Presence is our natural state. We are born into it, and we never lose our capacity to inhabit it, though many of us do lose touch with it. As a result, we suffer, often from a chronic sense that something is wrong with us or missing from our lives. We feel anxious, unsatisfied, disconnected. So we work on ourselves in various ways, hoping for improvement. We distract and soothe ourselves, often from morning until night, with consumption, business, relationships, achievement. Yet still we suffer.

The Zen teacher Charlotte Joko Beck writes, “Enlightenment is not something you achieve. It is the absence of something.” Indeed, we realize enlightenment (or presence) not by trying to change anything about ourselves, but simply by remembering who we’ve been all along. Michelangelo, describing how he was able to carve angels out of blocks of stone, said that the sculpture was already in the marble; he simply removed everything that wasn’t angel, and in doing so, set the angel free. This is exactly what we do as we sit in Vipassana and practice mindfulness in our daily lives: We unearth our true selves, our Buddha nature, from beneath a lifetime of conditioning. This conditioning, which can be distilled into our dual habits of identifying with our busy, wandering minds and of turning away from the life in our bodies (especially from uncomfortable emotion), obscures presence when it is unconscious and when we react to it.

In our Love Is Presence: Vipassana Meditation & Mindfulness Training workshops, we thus observe our minds and bodies to become aware (Vipassana means “insight”) of our conditioning to cling to thoughts and dissociate from physical experience. We learn to gently redirect our attention back to our breath (or to any one of our five senses) whenever we realize we’re lost in discursive thought or reactivity, and we come to see that awareness of the body is our gateway home. We cultivate the ability to bring compassion (rather than judgment) as well as insight to our long-neglected inner states, and by so doing discover the ability to stay balanced and awake, even in the midst of chattering thoughts, uncomfortable feelings, and the slings and arrows of everyday life. A deeply liberating insight of our practice is that we do not need to extinguish our conditioning in order to be free of it—we need only to recognize it and hold it with love. As we become able to experience our thoughts without getting caught in them, our emotions without fleeing them, and our impulses without needing to act on them, we feel a joy, vitality, and sense of connection we may have forgotten even existed. We begin to experience our lives, as John Keats so beautifully put it, on our pulses. And as we uncover true presence in our own lives, we become free to truly love others.

I have been studying Vipassana meditation since 1992, when I took my first class while living in Seattle. At the time, I was in early recovery from an eating disorder and feeling profoundly disconnected from my body, my emotions, my life—from everything, really, except my own incessant (and mostly self-aversive) thoughts. Vipassana felt like a homecoming (and what a relief to know that I was not the only person who struggled with a wild mind!). These Buddhist teachings on both the universality of suffering and on each person’s potential to awaken from suffering—along with clear instructions on how to do so—would ultimately become not only the most important element in my recovery, but also an integral part of my life’s path. I went on to study and practice with dharma (and yoga) teachers around the country, including in my hometown of New York City, where I returned and lived again for ten years before moving to Chapel Hill. I taught my first class in 2002.

My teaching and approach to sharing the dharma draws not only from Buddhist philosophy, but also from a range of wisdom traditions, Western psychology, inspired world literature, and the artistic process. I see meditation as an art, and a life of awakening as a deeply creative act. Presence is a moment-by-moment choice we make throughout the day; our freedom depends not on what happens to us, but on how we respond to it. As Robert Pack, my beloved Middlebury literature professor, put it, “Grace is the ability to respond to necessity as though it were choice.” I emphasize taking our practice off of the mat and into our everyday activities, where it can help us cultivate a life of true presence and engagement.

In addition to being a teacher, I am a writer and a photographer. I studied literature as an undergraduate at Middlebury College and Oxford University, and I hold an M.A. in fiction writing from Oregon State and an M.Litt in dramatic writing from Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English.

I am also a great lover of animals. My life has been enriched beyond measure though sharing it with not only my own dogs and cats, but also with the many animals, large and small, I encounter each day. Their unwavering presence and capacity for joy are among my greatest teachings and calls to practice.

Websites: www.loveispresence.com, www.chernikgroup.com

Class: Love Is Presence, Mondays 7:15–8:45 p.m.

Session Topics

Drop-ins are always welcome.

October 17–November 28: Transforming Suffering into Freedom and Compassion

January 23–February 27: Awakening from the Trance of Habit, Compulsion, and Addiction

From Abra’s Students

Abra is a masterful teacher of the mindfulness practice. She has a unique ability to simplify the principles of everyday mindfulness, showing her students how to develop their own abilities in becoming more present in their own lives. Her teachings are made strong by her rich knowledge of literature, religion, psychology, meditation and the mindfulness practice. My mindfulness practice has changed my life. I strongly encourage everyone to study with Abra—whether you are completely new to the practice, or a seasoned practitioner. —Natalie

Only an extraordinarily talented teacher and compassionate person could bring a meditation skeptic to practice and mindfulness. I am so very grateful you did that for me.
—Karl

That hour and a half is the most glorious and welcome respite in my week, as are the other slivers of time where I can practice seated meditation. . . . If anyone is on the fence, I'd urge them to just GO and see/hear for themselves.
—another Natalie

As someone fairly new to meditation, I cannot emphasize how helpful the "Love is Presence" class was in guiding me and affirming that the practice of mindfulness is worth a lifetime's dedication. Abra is a refreshingly thoughtful speaker, choosing her words with care, kindness and wisdom. I highly recommend her classes to anyone who seeks to live a more meaningful life. —Lisa

My experience with this teacher and sangha was tremendous. Abra emanates a calming effect. I love that she draws and shares inspiration from many different sources. The weekly talks each had their own message while still relating back to the series topic. Attending class regularly was just what I needed to start establishing a sitting practice and applying a more mindful approach to my everyday life. I look forward to continuing to practice with Abra and would recommend her as a teacher to anyone. —Erin

As an old Vipassana student, it has been a special delight to experience Abra bring the Buddhist Dharma here locally. I would recommend these six-week sessions to anyone interested in deepening their wisdom and spiritual practice. We have a gem in Abra. —Tom

Abra is a very knowledgeable, wise, and compassionate teacher. Her class is wonderful, and I'm grateful to have the opportunity to learn from her. Just being around her makes me feel more peaceful and centered. —Bob L.

I use what I've been learning here in every part of my life. I'm kinder to myself, which makes me kinder to others. The effects of the practice were immediate for me, though ongoing because there is always something else for me to learn. The practice has educational, therapeutic, and spiritual elements that have helped stir me out of a general feeling of malaise. Abra's guidance is gentle, open, and encouraging. —April

Attending Love Is Presence has shifted the course of my mindfulness practice in such a positive way. It has been so moving to be amongst others and come to understand how much my experience really is the human experience. Abra does a beautiful job of being both a guide in the process of mindfulness and an open ear as she invites students to share, comment, and question along the way. My understanding of how to integrate mindfulness into my life as a whole rather than just my time on the cushion has grown so much as a result of Love Is Presence. I would recommend this experience to anyone that is looking for an existence with more ease, patience, compassion, and connection. —Anita

I have enjoyed the Meditation sessions very much and would recommend them to anyone who wants to understand themselves better, anyone going through any kind of change or transition, or anyone who simply wants less stress. —Sandy