The past six months have been unusually busy for me, full of transitions and learning curves. While my main project saw some progress, much of my time and energy was spent on a new venture that had been quietly brewing in the background. My time in Ann Arbor has always felt like a temporary chapter—a place to root while my daughter was growing up. But our relationship continues to be shaped by old stories and habitual patterns. It became clear that it was time for me to move forward and lay the groundwork for a transition to Colorado.

Colorado has been calling me for years. After leaving California, I originally wanted to head straight there, but I wasn’t quite ready to leave Michigan entirely. This year, I took a significant step by investing in an Airbnb rental property through my primary business. The idea was to create a base, a station to explore the area, build relationships, and eventually settle in this vibrant, Buddhist-rich state. Inspired by my practice, I launched Tara’s Wellness Sanctuary—a Buddhist-themed vacation rental.

Even though I had some hosting experience during the pandemic, this was my first time buying a property specifically for this purpose, and it came with a steep learning curve. Luckily, my years of business experience—and a lot of YouTube videos—helped make it manageable. That said, setting up a property in a saturated market pushed me to question whether this type of investment is something I’d do again. Yet, knowing the property has multiple uses, including as a personal retreat space, makes it feel worthwhile. I’m looking forward to using it a quarter of the time myself, establishing deeper roots in the area.

On a personal level, I’ve been dedicating more time to cultivating my relationship with the Kaurna Buddhist Center and my teacher. Over the past year, I’ve taken on several roles, from being a board member to serving on the steering committee. It’s been a deeply rewarding practice—contributing to the growth of the sangha while learning more intimately from my teacher outside formal teachings. For the first time, I have personal guidance, something I’ve yearned for over many years. This has transformed the quality of my practice and deepened my commitment.

Since officially shifting my ngondro practice to the Karma Kagyu lineage under Khenpo’s guidance, I’ve been able to focus fully on the practice without the constant grasping—watching endless YouTube teachings, chasing the next retreat, or trying to piece it all together on my own. The ingredients for transformative practice have come together, and now it’s a matter of showing up with diligence and consistency. Interestingly, my desire to learn dharma for the sake of knowledge has lessened. My inquiries now revolve around refining the nuances of these foundational practices.

At this point, I’m close to completing the refuge phase of ngondro. The Karma Kagyu tradition considers 10,000 prostrations sufficient, but having accumulated over 90,000 prostrations before switching lineages, I’ve decided to continue toward the traditional 110,000. While I miss the sense of community that came from practicing ngondro with sangha members in the Dudjom Tersar lineage, the personal guidance and feedback from Khenpo have been invaluable. There’s a part of me eager to finish these foundational practices quickly, but another part recognizes the preparation they offer for mahamudra and dzogchen, practices I’ve already had glimpses of. This awareness helps temper my impatience, though impermanence remains a motivator to stay diligent.

One of the joys of working with a younger teacher has been the opportunity to connect outside formal dharma settings. My involvement with the sangha has granted me intimate access to Khenpo, and we’ve even shared a few road trips together. Recently, he visited Tara’s Wellness Sanctuary to perform a blessing and explore Buddhist centers in Denver and Crestone. I’m deeply grateful for his support and the spontaneous teachings that emerge during these interactions. While it will take time to fully develop devotion to a root teacher, I’m honored to nurture this relationship.

On the project front, the explosion of AI tools in the past year has been a blessing. Recently, I discovered an AI video-cutting platform that’s reinvigorated my enthusiasm for marketing the project. The ability to create short, engaging clips with viral potential has motivated me to move forward more quickly. I’m also using Google’s Notebook LM to process and analyze the interviews I’ve conducted. This tool has been transformative—it cleans, interprets, and answers queries based on my source material, saving immense time and energy. For example, I can ask how practice has transformed people’s lives, and it pulls relevant insights, complete with citations. I no longer need to memorize every detail of my source material; I can simply query as needed while drafting.

With these tools, I’m feeling confident about completing the manuscript by the end of 2025. My attachment to having exactly 108 portraits for the book has softened—I now see that I have enough material to create a compelling first draft. Interviews will continue, but with the writing underway, I’ll better understand where additional perspectives are needed. This clarity feels like a turning point, and I’m excited to embark on this next phase, bringing the project closer to completion. It’s time to share this work with the world.