Delaware Valley Insight is a Vipassana, or Insight meditation community active in the greater Philadelphia area throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Northern Delaware. We are a peer-led community that practices mindfulness meditation as taught within the tradition of Theravada Buddhism.
Join A Sitting Group
There are sitting groups across the region setup by community members to support each other in our practice. Signup below to join the mailing list for the sitting group in your area. (If there is no group on your area reach out and we can help you set one up)
Donate
Your donation allows us to bring experienced meditation teachers to the Delaware Valley area for special programming (daylong retreats, evening talks) and opportunities to connect with experienced Insight teachers on your personal practice.
The Delaware Valley Insight Community
Delaware Valley Insight is a Vipassana, or Insight meditation community active in the greater Philadelphia area throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Northern Delaware. We are a peer-led community that practices mindfulness meditation as taught within the tradition of Theravada Buddhism.
Our Vision: DVI is a spiritual community that relies upon the Triple Jewel of the Buddha, the Dharma (his teachings) and the Sangha (the community of practitioners) for liberation and freedom. We train not only in meditation practices (samadhi), we also cultivate awakening through dedication to ethics (sīla) and wisdom (paññā).
Our Mission: We are dedicated to the notion that the awareness cultivated through meditation is incomplete without a corresponding devotion to cultivating love and compassion in our own lives and in this world. As such, we endeavor to create a diverse and welcoming community for people of all cultural and religious backgrounds, race, socio-economic class, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, education, and physical ability.
Our Steering Committee:
Fred Allemann (he/him): Fred joined the DVI Steering Committee in 2023 and works as a consultant, helping organizations, mostly non-profits, improve. He and his husband moved to Philly in 2020 and he immediately found a home with the DVI online weekly group on Mondays.
Jesse Frechette (he/him): Jesse joined the DVI Steering Committee in 2021. As a psychotherapist and diversity and mindfulness coach he chose this community of like-hearted people because they also value and are accomplices in social justice and inclusion.
Pamela Freeman: Pamela is a co-founder of Delaware Valley Insight. She is a graduate of the Community Dharma Leaders program and Dedicated Practitioners Program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Also, a former board member of Insight Meditation Society in Barre Mass where she continues to serve on IMS's diversity committee. As a board member of DVI , she is committed to focusing on community building, and bringing excellent meditation teachers to the Delaware Valley area so more local individuals can have access to Buddhist teachings
John Howell: John spent many years studying with various sanghas in the greater Philadelphia and Delaware area. Pre-COVID he attended a DVI meditation meeting in Philadelphia lead by Pamela Freeman and Sara Lomax Reese, and finally found his home. John graduated from the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program taught by Tara Branch and Jack Kornfield.
Samuel Johns: Samuel, a co-founder of Delaware Valley Insight, initially started practicing in 2013 to support his participation in endurance sporting events. Since then his practice has evolved from sitting daylong retreats to longform retreats, including a six-week retreat at Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in 2018. He has also worked for the meditation app Ten Percent Happier since 2016.
Jamie Roberts (she/her): Jamie Roberts is a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher at the Myrna Brind Center for Mindfulness at Thomas Jefferson University and a Mindful Schools certified instructor. She has been a member of DVI since the group’s first gathering in Fall 2018.
Jon Twersky: Jon has been practicing mindfulness meditation since 2006. After completing the 100-hour Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training with Dharma Moon and Tibet House, under the mentorship of David Nichtern, Jon obtained his teaching certification in meditation. He has also studied with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach, and has further enriched his practice through sitting many retreats. Beyond his meditation practice, Jon shares his passion for ceramics by teaching and creating pottery.
Amy Ward Brimmer (she/her): is a founding member of DVI, and has been investigating mindfulness and self-expression since childhood. She is the owner of Way Opens Wellness in Yardley, PA, where she offers the Alexander Technique, Somatic Release bodywork, Qigong, Compassionate Listening, and Insight meditation instruction.