I found mindfulness — or rather, mindfulness found me — in 2009, during a season of life that felt like survival mixed with moments of joy. I was caring for a sick child and had other family issues while quietly struggling inside. I felt like a shell of who I once was and didn’t know what to do — I just knew I needed something to help me feel steady again. Then I came across a book by Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, and something in me exhaled.

Since then, I’ve spent the last fifteen years learning from spiritual and mindfulness teachers including Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Ram Dass, Pema Chödrön, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Michael Singer among others. Their wisdom has shaped how I live and how I teach, and I love weaving together these voices and practices, along with my own, to help others find their own path back to center.

In 2016, after the passing of my oldest daughter, Norah, my spiritual life opened in ways I never could have imagined. Her crossing led me to explore near-death experiences and soul-centered teachings from voices like Dr. Michael Newton and Abraham Hicks, which continue to guide how I understand healing, transformation, and living a fulfilled life.

In 2021, I became a certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher through the two-year MMTCP program with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. I’m also a trained yoga instructor, certified Spiritual Life Coach, and longtime project administrator.

Why Cushion Tree?

The name Cushion Tree holds a simple truth: all outer growth begins with inner roots.

In meditation practice, the cushion is where we return to ourselves. It’s the place where we sit, breathe, and reconnect. From that stillness, something profound begins to grow — an inner steadiness that extends into how we live and love.

Like a tree, this growth is both grounded and expansive. Roots reach inward before branches can stretch outward. The cushion is where the work begins; the tree is what flourishes when daily practice takes root in your life.

Cushion Tree is the home for everything I’ve gathered along the way — a space to help others live their daily practice in the midst of whatever life brings. Not as something rigid or perfect, but as a deeply rooted home base to return to, again and again.

I’m also a proud mom of three amazing, loving kids who remind me daily that love, laughter, and presence are what matter most.

In Light and Love for ALL,
— Erin