Student Testimonials
I started Karuna Training without really having a goal or objective specifically. Better communication skills and more Buddhist training and lots of curiosity. To my great surprise I found it to be profoundly transformative in ways I would not have imagined.
Yes my communication skills are better and my Buddhist studies and understanding have deepened, but that is the tip of the iceberg. The depth and profundity of the personal transformation, which is a journey started that continues on past the program itself, has been remarkable and gratifying. As a result I can offer so much more value to the people around me and to my communities. And I receive so much back from them in unexpected and surprising ways.
The outer appearance of this training can be described, but the inner can only be experienced. I give thanks often for this training, as do my family members and the people who have to connect with me closely and experience the difference in me.
Yes my communication skills are better and my Buddhist studies and understanding have deepened, but that is the tip of the iceberg. The depth and profundity of the personal transformation, which is a journey started that continues on past the program itself, has been remarkable and gratifying. As a result I can offer so much more value to the people around me and to my communities. And I receive so much back from them in unexpected and surprising ways.
The outer appearance of this training can be described, but the inner can only be experienced. I give thanks often for this training, as do my family members and the people who have to connect with me closely and experience the difference in me.
Carolyn Sykes
Karuna has become a trusted community within which my journey toward freedom to experience the wholeness of being is happening. Throughout my 70 years I have discovered that this process of awakening comes about more fully within an intentional community in which unconditional positive regard is a guiding principle along with the ground of meditation.
I feel appreciation beyond measure for the privilege of having access to the resource that Karuna Training has become. Feelings of vulnerability stirring from the approach of my next Karuna engagement are being tenderly held within the warmth of confidence to move forward. With a deep bow of appreciation I speak this truth.
I feel appreciation beyond measure for the privilege of having access to the resource that Karuna Training has become. Feelings of vulnerability stirring from the approach of my next Karuna engagement are being tenderly held within the warmth of confidence to move forward. With a deep bow of appreciation I speak this truth.
Candace Peterson-kahn
My life has been profoundly changed for the better during my Karuna experience. The Karuna gatherings and teachings were powerful but for me the most important thing is they are carefully tailored to be applied to daily life. And not only are the teachings meant to be lived rather than put on the shelf like a diploma, Karuna gatherings, retreats, and community are a place where I have been able to "try on" more authentic ways of living, loving, and interacting with others. I feel at a loss for words to say how precious Karuna is to me.
Amy Kemp
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from Karuna Training. I'm not a therapist, but I am a leader working with some 50 employees and volunteers. I'm learning how to see my own patterns of body, speech and mind -- how they affect me and others. I'm learning how to see the jewel in each person, and how to bring out their wisdom in various situations. Of course, it's a lifetime journey, but I feel like Karuna Training helps me create a safe and sane place to work. I'm deeply grateful for
a) the wisdom of these teachings;
b) the teachers who embody and model their understanding so beautifully;
c) the skills I'm learning through the many practice opportunities; and
d) the warm relationships with fellow Karunies along the way. You don't need to be a therapist to apply the incredible insights that come from this deep dive into contemplative psychology. This. will. change. your. life.
a) the wisdom of these teachings;
b) the teachers who embody and model their understanding so beautifully;
c) the skills I'm learning through the many practice opportunities; and
d) the warm relationships with fellow Karunies along the way. You don't need to be a therapist to apply the incredible insights that come from this deep dive into contemplative psychology. This. will. change. your. life.
Dhi Good
Karuna marked a turning point in my spiritual journey. It gave me, first and foremost, a community of practitioners that I love and trust, and who share my deep desire for spiritual growth. Karuna also instilled in me a deep appreciation and reverence for all that goes into being present with myself and with another person. Lastly, and perhaps most profoundly, Karuna developed in me a confidence in my ability find and dwell in my heart, and to help others do the same.
Michelle Morris
It feels as though there is a lot of spaciousness around me and at the same time that space has a feeling of openness and kindness. Karuna means compassion in Sanskrit and time and time again I would see compassion as the foundation for the training: compassion in the group, from the teachers, towards each other and towards myself.
Penelope Sands
A tremendous experience. I saw my cohort and myself settle into something profound together by the end of the two-year program. It was incredible and moving to witness and experience. The entire world needs Karuna now more than ever!
Byron Blum
If you feel a pull towards Karuna Training, go for it. I can’t speak for anyone else, but Karuna has been life-changing for me. It helped me in my work, but it has also helped in my relationships of all kinds, including the one I have with myself. If you are working on yourself, your relationships, or your work with other human beings, this is an incredible training that you won’t find anywhere else.
Emily Earlenbaugh
Karuna Training has helped me to meet painful emotions with much more confidence and clarity. And I have been able to share some of these effective tools with others in a way that they could receive and apply successfully. Karuna facilitates a community of mutually supportive, loving and wise, practitioners and teachers/facilitators. I am deeply grateful for the excellent training I have received from Karuna.
Marie Endres
Karuna had a way of touching each part of my life. Like a powerful mountain stream, it removed obstacles and cleared new channels for communication. Through its powerful practices and teachings, I came away appreciating myself and my capacities in a new light.
Rees Sweeney-Taylor
Karuna training was and is transformational in my life. I would recommend Karuna to anyone seeking to be challenged on the road to becoming human
Steven Baird
Through Karuna Training, I have learned and experienced unconditional yes — to what is and to what I am feeling. Loving myself as I am and others as they are has had a tender and lasting change in how I relate to myself and how I connect and care for others.
Nan Clydesdale
I had a personally transformative experience in going through Karuna Training, and I saw the same thing happen with many of the 30+ people with whom I shared that two-year journey. I couldn’t explain why it was so effective in opening us up. I think it helped prepare me for the personal psychotherapy that has un-burdened me (at age 75) of some deeply rooted negative conditioning and habitual behaviours. Karuna Training was certainly not (when I did the program) a substitute for the education and training necessary to become a licensed counsellor or therapist, but was valuable training and a glimpse of what becoming a professional counsellor/therapist might be like.
Robert Merchasin
Karuna training has been a very positive experience for me. I am a lawyer so Karuna training may not seem like a natural fit for me. I decided to enroll in the program with my wife, who is a mental health professional, who was interested in the program in part for professional development. We decided to do the program together and share the experience. I felt pretty far out of my comfort zone initially. However, as my training cohort met, studied and practiced together we became incredibly close and have developed a tremendous bond of mutual trust, respect and affection. Studying Karuna theory and practice -contemplative psychology relying heavily on Buddhist principles and philosophy- has brought me in touch with own emotions and opened my compassion for others. I have developed a meditation practice which is something that I have always wanted to do. The teachers are wonderful personally and very skilled and experienced professionally. Through their instruction and their guidance, these principles and practices have become a part of my daily life. All of this has changed my life in subtle ways, both personally and professionally.
Jack Brant