Meet Our New President, Mark Wiesman
I was born in a sod house on the prairie…just kidding…
I grew up mostly in Omaha, NE attended undergraduate and veterinary college at Iowa State University and graduated with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1982. During my time in high school and college, I explored various “spiritual” disciplines and paths never really delving deeply into any of them. That all changed when I moved to Minneapolis/St. Paul in 1982 for a job. There I met my first real teacher, Ron Sieh. Ron learned Tai Chi Chuan, Chinese boxing and other internal martial arts from Peter Ralston and William C. Chen in the lineage of Chen Man Cheng. Unlike most Tai Chi teachers, Ron believed in teaching the whole practice of the internal martial arts, including deeply feeling and directly experiencing one’s body and surroundings. This was to develop an intense awareness of the present moment while moving, often in relationship with another student (playing push hands or boxing). While it was not called mindfulness at the time, this was my first experience with mindfulness in a deep and sustained way. At one point in 1984, Ron suggested to me that I go on a ten day “sit” because it would improve my martial art skills. I attended a ten day S. N. Goenka retreat in the fall of 1984 with a fellow student and discovered Vipassana or Insight meditation. I have been practicing Vipassana meditation ever since. My practice has varied over the years, waxed and waned, but even with the changes and circumstances life brings, I have found the practice has led to increased calm, less reactivity and a deeper contentment.
I have recently started sharing my experience of meditation and dhamma with others through organizations like, Omaha Power Yoga, Flatwater Collective and others. My wish is that others might benefit from Insight meditation and other aspects of Buddhist teachings as I have. I also appreciate the opportunity to share because it reinvigorates my own practice. I also serve on the board of the Buddhist Insight Network and volunteer for the Nature Conservancy. I enjoy music (play the shakuhachi, a Japanese bamboo flute), reading, and nature (the kind that has less human influence and lots of other beings present).
I am grateful to be a part of the Mid America Dharma community and look forward to serving as president.
Meet Our New Treasurer, Lisa Reboy
Hello All! I rejoined the board last fall. My interest in joining the board stemmed from my gratitude for, and desire to help further the work of Mid-America Dharma: providing affordable regional Buddhist retreat opportunities including events led by national Vipassana teachers. I consider the mission an important one because it provides people access to Buddhist retreat experiences regardless of ability to pay and without the travel cost of going to centers in coastal states. I currently live in Des Moines, Iowa but started practicing Buddhism in 2013 in Kansas City at the Temple Buddhist Center at Unity Temple on the Plaza. I am now retired from working at the School of Education at Iowa State University as a Research Analyst. I hold a doctorate in Developmental Psychology.
Mid America Dharma welcomes Mark and Lisa to their new board positions and also welcomes Terry Alan a new board member from St. Louis, MO who works on the website and is learning retreat managing.