About me V2 - Esberger Mindfulness

Writing about yourself is infinitely difficult, especially if you are immersed, as I am, in the world of meditation and mindfulness. Roles, titles, labels disappear as soon as the larger connection is present. Everything within ourselves is constantly changing, and even what is here today may be quite different tomorrow.

"Who am I", "What am I" and "Why am I here?" are the questions that have always occupied me. "What am I doing that could be meaningful"?

Perhaps you've come across my writing, or would like to do a retreat, course, or workshop with me, or hire me as a consultant, or ask me to work with you personally to support your meditation practice and life. You may want to know a little about where I come from, what my credentials are, what I believe in, and how I came to do what I do. Makes sense. I read "about" pages for exactly the same reason. So I'll do my best not to dwell on "not being".

My origin

I was born in Mumbai, India and grew up in an Austrian-Indian family. After a school education in Mumbai, I completed my pharmacy studies in Vienna. My deep interest in Vedanta, Yoga and the philosophy of the subcontinent laid the foundation for my later training and activity in mindfulness and meditation. Over many decades I had the opportunity to meet with numerous wise teachers such as J. Krishnamurti, Swami Chinmayananda, Swami Satyananda (Bihar School of Yoga), Swami Parthasarathy (Vedanta Life), Jon Kabat-Zinn (CFM, USA), Saki Santorelli (CFM, USA), Sri Mooji (Portugal).

Although I have been living in Austria with my family for over thirty years now, I am very connected to India and travel there every year. Mostly in recent years to Rishikesh, the holy city on the Ganges, at the foot of the Himalayas or do a retreat or pilgrimage. India recharges my soul.

The health care system

After studying pharmacy, I joined the global pharmaceutical industry and held numerous leadership positions, in Austria and in India, where I put a strong focus on patient orientation in the last years of my career.

In 2013, I stepped out of the fast-paced business world to dedicate myself to my inner search for meaning. What connects me to healthcare is my focus on providing patients with a holistic view of their illness through mindfulness.

In addition to medical treatment, I offer specific courses and workshops developed on mindfulness, psychology and neuroscience for people with chronic diseases (multiple myeloma, long-covid, etc.).

The search for meaning

My own search for meaning led me to train as a meditation and mindfulness teacher. Although I have been practicing hatha yoga and meditation for many decades, I have not been a teacher. This desire to deepen my knowledge and experience spurred me to begin a new career. The tender attempts as a meditation trainer and the encounter with the books of the US-American Mindfulness teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn were decisive for me to have found a home in mindfulness.

I read, I listened, I learned, I took many trainings and certifications to be able to work as a mindfulness trainer.

My own path took the central role, the students became my teachers and step by step my confidence in myself grew.

Now I can share, because in every word, in every meditation, the innermost in me speaks, in harmony with myself and in connection with the other.

My own way of sharing

Many activities and responsibilities have arisen in recent years, and the focus has changed, away from organizations and institutions to individuals. Today I choose the path of multi-week courses, individual conversation or retreat.

Various stations

From August 2018 to June 2020, I led the Austria team as Country Manager for Potential Project, a global provider of corporate mindfulness.

Since 2018 I am a lecturer in the first master's course for "Mindfulness in Education, Organizations and Health Care" at the "Kirchlich Pädagogische Hochschule Wien". Supervising master's theses on many topics relevant to mindfulness particularly delights me. This is how this topic is brought into academia to eventually propagate into practice.

2018 I was a founding member of the initiative "Achtsames Österreich" in Politics. This initiative was unfortunately terminated, despite numerous successful projects. Maybe it will revive in the future!

Publications

Over the last years I have written many articles and published them several times, both in English and in German. The following books have been published or are in preparation for printing: