tstongebio/churchonthehillweston,vt/mindfulnessretreat
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Timothy St. Onge is a pastoral counselor. He and his wife Patricia, a Clinical Social
Worker, are engaged in the private practice of psychotherapy and meditation studies with adults,
individuals and couples, and older adolescents. Tim sees his work as the art of “education”—
drawing upon the richness of his clients lives which ultimately results in their healing
themselves.
Tim has served as adjunct professor of Theology at The College of New Rochelle. There
he integrated the practice of deep listening and mindful speaking into his teaching. He also
designed and taught an independent study course in meditation.
For many years, Tim taught religious studies and human relations curricula in high
school. He also did outreach to the poor and ran a hospitality house and soup kitchen. He is the
father of two and has six grandchildren. He is currently teaching mindfulness and meditation in
his granddaughter’s second grade public school class. Ordinary life is the primary site of his
contemplative practice.
Tim studied, practiced, and taught western contemplative meditation in the 1970s and
was guided by Thomas Keating, founder of Contemplative Outreach. In the 1980s, Tim was
introduced to the Buddhist experience through the work of Vietnamese monk, Thich Nhat Hanh
and under the direction of senior teacher Annabel Laity.
In 2000, Tim studied Zen with Robert Kennedy, Roshi and in 2004 became a koan
student with Kevin Hunt, Sensei, as well as completing two professional training programs in
MBSR—Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction with John Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli of
UMass Medical Center. In 2012, Tim was among sixty researchers and professors at Smith
College exploring secular applications for contemplative practice in higher education.
tstongebio/churchonthehillweston,vt/mindfulnessretreat
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Eleven years ago, Tim and his wife Pat opened their home where they created a dedicated
meditation space for once a month daylong retreats with Zen teacher Kevin Hunt. The space is
available for mindfulness workshops and practice. They practice weekly with others three
mornings and two evenings.
Recently, besides guiding parents in mindfulness practice with their children, his own
children’s families are engaged together in the practice. He has introduced mindfulness to adult
cancer survivors at Ann’s Place in Danbury, Connecticut where he volunteers twice monthly. He
is currently negotiating to teach mindfulness to young adult prisoners in Cheshire, Connecticut.
Tim holds a PhD in in theological studies with a concentration in spirituality. He studied
three summers at Oxford University and received his degree from The Graduate Theological
Foundation, a research institute in Indiana. He also holds a PsyD with a concentration in
Franklian psychology—a meaning centered approach to therapy—following his pastoral
counseling master’s studies at Fairfield University.
Tim has established a not-for-profit, The United Contemplative Institute, and web site,
contemplativequest.com, to foster collaborative efforts in contemplative training and
mindfulness studies for higher education and the general public.