When life feels tangled in anxiety, stress, or relentless busyness, a shift in awareness can open new pathways of clarity and peace. In this lecture, Jon Vasu Seskevich—nurse-clinician, meditation teacher, and longtime leader in the field of mind–body medicine—invites us to step outside habitual thought patterns and discover practical ways to meet uncertainty with steadiness.

As a student and friend of Ram Dass—who affectionately regarded him as a fellow “guru brother”—Seskevich carries forward a lineage of wisdom that is both grounded and approachable. Over decades at Duke University Medical Center, he pioneered stress and pain management programs for patients and caregivers, offering tools that bridge mindfulness, compassion, and clinical care.

His teaching is simple yet profound: interrupt the train of everyday thinking, cultivate inner spaciousness, and bring compassionate presence into the ordinary and the uncertain. Participants will leave with practices that steady the heart and open the possibility of freedom in the midst of change.