Claire Villareal is a Buddhist dharma teacher with a focus on bringing Tibetan wisdom into modern life. She began meditating in 1997 and has spent much time in both personal and group retreat since 1999, making trips to Thailand, India, and Nepal to study and meditate in traditional settings in those countries, with pilgrimages to Tibet. She earned her doctorate in Religious Studies from Rice University in Houston with a dissertation that explored contemplative ways of knowing and how they speak to the contemporary academic study of mysticism. Claire is a former Programs Director for Dawn Mountain Center for Tibetan Buddhism in Houston, TX and she is also a former board member for Compassionate Houston. She is currently a member of the Gen X dharma teachers’ community and a faculty fellow at the Jung Center in Houston, TX. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/griefandrebirth/support