Diana Conley
If you've come to the Zen Life & Meditation Center (ZLMC) recently, chance are you've seen the bright, welcoming smile of Diana Conley. You'll find her volunteering in the kitchen, cleaning altars, or making flower arrangements. Diana is an Advanced Member and sits on our board of directors as our Treasurer. Not only does she give generously of her time at the Zen Center but she also volunteers once a week teaching women how to meditate at the Metropolitan Correctional Center.
She grew up in Chicago where she attended Catholic grade school. Drawn to philosophy and Japan, she read Alan Watt's book, "Man, Woman, Nature" and decided Zen was for her.
She tried meditating on her own, but it wasn't until she received some meditation instruction from a Tai Chi instructor that she realized how many misconceptions she had about the practice.
It wasn't long before she moved to Boulder and enrolled in Naropa. Three years later she received a BA in Traditional Eastern Arts with a concentration in Aikido. She spent several more years in Boulder working on the staff for Naropa University and Shambhala Mountain Center.
She began to feel homesick for Chicago, so she moved back here in 2008. She got a job at Gravity Tank, a consulting firm that helps businesses design new products. She began seeking out different Zen Centers in Chicago, but none really clicked.
When Diana attended her first Day of Mindfulness at ZLMC in late 2009, she was surprised and intrigued by the richness and variety of practices offered. The day included mindfulness meditation, a private session with the teacher, a Big Mind process and a closing Council Circle. After that she knew she had found a spiritual home.
She says both Big Mind, Council Circle, meditation and doing private koan study with Robert have been transformational in her life. She struggled with depression in high school and was always afraid of being taken over again by this "dark place". She was wary of Chicago because she knew how harsh it could be here. But the Zen practice has helped her make peace with herself. She doesn't have a heavy heart any more.
Diana feels the mindfulness practice taught at ZLMC has helped her clarify how her unexamined assumptions have driven a lot of her destructive habits. Her Zen spiritual path has helped her appreciate and enjoy her life and the world around her.
The practice has also had a big impact on the way she works. Raised in a working class family, she learned a strict work ethic. While this is good, it has also sometimes caused her to overwork in obsessive ways that created stress and unhappiness. Now she says, she is less compulsive about work. She is able to relax and enjoy each moment, to focus more clearly on the task at hand, and to let go of the work once she leaves the office.
She attributes much of this to the mindfulness practice she has learned in the Core Curriculum classes at ZLMC. The teachings on intention and mindfulness help her stay balanced. She can have a very busy day but it doesn't consume her like it used to.
She enjoys having much of her family close by. She has 3 brothers and a sister and her mother, Carol lives in Naperville. We are grateful and happy to have Diana as a member of our growing spiritual community.
