About
Mission
To use Somatic Meditation to harmonize our physical and subtle energy bodies, enhancing our relationship with the Source and healing our physical, mental, and emotional experience.
“Somatic” refers to the body as distinct from the mind. Science has proven that our bodies carry the burden and memory of life's experiences. Somatic Meditation applies various meditation techniques within a body-based framework, enabling us to listen to our bodies safely and effectively. When we learn to listen intimately to the body through meditative practice, our body intelligence awakens to new memories and sensations that we may be unaccustomed to. We learn a new vocabulary of subtle sensations and develop access to insight and guidance.
Practice:
Ultimately, the body's experience is transcended through the experience of the body's subtle energy. The Somatic Meditation technique often provides an accelerated response in physical, mental, and emotional healing, as well as an enhanced spiritual awareness of the Source.
Vision:
To make the principles and techniques of Somatic Meditation accessible, various teaching formats should be used for all individuals who are guided to learn the practice. Commit to working together in the community and individually to release the patterns that limit our experience and appreciation of life and each other.
Ralph is the founder and guiding teacher of Life Transition Meditation Center where he teaches Somatic Meditation and other intensive meditation practices. He is a Vietnam Veteran who has found peace from meditation practices for over 40 years and supports his own PTSD management.
He has used his trauma based studies and professional degrees in bringing several projects to life focused on alleviating trauma.
Ralph was a key individual in bringing meditation retreats based on living and dying to Washington state in 1980. He founded the first Elizabeth Kubler-Ross Hospice Program. He also works internationally as a consultant in stress management. Ralph practiced as an ordained monk in the monasteries of Myanmar and Thailand. He has taught meditation retreats since 1987.
Contributing to equity and diversity in many ways, Ralph has also been instrumental in establishing people-of-color retreats at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California and the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts.
His life partner, Sabine, and Ralph have been together for over twenty-eight years. Sabine enjoys pairing haiku's with photography, a few of which are showcased on the website. They both enjoy gardening, cooking and being in nature.
In 2014, Ralph published his first autobiography entitled Tending the Fire Through War and the Path of Meditation.
Meet Our Team
Teachers
Our teachers lead retreats, classes and ongoing practice in many aspects of meditation and practice. They are all volunteers as well and we are deeply grateful for their time and energy.
All Volunteer Team
Life Transition Meditation Center would not be in existence without the time and effort, dedicated by the all-volunteer staff. Each individual plays a vital role in the operation of the organization.
Volunteer With Us
Please contact [email protected] for inquiries to volunteer with our organization.
Our Board Members
We are grateful to include the wisdom of our board members. Their expertise and experience in many facets contribute to the evolution, growth, and future success of the Life Transition Meditation Center.
Maya Salganek (she/her) is a Professor of Film and Video arts in the UAF Department of Theatre and Film, and founding director of the UAF Film Reel Alaska Mentoring Experience (FRAME). As a filmmaker and educator living on the unceded lands of the Dena people of the lower Tanana River, her cinematic work often features the people and stories of Alaska, which aim to decolonize the screen. Maya is dedicated to developing positive role models on film that reflect the diversity of our community. Through her courses and projects, she nurtures visually sovereign storytellers capable of expressing themselves within their own communities, as well as to a wider audience. Maya has worked as a producer or director on dozens of films in Alaska and beyond, from feature-length narrative films to NSF-funded documentaries about climate change. www.mayasalganek.com
John Trotter is a Professor Emeritus in the Medical School of the University of New Mexico. He ran a successful research program and taught many medical students during his tenure at the University of New Mexico. He has been practicing meditation and studying Buddhism for the past 30 years. Ralph Steele has been his main teacher for much of that time. In addition to his Buddhist study and practice, he has pursued a passion for creative photography, especially black and white landscape photography, since he was 15 years old. He joined the Board of Directors of the Life Transition Meditation Center in 2023.
