How to Let Go Of Old Stories

More than three decades ago, Mary Stancavage picked up her first Buddhist book, “Start Where You Are” by Pema Chödrön. “It resonated with me so completely,” she remembers. “This was the life I was attempting to live.” Mary practiced meditation sporadically over the next several years and had a regular yoga practice, but it wasn't until 2005 when she began studying in earnest. She was empowered to teach Buddhadharma in 2009 and has been facilitating groups and teaching ever since. In recovery from addiction for more than 30 years, Mary knows firsthand the power meditation has to end suffering for those who are struggling. She’s completed the Chaplaincy Training Program through the Sati Center, served as a volunteer chaplain at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital in Los Angeles, and served as executive director of the Mind Body Awareness Project in Oakland, which brings mindfulness and emotional awareness training to underserved and incarcerated youth. Mary considers acknowledging the suffering caused by various forms of oppression — such as systemic racism, homophobia, misogyny, and xenophobia — and working to end injustice wherever it is found as a cornerstone of her practice.