As a practicing attorney, I know firsthand the challenges and the emotional toll the legal practice can take on lawyers. I've also experienced the enormous personal and professional impact of meditation and mindfulness. Throughout my legal career, first as a litigator and later as a bankruptcy lawyer, I regularly suffered from anxiety, stress, and insomnia. I always accepted this as the "norm" because attorneys commonly experience such difficulties. It took me years to even recognize that there was a problem. The process was very gradual but over the years I became less content with my legal practice and life in general.
It is said that most people come to meditation because of suffering. I am certainly no exception. Regularly practicing mindfulness has helped me to be happier. I feel more grounded. I have fewer knee jerk reactions to the external events of life. It has allowed me to “stop and smell the roses” both literally and figuratively. Since going through the Stanford 8-week mindfulness training program, I have taken additional classes both at Stanford and other meditation centers around the Bay Area. I have completed the teacher training practicum for Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).