About Us
Luminous Mind Sangha’s mission is to foster awakening and its embodiment in worldly life, through the application of authentic, rigorous Buddhist and modern practices.
Luminous Mind Sangha has been recognized by the U.S. Federal Government as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and as a 170(b)(1)(A)(i) church institution. All donations are tax-deductible for U.S. citizens.
Tina Rasmussen, PhD; Executive Director, Founder and Senior Buddhist Teacher
Tina’s warm style, bright clarity and supportive presence helps students recognize their deeper nature, both on the cushion and in daily life. She has a decades-long commitment to cultivating her own and others’ deep spiritual unfoldment and human potential while functioning in an embodied, worldly life.
Dr. Rasmussen learned to meditate in 1976, at age 13. In 2003, after many years of practice in Buddhist and modern non-dual traditions, she was drawn to undertake an intensive year-long solo retreat during which a profound awakening to a deeper reality occurred. In 2004, Tina took refuge with Tibetan Dzogchen teacher Tsoknyi Rinpoche, and was initiated into the Nyingma lineage. In 2005, Tina attended a 2-month retreat with Burmese meditation master Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw, who ordained her as a Buddhist nun. During the retreat, Tina became the first Western woman to complete the entire detailed Samatha path in this lineage.
As an offering of gratitude to the dharma, Tina (along with Stephen Snyder) wrote the book, Practicing the Jhanas, which was later published by Shambhala Publications. In 2007, Tina became the first Western woman authorized by Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw to teach.
After these life-changing experiences, at first Tina felt a strong pull to become a “cave yogi” and turn away from householder life to abide in the peace and bliss of Truth. However, over time, the possibility of functioning from realization while living in the dynamism of the modern world became a more compelling life’s path. Tina then began participating in the Diamond Approach, a contemporary wisdom path designed for householders, that integrates the psychological and the spiritual into one continuum for living “in the world but not of it.” Tina has been studied by Yale Neuroscience Lab for research on the effects of meditation on consciousness and the brain, has been featured in Buddha at the Gas Pump, GuruViking, Deconstructing Yourself, Rick Hanson’s Wednesday Meditation, “Awakening Women,” Non-duality Magazine, Conscious TV, Buddhist Geeks, After Awakening, the Imperfect Buddha, TIME Magazine, and others.
Dr. Rasmussen now leads retreats and offers spiritual guidance and mentoring to practitioners worldwide. She has a PhD in human and organizational development, and worked as an executive coach and consultant in the business world for more than 30 years. She is also the author of several published books on humanistic business practices.
Professionals Affiliated with Luminous Mind Sangha:
Jennifer Wheeler, MA; Spiritual Friend “At Large”
For many years, Jennifer has helped students of Luminous Mind Sangha through offering 1:1 sessions individually and through the Mentoring Program, as well as offering solo retreat guidance via “Retreats-in-a-box.” She also taught the Meditation Jumpstart program with Mimi Maduro (who has now retired). Jennifer brings to her work with others the understanding derived from her spiritual experience and from her formal and academic training, as well as a sincere curiosity in and heartfelt appreciation for the unique way in which spirituality unfolds in each individual. Jennifer also has been a tremendous help in various operations of Luminous Mind Sangha behind-the-scenes for many years.
Jennifer began meditating in 1998 and received her first formal instruction in 2001 at a Japanese Zen temple. She practiced subsequently in the Vietnamese Zen tradition, in which she was authorized as a lay Dharma teacher and then took ordination as a monastic for several years. During that period, she also received a master’s degree in Buddhist Studies. She attended many retreats with Tina and Stephen and other lay and monastic Buddhist teachers over the course of many years.
After finding that not all her experience could be contained within Buddhism, Jennifer explored other paths including Advaita Vedanta and the Diamond Approach, practicing many forms of meditation including Samatha, open awareness, the Brahmaviharas, chanting and recitation, movement meditations, and Diamond Approach meditations, among others. Jennifer now is a Spiritual Friend “At Large,” exploring her own path and occasionally helping LMS students with Retreats-in-a-Box solo retreats, and individual sessions. She resides in her home in a small town in South Carolina, where she stays close to the land and enjoys her neighbors, family, and the animals with whom she shares her life. Learn more about Jennifer and how to contact her on her website at https://www.jenniferwheeler.net
Marisa Mohrer, LCSW, MPH; Licensed Trauma Therapist
Marisa (she/her) sat down to formally meditate in the midst of an overfilled graduate school schedule. As a therapist trainee in community mental health committed to reducing human suffering, she first learned about the psychotherapeutic applications of mindfulness to support her clients. Marisa was surprised when she began to experience meditation firsthand, and noticed the potent effects of focused-attention and heart-based practices. After completing a dual Master of Clinical Social Work and Public Health degree at the University of Pennsylvania, she undertook a period of intensive silent meditation training. Through the engagement of meditative practices, she gradually began to peel back the layers of ingrained concepts that overlay a unified reality. At that point, the infinite nature of mind and reality opened up, powerfully shifting her identity and her perception of all that exists. Her book, Songs of Awakening, published by Shanti Arts Publishing, describes the integration of this experience and is available for purchase at Shanti Arts (click here) and Amazon (click here). Marisa’s time spent in silent retreat galvanized her unwavering commitment to meditation, not only as a practice, but as a way of life.
