Witnessing the Wild

with Lama Willa Blythe Baker, PhD

Founding Teacher and Spiritual Co-Director of Natural Dharma Fellowship

Wednesday, April 26, 2023, 6:30 – 8:00 PM

co-presented by IMCC and the Jefferson Tibetan Society 

What would it mean to engage with meditation practice as an act of bearing witness? How do we meet the great uncertainties that seem to be a hallmark of our time? How can uncertainty and wildness awaken us?

In this public talk, Lama Willa will explore the concept of “witnessing” as a way to connect, center and eventually enter into intimacy with the world as the foundation for mindful action. Please stay tuned to this page for a link to register for this event.

Lama Willa will offer a weekend retreat, "Rewilding the Heart," at Bridge Between the Worlds in Keswick, VA, Friday evening April 28th – Sunday afternoon, April 30, 2023. Details and registration are forthcoming.

Willa Blythe Baker, PhD, is the Founder of Natural Dharma Fellowship in Boston, MA and its retreat center Wonderwell Mountain Refuge in Springfield, NH.

She was authorized as a dharma teacher and lineage holder in the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism after twelve years of monastic training and two consecutive three-year retreats. She also has trained in the Nyingma and Shangpa lineages. In 2013, Willa completed a doctorate at Harvard University, and was Visiting Lecturer in Buddhist Ministry from 2013 to 2017.

Willa is author of four books:

• The Wakeful Body: Somatic Mindfulness as a Path to Freedom (2021)
• The Arts of Contemplative Care: Pioneering Voices in Buddhist Chaplaincy and Pastoral Work (2012)
• Everyday Dharma: Seven Weeks to Finding the Buddha in You (2009)
• Essence of Ambrosia (2005)

Her articles and translations have appeared in Tricycle, Lion’s Roar, Buddhadharma, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Tibet Journal, and other periodicals and anthologies.

For a listing of her publications and external event offerings, CLICK HERE.

She is a contemplative faculty member with the Mind and Life Institute, Sangha Live, One Earth Sangha, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, the Omega Institute, and Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. She is a member of Clark University’s Council of the Uncertain Human Future, and sits on the advisory board for One Earth Sangha.

At present, Willa writes, teaches, guides meditation retreats, and develops curriculum for people interested in cultivating a deep meditation practice in daily life. Her teaching interests include the wisdom of the body, eco-dharma, non-dual awareness and compassion.