Member Profile

Jeremy Sekishin Sullivan

I come from 5 generations of proud Chicago Irish Southsiders.  My parents met at a Catholic parish dance in high school.  They went away to college and had their minds opened by the hippy movement of the 1970’s.  They married in 1974 with plans to eventually move to Oregon and build a log cabin.  For better or for worse, they settled just 50 miles northwest of Chicago in the town of Crystal Lake.  This allowed me and my 3 siblings to grow up within striking distance of our big extended family.  I have great memories visiting both sides of the family each holiday.  It was common to stand by the door for an hour at the end of the party hugging everyone.  It was usually after midnight by the time we got back to Crystal Lake.

I was the second oldest kid in our family.  My personality fit more of the stereotypical oldest child versus middle child.  I was proud to be labeled “responsible”.  I looked up to my dad and I was often compared to him because of our physical resemblance and shared interests. He was known in our community as an avid runner/triathlete and a sought after physical therapist.  We were both proud the day that I was accepted into Marquette University’s physical therapy program and given a spot on their cross country and track team.  My younger brother Dan was better at flowing through life and following his own path.  My dad once joked, “Jeremy at 16 years old is a lot like me at 40, but Danny is just like I was at 16.”  I realize now that I had my own timeline for differentiating myself and learning to flow with life.

Despite taking a well worn path in my school interests, my spiritual life became an avenue to find my own way.  I was baptized into the Catholic church as an infant just like all of the generations before me.  When I was very young, my mom had a “born again” experience that was inspired by a book she read.  During middle school, we would trade off going to Catholic mass with my dad on Saturday night and exploring evangelical churches with my mom on Sunday mornings.  By high school, we were given the choice to choose one or the other.  I was conflicted about going against my Catholic roots, but I decided to get involved at a youth group at a mega church called Willow Creek.  I was drawn to the flashy “seeker sensitive” services compared to the rote liturgy of the Catholic church.  I was also comforted by the very simple message that my salvation could be guaranteed just by admitting I was a sinner and accepting Jesus as my Savior.

The last 30 years have felt like a gradual opening up where I’ve found less comfort in simple answers and more comfort in “not knowing”.  This journey started by embracing the mystery of the Catholic church during my last years at Marquette.  After college, I committed to 4 years of communal living in Camden, NJ learning about social/environmental justice from an Irish Catholic priest who had dedicated his life to a dying city.  Afterwards I moved to the city of Chicago and gradually let go of my identity as a Christian.  This felt strangely liberating.  I was drawn to the spiritual practice of silence and an interest in meditation.  After a lot of fumbling and a lot of silence while living in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I found some direction from an app called Waking Up by Sam Harris.  The only thing missing was a community to share my journey.  I moved back to the Chicago area in 2021 and got connected with ZLMC through their core curriculum and several retreats.  I completed the precepts with Roshi Robert and will receive Jukai on Easter morning April 9, 2023.