SOCRATIC SATSANG
Introduction to Socratic Satsang
Purpose of Socratic Satsang
Panelists
Our panelists are a diverse group of individuals accomplished and respected in their fields. Here's a glimpse into their profiles:
Dr. Kirstyn Everson Nair
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
Kirstyn Everson Nair is a nurse practitioner specializing in child/adolescent psychiatry. She completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) at Oregon Health & Science University. She has worked with children and their families in an outpatient setting for more than 10 years. Prior to her work as a nurse practitioner, she was an intake and charge nurse for patients with substance use disorder. She also volunteered her time working for child advocacy organizations.
Kirstyn utilizes an integrative approach to care, working with kids and families to meet their therapeutic goals through a combination of therapy strategies, environmental modifications, relationship enhancement, spiritual/cultural care, mindfulness, and medication management.
In addition to traditional psychiatric care, Kirstyn is passionate about integrative practices and holds certification as a conscious connected breath work facilitator. She is currently in training to specialize in psychedelic-assisted therapy to expand her toolkit for healing.
Kirstyn values diversity and has traveled to over 20 countries, gaining insights from diverse cultures and perspectives. She is a dedicated spiritual seeker, continuously exploring new paths to personal and professional growth. She has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, run half marathons, adopted a street dog from Brazil, supports a school in Cambodia and practises kindness as her mantra.
Kirstyn utilizes an integrative approach to care, working with kids and families to meet their therapeutic goals through a combination of therapy strategies, environmental modifications, relationship enhancement, spiritual/cultural care, mindfulness, and medication management.
In addition to traditional psychiatric care, Kirstyn is passionate about integrative practices and holds certification as a conscious connected breath work facilitator. She is currently in training to specialize in psychedelic-assisted therapy to expand her toolkit for healing.
Kirstyn values diversity and has traveled to over 20 countries, gaining insights from diverse cultures and perspectives. She is a dedicated spiritual seeker, continuously exploring new paths to personal and professional growth. She has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, run half marathons, adopted a street dog from Brazil, supports a school in Cambodia and practises kindness as her mantra.
Vinod Nair
High-Performance Coach, Keynote Speaker, Author with Asperger's Syndrome
Vinod helps individuals and teams elevate their performance through engaging, results-oriented training focused on leadership, communication, emotional intelligence, and productivity. His keynote talks draw from both personal experience and professional insight, with the aim of sparking transformation and inspiring action.
Vinod's 163 IQ and autistic traits such as inability to engage in small talk, out of the box thinking, honesty, hyper-focus, structured thinking, eye for detail, and ability to get to core issues make him an asset to high performing individuals/ organizations.
His approach empowers clients to achieve scalable growth and sustainable success in their professional and personal goals. Know more/ contact Vinod
Vinod's 163 IQ and autistic traits such as inability to engage in small talk, out of the box thinking, honesty, hyper-focus, structured thinking, eye for detail, and ability to get to core issues make him an asset to high performing individuals/ organizations.
His approach empowers clients to achieve scalable growth and sustainable success in their professional and personal goals. Know more/ contact Vinod
Dr. DENISE LEVINE
Financial Expert. Metaphysical Explorer. Sword-Wielding Ballerina
Born and raised in Canada, Denise lives in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia, where she’s built a long-standing career in the financial industry. As a Certified Financial Planner and Chartered Investment Manager, she brings a thoughtful, people-focused approach to supporting individuals and organizations through leadership, financial planning and decision-making.
She’s the founder of Magical Pathway, a meditation-based business that blends mindfulness with education and energy work. With over 25 years of personal meditation practice and a Ph.D. in Metaphysical Sciences, she offers workshops and sound experiences that support well-being, presence, and deeper self-awareness.
Outside of work, Denise spends as much time as possible outdoors—hiking local trails, playing sports, or simply enjoying nature. She’s an avid traveler and photographer with a love for movement and artistry, and some of her other interests include ballet, sword fighting, and exploring new environments that spark creativity and inspiration. Video introduction Contact: Magical Pathway
She’s the founder of Magical Pathway, a meditation-based business that blends mindfulness with education and energy work. With over 25 years of personal meditation practice and a Ph.D. in Metaphysical Sciences, she offers workshops and sound experiences that support well-being, presence, and deeper self-awareness.
Outside of work, Denise spends as much time as possible outdoors—hiking local trails, playing sports, or simply enjoying nature. She’s an avid traveler and photographer with a love for movement and artistry, and some of her other interests include ballet, sword fighting, and exploring new environments that spark creativity and inspiration. Video introduction Contact: Magical Pathway
Drake Dyck, CD
Photographer | Veteran | Peace Officer
As a dedicated individual with a rich and varied background, Drake has built a career that spanned over twenty-five years in the Canadian Armed Forces, predominantly within the military police. His journey took him across various domestic and international missions, including a significant deployment to Afghanistan. Much of Drake’s career was in serious crimes investigation, including a year-long secondment with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). After military service, Drake transitioned to a role as a Peace Officer in British Columbia, and currently leads the development of a drone response program. Drake is a certified Advanced small RPAS (drone) pilot and an active member of the Law Enforcement Drone Association (LEDA), which allows him to stay at the forefront of innovations in drone technology and public safety.
Beyond professional commitments, Drake is deeply rooted in the local community of Sooke, BC. He runs the largest Facebook group in the area, "Meanwhile in Sooke," fostering community engagement and connection. His passion for the arts is demonstrated through a previous role as vice-president of the Sooke Arts Council and his founding of the Sooke Photography Club.
Drake is the owner of Sooke Photography Adventures, a business focused on photography education and exploration, as well as showcasing fine art photographic prints. He is represented by Station Street Gallery in Duncan, BC, and is a Canadian Association for Photographic Arts (CAPS) trained photography competition judge.
Drake’s personal interests complement his professional life; he enjoys explore the stunning landscapes of Vancouver Island through hiking, kayaking, and landscape photography.
Through his diverse experiences and community engagement, Drake aims to inspire others to share in the beauty of photography while fostering a spirit of collaboration and support within our community and beyond.
Sooke Photography Adventures
Beyond professional commitments, Drake is deeply rooted in the local community of Sooke, BC. He runs the largest Facebook group in the area, "Meanwhile in Sooke," fostering community engagement and connection. His passion for the arts is demonstrated through a previous role as vice-president of the Sooke Arts Council and his founding of the Sooke Photography Club.
Drake is the owner of Sooke Photography Adventures, a business focused on photography education and exploration, as well as showcasing fine art photographic prints. He is represented by Station Street Gallery in Duncan, BC, and is a Canadian Association for Photographic Arts (CAPS) trained photography competition judge.
Drake’s personal interests complement his professional life; he enjoys explore the stunning landscapes of Vancouver Island through hiking, kayaking, and landscape photography.
Through his diverse experiences and community engagement, Drake aims to inspire others to share in the beauty of photography while fostering a spirit of collaboration and support within our community and beyond.
Sooke Photography Adventures
Joe Gollner
Lifelong Learner | Technology Entrepreneur | Hermeneuticist
Joe was born in Victoria but grew up, as part of a military family, in various locations across Canada, Germany and England. Since then, he has worked around the world as a High-Tech entrepreneur before returning, once again, to Victoria. His field of technology specialization has been the handling of digital texts and this, unsurprisingly, led him to explore the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Natural Language Processing (NLP) decades before it became popular. Over his career, he has worked intensively with such leading enterprises as Schlumberger, Boeing, Microsoft, Samsung, the Mayo Clinic, the Canadian Government, the US Department of Defense, and - strangely - the Russian Academy of Science.
A career in technology was only dimly suggested by his education. He completed an undergraduate degree majoring in English Literature (with history, philosophy and mathematics) at Queens University in the 1980s. He then moved onto the University of Oxford where, in 1989, he received a Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) in English literature between 1660 and 1800. As a happy accident in these studies, he encountered "digital humanities" and this informed the direction of his technology career.
Prompted by his career, he has continued his education by completing several "graduate certificate" programs in mundane topics like project management, business analysis, and knowledge management, and undertaking research-intensive programs at MIT and Harvard. More recently, he completed a second Masters degree (in international management) through a program run by five universities around the world and for which he completed his degree requirements with McGill under the supervision of noted Management thinker, Henry Mintzberg. He is currently completing a PhD in Management at Lancaster University which has him travelling to England on a regular basis. His research area is the evaluation of AI-enabled text analytics in management education, which, interestingly, leans on phenomenology and hermeneutics (with Hans-Georg Gadamer being a key influence). If this were not enough to derail any claims that he is retiring, he continues to consult in his area of specialization and is supposed to be completing a book with the daunting subtitle "Human Knowledge in the Age of the Smart Machine."
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GEORGE DAllas
Philosophy Enthusiast
George Dallas is a philosophy enthusiast living in Victoria BC. He has a Masters degree in Engineering, Social Science and is studying for a Masters of Counselling Psychology. He currently works as a product manager in cyber security for the BC government, though will be pivoting his career to counselling in the near future.
George's philosophical interests primarily lay with Nietzsche, Deleuze, post-war French philosophers, German enlightenment thinkers and the ancient Greeks
Contact George
George's philosophical interests primarily lay with Nietzsche, Deleuze, post-war French philosophers, German enlightenment thinkers and the ancient Greeks
Contact George
Simon Maxwell-Stewart
Researcher, Scientist, Philosopher
Simon Maxwell-Stewart is a seasoned researcher and scientist with over a decade of experience in big data and a passion for pushing the boundaries of analytics. A Physics graduate from the University of Oxford, Simon also explores in theatre, performance and poetry, refusing to be constrained to any one paradigm of thinking.
