About
Ron Ames is a meditation teacher and senior instructor at InsightLA. He studied with Trudy Goodman at Spirit Rock and completed InsightLA's first teacher training cohort. He teaches meditation and mindfulness in both secular and Buddhist contexts. Ames also works as a film producer and holds certification as a Change and Transition Strategist. He currently studies early Buddhist meditation practices with Bhikkhu Analayo and the Naturally Arising Practice Method at Dharma Ground.
Teaching focus
Ron Ames's teaching focus, drawn from the source profile, sits in the Vipassana and Insight traditions. Several threads come up: compassion training that doesn't collapse into pity or burnout;. On talks, the style is closer to thinking-along than presenting. Ron Ames works with whatever shows up in the room rather than reading from notes, which is part of why these talks land as conversational instead of scripted. Short pauses, longer sits, and questions that come back to direct experience are usual. Listed specialties on the source profile include in-person. The bigger move Ron Ames keeps making is back toward attention itself: what's happening, how it's being held, and what gets in the way. That keeps the teaching close to practice rather than drifting into commentary about practice. For talks, schedules, and longer essays, the affiliated organization's page is where the live material lives. Ron Ames's sessions tend to keep returning to the body, to breath, and to the felt quality of attention as the steady ground that the rest rests on. Ron Ames's sessions tend to keep returning to the body, to breath, and to the felt quality of attention as the steady ground that the rest rests on.
Background
Ron Ames teaches in the Vipassana and Insight traditions. The teaching home is InsightLA. From the teacher's own profile: Ron Ames is a film producer, meditation teacher, and Certified Change and Transition Strategist who has always been drawn to the creative process whether through filmmaking or guiding people toward greater presence and balance in their lives. Ron graduated from the UCLA film school and studied theater at the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg. He began his career directing theater in Los Angeles producing television commercials and music videos. From his first feature film, Martin Scorcese’s, The Aviator to Amazon’s Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, Ron has had great interest in the technical aspects of modern filmmaking and in the collaborative creative process. Ron finds joy in the teamwork and artistry of storytelling on screen. While being a full-time producer, another journey was unfolding. Ron felt called to meditation and Dharma practice. What started as reading a few books and sitting quietly at home grew into a life-changing path. Ron started to study with Spirit Rock teacher and InsightLA founder Trudy Goodman. Encouraged by her to deepen his practice, Ron attended Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioners program in Woodacre, California. Soon after, he was invited to join the first teacher training cohort at InsightLA. As a senior teacher, Ron has since had the honor of teaching meditation and mindfulness to people from all walks of life, in both the secular and Buddhist tracks. Ron currently studies early Buddhist Meditation practices with Bhikkhu Analayo and the Naturally Arising Practice Method at Dharma Ground. As an InsightLA teacher, he brings wisdom and compassion to all his offerings. Over the past nine years, Ron has immersed himself in the study of change and transition with Philip Moffitt at the Life Balance Institute in Marin, California. As a Certified Life Balance Strategist, he leads workshops and as well as guides individuals and groups to identify genuine values and move toward intentional outcomes. What makes Ron’s perspective unique is the way he blends his creative background with his meditation practice. He brings a grounded, real-world approach to mindfulness, one that speaks to the challenges of the workplace, the beauty of collaboration, and the ongoing changes we all face in our lives. He has a special interest in the later chapters of life, exploring elderhood, impermanence, and joy with curiosity and openness. In the Insight stream Ron Ames works inside, the emphasis is on direct attention to body, feeling tone, and mind, alongside the brahmaviharas and an ongoing investigation of how clinging and aversion arise. Talks tend to be conversational rather than scripted, and there's room for sila and ethics to be talked about as part of practice rather than as a separate topic.
Lineage
Ron Ames teaches as a lay teacher in the Vipassana and Insight traditions. The institutional home, per the source listing, is InsightLA, and that's where most of the public teaching schedule and any retreat offerings will be posted. The Insight lineage in the West runs through teachers like Mahasi Sayadaw, U Ba Khin, Anagarika Munindra, and Dipa Ma into the founders of IMS, Spirit Rock, and the regional centers, and most contemporary Insight teachers position themselves somewhere in that broad family.
What to expect
On a class or retreat with Ron Ames, the basic shape is short instruction, longer sittings, and some Q&A. The container is shaped by InsightLA, so format details, fees, and access policies follow that organization's norms. Expect plenty of silence, less talking-at-you than you might think, and an emphasis on letting the practice do its work rather than chasing experiences. For exact dates, registration, and any sliding-scale or scholarship information, There's usually a short Q&A window and, on retreats, optional teacher interviews where students can bring specific questions about their practice. There's usually a short Q&A window and, on retreats, optional teacher interviews where students can bring specific questions about their practice.
