Valerie Mason John aka Vimalasara

Take On Faith – September 11, 2021

Valerie Mason John, also known as Vimalasara, teaches Buddhism in the Triratna Buddhist tradition. They joined host Xolani Kacela from her home in Vancouver, British Columbia for this episode of Take On Faith.

Valerie Mason John is the award-winning author of 10 books, and the co-author and co-founder of Eight Step Recovery: Using The Buddha’s Teaching to Overcome Addiction.

Vimalasara shared many powerful life experiences. Those included: how they discovered Buddhism after years of life in foster care, on the streets, and in prison as a youth. Importantly, they found themselves surrounded by people who meditated. That sparked their curiosity about practicing meditation.

Valerie Mason John discussed their Buddhist practice and how it helped them adopt a new mindset to overcome “stinking thinking,” which they discussed on their 2013 TEDx Talk.

You can reach Vimalasara on their website: https://www.valeriemason-john.com/about/ or on her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/valeriemasonjohn

From the guest’s website:

Dr. Valerie (Vimalasara) Mason-John, M.A (hon.doc) is a public speaker and master trainer in the field of conflict transformation, leadership and mindfulness. They was featured at TEDxRenfrewCollingwood where they gave a talk titled, We are what we think, which outlined a course of action we can take to work on the global epidemic of bullying.

Valerie is the award-winning author of 10 books, and the co-author and co-founder of Eight Step Recovery: Using The Buddha’s Teaching to Overcome Addiction. Since its publication, it has won the Best USA Book Award 2014 and Best International Book Award 2015 in the self motivational and self help category. Eight Step Recovery offers an alternative to the 12 step program for addiction. Eight Step meetings are now taking place in the UK, USA, Canada, Mexico, India and Finland. Valerie uses the pronouns they/their/them because they do not subscribe to how society defines a woman. She/Her limits their capacity to be who they truly are.

Mindfulness Teacher & Recovery Coach

Valerie is the co-creator of Mindfulness Based Addiction Recovery (MBAR). They are a certified professional Mindfulness Teacher, Recovery Coach, Life Coach, and a Compassionate Inquiry Facilitator and Practitioner. Valerie has been practicing mindfulness for over 30 years and is one of the leading African-descent voices in the field of mindfulness and addiction. She trains professionals working in the field of addiction all over the world.

They are also  the author of Detox Your Heart: Meditations for Emotional Trauma — a self-help guide on mindfulness of negative emotions.

Dharma Teacher

Valerie — also known as Vimalasara — was ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Community and is a senior teacher in this tradition. Although they work tirelessly in the field of mindfulness, the Buddhist teachings are an essential part of her personal practice.

They are the chairperson of the Triratna Vancouver Buddhist Centre in British Columbia, Canada, and leads and co-leads retreats both nationally and internationally. They was also the co-founder of Healing and Insight and is a teacher on Worldwide Insight.

Playwright

Valerie wrote the box office sell-out cult play, Sin Dykes, and has been touring their one woman show, Brown Girl In The Ring, internationally for the past ten years. The show is adapted to current issues and politics, while keeping to the plot that they are related to the Queen of England. They recently co-produced blackhalifax.com — 12 short poetic dramas documenting the African-descent history of Halifax, Nova Scotia dating back to the 1600’s.