About the Author

Shinzen Young is an American mindfulness teacher and neuroscience research consultant. His systematic approach to categorizing, adapting and teaching meditation – known as Unified Mindfulness – has resulted in collaborations with Harvard Medical School, Carnegie-Mellon University, the University of Vermont and the University of Arizona in the bourgeoning field of contemplative neuroscience. In 2019, Shinzen became the Co-Director of the Sonication Enhanced Mindful Awareness (SEMA) Lab at the University of Arizona Center for Consciousness Studies. The SEMA Lab endeavors to biophysically operationalize the measurement of mindful awareness. 

Shelly Young is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor. Shelly has been a mindfulness instructor for over 30 years and has led workshops and trainings throughout the U.S. and Canada since 1985. She maintains a mindfulness-based psychotherapy practice in Tucson, Arizona and Albuquerque, New Mexico and regularly works with individuals and groups using the UMED process. Shelly is presently working with researchers at the SEMA lab in Tucson Arizona as well as the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). At MUSC they are researching the effects of the combination of the UMED protocol for addictions with their meditation-enhancing device, “Zendo.” Shelly is the author of the children’s book Benny the Bunny Finds the Happy Place: A Mindfulness Journey for Children and Adults. More about Shelly’s work can be found on her website, PresentSolutions4u.com. 

Elizabeth Reninger is a freelance writer and yoga/meditation instructor based in Boulder, Colorado. She is the author of Meditation Now: A Beginner’s Guide (Althea Press), Taoism for Beginners (Rockridge Press), A Year of Taoism (Rockridge Press), and the poetry collection And Now the Story Lives Inside You (WovenWord Press). She has written many essays on contemplative topics. These can be found on her website, www.elizabeth-reninger.com.