After years of extensive study with Tina Rasmussen, Marisa now serves as a Professional Affiliate for Luminous Mind Sangha. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and EMDR Certified therapist, she is dedicated to the daily, deepening embodiment of what she has experienced through meditation. She combines this commitment with her passion for evidence-based trauma therapy modalities (including Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing or EMDR). Marisa completed a year-long postgraduate fellowship at The Trauma Institute in Northampton, MA, where she worked as an Intensive Trauma Therapist. She is now in private practice, specializing in working with meditation practitioners who are seeking to heal trauma. She offers half-day therapy retreats as well as ongoing therapy, serving the states of Massachusetts and Maine (where those out of state can visit to work with her). To learn more, visit www.marisamohrer.com.
Per Jobs, MFA; Senior Dharma Student
Per was born in Sweden and started his career as a performer and composer of jazz music, completing a Master of Fine Arts at the Royal University College of Music in Stockholm. After some time in this field, his love of nature drove him into nature-based, sustainable tourism. Per operates several lodges in remote areas of the Swedish Lapland mountain range, and acts as a coach and lecturer on eco-tourism and sustainable destination development. This line of work allows Per to spend a lot of time in the outdoors, which has been nurturing and dear to him all his life. Per also loves to grow things permaculture style in his large countryside garden on the Swedish island of Gotland, and works towards being more self-sufficient. He navigates a busy lay life, providing for a family, managing a business etc., while trying to live as ethically as possible.
After some spontaneous spiritual experiences prior to meditating, once Per started meditating he rapidly made practice a big part of his life, in terms of retreats, studies, and daily practice. He has an unbroken practice of several hours per day since 2015, in which Samatha practice has played a central role. In dedicated Samatha retreats with Tina, his practice has progressed to include many attainments, including the rare attainment of all 8 jhanas in the Pa Auk tradition. He has also spent several retreats focusing on heart-based and open monitoring practices.
Per finds inquiring into personal patterning, integrating realizations, and merging practice and its fruits into lay life, to be a great adventure. He serves as a practice leader in Sweden, and helps LMS as needed with 1:1s focused on the Samatha practice, as well as yogis doing Retreats-in-a-Box solo retreats practicing Samatha.
Diana Redmond, PCC; Enneagram Teacher
Diana’s work is devoted to the recognition and lived experience of our true nature. Drawing on the profound and practical wisdom of the Enneagram, she helps individuals see the conditioned patterns that shape their experience and gently guides them beyond these patterns into the aliveness and freedom of their essential nature. In this way, the Enneagram becomes a support for inner liberation.
Her warm, presence-based approach invites a shift from striving and self-improvement towards resting more fully in grounded presence, where clarity, compassion, and wise action naturally arise.
A professional coach since 1998, Diana has supported individuals, groups, and organizations in meaningful and lasting transformation. Her joy comes from witnessing people experience their more expansive nature and make choices that foster a more just and generative way of living. Her work is grounded in decades of spiritual practice, including yoga, meditation, study in the non-dual traditions of Kashmir Shaivism and Vedanta, as well as the Diamond Approach.
Diana is certified through the Enneagram Institute and an accredited teacher with the International Enneagram Association. She has presented at IEA conferences worldwide and shares approaches that challenge assumptions about who we think we are and illuminate our inherent gifts and capacity for radical acceptance.
In her private practice, Diana mentors coaches and leaders in integrating the Enneagram as a framework for coaching excellence and embodied spiritual development. She continues her study with Sandra Maitri of the Diamond Approach.
To be in touch with Diana directly: diana@dianaredmond.com at www.dianaredmond.com
Advisory Board
Volunteers
We want to express our deepest thanks to the many volunteer organizers who have sponsored, organized and managed our events over the years. The events wouldn’t have happened without them, and we are grateful for their generosity in spreading the dharma. We also want to express our sincere thanks to the volunteers who have edited, improved, listened to, transcribed, and generally improved our audios, videos, and written materials on this website, YouTube, and the LMS and Tina’s Facebook pages. The those media wouldn’t be available today without them, and we are grateful for their generosity in making those offerings presentable. Many thanks to our volunteers:
- Jose Luis Poveda Alfaro
- Simon Beck
- Greg Davies
- Bryan Duffy
- Thomas Jedensjo
- June Kramer
- Andrea Magoni
- Tomislav Maric
- Adam Murray
- Gael SB
- Andrea Serafino
- Jennifer Wheeler
- Virginia Williams
- David Heflick
- Michael Usowski
- Jennifer Wheeler
- Per Jobs
- Mimi Maduro
Practicing The Jhanas:
Traditional Concentration Meditation As Presented By The Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw