Dara Prothro

Dara Prothro is the founder of Zoetic River and Zoetic Forest in the Texas Hill Country, contemplative spaces devoted to silent and semi-silent retreats rooted in art, nature, and mindfulness. What began at Zoetic Forest has evolved into Zoetic River, creating spaces where silence, nature, and practice invite direct experience. The foundation of her 20-year practice is Vipassana (Insight Meditation), while her teaching draws from contemplative traditions and modern thought. Her work has been influenced by Buddhist philosophy, neuroscience, Stoicism, mythology, poetry, and teachers including Joseph Goldstein, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Joseph Campbell, Sri Ramana Maharishi, Michael Singer, Hafiz, and Rumi. Alongside Vipassana meditation, Dara devoted herself to Ashtanga Yoga, Yin Yoga, Tai Chi, and Qi Gong. Her path has also included Transcendental Meditation, Zazen, and darkness meditation. Alongside insight meditation instruction, Dara incorporates gentle movement, stillness, awareness practices, and immersive sound using drums, gongs, singing bowls, and chimes. These are offered as invitations into direct experience. Rather than asking people to adopt beliefs, her approach emphasizes direct experience and doing the practice as the clearest teachers. Through silence, nature, sound, movement, and spaces, she helps create conditions for people to slow down, become present, and know their own minds. The practice, she believes, ultimately does the work. You only need to show up.

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