ABOUT US
Carol Cano, M.A.
Co-Founder
Carol Cano, M.A., began her practice over 30 years ago at Wat Kow Tahm in Thailand and has actively engaged in building communities and teaching Dharma internationally. She is the founder and guiding teacher of Braided Wisdom. She is a Spirit Rock Meditation Center Teacher. Carol is a core teacher and was a former board member of East Bay Meditation Center. Carol co-founded Philippine Insight Meditation Community in Philippines. Her unique teachings are deeply grounded in Basque, Native American and Buddhist influences that braid the Dharma along indigenous wisdom and Earth-based practices. Carol reminds us to keep grounded in our hearts as we uphold spiritual ideals and encourages us to remain balanced within the demands of modern life.
To find out more about Carol, please visit www.carolcano.com.
Imee Contreras, CMT-P
Co-Founder & Guiding Teacher
Imee encountered meditation as a teenager and dipped into the practice up until her early 20's.
It wasn't until 2005, that she became a serious practitioner and began to study Buddhism. The big turning point of her practice was when she attended her first 10-day silent meditation retreat with the Goenka organization.
It was through earnest practice that she experienced profound, positive changes in her life. Her unshakeable trust in the teachings while observing obvious results is what keeps her on this path. Certain conditions aligned where it led her to becoming a co-founder of PIMC in 2011, which set her off on the journey to deepen her understanding of the Dhamma. She is a graduate of the Community Dharma Leadership program of Spirit Rock Meditation Center, a UCLA-Trained Mindfulness Facilitator, and the membership manager of International Mindfulness Teachers Association. She is currently a mentor for Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach's Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training Program. She is inspired to continue sharing as our guiding teacher in hopes to lessen the suffering of our fellow Filipinos, whether it be in prisons or shelters for the less privileged.
To find out more about Imee, please visit www.imeecontreras.com.
Robin Velasco, Ph.D.
Co-Founder
Robin Velasco first completed his first 10-day retreat in Singapore with Ajahn Brahm as the teacher in June 2008 and since then, has been meditating and studying the Dharma. He has since attended various retreats in different parts of the world. He is an avid Ashtanga Yoga practitioner and had his start at Stillpoint Manila.
Currently a qualified and certified Existential, Humanistic and Transpersonal psychotherapist (only one in the Philippines) and possibly the only one in the world that has a solid corporate leadership background. He counsels, advises, coaches board level and mancom executives in terms of career development, building leadership capabilities, creating meaning in life and spiritual development. He currently facilitates and leads various workshops that are HR and Psychology related such as performance management, compensation development, emotional intelligence, mindfulness workshops, strategic management, production management, values development, union/ labor management, spiritual psychology, meditation, stock trading and investment, leadership development, finance, entrepreneurship, creating meaning in work, team building and development, and many others.
ADVISORS
Abbott of Metta Forest Monastery
THANISSARO BHIKKHU
Belonging to the Thai Forest Tradition, for 22 years he studied under the forest master Ajahn Fuang Jotiko (himself a student of Ajahn Lee). Since 1993 he has served as abbot of the Metta Forest Monastery in San Diego County, California — the first monastery in the Thai Forest Tradition in the US — which he cofounded with Ajahn Suwat Suvaco. Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu is perhaps best known for his translations of the Dhammapada and the Sutta Pitaka - almost 1000 suttas in all - providing the majority of the sutta translations for the reference website Access to Insight.
TARA BRACH, Ph.D.
Author, Psychologist, Founder of IMWC
Tara Brach is an American psychologist and proponent of Buddhist meditation. She is a guiding teacher and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C.
Tara’s podcast receives over 1.5 million downloads each month. She and Jack Kornfield lead the Awareness Training Institute (ATI) which offers online courses on mindfulness and compassion, as well as the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP).
VISITING TEACHERS
Visiting Teacher
JANET ROOS
Janet is a certified member of the International Mindfulness Teacher’s Association and is very passionate about bringing Mindfulness Practices to her fellow Corporate colleagues to support their career path, stress management, and career/life transitions.
Visiting Teacher
BILLY TAN
Bro. Billy studied under the late Ven. Dr. M. Punnaji Maha Thera, and enjoys presenting from a modern and scientific perspective drawing from findings in Psychology and Neuroscience.
MARGARITA REYES
Community Teacher
Tucci is a trained teacher for Mindful Self-Compassion through the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion under UCSD. She is also a trained MBSR teacher by Singapore Management University.
BHANTE PEMARATHANA
Visiting Teacher
Bhante Permaratana became a Buddhist monk in 1986. His monastic training was under the tutelage of the most Venerable Attangane Sasanaratana Maha Thero in Sri Lanka.