John Nieters, L.Ac. has been teaching and coaching forms of Meditation, Contemplation, Personal Transformation and Empowerment, for over 20 years. John facilitates, coaches and teaches by inviting inquiry, creating clarity, identifying values and reawakening "vision" with his students.

John Nieters is available upon request to facilitate workshops and courses. John also accepts limited numbers of highly committed individuals for coaching and apprenticeship.

The possibility of transformation and real personal power first became manifest in my life, in a Guatemalan jungle, in 1976. During my time in Guatemala a series of events and meetings transpired such that the limitations of my belief systems, my extremely limited perspective and my massive fear of experiencing the truth, became clear.

On February 4, 1976 there was a 7.5 Richter scale earthquake, the epicenter was 75 miles northeast of Guatemala City, 22,368 people died and 76,415 were injured. I was in this area just before this earthquake and received a communication to leave Guatemala immediately. I don't know where the information came from, God? Precognition? I don't presume to know, but I did form a great respect for, and attunement to, the source of that life saving communication.

I had no training, paradigm or philosophy in which to hold these shifts in consciousness and wandered until meeting my primary teacher of contemplation, Master Peter Ralston. I have had many wonderful teachers, before and after working with Master Ralston, but none with the intense diamond-like brilliance at directing pristine contemplation. His ability to create accurate distinctions in the activities of consciousness is unparalleled.

With Ralston's absolute insistence upon total surrender to directly experiencing the Truth, as it is, for myself, without conceptualization or "knowing" forced me to examine the depths of my fear, dishonesty, suffering and arrogance. After spending hundreds of long and intense days in training and deep contemplation, I had an experience of what is called "Kensho," in Zen circles, while working on the question, "What is no distance?" This experience completely altered my life. Before I had the "Kensho" experience I assumed it would be a completion of the work, but it was actually a beginning.

I will be forever indebted to Master Ralston, as well as to Kate Bishop and Linda Thornborough, my contemplation partners, who risked all to take on this impossible task of surrendering "knowing," in the quest to directly experience the unknown.

For thirteen years, I studied and then taught Chinese Martial Arts and Tai Ji Chuan at the Cheng Hsin School for Martial Arts and Center for Ontological Studies. Cheng Hsin can be translated as "the way of the heart" or "the sincere path to the true heart." Ontology can be defined as the study of Being, or that which is the context, and allows for the possibility of mind or psychology. During this time I completed the Level I, II, and III apprenticeship programs required of Teachers of Cheng Hsin.

I am a Level V Instructor, which is the highest rank awarded to any student. There are currently three Level V instructors of this art in the world. During my time at the Cheng Hsin School I also held the positions of Master Apprentice Trainer and Trainer of Apprentice Trainers. I retired from teaching at the Cheng Hsin School in 1993.

The Power of Inquiry: This is a very intense two and one half day workshop that dives headlong into the experience of "true inquiry" or open questioning. This course is for those seriously wishing to create transformation in living.

Encountering Non-Personal Reality: This four-day workshop is a vehicle to examine, clarify and empower the distinctions necessary for the deepest levels of contemplation and communication. This workshop is demanding and will deepen the capacity to do any form of meditative or contemplative work. It will also empower communication in relationship to a level few people know is available.

Mind Course: This course meets once a week for four months. Participants are expected to radically deconstruct their opinions (that which you believe is true), beliefs (that which you know is true) and assumptions (that which is unquestioned) in order to take on the inquiry into what is, as it is, in the moment. This course takes us beyond the weekend, weeklong workshop and follows us home to our daily lives. Every moment of your life is a continuation of the course.

Vision Group: The Vision Group meets once a week for four months. This course was created as the crossover, or interconnection, between pure contemplation and our "real lives." The premise is that each person has a vision of their life, which inspires living passionately. This course focuses on reawakening that lost vision. Participants will contemplate the source of their assumptions and beliefs, for the purpose of creating and empowering the possibility of transformation in their lives. In this course we see visible and tangible changes in the daily lives of the participants.

Coaching: John has been coaching individuals in ontological study, martial arts, business and daily life for over 20 years. John has facilitated many extremely successful individuals to higher levels of satisfaction and success.

Apprentice Program: The apprentice program is only available to those who are highly committed to transforming their lives and carrying that transformation into the world. It is not a commitment to enter into lightly.