Silk Road Seminar - Nicole Baden

Nov 29, 2025

Nicole Baden, a contemplative teacher and somatic practitioner, dives into the integration of Zen practice and modern psychological techniques. She discusses her Dharma Academy and how it adapts monastic practices for personal growth in the digital age. The conversation touches on the significance of embodied awareness, the limitations of objectivist science, and how relationships shape our perception. They explore the dialogical nature of Zen practice, highlighting community's transformative power and the pilgrimage of shifting perspectives.

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INSIGHT

Zen As Inquiry Into Aliveness

Zen practice trains attention to explore the mystery of aliveness rather than only asserting doctrines.
Nicole Baden emphasizes embodiment, meditation, and language to redirect attention and change how we live.

ANECDOTE

From Body‑Mind Training To Online Dharma

Nicole recounts training in Body-Mind Centering to integrate embodiment with contemplative practice.
She then founded the Dharma Academy to bring monastic practices into lay life online.

INSIGHT

Non‑Propositional Knowing Bridges Traditions

Vervaeke links Buddhist and Neoplatonic practices through non‑propositional knowing and relevance realization.
He frames plural contemplative recovery as addressing the modern meaning crisis.

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Thank you for joining us LIVE for this special Lectern Launch Event with Nicole Baden and Dr. John Vervaeke.

Nicole Baden is a contemplative teacher, somatic practitioner, and long-time collaborator within the ecology-of-practices community. Her work focuses on integrating embodiment, meditative discipline, trauma-informed techniques, and transformative dialogue into cohesive pathways for personal and interpersonal growth. Nicole's teaching draws from a diverse lineage of contemplative traditions while remaining grounded in modern cognitive science, offering students practices that cultivate presence, resilience, and deeper relational intelligence.

She serves as a central facilitator in the emerging praxis-based ecosystem surrounding John's work, helping individuals bridge the gap between insight and lived transformation. Nicole has contributed to multiple training programs, workshops, and practice communities dedicated to cultivating wisdom, awakening meaning, and fostering healthier patterns of being in the world. Her approach emphasizes sincerity, stability, and the cultivation of embodied understanding.

Her new channel featuring Dharma talks, guided practices, and reflections: https://www.youtube.com/@TatsudoNicoleBaden

https://youtu.be/csh7WDsEuC4?si=4qD2gfBUw2ds4JWA

Dharma Academy — Nicole's Online School

Courses, teachings, and practice resources offered by Nicole: https://dharmaacademy.com/

Crestone Mountain Zen Center

Nicole Zen practice center in Colorado: https://www.dharmasangha.org/

Silk Road Seminars and Lectern Events are live gatherings where John weaves together his latest theoretical explorations, practical frameworks, and community initiatives with contributions from distinguished guests. These sessions stream live on YouTube and are followed by an exclusive Q&A where participants can ask questions directly to John and his guest. To be included on the Q&A guest list, you can join at the Gamma Tier (and above) on The Lectern: [https://lectern.teachable.com/p/lectern-lounge](https://lectern.teachable.com/p/lectern-lounge)

Free Student Access: Currently enrolled university students at all levels (up to doctoral studies) receive free access to the Q&A. To join, email your proof of student identity to: [ethan@vervaekefoundation.org](mailto:ethan@vervaekefoundation.org)

If you would like to support John's work purely out of goodwill, please consider joining the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke

John Vervaeke:

Website: https://johnvervaeke.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrJohnVervaeke

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johnvervaeke

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke