Oh hi! I’m Carol Farnum, and some of you might know me as an artist. I bet only some of you know me as an avid, advanced meditation practitioner. For everyone that doesn’t know me at all, I am both of those things!

I began my own search for mindfulness, being still, and looking for answers related to consciousness more than 30 years ago. I have studied comparative religion for as many years, and am currently doing a PhD program in Metaphysics to be finished in 2027, but I will obtain my Metaphysical Ministerial License this year and then be able to add Spiritual Counseling to my offerings here at RootDown. As a totally unrelated aside, I did my undergrad at UIUC in Evolutionary Ecology.

My history with meditation is long and started with Tibetan Buddhism after leaving the Catholic Church, and while I’m no longer practicing any particular organized religion, this was formative in my meditation practice. I have taken Tai Chi for many semesters in college and I was fortunate to be able to meditate at Namgyal Monastery in Ithaca, NY with monks trained by HH14 Dalai Lama in the 1990s. I really learned that just “to sit with it” was always the answer, no matter the question.

When I was a teenager I thought a lot about becoming a Catholic nun in order to devote my life to spiritual evolution and higher consciousness. When I left Catholicism and practiced Tibetan Buddhism for 20ish years, I then considered becoming a Buddhist nun for same reasons. I didn’t become a nun but my quest for divinity and all things spiritual and esoteric continues. In my comparative religious studies, I have found there are golden strands of same ideology woven through all religions throughout history. Different names, same ideas. I prefer no dogma.

My goal in this studio is to curate a supportive, balancing, foundational space for everyone to learn and practice meditation with no pressure, no religious underpinnings, no preconceived ideas about what you “should be doing”. I want you to feel safe, supported, encouraged, and balanced here and in turn, take peace and mindfulness out into your daily lives, hopefully stress free and able to center yourself quickly.

And because I am an artist all my life and running a professional studio for 15 years, even though I’m pseudo-retired from that profession I will continue giving private painting lessons and hosting an occasional pop up.

Stay RootDown, friends. Balance begins on the cushion.

Love,

C.