About Cynthia

I offer educational programs and facilitate retreats that quiet the mind, dissolve stress and that help you engage with a new way of living. It's all about easing into a peaceful mind and heart, no matter what the outer circumstances may be.

My approach is influenced by the non-dual wisdom traditions of both East and West with an emphasis on what unites us—namely, a foundational teaching on compassion for oneself, for others and for the natural world.

Each retreat or educational program generally has a theme to help bring attention to the quietude of self-inquiry, inner peace and wholeness. The primary influences that shape my approach come from Buddhism, Contemplative Christianity, Sufism, and the profound teachings of J. Krishnamurti, G.I. Gurdjieff and Ramana Maharshi. 

Another one of my teachers is the experience of war. I was a photojournalist during the Balkan War and witnessed firsthand the devastating impact that war has on children. Working with United Nations humanitarian organizations, such as Save the Children, Human Rights Watch and Terre des Hommes, I traveled to front-line hospitals and refugee camps to help document the trauma experienced by children. This tested my conscience and endurance like nothing else has. 

It was clear to me then, as it is now, that the root cause of violence and exploitation is a conditioned distortion in the human mind—one that divides us against ourselves and separates us from each other and from nature. Understanding and transcending the conditioned mind is essential if we are to co-create a truly peaceful and compassionate world together—a world where children everywhere, regardless of where they live, are safe and loved.