Jeffrey Malecki

Montreal, Quebec
Unified Mindfulness L2 Coach

I found my way to Unified Mindfulness after a decades-long struggle with anxiety, unease, and confusion. A chance encounter with Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind in a high school library first sparked my interest in meditation. The book shocked, baffled, and intrigued me—and in some ways it still does. I continued to read a lot, but like many, I struggled to actually practice meditation—and the suffering became worse than ever. Since my first retreat at Zen Mountain Monastery in 2012 I’ve maintained a deepening daily meditation practice, relishing the ways mindfulness has expanded and enriched my view of life, allowing me to accept, engage with, and even appreciate its many difficulties and challenges, particularly when it comes to emotions. Because of UM’s accessibility, laser-sharp focus on core skills, and dynamic range of practice options, it’s been an enjoyable, expansive, and effective evolution of my Zen practice.

I’ve previously worked as an academic, ESL tutor, editor, chess teacher, musician, massage therapist, and now I find myself passionate about sharing mindfulness with others. In addition to Zen, over the last ten years, I’ve explored many other contemplative traditions such as Goenka Vipassana, Insight Meditation, Pragmatic Dharma, and qi gong, and spent some time at the “meta-modern” monastery MAPLE, in Vermont.

Ultimately, I find the path of mindfulness to be one of deep beauty, curiosity, uncertainty, messiness, wonder, humor, play, and meaning, encompassing the entire range of human experience—both the joyous and the challenging—allowing us, perhaps, to respond wisely and lovingly in every moment. Now certified as a Unified Mindfulness coach, I’m excited to share this rich and profound system of practice, accessible to beginners: a beautiful, elegant, powerful, and proven way to deepen happiness over the long-term.

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