(Venerable Nick Keomahavong)
Venerable Nick, previously a practicing psychotherapist, has been ordained as a Theravada Buddhist monk in Thailand since 2018. Before becoming a monk, Nick acquired a diverse range of professional experience in the mental health field over the span of a decade, including but not limited to: being the lead clinician at a foster home for over one hundred kids aged twelve to eighteen; being a program therapist at a drug treatment center in Malibu, California; being a bereavement counselor at a hospice; and being the founder and owner of his private practice, True Nature Counseling Center, in San Diego, California.
However, at the pinnacle of his professional success, Nick left it all behind to become a Buddhist monk in Thailand. He wanted to delve deeper into his own healing and become a more refined practitioner of the tools that he was teaching. As he fully focused his energy on becoming more deeply congruent and aligned with his true nature, his understanding of human suffering and how to heal it matured greatly.
It is his highest mission to share this knowledge with others in order to help them discover their true nature and live their most authentic lives. He is now actively pursuing this goal by making YouTube videos that capture this unique perspective by interweaving the tools of the mental health world and the wisdom of Buddhism. He is also spreading this message by co-writing books with his brother monk that serve as simple and practical guides to developing wholesome habits and healing suffering at its root cause.
(Venerable Michael Viradhammo)
Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
After discovering the healing power of Buddhism and meditation, Venerable Michael decided to abandon material pursuits, dropped out of university, paid back his loans, and went to ordain as a Buddhist monk in Thailand where he has been a monk since 2017. Since then, Venerable Michael has been helping with teaching meditation and wisdom to travelers at the Pa Pae Meditation retreat in Chiang Mai as well as teaching and mentoring men who become a monk with the international ordination program. He is also an avid writer and is pursuing his passion by co-writing books about practical wisdom to help readers overcome their suffering with his monk brother, Venerable Nick. By learning, applying, teaching and writing Venerable Nick’s unique perspective that bridges mental health with spiritual health, Venerable Michael is deeply dedicated to deepening his spiritual practice, continuously aligning his life with his true nature, and helping others seeking to develop themselves in a similar way.