Member Profile

Tell me a little about yourself - where you were born, your family, your education, your career?

I’m passionate about design and the arts. I work as a product designer and teach at DePaul University. I also enjoy writing, and for over three years, I’ve been publishing under my newsletter, Beginner’s Mind. I’m naturally a curious person, so my enthusiasm for the things I learn, I always feel compelled to share. I’m also a trained meditation instructor here, at the Zen Life & Meditation Center.

In 2020, I also founded the Chicago Graphic Design Club, my creative outlet where I bring people together to discuss and learn from books, lecturers, and each other. Community is important to me, and the pandemic surely emphasized that. I’m also a Brown Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — another pastime of mine.

My family is small. My parents separated when I was young, so I was raised by a single mom. I have a younger brother named Saied, who I consider my best friend alongside my Border Collie, Mu. Growing up, I was a bit of a troublemaker with an aversion to authority, so as you can imagine, I did what I could to go against the grain. Music surely helped me cope with the pains of being a teenager.

Photography is also a big part of my life and I sell prints through my website.

What is your spiritual path?

Despite my aversion to authority, I’ve always had a spiritual and religious inclination. As a kid, I would go to church with my grandmother, and I loved our cathedral's design, the story of Christ, and the poetry in hymns. Today, I view my spiritual path as a practice rooted in kindness, understanding, love, and gratitude. Since 2018, I’ve been practicing at ZLMC, and I received Jukai in 2020.

What brought you to ZLMC? Has it helped?

I came to ZLMC to develop a stronger meditation practice. For years, I meditated with apps but I found that my practice felt somewhat isolated because there were no other practitioners to connect with. When I first stepped foot through our center’s doors, I was welcomed and understood that this community has a deep-abiding passion for helping and serving others. Fast forward 5 years, and I continue to study at ZLMC and find ways to invest time into our center’s mission of saving sentient beings.