In Memoriam with Love
It is with great sorrow that we share the news of the passing of Karen Kisslinger.
Karen believed that compassion is the only true source of power and was deeply committed to promoting the skills and traits of mindfulness that become part of living ethically, compassionately and healthfully. A fund in her name will be established at Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation to support students who show creativity in community health, well-being and/or contemplative practices such as yoga, meditation or organic agriculture. Donations to the fund can be sent to
The Karen Kisslinger Fund
c/o Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation
271 Main St., Suite 3
Great Barrington, MA 01230
or online at berkshiretaconic.org.
If you would like to share your thoughts or memories of Karen, please do so below.
November 19th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
I send my deepest sympathy to Rob, Emma and Ava, and all who loved Karen.
I will miss Karen’s sprightly spirit, her articles on Huffington Post and her radio show which always reminded me to take a minute out of my day to relax.
But most of all, I will miss her as a friend and supportive colleague with whom I had many wonderful conversations over the years.
There is no one who loved her family more, her community more, her world more…
November 24th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Karen was my practitioner.
I felt so grateful to get connected with her. The first time I met her she was giving out home-grown moxa to everyone at an acupuncture meeting in NYC.
She was a wonderful practitioner, and had integrated valuable things into her classical 5E practice. When I made the long drive up to her to be treated, I felt like I was on a healing pilgrimage. She had so much deep knowledge and life experience, which was woven into her work.
She was such a great wood person - and always encouraging me to new endeavors, and possibilities. I loved hearing that she played saxophone,
and jammed with folks, and that she was a sculptor - those wonderful Buddha figures for example - meaningful, but playful and creative.
At her house atop the mountain in Millerton NY - Her treatment room has a skylight and windows on a huge willow tree by a pond.
I watched clouds moving by as the needles went in. After the treatments in the summer she invited me to take a swim. Raspberry bushes surround the pond, and that was a delicious dessert afterwards. She was a macrobiotic guru for me - her kitchen looked like a drawing in a cookbook. After a treatment she would often feed me from her kitchen, since I had a long trip home. One of my favorite dishes came from Karen’s kitchen: Millet in the pressure cooker with Onions and Butternut Squash, seasoned with toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Almond Milk. She told me that she and her family ate it for breakfast too.
We went together to Spring Acucamp in ‘07 or ‘08. She added so much instantly to the scene. The next year she was already contributing, she was a natural leader and teacher. At her class in the great room at Spring Acucamp she passed out golf balls, and we stood rolling them under our feet - it was brilliant, actually, and so much fun. Very Karen.
In her guest bathroom there is a black and white picture of a bunch of naked 3 or 4 year old girls in a bathtub. Karen’s bright eyes & smiling face stood out from the group of cousins. This seemed to me to capture her essence.
On our long drive together to Maine Acucamp, she told me that Rob and she were still very much in love, after so many years together.
Sending love and prayers for Karen as she makes her journey. And also to her beloved family, Rob, Ava and Emma, and all within the loving circle of her life.
Andrea Boggs