Over 46 years leading Sensory Awareness workshops
Lee studied Sensory Awareness with Charlotte Selver, the founder of this practice in the United States, for 33 years. They led workshops together during the last five years of Charlotte’s life. Charlotte died at the age of 102 years old, still offering classes. Lee was lucky to have the gift of a deep kinship and friendship with Charlotte They brought out the best in each other; recognizing both strengths and limitations with loving acceptance.
Lee has been leading workshops since 1976, both in English and in Spanish and sees over and over again the gift that this practice brings into the lives of so many people and into our world that is in such great need of people living with awareness, resilience and presence.
It was Lee’s mother who introduced her to this practice. One day out of the blue her mother approached her 19-year-old daughter, who was trying to individuate and separate from the family and handed her a brochure saying, “You should meet this woman. She can change your life.” Then she walked away. It was one of the greatest gifts her mother ever gave to her, and it was a true act of wisdom.
Zen Practice and Healing
Two years after meeting Charlotte, Lee had a new teacher at the age of 21 – thyroid cancer. All of a sudden, the impermanence and unpredictability of life took on new meaning. It was shocking, frightening, and deepening. After having her thyroid gland removed and receiving medication, she moved from New York to Houston, Texas. She spent 3 ½ years working in a halfway house with teenagers in trouble. And she continued to try to understand the reality of our own living and dying and what we are meant to do in between.
As part of her search for understanding, she went to California to participate in a 16-week course that Charlotte was leading at Green Gulch Farm which was part of the San Francisco Zen Center. Lee had never heard of Zen or Buddhism, but she was intrigued and the 16 weeks turned into 5.5 years, two years at Green Gulch Farm, and 3.5 years at Tassajara Zen Monastery. Meditation and Zen practice continue to inform her life. Sensory Awareness and Zen are aligned and mutually enhancing of each other. Both practices focus on waking up and being present to meet our lives just as they are.
An Important Life Lesson
One of the core lessons she learned from her time as a Zen student was that there was really no place to run, no escape from being with what is… Lee had spent a lot of energy in her life trying to run away from what was unpleasant, scary, or uncomfortable. After many hours of just sitting meditation, often being uncomfortable… the discovery of how different it was to simply be uncomfortable following whatever changes came, rather than trying to resist the pain and wait for the bell to ring was very distinct. All of the extra effort to try to force change or to get away from what was uncomfortable were not effective and caused another layer of pain… whatever was actually happening was the only thing that could be happening and no matter how much we might wish for something different, the ease and opening comes from arriving just where we are.
Working with Veterans and Wildland Firefighters
These palpable, lived trustworthy lessons have inspired Lee to reach into communities facing significant challenges and find ways to share what she has learned. In 2007 Lee felt an urgent pull to offer Sensory Awareness practice to military veterans. She realized that she could not prevent us from going to war so she searched for what she could do. She trusted that Sensory Awareness could be healing and beneficial if veterans were interested, so she decided to offer some classes and see what happened. Chris Fortin, her good friend, and a meditation teacher and Zen priest, joined her and they began offering programs for veterans. Together they read books, watched films, spoke with veterans and networked with veteran’s organizations. They realized that they were culturally illiterate and they learned as much as they could. Veterans helped to shape and create programs that were meaningful and significant for them. And without ever intending to start a non-profit organization, Veteran’s PATH – Peace, Acceptance, Transformation, Honor, was born. Lee led this work for 12 years, stepping away from a formal role in the organization in the Fall of 2019. Lee still facilitates programs for veterans and honors this work as some of the most meaningful and life-changing work she has had the privilege to do. She witnessed veterans open to devastating experiences, face and transform pain into new possibilities. She continues to be inspired by the profound commitment to service and the loving dedication to community that she experienced in her work with veterans.
Over the last two years she, Chris and some other colleagues have been extending what they learned in their work with veterans to help develop programs for Wildland firefighters with the San Francisco Zen Center. Wildland firefighters are on the front lines of the Climate Crisis and they are seeking support to meet the overwhelming challenges they are facing.
We are actually all on the frontlines of the Climate Crisis whether we realize it or not. This has led Lee to develop programs to integrate the practice of Sensory Awareness with responding to the Climate Crisis, to bring forward the core lesson that she has learned from all of her years of practice, “there is no place to run, there is no escape from being with what is.” This is especially poignant and true as we realize that this Earth is the only home we have and we cannot run from what is happening, there is no escape from what is happening. So, it is up to each of us to find how to contribute to healing and caring for this precious home.
One of the great thrills of Lee’s life is being a grandmother. The joy of participating in simple moments and wonder with her grandson is a heart-expanding delight. At the same time, tears often arise as she watches him sleep wondering about the world we are leaving for our children. As a mother and a grandmother she feels the responsibility to do everything she can to care for the future of all of our children.
Lee’s Family and Her Love of Children
Since she was 12 years old and began babysitting, Lee has loved children. She has a Master’s degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education, and she has worked as a preschool teacher, Site Supervisor, Family Support Specialist, Trainer, Coach and College Instructor. Her focus has been on Anti-Bias education working to address the profound impact of racism, homophobia and other biases on the lives of young children. In 2005, she co-authored the curriculum and taught the first 3-unit course in the country on creating welcoming environments for LGBTQ families in Early Childhood settings. It is painful to see the growing schisms in our country now and the harm being done to children and families. It reinforces the need for embodied, grounded presence that can open pathways of connection and communication.
Family is at the heart of Lee’s life. She met her husband at the San Francisco Zen Center and they just celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary. They have a son, Jason Lesser, a daughter, Carol Anne Lesser, and a grandson Bodie Lesser-Smith with a new grandchild on the way.
One of the great thrills of Lee’s life is being a grandmother. The joy of participating in simple moments and wonder with her grandson is a heart-expanding delight. At the same time, tears often arise as she watches him sleep wondering about the world we are leaving for our children. As a mother and a grandmother she feels the responsibility to do everything she can to care for the future of all of our children.
Important Life Teachers for Lee
Maria Antonieta Osornio Ramirez
Tony is a vibrant and inspiring person. She was skydiving champion of Mexico, and a paratrooper who taught skydiving to soldiers. In 1984, during a special national event, her parachute collapsed. She crashed to the ground and was in bed, in constant pain with no movement for 3 years. She is quadriplegic and yet she has regained movement that doctors said was impossible. Despite the severe limitations she lives with, she is one of the most fluid, free and vital people that Lee knows.
Tony founded an organization, FHADI to provide support and opportunities for people with motor disabilities. It is a remarkable place, and Lee has had the privilege of offering Sensory Awareness workshops there for people who are quadriplegic and paraplegic and for the staff who work with them.
Tony consistently teaches Lee about joy, perseverance, delight, courage, and determination. She studied Sensory Awareness with Charlotte for many years and is a Sensory Awareness teacher. She has written a wonderful book about her life called,Un Salto de Amor Por la Vida (Leap of love for Life), and a new feature-length film based on her life was released in September 2022, Salto de Amor (Leap of Love).
Jarvis Jay Masters
Jarvis Jay Masters is an innocent man who lives in a cell on death row in San Quentin State Prison. He has been Lee’s good friend for 25 years. He was convicted of sharpening a piece of metal used in the killing of a Correction Officer and was given the death sentence. Jarvis did not sharpen this weapon but he has been living on Death Row for decades while his case is still being appealed. Jarvis spent 21 years in solitary confinement, longer than any other incarcerated person in California. While living in a cell in which he could stretch out his hands and touch the walls on both sides, he wrote a book called, Finding Freedom.
Jarvis knows more about freedom than most people Lee knows. He developed a Buddhist practice in San Quentin. You can learn more about him at the website, www.freejarvis.org, or by reading his book and many articles he’s written. His second book That Bird Has My Wings, The Autobiography of an Innocent Man on Death Row was chosen by Oprah Winfrey as a selection for her book club in September 2022.
In 2021, Jarvis and Lee gave a Dharma talk together for the San Francisco Zen Center. You can listen to it here. They spent hours preparing as he reflected deeply on his life to find what was important to share. And in 2021 they co-led a workshop together entitled Sensory Awareness and Anti-Racism: Cultivating Our Capacity to Respond. You can listen to an excerpt from the workshop here. Jarvis used the San Quentin phone to call Lee’s cell phone which she held up towards her computer while people listened on zoom. Even under these conditions, Jarvis’ resilience, compassion, wisdom and humor shone through.
Jarvis and Tony both teach Lee about meeting what is, about finding freedom, about choosing life, about living in the moment and having the courage to face incredible challenges with a vibrant and undaunted spirit.