Whirlpools and Windmills: I Choose the Present
I can be like a boat passing by and flowing onward or get mired in it trying to make it what it is not, and whirl around and around wandering in an endless thought process of, “If only.” I then get stuck on the rinse and repeat cycle, living reactively all the time, falling blindly into the holes of my history, until I give up altogether and get stuck on the riverbank of hopeless despair. OR, I can see. Recognize. Steer clear. Float over. Dance through. On, into the vast river of life. Mistaking the whirlpool for the river, I am doomed. And yet the only way out is to realize that the whirlpool and the river are made of the same substance, dancing. I am whole.
Pam Ross Porcaro
Pam Ross Porcaro began her spiritual questioning at a very young age, inspired by her Lithuanian grandmother who was a devout Catholic. At the age of 17, she was discovered by a model agent in Washington D.C., and her fashion modeling career took off. She was represented by Ford Models in New York, where she lived for 11 years, traveling around the world, and working with many of the top designers, photographers, editors, and artists in the world, doing everything from editorial, to runway, to advertising; and appearing on many magazine covers, in catalogs and in ads. During her travels and interaction with many diverse people from different cultures around the world and her deepening spiritual questioning, she discovered and became fascinated with Zen meditation. She began a vigorous meditation practice, which changed her life, and awakened her passion and curiosity for all things Eastern Culture, including, Yoga and Zen, Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. She studied and practiced Zen meditation (zazen) with Zen Masters, John Daido Loori, of Zen Mountain Monastery, and Eido Roshi, of the Zen Studies Society in New York and of Dai Bosatsu Monastery, in the Catskills. She moved to Los Angeles in 1995 and continued her Zen Studies/practice with Zen Master Wendy Egyoku Nakao Roshi at Zen Center of Los Angeles. She went to CSUN to study towards a B.A. in Religious Studies, focusing on Eastern Religions, as well as Women in Religion. Pam became a mother of two and subsequently became involved in fundraising charity work for her children’s school. In 2011, while delving even more deeply into her Zen practice, Pam had a chance meeting with Yoga teacher Steve Ross of Maha Yoga. Steve introduced her to Siddha Yoga, which opened up her meditation practice even more. In 2012 and 2015, Pam completed a total of 300 hours of Yoga Teacher Training under Steve Ross and Ish Moran. Pam attended many seminars, classes, and workshops with many renowned teachers, including but not limited to: Jack and Elissa Zimmerman, to learn the Way of Council; Candace Silvers, renowned life coach and human behavior specialist; Alison Armstrong of PAX Programs (A program that promotes peace and understanding between women and men); David Deida and Michaela Boehm; The Integral Center in Boulder (To learn the practice of “Circling”, or interpersonal meditation); The Art of Living Center (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar; teacher); The Self Realization Center ( founded by Yogananda); Oneness Meditation. Currently, Pam is raising her two teenagers, continuing her meditation and yoga practices, and developing a project with life coach and healer, Sujon Datta. She is represented by Iconic Focus Models in New York, and Innovative Artists in Los Angeles.
