Here is an article from November 2007 about Naropa University. I’m including it here mostly because it includes Robert Spellman whom I studied with and greatly appreciate for his original mind, great open heartedness and persistent humour. He has practiced meditation for something like 40 years and still manages to offer it fresh, to new students. His classes The Contemplative Artist and Meditation Practicum are highlights of my time at Naropa. I also love his art which you can find here http://robertspellman.com/
“All this unconventional study is conducted with great seriousness and purpose, which is not to say humorlessness. Here, for instance, is what Robert Spellman, an art teacher, told one class about meditation: “If we set an intention of becoming a good, holy meditator, and we’re not aware of that intention, we’re going to become a certain kind of jerk.”
Mr. Spellman seems to embody Naropa’s balance between the alternative and the traditional. A painter whose still lifes are shown in local galleries, he walked into his classroom looking like the tweediest, most patrician Yankee ever. Then he unlaced his brown oxfords, folded up his khakied legs, adjusted his button-down collar, and proceeded to meditate for 20 minutes.”