Michael Holman, LMHC, is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor with over 20 years of experience in supporting people with disabilities. He holds a Master's Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and supervises staff at two regional units of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitatiion in Washington State. Michael works with individuals, employers, and community organizations to promote successful employment outcomes for people with disabilities, believing in the empowerment that employment brings to independence and quality of life. He also runs a private practice specializing in trauma, anxiety, addiction, and life transitions, using techniques like EMDR, mindfulness, and somatic therapy. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family, is an advocate for sober living, exercise, and lifelong learning. Michael has practice meditation and studed Buddhism for over 20 years, Ralph Steele has been his primary teacher since 2019.
Dr. Susan M Pisano, B.S., D.C. is a Doctor of Chiropractic since 1992. Chiropractic is a lifestyle that I live by and my work centers on teaching my clients that their health is multi-factorial. My approach is to uncover the hidden causes of a person's loss of wellness and address these on all levels of their personhood and help educate and empower them to make the changes needed for long term healing and resumption of wellness. I also have BS in Aeronauticss and Applied Mathematics, whch took me from flying small aircraft to working at Grumman Aerospace on several programs. I studied the body in relation to manned flight and also how the RADAR and other microwave communications affect the body and it's need to be shielded from EMF's; critical knowledge in today's Wi-Fi world.
Melinda A. García, Ph.D. Director, Behavioral Health and Community Services. Supervised professional and paraprofessional staff in programs addressing mental health, substance abuse, adolescent alcohol & drug abuse prevention, community health interventions, and community healing, serving three Native American rural reservations as well as urban Natives in Sandoval County. Developed individualized supervision and training plans for 15 staff. Provided weekly individual and group clinical and administrative supervision. Increased competence, professionalism, quality of services, and productivity in all programs while increasing cooperation between programs. Integrated the CHR program into behavioral health and prevention programs while broadening its Public Health role. Wrote successful State and Federal competitive grants for five major programs, including a Drug-Free Communities grant for Zia Pueblo ($1M of services over 5 years). Instituted electronic medical records with customized software. Made up an initial $30,000 budget shortfall within 6 months. Maintained clear and solvent budgets for nine funding streams over three different fiscal years. Increased funding for all programs in the department. Brought staff salaries up to market value. Successfully defended the funding of programs that incorporated Pueblo Core Values from State funding cuts. Successfully initiated, negotiated, and finalized the transfer of an additional 638 funds from IHS to FSIP Behavioral Health.
Margo Chávez-Charles was introduced to many forms of meditation practices by Ralph Steele, and participated in retreats offered by Life Transition Institute. She is grateful for the learning she has gained from Ralph that allows her to continue her own practice. She became a Board Member of Life Transition Institute and subsequently of Life Transition Meditation Center.
Margo taught for over twenty years in the Honors College at the University of New Mexico and currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Jody Paine
As the Board Treasurer, Jody has been practicing meditation and yoga since 1970. She has devoted over thirty years of her life to caring for family members and many other individuals in hospice facilities. Starting in 1992, she has cared for patients in the HIV community, directly in a hospice care facility and relatives.
Jody has also been practicing accounting since 2002 and is grateful and proud to be a mother and grandmother.
Iscah Hunsden Carey
Iscah is a portrait photographer and mixed media artist.
She has studied Buddhism and Eastern practices for over 30 years. She was introduced to Tibetan Buddhism at four years old when she was blessed by the late Kalu Rinpoche.
Iscah holds a 200-hour RYT yoga certification through Prajna Yoga School and focuses on trauma-informed yoga through the Liberation Yoga Project in New York City and Dana Moore in Santa Fe, NM.
Iscah’s dedication to her spiritual journey is evident in her decade-long study and practice of Theravada Buddhism and Somatic Experiencing under the guidance of Ralph Steele.
For the past seven years, she has been working with Donald Little Thunder, a Lakota Spiritual Advisor, Songholder, and community leader, on numerous projects on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. They have worked with the Santa Fe Community Foundation and the Mother Nature Center in Santa Fe.
She has served on the Forest Trust Board for the last eight years.
Iscah's commitment to her personal and professional growth is unwavering. She is currently pursuing certification in Cranial Sacral therapy and Integrative water therapy, further expanding her holistic skill set.