Ed Bastian Bio

Ed Bastian, PhD, Founder

The Spiritual Paths Foundation courses and methodologies were developed by Dr. Ed Bastian with help from the extraordinary teachers, mentors and students with whom he has worked over the past 45 years. Ed holds a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies and is the founder and president of Spiritual Paths Foundation. The specific process of Inquiry, Insight and Integration has emerged since 2002 through his friendship and collaboration with over forty esteemed teachers from Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, Shamanism and Native American traditions.

Ed is the award winning co-author of Living Fully Dying Well, author of InterSpiritual Meditation, author of Mandala – Creating an Authentic Spiritual Paths, contributor to Meditations for InterSpiritual Practice, and producer of documentaries on religion for the BBC and PBS. He is the former co-director of the Forum on BioDiversity for the Smithsonian and National Academy of Sciences, teacher of Buddhism and world religions at the Smithsonian, an internet entrepreneur, and translator of Buddhism scriptures from Tibetan into English. He is also a faculty member of Antioch University in Santa Barbara where he teaches courses on Buddhism, Mindfulness Meditation and religion. He has led dozens of retreats and programs at such organizations as the Parliament of World’s Religions, the Chaplaincy Institute, One Spirit Interfaith, CIIS, Omega, Esalen, Hollyhock, La Casa de Maria, Garrison Institute, the Aspen Chapel and the Aspen Institute.