Episode 7 of This Very Moment features Zen teacher, meditator, and author Diane Musho Hamilton in a rich conversation about learning to be with life as it is.

Diane shares how early encounters with loss and grief left her existentially overwrought. Despite being raised in a family with strong spiritual roots in the Mormon tradition and surrounded by a nurturing natural landscape, she felt that life’s deeper questions were left unanswered. Literature and philosophy were helpful guides, but she needed something more. That something was first discovered at the Naropa Institute (now Naropa University), later deepened with her teacher Genpo Roshi, and further expanded by her training and practice with Ken Wilber and the Integral Institute.

According to Diane, “If Trungpa Rinpoche revealed the Dharma world and Genpo Roshi introduced me to emptiness and to the depths of zazen, then I would say that Ken Wilber gave me permission to evolve and to consider questions and perspectives about spiritual practice that are really pertinent to our time.”

Modeling the profound impact of her Buddhist training, Diane vividly describes how she uses life’s suffering and hardship as a path to awakening, relying on “the confidence that there is something profound, enduring, and inherent that knows how to be with what is.”

In a final comment, Diane summarizes key themes of her newest book, Waking Up and Growing Up, coauthored with her student Gabe Kaigen Wilson, explaining the importance of training in contemplative depth and relationship skills for contemporary practitioners. The conversation closes with her current focus on succession, community, and the simple, enduring happiness of tending a garden.

Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction   Host framing the conversation and Diane’s work.

00:00:56 – Childhood & Early Life in Rural Utah  First question begins about her upbringing and earliest memories.

00:02:10 – Mormon Culture & Family Religious Influence  Deeper shift into Mormon identity, family structure, and worldview.

00:08:36 – Discovering Buddhism & Naropa Institute  Clear transition into her exposure to Buddhism and formal study.

00:12:59 – Zen Practice & Spiritual Teachers  Shift into deeper training, including Zen lineage and mentorship.

00:16:03 – Mediation Work & Conflict Resolution Path  First explicit pivot into her professional work in mediation.

00:28:07 – Communication, Shadow Work & Facilitation  Expansion into applied work: communication, conflict, and integration.

00:50:52 – Presence, Awareness & “This Very Moment”  Conversation lands in core philosophy of awareness and lived practice.