Sam speaks with Mark Coleman, a mindfulness teacher, wilderness guide, author, and the creator of Waking Up's Meditating in Nature series.
They discuss Mark’s background, including how house-squatting during college led him to Buddhism; Mark’s fondness for North American wilderness; the advantages of meditating outdoors; various approaches to “punching through the surface of dualism”; the challenges of integrating non-dual insight into everyday life; the event that precipitated Sam’s first glimpse of the power of mindfulness; the benefits and liabilities of teaching meditation; the importance of adopting an ethical code; and other topics.
Mark Coleman is a Buddhist meditation teacher and has taught insight meditation retreats since 1997 at Spirit Rock and worldwide. Passionate about integrating meditation and nature, through his organization Awake in the Wild, he leads wilderness retreats and nature meditation teacher trainings in the US and Europe.
Co-founder of the Mindfulness Training Institute, Mark also teaches year-long mindfulness teacher trainings. He's an author of four books, including: Awake in the Wild, Make Peace With Your Mind, From Suffering to Peace, and A Field Guide to Nature Meditation. He lives in Northern California and relishes hiking, biking, kayaking, and being outdoors. You can find out more at his website.