Lawrence Edwards, PhD, BCN Senior Fellow, LMHC has practiced and taught meditation for 50 years. He is the Founder and Director of The Anam Cara Meditation Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching meditative practices from a variety of traditions. Lawrence trained as a monk in India and studied with Tibetan Buddhist masters. Lawrence has offered thousands of free meditation programs at universities, hospitals, churches, meditation centers, yoga centers, hospice groups, prisons and more. Please visit the Anam Cara Meditation Foundation website for information on programs and retreats. Lawrence grew up on Long Island, New York. In 1970 he began studying meditation and psychology in college. He studied with the transpersonal psychologist, Dr. Kenneth Ring, at the University of Connecticut, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1974. During this time he practiced meditation and hatha yoga and then began studying Tibetan Buddhism with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Dr. Edwards has studied with His Eminence Tsewang Seetar Rinpoche, head of the ancient Sangye Teng Monastery in Bhutan and received empowerments from him. He has also received teachings and empowerments from His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Gelek Rinpoche.