Victor Byrd, Psy.D began his spiritual journey studying Hatha yoga in India and teaching at the Integral Institute in New York City and the United Nations. He practiced Zen until discovering Vipassana at the Insight Meditation Society, in Barre, Massachusetts. He spent much of 1987 through 1989 in residence there, doing three month retreats with Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Michele McDonald and others. Victor sat for a month with U Pandita and has done numerous retreats with Ruth Denison in Barre, Joshua Tree and Hawaii. He also attended over a dozen retreats with Shinzen Young in California during the 1990's.

On a parallel track, he worked with the noted Jungian analyst, Dr. Edward Whitmont, learning to integrate both the spiritual and psychological aspects of healing.

In 1990, Dr. Byrd moved to California where he earned a Masters and Doctorate in Psychology. He is in private practice as a Marriage and Family Therapist in Long Beach, California. The interplay between Western psychological work and Eastern spiritual practice has been the core of his inner work for decades and defines his approach to meditation. Dr. Byrd brings first-hand experience and a deep love for the dharma to the teacher-student relationship.

STUDENT INTERVIEWS

The guidance and interaction between teacher and student are very important in the Buddhist tradition. Victor offers student interviews for those who are interested in deepening their Vipassana practice. As we study the dharma and begin to practice concentration and mindfulness, not only in meditation, but in our daily lives, we all experience trials and triumphs along the way. Our teacher is here for us.

Interviews are 20 minutes long and the student is asked to describe a typical sit, such as the meditation object (i.e. the rise and fall of the abdomen or the touch of the breath in the nostrils). What happens in the sit? Distractions? Problems with concentration? Are the fire truck sirens making you crazy? Are you planning dinner instead of watching your breath? Are you angry? Happy? Bored? Sleepy? Afraid? Are you asking yourself "what's the point?" or trying to recapture that splendid moment of bliss?

Welcome to meditation!

It is important to remember that student interviews are not psychological sessions. It's about a sit and what happens during that sit.

There are no fees for student interviews.

Please contact Victor directly to set up an interview at the Sacred Space: victorbyrd@longbeachmeditation.com
or call LMB and leave a message: (562) 804-5570

ONLINE DIALOGUE WITH VICTOR

Join our online satsang. Email your questions about meditation, the dharma, your practice to Victor, and we will post them, along with his answer, on our website. Plenty of inquiring minds want to know. DIALOGUE WITH VICTOR

A PERSONAL MESSAGE TO OUR SANGHA FROM VICTOR
More than ever, we feel like a sangha rather than a group of people
surrounding a teacher. This has always been my dream: a community
of spiritual friends supporting one another in our practice. We are
Buddhist and Christian, Jew and Muslim, Believer and non-Believer.
We are a home for anyone who imagines that there is something Real
beyond the unreal, that it is possible to awaken from this dream world of
unconscious living, and that the way to the Real exists only within our
own silent heart.

Byrdism:
"It's a mighty thin plank that ain't got two sides."
(an old southern saying)