Lawrence Schuessler has been working in the field of Outdoor Education for the past 25 years. He has worked in the mountains of Colorado, California, Utah, Washington, and New Mexico. He has lead trips in the canyons and deserts of Arizona and Utah, kayaking in the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans, and canoeing on the Green and San Juan rivers.
Over the years, he has held many roles within the outdoor education industry, from managing logistics, Instructing, Course Directing, Staff Trainer, as well as being a Program Director. Lawrence enjoys working all the different roles within outdoor programming, for he feels it keeps him engaged, empathetic, and excited. Lawrence has a broad skill set that includes rock climbing, backpacking, mountaineering, canoeing, kayaking and canyoneering.
As an educator, Lawrence whole-heartily believes in the power of experiential education and place-based learning and facilitates experiences that are supported by those philosophies. He also knows that long periods of time in the wilderness is magical and he does all he can to help his students drop into and be held by the wild.
On the expeditions that Lawrence facilitates, he weaves in both mindfulness and mindful movement in the hope of providing another way for students to drop into the experience as well as providing a tool that students can take home with them after the trip.
Lawrence is committed to equity, inclusion, diversity, and relevancy, and he weaves these topics and learnings into all of his teaching through stories, asking questions, and listening. As a White outdoor experiential educator, he is particularly mindful of what it means to be a social and environmental justice educator and activist dedicated to decolonizing his own teaching. He can do better and he has much more to learn.
Lawrence has been a dharma practitioner for the past 17 years and is committed to sharing meditation and mindfulness with anyone who is interested. Lawrence has completed the Spirit Rock Meditation Center Advanced Practitioner Program, completed the Inward Bound Mindfulness Education Teacher Training program and has sat various retreats both at Spirit Rock and the Insight Meditation Society. Lawrence also supports Nature Dharma retreats with Susie Harrington at Desert Dharma. Currently Lawrence is in a 2 year Nature Dharma Training with Susie Harrington, Mark Coleman and Gil Fronsdal. Lawrence has been influenced by Jack Kornfield, Sylvia Boornstein, JoAnna Hardy, Susie Harrington and Brian Lesage to name a few. He studies in the Insight meditation tradition.
When Lawrence is not in the wild, he can be found trail running, rock climbing, painting, surfing, riding his bicycle or cooking with his partner Caitlin.
