The Path: Biet Simkin


Did you know that the Montauk Beach House balcony turns into a “Zen zone” every Saturday morning?! In 2015, We partnered with The Path to bring meditation classes from their founder Dina Kaplan and instructor Biet Simkin. “The Path teaches ancient meditation techniques in a modern way”. In a look back, Check out our interview with Biet below and be on the lookout for one with Dina coming soon!

What are the five most Zen words in the English language? 

I’ll pick “denim”, “gold”, “joy”, “abundance” and “love”… but I don’t know if any one word can be Zen without its meaning. True understanding comes from a place of “being” and no words are inherently felt just because they are spoken or heard. The truth is in the sound of a gong or the strike of a match. It’s the stuff in between words, the white between the black letters on a page.

How did you end up doing this professionally?

I decided if I was going to actually help the world by sharing this stuff in a comprehensive way, it needed to be done right. I put my all in it and I became it and it became me. I think when we truly become ourselves, whatever that looks like, whoever you are, it will become the all of you…and that is what has happened.

Any book recommendations for a meditation beginner?

Zen Mind, Beginners Mind by Shunryū Suzuki.  Anything by Eckhart Tolle. Anything by Ram Dass.

What are your thoughts on meditation apps like Headspace?Biet Simkin_Headshot

Anything that gets people taking a moment with their inner world is a great thing!

Can you REALLY meditate anywhere?

Yes. However, you cannot meditate until you can meditate. My belief is that you need to be guided when you are beginning (my beginning took many years).  You need to be taught about how to practice the tools of self inquiry and go past the walls and masks that can stop you from actually going inward to that eternal space. Once you get it, you can’t un-get it.  Once you got that, you can do it anywhere and you will, because it’s so good.  Why wouldn’t you!?

Candles, incense, pillows… name your meditation essentials:

I would add fresh flowers and art to that list, but really there are no essentials aside from observation. Once you can observe yourself without identifying with your personality and your ‘winning’, it doesn’t matter if it’s happening on a chair or a meditation cushion or while you are kissing someone.

What makes the MBH the perfect place for a Zen zone on Saturday mornings?

Um, have you been there?! It’s so perfect! My boyfriend attended my last practice there and he could not stop speaking about how perfect it was for the rest of the day! Beauty is food for the soul and the space at MBH is just that…beauty!

What’s your mantra this summer?

“Joy and Gold”, because I like to think of the invisible world and the material at the same time. Together in harmony is where we find grace. Every day I look for evidence of my inner world all around me, and I find it!

 


 

Biet Simkin is the founder of Center of the Cyclone, an immersive experience that weaves together meditation, self inquiry, art, music and fashion, offering an explosive experience. Biet’s feeling was that the worlds of intellect, fashion and art needed spirituality, and the world of spirituality was often missing the mark and needed some vanity and fire. Colliding these worlds, Biet has created events with Lululemon, Soul Cycle, Vice, Sundance Film Festival, The Path, The Collective, Babel, Wanderlust Festival and more. Currently she is working on an upcoming event at The Whitney. Meditation with Biet is different in that it is more emotional; her work takes you through the emotional, intellectual, instinctive and moving centers to get to a place of equanimity and joy. Through private one-on-ones, corporate group sessions, parties, speaking engagements and pop-ups in museums and art galleries, Biet is bringing this big work into the world and helping raise consciousness from the outside in.