Vinny Ferraro
Vinny Ferraro has been a practitioner of insight meditation (Vipassanā) since the mid-90s. He is a co-Founder of the Dharma Punx and he’s been the Guiding Teacher of the Big Heart City Sangha in San Francisco for 20 years. He is also a nationally recognized leader in designing and implementing interventions for at-risk adolescents and is a Senior Trainer for Mindful Schools. In 2001, he began teaching for Challenge Day, a nationally recognized, social & emotional learning program, eventually becoming their Director of Training and leading workshops for over 110,000 youth on four continents.
Vinny is also the former Training Director of the Mind-Body Awareness Project and is the principal author of the MBA’s mindfulness-based curriculum for incarcerated populations. His focus continues to be delivering direct services to folks that have limited access.
He has been trained and empowered by Spirit Rock/IMS and he doesn’t like talking about himself in the 3rd person.
Featured Audio Talk
Dec 12, 2017 - In the Presence of the Beloved
Many of us work with self-judgment—how we should be doing, where we should be on the path—but this can land as the subtle violence of self improvement. But can we experience ourselves outside of that paradigm, of endlessly striving to be some better version of ourselves? From working with incarcerated populations, I know that the kids that need love the most ask for it in the most unlovable ways. Can we trust the transformative power of love to tend to these two parts in us—what's loved and what's longing to be loved. Through this practice, we’re not trying to make ourselves perfect, but perfecting the love of ourselves.