"Miksang is a way I can connect with the world visually.  Whether I have my camera or not, I can stop and wake up to what is right in front of me.  I can become grounded and relax in whatever situation I happen to be in, and see and appreciate what I see.  That, for me, is what Miksang is about."

Cody Robertson
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

I just returned from taking a Miksang contemplative photography workshop, which was held at the Shambhala Mountain Center in NW Colorado. It was a great learning experience and a special place to learn in. The miksang leaders, Michael Wood & Julie DuBose are excellent teachers of Miksang which means the good eye.

Irene Oleksiuk



"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



"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  

A practice of awareness that expands the moment of perception.
Releasing the filters of belief, deepening acceptance of life as it is.
Direct experience sans interpretation. Seeing not Seeking.  ...
In the snapping of a photographic shot? Through Miksang,...Yes!

Thank you for lighting the path.

Curt Medill
Livermore, California



"The Miksang Photography Workshop was a revelation to me. My background is as a traditional large format, black and white darkroom photographer who takes quite structured and classical photographs. I have spent a great deal of time mastering technical aspects of photography and not much time working with perception and "seeing" in any workshop setting. I also have a long time meditation practice which made Michael's approach seem quite attractive to me.
 
This workshop was transformational to me in that it gave me distinctions and practice in pure seeing without the encumbrances of labeling, ideas, theories, planning, formal composition, or story. The exercises worked and opened up my eyes to things I have never noticed before and allowed me to see remarkable beauty in everyday places. I made images that totally surprised me and that have re energized my photography. Also, the carry-over into seeing beauty in the everyday world when not taking pictures has heightened my enjoyment of simply being in my world.
 
Not only did I enjoy myself immensely, but my photography has flourished."

Scott Jones
Portland, Oregon



"While my eye has often been drawn to what might seem commonplace…wave patterns in the sand on the seashore or a single drop of rain on a leaf…the Miksang approach to photography introduced me to a new level of stillness in my seeing.  This is the place where the image meets me half way and the expression of that meeting, the photographic image, often conveys the essence of our encounter.

The French film director, Robert Bresson once said “make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.” Miksang offers the opportunity to make this quotation come alive."

Valerie Ish
Vancouver, British Columbia