About Cynthia

I facilitate retreats and meditative awareness programs that focus on the unifying presence of inner stillness. The aim is to help participants quiet the mind, dissolve stress and engage with a new way of living that deepens our connection with ourselves, with each other and with nature. It's all about easing into a peaceful mind and heart, no matter what the outer circumstances happen to be.  My approach is influenced by the insights of J. Krishnamurti, Ramana Maharshi, G.I. Gurdjieff and the non-duality that underpins the wisdom traditions.

My book, Silent Awareness: The Revelation That Changes Everything addresses a dimension of quietude that brings equilibrium, happiness and compassion into everyday life. I frequently give educational courses that focus on meditative awareness and the perennial teachings of East and West, and have written numerous articles on the inner quest for meaning. 

The experience of war has shaped my worldview.  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, Human Rights Watch and Terre de hommes, traveling to front line hospitals and refugee camps to help document the trauma of children. In doing so, I also witnessed the selfless work of other organizations, such as Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), and with the help of some extraordinary people, I brought a war-wounded child to the United States for surgery that saved his leg from amputation. He had been wounded by a land-mine.

The war experience made it clear to me that the root cause 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. Understanding this distortion of the mind 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.