Susan Mickel

Susan Mickel

Susan Mickel, MD, PhD Susan has been meditating for over twenty years, first in the Christian tradition, then in the Burmese mindfulness tradition, and for over ten years now in the Tibetan Mahamudra and Dzogchen traditions. She learned Burmese mindfulness meditation from teachers at Resources for Ecumenical Spirituality, Insight Meditation Society, Spirit Rock, and other centers. In 2001 she completed a certificate in ecumenically oriented Christian spiritual guidance from Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation. Daniel Brown was an important first teacher of Mahamudra. Her current teachers of Dzogchen are Rahob Tulku Thupten Kalsang Rinpoche, Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche, and Tulku Dawa Gyalpo. Her Mahamudra teachers are Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche and HE Ayang Rinpoche. For over fifteen years she has been teaching retreats first in the Burmese mindfulness tradition, including Christian-Buddhist retreats, and for over ten years in Indo-Tibetan Mahamudra. Training with Daniel Brown, she taught with Pointing Out the Great Way for ten years. Her personal practice and orientation is Buddhist, and she is interested in interfaith discussion and exploration. Interested in the mind since she can remember, Susan's college major was comparative religions. She worked as a behavioral neurologist and ran a memory disorders clinic for 22 years at a large nonprofit multispecialty clinic. In 2004 she returned to school for a clinical psychology Ph.D. with the intention of learning psychotherapy and exploring her interest in the mind from a somewhat different perspective. Her dissertation research was on the impact of adult attachment style on caregiving relationships, health, and happiness. Currently she works a few days a month providing integrative evaluations of persons with mental problems that may have a neurological basis. She plans to continue work at the interfaces of neurology, psychology, and spirituality, with the guiding interest being in how one can influence people to help them decrease their suffering and increase happiness. Susan's primary current activity is a three-year retreat in the Nyingma Dzogchen tradition, which is taking place in her home with two months a year of retreat in Dzogchen centers.