Welcome to Awakening Journal
Your Guide for Retreat Resources, Programs and Centers
We hope the journal creates a mandala, a world, in which you can discover all you need to create lasting peace and happiness in your life through the practice of retreat. We’ll provide you with the resources, knowledge and inspiration to take the inner journey to realize who you truly are and what you need to do to live the life you want.
One of the primary goals of going into retreat is to come out of retreat feeling more compassion and greater clarity. Filled with new energy and insight, you can live a happier life and contribute to the lives of others in a more meaningful way. We want to help you achieve these goals.
Awakening Journal will post four editions in 2012 - March, May, August and November. While not a registered 501c3, Awakening Journal donates all of its profits to retreat scholarship funds to support those doing spiritual retreats. We’re not a formal non-profit organization but our profit is entirely for others. The members of the Awakening Journal team are all volunteers, who are dedicated to the practice of retreat and sharing its extraordinary benefits and traditions.
We welcome your feedback about the journal and its content. Please let us know if there are any aspects of retreat that you would like to learn about in future issues. We invite you to open up to the brilliant possibilities of going on retreat.
Email us at: awakeningjournal@gmail.com
The Awakening Journal Team
Spiritual Director: Lama Sumati Marut
Fully-ordained American Buddhist monk Venerable Sumati Marut is a world-renowned spiritual teacher. He serves as a founding Board member of the Yoga Studies Institute and is Spiritual Director of ACI-Cape Ann Inc., ACI-Los Angeles, and ACI-Reno. As a Ph.D. and Professor Emeritus of Comparative Religions, he taught for over 20 years at Columbia University and University of California, Riverside.
Known for his entertaining and down-to-earth style, Lama Marut’s monthly newsletters, weekly audio and video podcasts, and daily twitters reach thousands across the world and offer tools for immediate transformation.
Please visit www.lamamarut.org
Publisher: Shadi Mogadime
Shadi Mogadime has completed several retreats from weekends to 30-day solitary retreats. She has been a spiritual seeker since her teens and has studied many traditions. She finally found her path 10 years ago in Buddhism and met her teachers Geshe Michael Roach, Lama Christie McNally and her heart teacher Lama Sumati Marut in 2006.
Shadi serves as Lama Marut's business manager and attendant. She is also a certified business and lifestyle coach with clients in Canada, USA and Europe. She can be reached regarding coaching or feedback on Awakening Journal at shadimogadime@hotmail.com
Creative Director: Edward Arrowsmith
Born in Sydney, Australia, Edward is a visual artist who heads the graphic design firm Infinity Design and also works in Arts and Cultural Development in Tasmania.
Edward has completed several group and solitary retreats. He has lived and practiced at Dharmapala Buddhist Centre, Fremantle and Kadampa Meditation Centre, Melbourne. In June 2010, he graduated from Diamond Mountain University, Arizona and now lives in Tasmania, Australia with his wife Nes Chew.
Managing Editor: Brian Reid
Brian serves as Editor-in-Chief of Children’s Historical Publishing. With over 15 years of experience as a professional writer in advertising, editorial and publicity, he also works as a published author.
Brian began his first retreats as a pre-teen in the Christian tradition. Over 20 years later, he has rediscovered the sanity of retreats in the Tibetan Buddhist lineage under the guidance of his heart teacher Venerable Sumati Marut. Brian is a devoted student of Lama Marut and the Mahasukha Center in LA. He teaches Dharma and makes theater with his partner Mira Kingsley.
Editor: David Fishman
David began his study of Eastern spiritual practices over 25 years ago in West Bengal, India, where he earned a Diploma in Indo-Tibetan Studies from Visva Bharati University. He returned to the U.S to obtain a J.D. degree in law from the University of California, Berkeley. David worked as Editor of the California Law Review and went on to pursue a career in international estate planning.
Since 1995, David has studied with some of the foremost yoga practitioners and founded Lake Tahoe’s first yoga studio, Mountain Yoga. He serves as a founding director and staff teacher of Yoga Studies Institute. David commits a consistent and regular portion of his time to deepening his meditation practice, both in and out of retreat.
Features Writer: Cindy Lee
Cindy Lee has been studying Buddhism and meditation since 1997. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Advanced Diploma in Electronic Design and Interactive Media having taught in university film and media programs in Australia. She has also worked in Europe and the UK as a digital artist, film editor and VJ. Cindy regularly practices retreats for several weeks throughout the year. Cindy Lee teaches Tibetan Buddhism, meditation and yoga philosophy in retreat settings throughout the U.S and internationally. For more information, please visit www.siddha-songs.com
Staff Writer: Irma Gomés
Irma began her Buddhist studies in 1991 at Tibet House Mexico. She has been blessed with the teachings of great Lamas trained in the Gelug, Karma Kagyu and Palyul Nyingma traditions in the U.S, Mexico, Canada, India, Nepal and Europe.
Working with a master’s degree in resource and environmental economics, Irma has participated in many retreats over the years including one-day and weekend retreats. She recently completed a six-month retreat, a lifetime goal that enabled her to share her life with her husband Gwen in a profound new way. Irma lives in France, where she’s taken time off from her professional career for motherhood.
Staff Writer: Mira Kingsley
Mira lives in Los Angeles where she regularly teaches Dharma and Yoga. She also serves as a fulltime Professor of Dance at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her work as a director, choreographer and performer focuses on the compelling relationship between the performing arts and spiritual practice.
Mira is a devoted student in the advanced teachings of Tibetan Buddhism under the tutelage of Venerable Sumati Marut. She took herself to a Trappist nunnery for her first silent retreat at the age of 21. Over a decade later, she happily continues to make retreat a regular part of her spiritual practice.
Webmaster: Amy Roberts
Amy has over 10 years of experience in project management, resource planning and geographic information systems (GIS). She lives in South Lake Tahoe, where she is taking time off from her professional career to focus her attention on yoga, meditation, Buddhist studies, wellness and serving others.
Amy has enjoyed several retreats over the past few years from weekends to 10-day retreats. She has been a student of Tibetan Heart Yoga and Tibetan Buddhism since 2004. She is blessed to study with her teachers Geshe Michael Roach, Lama Christie McNally, Mira Shani, Brandy Davis, David Fishman, Dorothy Raftery, her partner Michael Vollmer and her heart teacher Venerable Sumati Marut.