Please join New York Insight Meditation Center in celebrating Sharon’s new book, an illustrated gift book of wonderful teachings on the Buddhist path. In a conversation with New York Insight’s program steward, Rabbi Dr. Jay Michaelson, Sharon will reflect on the essential dharma teachings in the new book, and on how they distill and reflect her many decades as a beloved meditation teacher. There will also be time for Q&A and a short guided meditation as well.

Dr. Jay Michaelson is a writer, journalist, professor, and meditation teacher. He has taught meditation for twenty years in Buddhist, Jewish, and secular mindfulness contexts, and is the author of several books including Evolving Dharma: Meditation, Buddhism, and the Next Generation of Enlightenment and The Gate of Tears: Sadness and the Spiritual Path.

For four years, Jay was an editor, teacher, and podcast host at the Ten Percent Happier meditation startup, and he was a member of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Board of Directors for six years. Jay is authorized to teach jhana meditation in the lineage of Ayya Khema by his teacher, Leigh Brasington. He is also an ordained rabbi, and has written several books on Jewish spirituality.

In the media world, Jay is a regular commentator on CNN, and a contributor to Rolling Stone, The Forward, and The Daily Beast. From 2003-2013, Jay worked as a professional LGBTQ activist and is the author of the bestselling God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality. He is also an affiliated assistant professor at Chicago Theological Seminary, and holds a Ph.D. from Hebrew University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.