The birth of this website could almost be described as a Caesarean section. I cannot tell you how much (wasted) energy and grief preceded what you are seeing here. I put wasted in brackets, because I learned a great deal from my mistakes. Web designers are a wild bunch of people spanning the gamut from excellent but unaffordable, incompetent and exploitative, incompetent and ignorant of their own incompetence (the worst kind, because you dont notice how deep you are in trouble until you have forked out a lot of money) to excellent and affordable. Knowing next to nothing about web design and web functionality, destiny had it that I likely had to burn up bad old karma by having to first get involved with every single one of the first three nasty categories before finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. I would like to express my gratitude to both Dan and Doug of MetaWave for the passion and pride they put into their work, and for showing me the light and setting me on the straight and narrow path of decency, efficiency, functionality, aesthetics and …. COMPLEXITY!
Yes, complexity: Todays web presence is insanely complex, especially for a dinosaur like me. Years ago, when I started out on the web, the website was nothing more than a worldwide electronic newspaper add with a lot of information. Today, a good website is a hub of social interactions so complex that my head started spinning when I began to work with Dan and Doug. I had to learn to think differently, so differently in fact that I ended up reviewing (once again) the way I learned to create reality in my younger years. I am compelled to change the way I run my practice, the way I approach the task of spreading our work of awakening to our full potential, the way I put my thoughts into the world out there, even the way I drink my cup of tea and tell you about it. Just in case I may seem to make a mountain out of molehill my website is no more complex than the best sites around, but the way the world works and communicates has so profoundly changed, that I have to rewire my brain to keep up with the times.
Little did I fathom that getting into proper website development was going to be part of my journey in mindfulness. This website is the first phase in an ongoing development, which will take years. So far, you can get a glimpse of what I do and what I offer here in Oakville. You can also see what is in the works in phase two by its conspicuous absence: My social media are virtually empty, begging to be filled with content. This is where I have the privilege to be a beginner and enjoy the lightness of being that comes with it. The introductory welcome video on the homepage is the first foray into a spontaneous interpersonal style I hope to hone with time. Recordings will undergo minimal if any editing, in order to convey the flavor of my teaching style. This second phase of site development entails the recording of a whole meditation, mindfulness and mindsight training program, which will be available for download as you see it grow over time (I will be on holidays for part of this summer, so dont expect too much too soon). This training program has not mushroomed through an intellectual pursuit, but has grown over several years of teaching beginners and advanced meditation programs. I am so grateful and thankful to all my students and teachers, who have not just stuck with me and seen me evolve over the years, but who have also relentlessly questioned me, enriched and modified my approach, and been the co-creators of how I teach. The most precious moments are those in the meditation room, when we are all there, embodied, imperfect and superb, both strong and vulnerable, exploring the infinite layers of this complex phenomenon we call reality through the rigorous method of mindful inquiry. I hope that through the means of what technology allows us to achieve today, some of that power of intimate transformative moments may find its way worldwide through the web of healing interpersonal relationships.
Dr. Stphane Treyvaud