About Cynthia

My work explores ways to quiet the mind, dissolve stress and engage in a deeper connection with ourselves, each other and with nature. I facilitate retreats and meditative awareness programs that focus on the unifying presence of inner stillness, together with the work of self-inquiry. An important factor in this work is the art of deep listening, a heightened level of attention that includes inner listening, as well as authentically listening to others. This can be healing and life changing because it brings more understanding and compassion into our relationships.

I also give educational courses based on the lives and works of a diverse group of historical and mythologized figures who were examples of what it means to be a deep listener. These include artists, spiritual visionaries and writers. I’ve written numerous articles on the quest for meaning, and my book, Silent Awareness: The Revelation That Changes Everything, addresses some of the practices that can lead to deeper dimensions of listening and seeing, and open the door to a new way of living. My work is influenced by J. Krishnamurti, Ramana Maharshi and Gurdjieff.

My own journey into meditative awareness and the art of deep listening took on a much deeper significance when I was a photojournalist during the Balkan War and witnessed firsthand the shattering impact that war has on children. I worked with United Nations humanitarian organizations, such as Save the Children and Terre de hommes in front line hospitals and traveled to refugee camps to help document the impact of war, particularly on children and women. I also traveled with Human Rights Watch.

The more I traveled to front-line hospitals, refugee camps and destroyed cities and towns, the more it became clear to me that the root cause of war and all other forms of violence and exploitation is a gross distortion in the human mind that divides us against ourselves and separates us from each other and from nature. 

The most important lesson I learned in war is that if our species is ever to go beyond violence and exploitation, we need to fully understand the structure of our own conditioned mind and how it divides us against each other, causing repeating patterns of violence and war. Understanding this is crucial to building a truly peaceful and compassionate world together, a world where children everywhere, no matter where they live, are safe and loved.