Shemaleiah Geremia-Smylie
About the Teacher
Why study with them?
Shemaleiah has been immersed in contemplative practice since childhood, growing up in a family where prayer, relationship with the more-that-we-are, and a love of the natural world were woven into everyday life. She came to the Buddhadharma more formally in her twenties through Brown University's Contemplative Studies Program. After a decade of Rinzai Zen practice, she found her heart's home in Tibetan Buddhism.
She resonates deeply with the Vajrayana view that all phenomena are inherently sacred and that even difficult emotions are welcomed onto the path as fuel for liberation. She is devoted to practices that honor embodied experience, our elemental and animal nature, and the cyclic rhythms of our planet. Ritual speaks to her as a language of the heartmind, and she continues to be inspired by Vajrayana's transformative methods, which engage our relational nature as a path of awakening.
Throughout her life, the Earth has been her most steady and profound teacher. Her current studies and practice are centered on Dzogchen, belonging, and our embodied participation in the living world. She enjoys exploring practices that invite the recognition of Buddha Nature and how that recognition is lived in relationship with ourselves, one another, and the Earth. She is especially interested in cultivating communities of refuge rooted in connection, compassion, and belonging.
Since joining Natural Dharma Fellowship, Shemaleiah has served in various volunteer and staff roles. She currently works as Spiritual Programming Manager and is training to become a dharma teacher through NDF's Advanced Teacher Initiative. She lives onsite with her husband and their two cats at the Farmhouse beside Wonderwell Mountain Refuge.
She resonates deeply with the Vajrayana view that all phenomena are inherently sacred and that even difficult emotions are welcomed onto the path as fuel for liberation. She is devoted to practices that honor embodied experience, our elemental and animal nature, and the cyclic rhythms of our planet. Ritual speaks to her as a language of the heartmind, and she continues to be inspired by Vajrayana's transformative methods, which engage our relational nature as a path of awakening.
Throughout her life, the Earth has been her most steady and profound teacher. Her current studies and practice are centered on Dzogchen, belonging, and our embodied participation in the living world. She enjoys exploring practices that invite the recognition of Buddha Nature and how that recognition is lived in relationship with ourselves, one another, and the Earth. She is especially interested in cultivating communities of refuge rooted in connection, compassion, and belonging.
Since joining Natural Dharma Fellowship, Shemaleiah has served in various volunteer and staff roles. She currently works as Spiritual Programming Manager and is training to become a dharma teacher through NDF's Advanced Teacher Initiative. She lives onsite with her husband and their two cats at the Farmhouse beside Wonderwell Mountain Refuge.
