Adam Dreisler
Buddhist Psychology
1997 - 2025 seminars, initiations and retreats with Buddhist teachers.
2000 – 2008 Religious Studies and Tibetology at the University of Copenhagen.
2005 - 2007/ 2011 Buddhist Studies at Rangjung Yeshe Institute, Kathmandu University.
2007 Yoga Teacher Training at Sivananda Meenakshi Ashram, India.
2014 Lam Rim Yeshe Nyingpo retreat, 3 months study and practice retreat at Gomde.
2015 Heart Sutra Retreat, 1 month summer course coordinator, Gomde.
2016 Chöd retreat coordinator, Gomde.
2017 - 2019 Bodhi training with Erik Pema Kunsang
2021 - 2023 Contemplative psychotherapy training at Nalanda Institute and retreats.
2023 - 2025 Studies at Bodhi College with John Peacock and Christina Feldman.
I have a fairly broad background in different cultural contexts.Born in Denmark, I moved to Tanzania with my mother, who worked in development, when I was two.We stayed for three years before returning, and when I was 11 we moved to Zimbabwe for another three years.I mention this because I feel it gave me a fundamental warmth and positivity that I attribute to the African culture and climate.
During my high school years, my father had the privilege of working in Bhutan, so I was very lucky to visit the magical country during my holidays.Here I met my first and foremost inspiration in the study and practice of Buddhism, Khenpo Phuntsok Tashi.
He was a researcher at the National Library of Bhutan and later the director of the National Museum of Bhutan.He is an authority on Buddhist scriptures, especially from the Nyingma tradition, but has studied with teachers from all the Tibetan schools as well as Theravada and Zen.His open-minded, ecumenical approach has greatly influenced my own approach to Buddhist studies.
In Bhutan I had a fantastic opportunity to experience the last pocket of Himalayan Buddhist culture that was not yet heavily influenced by the surrounding cultures of China and India.Bhutan had not yet opened up to outside media influence, and it was like stepping back in time to another world full of wisdom and harmony.
I had the opportunity to go on long treks in the Himalayan mountains.We walked for weeks in pristine forests and nomadic landscapes to isolated villages among snow-capped peaks.It gave me a deep sense of peace, wonder and connection to nature and the Earth and its people beyond race and culture.
Later, while traveling in Nepal and India, I began to study Buddhism.Primarily Vajrayana but also Theravada in Sri Lanka and Yoga in India.In Senegal I studied permaculture and the local Sufi culture.
For two decades I studied primarily Tibetan Buddhism in Denmark, Nepal and around the world where I could receive instruction at retreats, where we also practiced.In Denmark I have been affiliated with the meditation center Gomde under the leadership of Chöki Nyima Rinpoche and Erik Pema Kunsang.
Under Erik Pema Kunsang I took his basic training in dharma, Bodhi Training, which emphasizes a thorough introduction to the basic concepts and techniques of Buddhism in a language and a conceptual form that is communicative to contemporary Nordic culture.
Subsequently I studied Contemplative Psychotherapy at the Nalanda Institute in New York.It is the fusion of Buddhist psychology and Western psychotherapy.The founder is inspired by Tibetan Buddhism through Professor Robert Thurman who also teaches on the program.
The last few retreats I have attended have been at Bodhi College.They emphasize early Buddhism as found in the Pali tradition and have a secular and psychological approach. I base my therapy on this method and have been authorized to do so by my teacher Khenpo Phuntsok Tashi.
In addition to studying psychology, philosophy and the history of these traditions, I have explored the creative aspects of life through music, writing and documentary film. I explore creativity as an option in my therapy method.
Academically, I have studied Buddhist History, Religious Studies and Tibetan Language and Culture.I also identify as an activist, passionate about positively impacting the world.I do this mainly through spreading joy and social and spiritual awareness through music.In my younger years, I was quite active as a DJ, as I love to see people dance and celebrate life.
I have played the Indian bansuri flute for several decades as a tool for Bhakti yoga, and in recent years have performed with ambient DJs in churches and festivals.
I have also produced music and written my own songs, which I performed with a live band for a while.I will focus on giving my songs new life and writing more, with the motivation to lift the collective consciousness of humanity and thus all life on our beautiful planet and further out into the Universe.
But most of all I want to spread the knowledge of the very basic ideas and techniques of Buddha in a secular, psychological form that can be understood and practiced by everyone without regard to religious beliefs or background.