Justin Michelson: Lessons from Illness, Healing, and the Edge of the Path

Tune in to Justin Michelson, co-founder of the Eugene Insight Meditation Center and author of The Dharma of Healing: A Path of Liberation from Stress, Pain, and Trauma. Justin teaches in the Insight Vipassana and Thai Forest traditions and lives in an intentional community outside Eugene, Oregon, where he also runs a native plant nursery and leads nature-based meditation retreats.

In this rich and intimate conversation, Justin shares his spiritual journey - from discovering meditation at fifteen and training in the Buddhist path, to confronting stuck emotions and unnamed trauma that his practice alone couldn't resolve. He speaks candidly about how integrating somatic therapy and Internal Family Systems work with Buddhist teachings led to a profound awakening and ultimately to his book. Justin explains why self-compassion is often the missing doorway to deeper spiritual insight, and why our aversion to pain - not the pain itself - is what locks suffering in place.