interactive reflection (IR), meditation practice support and dharma teacher mentoring
In 2001, I began working with members of Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC (IMCW) who wanted to explore their inner and outer lives from the perspective of Buddhist psychology, teachings and meditation practice ~ what I call *Interactive Reflection ~ rather than from the medical/mental illness model. During that time I also served on the IMCW Teachers Council and Board of Directors and taught meditation retreats and addiction/recovery workshops with Tara Brach.
Since moving to Spokane, WA in 2007 I have continued to work with IR clients and students in person or “from a distance” via telephone or Zoom. The latter have often been referred by Tara Brach when challenging material emerged during retreat or when **Meditation Practice Support is requested because a local teacher is not available. I have worked with people living in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Australia and Europe. I served as a mentor for the Sounds True Power of Awareness, an on-line meditation training course with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield as well as their two-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Programs which began in May 2017 and February 2019 and will begin again in February 2021.
In addition, I offer Dharma Teacher Mentoring to practitioners who are teaching Buddhist or mindfulness meditation classes and want support in the teaching role. Possible discussion areas range from the logistical to the visionary and experiential aspects of teaching including curriculum development (content & format of teachings and meditations), teaching style, qualities and role of a teacher, and challenges in the “classroom.”
In June 2010, I completed the 4-year Spirit Rock/Insight Meditation Society teacher training and was authorized to teach The Dharma of Liberation in the Lineage of the Elders by Jack Kornfield, Phillip Moffitt, Joseph Goldstein, Carol Wilson and Guy Armstrong. I have co-taught retreats at Spirit Rock, IMS, Tara Mandala, Cloud Mountain, Teen Retreats with iBme. I teach regional non-residential retreats with various Insight Meditation sanghas in Nevada and Washington State and offer 5-day retreats twice a year in Spokane, WA.
I have had extensive experience with addiction and recovery (1980) both personally and professionally. My personal experience was my initial testing ground for “dukkha” (suffering, stress) and freedom from dukkha (liberation, awakening). Life reveals dharma! My professional life includes 15 years of clinical and program direction in addiction treatment centers in California. Following that, I resided in Moscow, Russia as the Director of Training for a 2-year USAID grant to provide 4-week addiction treatment training to Russian clinical staff and 5-day addiction recovery training for the general public. This included a training-of-trainers component for 21 Russian professionals who collaborated on the development and delivery of the trainings. In addition, I conducted qualitative research for my doctoral dissertation Addiction Treatment Training in Russia: Cultural Adaptation of the Bio-Psycho-Social-Spiritual Model. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to join with my Russian and American colleagues in this important work.
I am devoted to “re-membering” and calling on qualities of the Sacred Feminine ~ embodied presence, inclusiveness & variance of vision, trusting our inner knowing & authority, and deep reverence for all life rooted in the truth of interdependence with this Great Web of Life. Of course, I speak and act from this understanding to the best of my ability moment-to-moment and make amends when I fall short…progress, not perfection!
meditation practice support
**Meditation Practice Support can include didactic teaching and guided meditation practices (i.e., mindfulness, concentration, the heart practices of forgiveness, loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity); establishing a regular home (“invitro”) practice; review of and suggestions for working with what is arising in your home practice; establishing an (“invivo”) life practice; suggesting resources for further study, support, and inspiration (e.g., books, on-line trainings, audio files); and embodiment practices of walking meditation and Qigong (of which I am only a student) if we meet in person.
It is of great importance to spiritual development that we undertake the teaching and practice of sila – the intention of harmlessness, reverence for and generosity toward all life which refers to the first two lines of a pithy description of the path of awakening: “Do no harm. Act for the good. Purify the mind.” Buddha (Dhammapada 183) The third line refers to the development of meditation.
Meditation Practice Support can include becoming more aware of emotional states and habitual thought patterns that create stress, distress and suffering and those that are wholesome and onward-leading toward liberation from suffering (e.g., mindfulness, generosity, joy, tranquility, investigation, loving-kindness, open-hearted awareness). The Buddha advised us to cultivate the four great efforts in regards to mental-emotional states:
To restrain the arising of unwholesome states; to abandon unwholesome states that have arisen; to develop unarisen wholesome states, and to maintain wholesome states that have arisen. As such, there is often a natural flow between Meditation Practice Support and IR.
interactive reflection
*Interactive Reflection (IR) sessions generally include:
- opening mindfulness/embodied presence reflection which leads us into
- exploring thoughts, feelings and sensations as they naturally arise, indicating what is most calling for attention and determining which practices will deepen presence and liberation (inquiry, RAIN, forgiveness, loving-kindness, compassion, spacious awareness, etc.) and
- taking time to reflect on and discuss what has been revealed and how to integrate the learning/insights into daily life.
IR relies on the aliveness of moment-to-moment open-hearted awareness which often reveals fresh perspectives on habitual patterns that have become “old and in the way.”
I earned a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology in 2001, but see myself as a teacher-midwife to support your process of unfolding and expression rather than psychotherapist.
