KIMBERLY HOLMAN

I grew up as an only child playing and dreaming on the rocky shorelines of Maine. I moved to Boulder, Colorado in 1996 with my two children, Elijah and Bethany, to pursue my Master's degree at Naropa University, a leader in contemplative education. That's when I first began meditating.

I fell in love with Buddhism and decided to take both my Refuge and Bodhisattva Vows within the Kagyu and Shambhala Buddhism lineages. During this time, I worked closely with my dear teacher and meditation instructor, Dale Asrael. Dale is an archarya (spiritual teacher) and Dean of Meditation Instructors within the Shambhala Buddhism. Dale also worked closely with me later on when I was being treated for breast cancer.

My first journey at Naropa was cut short when I had a grand mal seizure driving home from work one sunny afternoon (sometimes it seems like my life has been one health crisis after another). I did complete my forth semester, but then decided not to go back. For the next several years, I focused my attention on raising my kids and getting well. I still continued to meditate and study Buddhism though.

My special interest in the Dzogchen teachings developed the second time I was enrolled at Naropa about ten years later once both my kids had graduated from high school. This time I earned an M.A. in Religious Studies.

Toward the end of my final semester, I experienced an awakening. It happened during a two-week at home meditation retreat. Honestly, I struggled with both the practice and unrelenting physical pain most of the time.

Then, toward the end of the last week, I decided to just take a break and pulled a book off my shelf. I had purchased it several months prior but hadn't read it yet. Now it was calling me.

The book was Healing with Form, Energy and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. My instincts led me directly to the last section of the book on Dzogchen. I soaked it all up.

Later that evening, I sat with a completely different attitude. I closed my eyes, let go of all the struggle, and simply rested, perfectly content. After what felt like maybe half an hour, I opened my eyes again surprised to realize two hours had gone by.

Later that year, when he came to his retreat center in Colorado, I began studying with Tenzin Wangyal and have been studying with him ever since.

In the latest phase of my journey, I recently became a Certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher under the guidance of my personal mentor, Sean Fargo.