My name is Renée Bochman and found my way to meditation through Pema Chodron and heartbreak over 20 years ago.  I am very blessed to have two grown boys and a successful professional career.  I have always been motivated and working to find a better way to engage with the world and those around me.

Over the year I have developed into what I consider a Western secular Buddhist practice with a multi-lineage training.  I started my journey with studying with Shambhala through their Way of Shambhala Path.  Looking for a more secular and multi lineage view, I became a student at the Interdependence Project (IDP) and then completed the IDP’s Meditation Teacher Training in 2012 as well as joining the IDP board until 2017.  I became very interested in the impact of compassion both for self and others and took Stanford University’s Cultivating Compassion Training (CCT) course and then I graduated from Compassion Teacher Training in June 2013 and am a Stanford Certified CCT teacher.

I sat on retreat with different teachers to hear different voices and views to my understanding such as: Pema Chodron, Sharon Salzberg, Robina Courtin, Thich Nhat Hanh and Llama Tsultrim and Kristen Neff.  I participated in two Buddhist Geeks conferences in Boulder and had the opportunity to attend the Mind and Life Conference sitting with the Dalai Lama in 2014.

When I began meditating, I discovered that all of my thoughts, emotions, ideas, and perspectives were subjective and not objective views of the world. The clinging to this perspective caused me difficulty as well as kept me separate from those around me. When I started practicing compassion I begin to feel the world differently and realized that everyone, just like me, struggled and wanted to be happy. This view helped me feel connected and give meaning to my life. I want to share these practices in case it can provide anyone a glimmer of a path towards peace and happiness.

Poetry for me has always been a way to open my heart. Just like me, these poets, with more elegance with words, share their pain, disappointment, love, hope and trying to understand the world. I developed a practice to find new poems and poets based on words that I could feel when I read. I hope you can enjoy them too.

I would love to share with you more about this training or any questions you might have.