ABOUT ARIAN YOUNG
The Early Days
How did a former Tibetan Buddhist nun who has been meditating for
over 30 years, find herself returning to Melbourne after living in Asia, Europe and USA? Arian Young discovered
meditation at the confused age of 18, when a very kind friend who was a psychiatric nurse, introduced her to a
sequence of deep breathing and mind stilling techniques which helped her enormously with anxiety and
nervousness. This proved to be a god-send because during winter in the same year, she naively indulged on
one too many psychedelic mushrooms. Consequently, she hallucinated for several days which resulted in a
temporary nervous breakdown. As part of her recovery, meditation amongst other modalities, helped to ground her
and, bring her back to health. The 'accidental' mushroom incident was fate; it was enough to remove the
desire for any further experimentation with mind-altering substances. Little did she know that in years to come,
meditation would prove to be a safer way to experience positive states of altered
consciousness.
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Arian on daily duties with her dharma
sisters at Hsi Lai Temple Monastery
Los Angeles
1988
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In 1981 in a second hand book store at university, she
stumbled upon the title, 'Zen Mind, Beginners Mind' by Shunryu Suzuki, one enigmatic phrase jumped out, “In the
beginners mind, there are endless possibilities, in the expert’s mind, there are a few.” The innocence of this
powerful enquiry resonated deeply, triggering questions around life’s deeper meaning, its purpose and how to
live.
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"The privildge of a lifetime is being who you are"
Joseph Campbell
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Life And Death
Whilst working in radio at
Queensland University in the early 1980s, she was introduced to Inta Mckinn, a fiercely bright and eccentric woman
who was a Jungian analyst, painter, musician and Tibetan Buddhist teacher.
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Arian taking a rest from being a nun and
having some fun.
Fo Guang Shan Monastery,
Kaohsiung
Taiwan 1989
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In amongst the meditation and Buddhist psychology, Inta was able to confirm that Arian’s near death
experiences of almost drowning when she was 21 in the Southern Ocean and later at 23, in Cairns, replicated
the quiet surrender and authentic trust meditation can offer. Now Arian claims you don’t have to go to
great extremes, such as drowning, to experience serenity and peace. What was clearly evident, was that both
meditation and, giving over to a near death experience, twice; not only induced profound states of being, but
confirmed, that no matter what situation you find yourself in; it’s never as bad as you think.
This completely defied conventional thinking and existence, as she knew it.
Buddhist Nun
Her various Buddhist teachers expanded further on these meditative experiences as she travelled the world,
engaging the Gelugpa tradition of Lama Tsong Khapa Tibetan Buddhism, Chu’an Zen Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism.
Eventually this lead to her ordination in the late 1980s with Geshe Tsultrim Gyeltsen and Master Hsing Yun at the
Triple Platform Ordination for novice nuns and for nuns seeking higher ordination as Bikshunis at the Ch’uan (Zen)
monastery Hsi Lai Temple, outside Los Angeles. Living in monasteries and women’s hermitages in Asia, Europe and the
USA, inspired a life of service, devotion and rebellion, especially when prompted by one master who said,
“Everything you have ever known, leave at the front gate.”
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Arian with one of her delightful dharma
sisters.
Fo Guang Shan Monastery,
Kaohsiung
Taiwan 1989
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East Meets West
Living in a forest monastery that had a traditional chinese medicine clinic for their monks, nuns
and surrounding villages, inspired the inevitable desire to learn chinese medicine. Arian's journey with oriental
healing and the intuitive arts was born, which led to further training and study, including chi gong, wai dan gong
and wu chi in the USA. This was to eventually complement her training and love for bodywork,
soul centred psychotherapy, Jungian analysis and dream work, as well as, thought field therapy and ecstatic
trance dance. Several years of part time actor training at the VCA and a passion for script writing which
she studied at RMIT University, prepared her for future roles as an engaging speaker, facilitator and trainer.
These diverse experiences helped Arian to infuse her approach to living and teaching meditation
in the 21st century.
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Arian was fortunate enough to receive
week-long teachings from H.H. The Dalai Lama in India and
California.
Los Angeles
1989
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Today
With over 30 years of meditation experience, Arian feels like an absolute beginner in meditation.
Why? Because meditation continues to delight and intrigue her,
“the symbolic intelligence of meditation reflected in its muliple layers of meaning, discovery
and nuance, keep informing my exploration and curiosity and, I love the continual unfolding of revelation that
takes place for my clients; what they teach me continues to train my insight, wonder and sense of imagination”,
says Arian.
Along with her commitment to
the humanities and sciences of human potential, Arian is deeply inspired by meditation pioneers Dr Lorin Roche
and Camille Maurine. Both have supported her in bringing meditation in to
the 21st century, as an instinctive,
sensual and refreshingly intimate way of living in the world today.
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“It has been remarkably tantalising to know and engage Lorin and
Camille whose language and teaching of meditation embodies attachment, passionate
attention and following the call to come home to connect to self and other.”
Arian Young
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This enduring knowledge embodies a capacity to intuit a
client’s needs and discover together, what their optimal mind and body states are for wellness, creativity,
life purpose and spiritual development.
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Vajra Yogini Institute
(formerly the castle of painter Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec) in the
hills of Tarn, east of Toulouse
France 1990
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She has been training and coaching executives, professionals, families and groups in meditation for 10
years.
Taking Meditation To the Masses
Arian has been selected as one of a panel
of eight national experts, including renowned international health and longevity expert Dr John
Tickell. This panel of Australian experts in the field of wellness, launched in
May 2009 for the nation’s first comprehensive Health and Happiness test of all
Australians is an annual event and, has in its first year, a membership of 55,000 + members
nationwide. It is held in conjunction
with News Limited, Channel 7, Sunrise, Today Tonight, Abundant Media and The Federal Government Health
Department.
Arian is actively engaged in promoting to all Australian's, the benefits of meditation, as part of a holistic
approach to health and, its inextricable link to happiness.
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“In the continuum of evolution and moving forward, meditation in
the 21 st century is not a detached mechanical routine, nor an archaic
frozen method to transcend being human, rather, it is a way for us to thrive, be
authentic, live our purpose and celebrate who we are”
Arian Young
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Along the way, Arian has had the great fortune to
train with some very memorable and outstanding teachers.
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• Inta Mckinn
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• Ivan Dorsey Roshi
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• Lama Zopa Rinpoche
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• Michael Reed Gach
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• H. H. the Dalai
Lama
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• Dr Chui Nan Lai
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• Geshe Tsultrim
Gyeltsen
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• Jennifer Sun
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• Zazeb
Tulku Rinpoche
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• Dr Kaali Cargill and Andrew
Cargill
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• Master
Hsing Yun
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• Kevin Toohey
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•
Bikshuni Aya Khema
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• Dr Lorin Roche
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• Bikshuni Sangye
Khadro
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• Camille Maurine
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Arian resides in Melbourne with her beloved husband
Alan - an executive coach, business strategist and photographer extraordinaire. She loves script writing for film
and theatre, playing frisbee, yoga, cooking, being in nature and occassionally, exquisite chocolate and oysters;
but not in the same mouthful.
For further reading, Arian’s forthcoming book will be
published soon.
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