, California. He witnessed the birth of the hippie movement and acid rock, and was involved with the freak collectives Family Dog and Sons of Champlon. Feeling that the San Francisco musical scene was falling apart, … - Glenn H. Mullin
Tibetologist, Glenn H. Mullin: Born in 1949, Quebec, Canada and lived in the Indian Himalayas between 1972 and 1984, where he studied philosophy, literature, meditation, yoga, and the enlightenment culture under thirty-five of the great living masters from the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. His two principal tantric gurus were the late masters Kyabje Ling Dorjechang and Kyabje Trijang Dorjechang, who were best known as Yongdzin Che Chung, … - Lawrence Leshan
Lawrence Leshan (b. 1920) is a psychologist, educator and the author of the best-selling "How to Meditate" (1974), one of the first practical guides to meditation. He has authored or co-authored approximately 75 articles in the professional literature and thirteen books on a diverse range of topics including psychotherapy, war, cancer treatment, and mysticism. He has also written science fiction under the pseudonym Edward Grendon. - Itzhak Bentov
Itzhak Bentov (1923 - May 25, 1979) was a Czech born scientist, inventor, mystic and author. He was an early exponent of what has come to be referred to as consciousness studies. Bentov was born in Czechoslovakia and moved to Israel. In Israel, Bentov was part of the fledgling state's scientific unit, the Hemmed, where he designed Israel's first rocket for the War of Independence. - Hakuin Ekaku
Hakuin Ekaku was undoubtedly one of the most influential figures in Japanese Zen Buddhism. He transformed the Rinzai school from a declining tradition that lacked rigorous practice into a tradition that focused on arduous meditation and koan practice. Essentially all modern practitioners of Rinzai Zen use practices directly derived from the teachings of Hakuin. - James H. Austin
James H. Austin is Clinical Professor of Neurology, University of Missouri Health Science Center, and Emeritus Professor of Neurology, University of Colorado Health Science Center. Austin is the author of his well known book "Zen and the Brain", which aims to establish links between the neurological workings of the human brain and meditation. Austin has recently written a sequel to it, "Zen-Brain Reflections", published in February, 2006. - Dipa Ma
Dipa Ma (March 25, 1911 - September 1989) was born Nani Bala Barua in East Bengal (currently, Bangladesh). As a child, she showed an exceptional interest in Buddhist rituals and preferred to study rather than play. Unlike other local girls, she insisted on attending school, but at the age of twelve she married off and was later sent to live with her husband in Rangoon. After her husband died in 1957, she took up vipassana meditation and made swift progress. - Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche
Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche was born in 1926 in the Amdo region of eastern Tibet. At the age of 8, he was recognized by the tenth Kirti Rinpoche as the first reincarnation of Khensur Kramcho Phuntsog, a former abbot of Kirti gompa in Amdo, Tibet. At the age of 9, Rinpoche took ordination as a monk and he received the Kalachakra empowerment first in 1941. He was appointed the abbot of Taktsang Lhamo (Kirti Gompa in Amdo) in 1955, … - Sylvia Wetzel
Sylvia Wetzel (born 5 July 1949 in the Black Forest) is a Buddhist feminist. She has made a name for herself in the Buddhist community of Germany in the topics of meditation and spirituality among women. In doing so she has potentially also impacted men in relation to those topics as well. - Seongcheol
Seongcheol is the dharma name of a Korean Seon (Hangul: 선, Hanja: 禪) Master (Zen Master). He was a key figure in modern Korean Buddhism, being responsible for significant changes to it from the 1950s to 1990s. Seongcheol Seon Master was widely recognized in Korea as having been a living Buddha, due to his extremely ascetic lifestyle, the duration and manner of his meditation training, his central role in reforming Korean Buddhism in the post-World War II era, …
|
| |