Caroline Oakes is a writer and spiritual director whose essays have been published at On Being, The Huffington Post, and her bimonthly "Mind & Spirit" column in The Bucks County Herald, an award-winning regional newspaper. A student of everyday spirituality, wisdom teachings, and the human spirit, she has a master's degree in ascetical theology from the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church and participated in Thomas Keating's Contemplative Ministry Project. She is trained in teaching contemplative practice and mindfulness meditation by Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation and by Mindful Schools, Inc. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland.