What Participants Say About Miksang Classes

"When I take Miksang photographs in a familiar location, I realize that I'm much more present than I have been during previous visits. It seems to me that practicing Miksang is a way of learning to show up for your life."

Edward Dean.
Tucson, Arizona


"The result of participating in a Miksang course is that you receive pleasurable jolts of awareness that pull you out of your mundane thoughts, out of the sameness of everyday existence. I find myself walking through my workplace, house or neighborhood, places that are very familiar, and being thrilled by a small pink petal on a sidewalk, a crow on a wire above my head, a skyscape through a window, someone's hand resting on a desk, a specific shade of green. This awareness expands into the other senses, so I find myself being pulled up short by smells or tactile sensations as well. To experience Miksang is to be more awake to the world, less focused on the self and conscious of the goodness/wholeness of what is around you"

Maxine Evans
Red Deer, Alberta


"It's is so profound I'm not sure where to start. I know I'm not afraid to be myself like I used to be, and I'm willing to even put myself out there which is the action I couldn't follow through on before. I'm seeing more clearly, knowing what is more truly, and being decisive almost instantly.  I'm valuing myself and in that I'm able to offer myself more fully to everything I do, relationship's, work, play and rest."

Danielle Hougard.
San Rafael, California

"My Miksang experience in Vancouver in 2004 was quite incredible. Coincidentally (or perhaps NOT coincidentally) I had picked up a copy of the book "The Zen of Seeing" just days prior to the course. To my amazement, Michael mentioned this book as being an inspiration to him in his photographic journey.  In similar fashion the Miksang workshop experience has been an inspiration to me in my journey. The experience truly opened my eyes to the "everyday magic" that surrounds each of us every moment of our lives. The whole philosophy behind contemplative photography resonated deeply with me because of my meditation practice. This was the first "course in photography" that I have ever taken, however. I've owned an SLR camera for years, but I think this is perhaps the very first time that I have ever learned to truly "see" through it's lens. The experience was profound, and almost a year later, it continues to be so!"

David Bruce
Whitehorse, Yukon


"Miksang  puts the ART back into photography. It’s about the essence of what we see, not about the tools we use to capture the vision. It’s about merging with the flow  of your consciousness and expressing it with clarity and precision, without  getting caught up in “the rules”. It reads the rules, puts them back on the  shelf and gets on with the instinctive creative process. Miksang is the purest form of vision that lets you look beyond  the surfaces to the profound beauty in the mundane and the remarkable secrets in the common place. I CAN SEE!! And I’m not crazy!
 
John Wilson
Richmond, British Columbia


"During the workshop Michael had us ground ourselves, open our eyes and awareness, allow something to grab us (pop out, stand out) and then we were to go over to it, see it for what we saw and then take a picture. Anyhow, after the workshop three things happened to me. One, I was standing up straight without trying. Two, I had a lot of energy throughout the day and three, I was speaking from my chest with a strong sense of confidence. The more I wondered about why those changes had occurred the more I thought about the Miksang process.  I think that those changes occurred in me because this process throws open the door to communicating with your intuition (higher self, soul whatever you want to call it) and then you are ACTING on it.
The acting part is perhaps the most important part because you are telling your intuition that this is an open, viable form of
communication and you'll do something about it.  So....I have been applying this to my life by following though with action on my insights and intuition...by doing this it has changed everything - and for the better.  It is truly a gift to give someone a voice and more confidence in themselves."

Heather Ferguson
San Rafael, California