Kathleen is a returning guest. If you are a subscriber, you might enjoy checking out some of her recent previous sessions — #314, #306, #303 — in the archives.

ABOUT KATHLEEN

Kathleen Overchuck lives with her family in Orlando, Florida. She grew up in Florida and, after graduating from college with a degree in Still Photography, she wanted to “go West.” She ended up in Los Angeles, where she met Shinzen.

I went on a five-week long trip – just myself and my camera. I started off in California, went through Arizona and Utah, and circled back to California. I thought I would end up in Arizona, Colorado, or Utah, but a friend living in Los Angeles needed a roommate, so that’s where I landed!

While living in Los Angeles, a friend who had recently returned from a meditation retreat recommended the practice to me. I found Shinzen’s offering and commuted each day to his retreat, not knowing very much about meditation.

On that very first retreat, she got a horrible migraine headache, which turned out to be a blessing.

I applied the techniques I was learning to the experience of the migraine. Shinzen also guided me one-on-one through the experience. Once I tasted purification, I thought “Whoa, this is powerful!” I clearly saw that meditation could be extremely helpful in my life – not just for migraines but for working with all kinds of physical and emotional experiences. I was hooked for good. Shinzen’s techniques have completely changed my life.

Serving others has always been a part of Kathleen’s work. In 2001, she and her life partner Randy created American Broadcast Talent, a talent coordinating service that helps people to become reporters in news, sports, weather, and entertainment.

Randy is a meteorologist and wanted to find a way to help new graduates transition from college into the real world of broadcast. We started a training facility and we teach people how to put together professional resume tapes. Going from still photography to videography was an easy transition for me.

This work has been very rewarding. A lot of very talented people, who were ready to give up on their dreams, have come to us over the years. Many times our clients are right out of college, so they're a little nervous. I immediately start radiating love and kindness. I practice as I run the teleprompter when they're doing their anchoring material. You can see how their nerves calm. When they make a mistake, I just radiate the love and compassion, and then we go on. I love helping people to make their dreams come true.

Kathleen believes in the wisdom of following your heart and your dreams. This year, through her own father’s death, she realized a new dream: teaching meditation.

I had moved in with my Dad, and I was his caregiver at the end of his life. It was an eye-opening experience. It was much harder than I had imagined to be a caregiver for someone I was so close to – but it was also a gift to be there with him and to be a loving support. I gave him the space to be quiet when he wanted to be quiet. I radiated the love that I had for him without feeling like we had to talk.

After he passed away, I asked myself: Is there a dream that I really want to be doing that I haven't done yet? I realized I want to help people with whatever they're dealing with by giving them mindfulness skills. I've done a little bit of teaching Shinzen’s techniques in the past, but now I'm really starting to kick it into gear. I'm going to start putting together a website and get things in order so in 2019 I can market myself and do classes around Orlando.

Being able to give back through teaching meditation will be a dream come true.