Charles Freligh PhD

Charles obtained a Master’s degree in psychology from New York University and a PhD in clinical psychology from the Virginia Consortium, and has years of experience working therapeutically with individuals and groups. He has published original research in the scholarly journal Mindfulness, created and led manifold courses and workshops, taught and continues to teach as an adjunct university professor, and consults for a variety of organizations. None of this, however, defines him or his work.

He has developed significant experience in the realm of presence through voracious reading of what you might call spiritual philosophy, and a deep personal practice of what you might call meditation, consisting mostly of sitting in silence — he finds this to be the purest method of uncovering insights and witnessing Truth. He attends a Zen Buddhist monastery annually for a period of immersive undistracted mental training, though he does not label himself as “Buddhist.” He resists the application of labels or titles as adequate descriptors of who he is. Most purely, and not without some self-conscious embarrassment, he considers himself an artist of the present moment.

Following the completion of his academic pursuits, he decided to veer from the conventional path and chose to start his own business due to a realization that he could not live fully authentically while existing inside the parameters of an institution. Since this departure, his work has continuously evolved in a way not quite in his control. What is in control is the Right Now moment, and he is a channel for its expression in whatever form it takes.

His work, whether it be in the form of individual meetings, group workshops, or recorded guided practices, is rooted in the healing impact of presence. His aim is to enter a meditative state of communication in which he and those he meets with release resistance to the present moment’s gravitational pull and simultaneously embrace its natural healing. When we release the urge to control Now, we are naturally healed. This release is simple but not easy — not easy due to conditioned craving for perceived control. His work at large is an effort to help others, and himself, realize there is no control to be had, and to move courageously into the unknown of Right Now, in all aspects of life.