Ryan shares how recovery, Insight Meditation, and the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh transformed his life from one driven by fear and control to one rooted in trust, service, and compassion. Through the Insight lineage, he explores how meditation, sangha, and family practice have shaped his relationships, career in healthcare, and commitment to reducing suffering. His story is a testament to the quiet, transformative power of the Dharma lived in everyday life.

Raised in a household where Vipassana meditation was part of everyday life, Kim's relationship with Buddhism evolved from childhood familiarity into a deeply personal path of transformation. Through meditation retreats, community, and years of dedicated practice, she discovered profound self-acceptance and resilience that would later support her through bipolar disorder, heartbreak, and life's inevitable uncertainties. Kim reflects on the importance of teachers, Sangha, mindfulness, and compassion, while sharing how Buddhist practice has shaped her relationships, creativity, environmental awareness, and understanding of death. Her story is a testament to the power of beginning again, revealing that the true fruit of practice is not perfection, but the confidence to meet every moment with presence, courage, and an open heart.

I walked into Against the Stream Nashville Meditation Center in January 2012,  shortly after coming out of rehab for alcohol dependence.   It was suggested that meditation could be helpful in further recovery.  I remember in one of the first talks Dave Smith mentioned that, sitting was just sitting.  Whether you were in traffic, the motor vehicle department or sitting comfortably on your  own couch that the experience of sitting was all the same.  

I learned about meditation as a youngster, but it wasn’t until around 2004 that I started going to the Dharma Punx group on Friday nights in SF (the Back of the Bus) and hearing the dharma talks there in a language I could understand and with people that looked like me that I really felt exposed. It became my path when I learned to walk again as a sober man in 2014.