Benjamin Bogosian

Grateful to have had the immense privilege to study in University and learn of the great Sciences of the West, I can say it was a most productive time.  And, looking back to what has mattered most life, the most significant seeds planted in me at that time came from the Eastern Traditions section at the local bookstore and meeting teachers of contemplation.

After completing my studies in Physics and having to leave the long held dream of becoming a physician, I found myself spontaneously in the remote high desert working a job with troubled teenagers as a wilderness therapy instructor.  Carving our way as a group through thick snowy valleys in search of firewood for a hot meal, I was unaware of the wonderful twenty years in education and professional accompaniment of young people that was just beginning.  Since then I’ve worked in various roles with primary schoolers to university students, including as an overseas educator for eight years, mostly travelling through the Andes and the Northern plains and mountains of India for months at a time with groups of young adults seeking meaningful impressions and insights from older cultures. For the past ten years I’ve had the pleasure to be as teacher and administrator for a community-based school in southern Portugal.

My reverence for the Eastern arts of yoga and contemplation has richly, yet secretly, woven through all of this until now.  They’ve informed my interactions and leadership styles with all the groups of young people I worked with, enhancing my authenticity and respect for each one of them.  Above all, the question of authentic well-being has been in the forefront.  Over the years it was painful to see the signs of dis-ease growing in our younger population- more depression and low spirits, more consumption and less self-confidence, and most obviously, more medication due to mental distress and illness.  What is it that brings about resilience and happiness in a young person’s life, especially as they get old enough to look ahead and begin to realize what they will soon inherit without losing that spark for life in their heart?

Parallel though not separate from my work with young people, for the past twelve years I’ve engaged in the research field of creating regenerative, shared-risk community projects that work on the foundations of peace and basic human well-being: namely, water-land management and reverse-desertification, regional food and energy supply, and above all, building trust and communication skills amongst groups of humans.  In other words, I’ve been working with adults trying to reverse the effects of a culture not established in ecological and communal wisdom.  Easily written, not easily done!  Working with adults is far more difficult than working with children and youth, because we adults tend to lose our innocence of heart and flexibility of mind as life in our society wears us down over the years.

It is a great privilege to be in full-time retreat, to tend to the inner essential workings of the mind and heart, and to do so with the guidance of superb teachers and amongst a committed community of diverse practitioners.  It’s a treasure for my personal life and one I see as having significant ripples into the network of beloveds and colleagues I’m part of.  After years of engaging in education and community building, I’m convinced that any educational institution or project for positive change will be successful largely to the extent that the individuals in those groups have gained experiential insight into the roots of well-being and kindness within themselves.  In this respect, I bow down to the Eastern Traditions who have a lot to say to this, backed up by thousands of years of contemplative experience and insight.  I do hope the currently dormant contemplative roots of the West be revived so our culture may flourish with wisdom.

Many thanks to anyone who chooses to support those who follow the calling for the contemplative life, whether that be for a few months or years or even a lifetime.

To support Benjamin’s retreat, you are welcome to access his donation link here: Donate to Benjamin