ORLANDO INSIGHT MEDITATION GROUP - Key Persons

Peter Carlson has practiced contemporary Mindfulness meditation since his first retreat at the Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts in 1982. He has sat over 50 retreats since then, lasting from 3 days to 3 months in duration and has attended retreats led by many different teachers, including Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Larry Rosenberg, Carol Wilson, Marcia Rose, Arinna Weisman, Bhante Gunaratana, S. N. Goenka, Matt Flickstein, and, most recently, Shaila Catherine. He has taught meditation classes and retreats in the Orlando area since 1992. From his perspective as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, the concepts and practices we call Buddhism are taught by Peter as a profoundly liberating psychology that focuses on encouraging each student to understand Buddhist Psychology in depth, meditate regularly and diligently, and thoroughly integrate the liberating and spiritual practices of Buddhism into one's life in the world. Prior to his commitment to Buddhism he was a professional artist and he brings an orientation towards craftsmanship to his teaching style. Training the mind is not mysterious; rather it is a set of skills that directly affect how we interpret what is happening in the world and is organized around the belief that living an ethical life offers beauty worth cultivating. He believes in the value of understanding the liberating concepts that Buddhism offers, but that value can only manifest through direct awareness and personal discipline.