Kevin Yamamoto
Veteran, Philosopher, Investor, Husband, Dog Dad
A Third Generation Japanese Canadian born in Winnipeg Manitoba. Both sets of grandparents came to Canada in the 1920s to “make their fortune” during an economic downturn in Japan, hoping to return to the homeland.
The reality of the great depression in the 1930’s, the start of the Second World War, the forced relocation of Japanese Canadians from the West Coast in 1942 changed the life trajectories of all Japanese Canadian families.
Despite the setbacks my grandparents and parents endured, my childhood and adolescence were extremely normal. I graduated high school and studied engineering. To help pay for my degree, I joined the Naval Reserves, training as a bridge watchkeeper.
Upon completion of school and military service I joined the Federal Public Service and spent 31 years in Ottawa and 1 year in Victoria as a Procurement Officer. During my time, I supported numerous military and civilian projects and programs. I had an interesting career, meeting and collaborating with some excellent people on both the government and business sides.
About 2 months before I was eligible to retire, I was diagnosed with a rare, incurable but treatable lymphoma type cancer. Fortunately, it is an indolent type of cancer, and I didn’t require treatment for 4 years. Currently I am doing fantastic as my latest blood work would show.
After my diagnosis, I worked another year, but it became less fulfilling. I new I needed a change that would reduce stress and start enjoying life more. Three months before I retired, I married my long-time fiancée, took the summer off to clean up the basement and began volunteering at the National Aviation and Space Museum. In the fall I started working as a driver for Enterprise car rental. Since my “retirement”, I've occasionally taken on short-term contracts for various federal government departments as a contracting consultant.
In 2022, we followed my dream of living in British Columbia and we moved here in December of 2022.
My interests are politics, economics, military history, business and volunteering.
Tulip Joshi
Artist, Yogi, Vedic Consultant
Athlete, successful actor, yogi, vedic consultant and astrologer are a few of the titles Tulip Joshi has gathered during the course of her life.
Born to multi cultural parents (Indian father and Armenian Mother), Tulip excelled in sports in her childhood. She began modelling towards the end of her teens, brief but stellar career which included some of the world's best brands.
As an actor, Tulip has played the female lead in 17 movies and a TV show.
Through all this, she pursued her passion studying Vedic Astrology and Vedic lifestyle for well over a decade before launching herself as a Vedic Astrologer and Vedic Lifestyle Consultant.
She was diagnosed with ADHD, her gift, that allows her to excel in multiple fields
Tulip is also a brilliant artist who creates and exhibits art. She defies traditional categorizations, encourages, inspires people to embrace their unique path and taste true freedom!
Know more about Tulip
PAULINA EGUIGUREN
Interior Designer | Visual Artist | Holistic Health Practitioner
Paulina Eguiguren, an interior designer, visual artist, and holistic health practitioner, brings over 37 years of experience to her work (35 in Canada) . Her expertise spans from classical sculpture, to murals, architectural design, and therapeutic space planning. Originally from Ecuador, she now resides in Victoria, BC.
Drawing on her background in , natural medicine and biofeedback, Paulina creates visually striking and deeply supportive spaces. These spaces are particularly tailored for individuals with sensory sensitivities, learning differences, or in need emotional uplifting. She also leads Interior Design mini workshops, empowering people with or without experience to design spaces that reflect their needs, style, and aesthetics preferences.
Paulina believes that designing a home is an essential life skill, not unlike cooking. She believes that we don’t always need a chef to create stunning or deeply nourishing dishes, in the same way she empowers individuals to create beautiful, functional and nurturing spaces with minimal or no assistance from a designer. Her goal is to create spaces that nurture, inspire, and enrich daily life, while empowering others to also shape environments that reflect their own beauty, purpose, and joy. Contact Paulina
Drawing on her background in , natural medicine and biofeedback, Paulina creates visually striking and deeply supportive spaces. These spaces are particularly tailored for individuals with sensory sensitivities, learning differences, or in need emotional uplifting. She also leads Interior Design mini workshops, empowering people with or without experience to design spaces that reflect their needs, style, and aesthetics preferences.
Paulina believes that designing a home is an essential life skill, not unlike cooking. She believes that we don’t always need a chef to create stunning or deeply nourishing dishes, in the same way she empowers individuals to create beautiful, functional and nurturing spaces with minimal or no assistance from a designer. Her goal is to create spaces that nurture, inspire, and enrich daily life, while empowering others to also shape environments that reflect their own beauty, purpose, and joy. Contact Paulina