Dharma Teachers: Mark Gebert and Lisa Story
Guiding Member: Toni Needel
Toni Needel has been practicing meditation for many years having started her journey in the 70s. She has experienced many forms of meditation along the way and is very happy to share what she has learned from those different paths. Toni became a certified meditation teacher through the prestigious Mindfulness Center in Bethesda Md, under the guidance of Dr. Debra Norris, Director of the Psychobiology of Healing Program at American University. Toni is passionate about helping people relieve their suffering through meditation. Toni is forever a student.
Guiding Member: Temple Sellers
Temple has been practicing insight meditation for 17 years. She regularly attends residential meditation retreats to renew and deepen her practice and has completed a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher training intensive through the U.C. San Diego Mindfulness-Based Professional Training Institute. MBSR is a secular mindfulness program used to support individuals with chronic pain, stress and anxiety related to medical and other conditions. Having experienced the ways in which insight meditation gradually reveal our deep interconnectedness, Temple views meditation practice as a way to strengthen wisdom and compassion and to reduce confusion and suffering for both ourselves and for others.
Temple retired from the practice of law in 2019 and is currently working with her husband Barry to build a meditation center in the North Georgia mountains.
Guiding Member: Veletta Gebert
Veletta has been practicing Insight meditation since 1981. She is married to Mark and together they began an Insight meditation group while living in Athens, as well as a weekly J. Krishnamurti video presentation and discussion group. She has attended several Vipassana meditation retreats, most recently a 4 day retreat with Narayan Liebenson at IMS. She is an original member of Sandy Springs Insight Meditation Group which began in 2009, where she is currently a facilitator. She and Mark have offered a monthly Half Day retreat at their home for many years. She is a retired school teacher, a Presbyterian Deacon, and now considers service to others her continued primary endeavor.
Leadership
Chuck is a lifelong searcher and learner who has turned to meditation and Buddhism seriously only in the last 5 years. He is a Special Education teacher and his practice has enhanced his work with his students and colleagues in so many ways. He is particularly attracted to the emphasis on compassion, generosity, and love found in the dharma – and in the RIMC sangha. Chuck has two grown children and lives in Marietta with his wife, April. Off the cushion, he likes to read, work in his yard, ride his bike, and play disk golf.
Roswell Insight Meditation Community
Guiding Member: Chuck Staropoli
Guiding Member: Devin O'Guin
Devin began his journey with insight meditation in 2008, but didn't truly find the warmth and support of Sangha until joining RIMC. He is excited that we have an opportunity to create a modern practice of Buddhism that's rooted in tradition yet springing forth with life unfettered by dogma. Heartened by this growing community of individuals practicing and sharing the Dharma, Devin hopes these beautiful teachings continue to illuminate a practical path towards greater awareness, kindness, joy, and compassion for our world. He currently lives in Alpharetta, GA, and works as a graphic designer. When he isn't meditating or spending time with RIMC, you'll likely find him hiking, cooking, or reading alongside one of his greatest teachers—and wife, Katie.