Get to Know Anne Dutton
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Who are the people that make Copper Beech Institute what it is? Anne Dutton is one of Institute's long-time teachers of the eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course. She shares with us some of the personal things that have shaped and inspired her life.
I started practicing mindfulness … in college. It was my good fortune to meet the Japanese Zen master Yamada Koun at this time and become his student. I participated in my first silent retreat with him in 1979.
Three things I can’t live without are … human connection, healthy food and clean water. Three things I’d prefer not live without are dancing, bathing and laughing.
I teach mindfulness because … I love sharing what has been invaluable to me.
Three things I never thought I’d be doing … are public speaking, living alone and writing a blog.
I’m inspired by … the courage and dignity of my students and the resilience, intelligence and beauty of my daughter.
My guilty pleasure is … getting regular massage. But I don’t feel that guilty about it.
The best advice I ever got was … from my father. He told me when I was a child that meditation had saved his life and that I should try it someday.
The most important thing on my bucket list is … building a cabin on the shore of a lake in Downeast Maine on land passed down from my great-great grandparents. I would also like to learn Argentine tango.
The last thing I do at night is … feel grateful — for shelter, food, freedom, meaningful work, family, friends and sangha.