Tina Rasmussen
Tina Rasmussen, Ph.D., began meditating at age 13, and has practiced in the Theravada and Tibetan Buddhist traditions for 30+ years. In 2003, after many years of Buddhist practice, she was drawn to undertake an intensive year-long solo retreat in which profound experiences occurred. In 2004, Tina took refuge with Tibetan Buddhist teacher Tsoknyi Rinpoche, and was initiated into the Nyingma lineage. In 2005, Tina attended a 2-month retreat with Burmese meditation master Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw, who ordained her as a Theravadan Buddhist nun and gave her the dharma name “Ayya Pesala.” During the retreat, Tina became the first Western woman to complete the entire detailed Samatha path in this lineage. Since 2006, Tina has also been involved in the Diamond Approach to realization.
Tina has been studied by Yale Neuroscience Lab for research on the effects of meditation on consciousness and the brain, and is the co-author of Practicing the Jhanas (Shambhala), as well as several books on human potential. She has been featured on Buddha at the Gas Pump, Deconstructing Yourself, Buddhist Geeks, GuruViking, After Awakening, the Imperfect Buddha, Rick Hanson’s Wednesday Meditation, Awakening Women, Non-duality Magazine, Conscious TV, and others. Dr. Rasmussen now leads retreats and offers spiritual guidance and mentoring to practitioners worldwide. She has a Ph.D. in human and organizational development, and worked as an executive coach and consultant in the business world for more than 25 years.
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Featured Audio Talk
July 21, 2018 - Samatha Meditation and Purification of Mind
Samatha meditation is both transformational and transcendent. The transformational part is that you’re deconditioning old patterns. You're laying down a new groove that says: “I’m really content just breathing. Nothing has to be happening. It doesn’t have to be perfect. I can be content—not a human doing, but a human being.” The transcendent side is that the mindstream slows down, and there’s potentially enough stillness and serenity that we can actually be in contact with our deeper nature, with the truth of what we are. And over the course of time we get more and more free.