Insight Meditation (otherwise known as Vipassana) is a mindfulness-based spiritual practice and philosophy that seeks the healthy resolution of our psychological stress and suffering. Based in the roots of Theravada Buddhism, Insight Meditation holds that contentment and peace arise from insight into and alignment with our innermost nature or natural state of being (along with the cultivation of healthy attitudes and orientations to life). The wisdom and teachings of the tradition emerged 2500 years ago in the context of nature-based meditation practices. Indeed, mindfulness in nature was (and still is) at the heart of the Insight lineage.
A number of modern Insight Meditation teachers have continued the spirit of nature-based mindfulness practice based on its numerous benefits for the spiritual development of inner tranquility, liberating wisdom, and a natural openness and ease of heart. Justin Michelson of Nature’s Heart carries on this tradition in the lineage of Rodney Smith and Ajahn Buddhadasa, with the mentorship of Mark Coleman, and the inspiration of Thich Nhat Hahn, Mary Oliver, Joanna Macy, and many more. He weaves together the ancient teachings of Insight Meditation, the fresh revelations of science and ecology, and the intuitive presence of Nature itself.