We each have an innate healing intelligence that “does the work” if we listen deeply and follow the impulses and wisdom that emerge.To be open to outcome, not attached to outcome is key in creating a welcoming field of trust and creativity within you and between us.
The entanglements from cultural & familial “conditioning” in our personal lives can be re-experienced and received with wisdom and compassion, untangling and often revealing their hidden gems. What has been considered wrong or difficult can be the doorway to transformation and liberation (i.e., “tracing back the radiance” rather than fixing what is wrong.) Or consider one of Loch Kelly’s inquires, “What is here now if there is no problem to solve?”
This process requires the radical approach of “turning toward and leaning into” what you may have tried to ignore, reject, or destroy to protect yourself. Essential to this exploration is establishing trustable inner and outer resources and supports, and moving at a pace that can deepen the “repair” rather than causing more “rupture” within your heart-body-mind.
This approach requires courage and willingness to look honestly at choices that lead to suffering and choices that lead to freedom from suffering. Sometimes the biggest obstacle to transforming difficult emotional states is attachment to shame and blame; with the willingness to relinquish fault-finding, our work together can influence standing habitual patterns. Your sincere intention to investigate the ways you are currently perpetuating your distress will profoundly support working together with IR. In addition, it is equally important to establish a regular mindfulness meditation practice to support and integrate what unfolds in IR (if you don’t practice regularly now). Life is short, Carpe Diem! If not now, when?
I also offer the Tibetan Buddhist practice of “Demon Feeding” created by Lama Tsultrum Allione which both invokes what is in the way of complete liberation (a demon) and transforms that energy into an ally. For more information please visit her website. Initial Demon Feeding sessions require a minimum of 90 minutes.
cost & frequency
Current 2020 sliding scale is $90 – $150 per 60-minute session. Sliding scale means that you choose the amount you pay from the range of $90 to $150 in one of the following ways:
- Cash or personal check made out to Dori Langevin offered at in-person sessions or mail a check if not meeting in-person.
- Use Zelle which you set up with your bank and simply transfer funds from your account to mine with this info: Doris J. Langevin [email protected] There are no fees for either of us using Zelle.
- If you want the convenience of paying by credit card, you can use PayPal. Please use this formula: 1.04 x per-hour amount to cover the transaction fee (e.g. 1.04 x $120 = $124.80).
For bookkeeping simplicity, I request that your payment arrives before the session when paying for support at a distance. Thank you in advance for honoring this request.
Our sessions can be in person, by telephone, Face Time or Zoom. Generally, I schedule sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 5pm Pacific Time. Like all things, this schedule is subject to change. Please note: I will always list session times in Pacific Time and trust that you will translate to your time zone. Great time zone converter.
By choice I am not licensed to provide psychotherapy or to diagnose and treat any mental disorder. Therefore, our work together is not reimbursable by health insurance.
The frequency of sessions is based on your time, finances, and needs coupled with my schedule. However, if possible, I recommend starting with weekly or twice monthly sessions to establish a personal connection, to co-create the way we work together, and create the momentum that can support my primary goal for our work together which is for you to transfer the learning in our sessions to your meditation practice and your life. In other words, you make the reflections and practices your own and experience the effect on your daily life and relationships. I am interested in “teaching you to fish rather than feeding you fish.”
I cannot offer emergency or “on-call” coverage. For various lengths of time I am off-the-grid teaching or on retreat, engaging in restorative travel, riding on the back of our Harley, and/or just having fun! Please feel free to email me with any questions.
readings
Some of the books that I have found helpful with awakening in practice and in life include:
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized trauma and the pathway to mending our hearts and bodies ~ Resmaa Menakem
Radical Compassion: Learning to love yourself and your world with the practice of RAIN ~ Tara Brach
In Love with the World: A monks journey through the bardos of living and dying ~ Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
Feeding Your Demons: Ancient wisdom for resolving inner conflicts ~ Tsultrim Allione
Radical Acceptance: Embracing your life with heart of a Buddha ~ Tara Brach
True Refuge: Finding peace and freedom in your own awakened heart ~ Tara Brach
The Places that Scare You: A guide to fearlessness in difficult times ~ Pema Chodron
Untie the Strong Woman: Blessed Mother’s immaculate love for the wild soul ~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Mindfulness: A practice guide to awakening ~ Joseph Goldstein
A Path with Heart: A guide through the perils and promises of spiritual life~ Jack Kornfield
Wise Heart: A guide to the universal teachings of Buddhist psychology ~ Jack Kornfield
Awakening Together: The spiritual practice of inclusivity and community ~ Larry Yang
Shift into Freedom: The science and practice of open-hearted awareness ~ Loch Kelly
Loving-Kindness: The revolutionary art of happiness ~ Sharon Salzberg
Real Happiness: The power of meditation ~ Sharon Salzberg
Time to Stand Up: An engaged Buddhist manifesto for our Earth ~ Thanissara
Awakening the Heart: East/West approaches to psychotherapy and the healing relationship ~ John Welwood, Editor
Perfect Love Imperfect Relationships ~ John Welwood