Kurt Hoelting

Kurt Hoelting has been a student of Zen for over forty years, working with a number of teachers, including Shodo Harada Roshi since 1995. From 1994-2021 he was Head Guide and Founding Teacher with Inside Passages, guiding over 75 week-long kayaking meditation retreats in Southeast Alaska. Kurt is certified as a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher through the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, and has taught MBSR in a wide variety of settings. Since concluding his work as a wilderness guide in Alaska, he has continued to teach mindfulness both online and in-person.

Kurt has lifelong roots in the Pacific NW. growing up by the shores of Puget Sound. He worked summers as a commercial fisherman and wilderness guide in Alaska for fifty years, including twenty-five years with Inside Passages, blending wilderness exploration with his deep love of mindfulness practice. 

He is the author of The Circumference of Home: One Man’s Yearlong Quest for a Radically Local Life