I was born and raised in Moscow, in the former Soviet Union

I am part Russian, Ukranian, Korean and Jewish. My maternal grandparents were historians, my father was a physics professor, my mother was an artist.

Members of my family were victims of crimes against humanity

My paternal grandmother survived Holodomor, Ukranian genocide. My maternal grandfather's family was destroyed through murder, torture, imprisonment and exile by Stalin.

I immigrated to the United States at the age of 17

In 1989 I arrived with my immediate family to Boston, MA, where we were granted political asylum.

I was educated in Russia and the States

I graduated from Children’s Music School, piano, and High School in Moscow. I hold a Bachelor's degree from the University of California at Berkeley in Computer Science.

I worked in high tech industry

From 1995 to 2003, I worked in San Francisco as a consultant for Charles Schwab, Silicon Graphics, Publicis, and Genentech.

I was ordained as a Dharma Teacher

Under Kwan Um School of Zen in 2002. Zen Master Bon Soeng gave me my Korean Buddhist name - Jin Hwa, Truth Flower.

I practice and teach Tantra

I trained at Body Electric School, Oakland, CA to facilitate workshops on integration of sexuality and spirituality. I taught at the school from 1999-2003. In addition, I studied Tantra and Taoism with different teachers: Robert Fry, Margot Anand, Mantak Chia, Chester Maynard, Richard Miller. In the US I taught workshops in California, Minnesota, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Washington, and Georgia.

Women's Temple.

I write

I am writing a novel.

I paint

Oil on canvas, since 2005 www.ViolonRouge.com

I dance

I dance by myself to classical music.
I dance in community in Moscow, Paris, California, Minneapolis.
I dance with friends.

I dance Contact Improvisation, 5Rythms, SoulMotion and Ecstatic Dance.

Contact Improv with my friend Marc Papillon (www.marcpapillon.com) Paris, 2010. More photos...

Since 2009, I live and work in USA, Russia and France

In the US, my primary residence, I own a house in the suburbs of Minneapolis, where I am surrounded by nature.
In France I live in the center of Paris, close to Notre Dame.
In Russia I live in the center of Moscow, on the famous old Arbat street.

I lived in different places

San Francisco Bay Area (14 years), Boston (3 years), New York City (3 summers), Kiev, Ukraine (a few summers), Budapest, Hungary (6 months).

I did some fun projects

I built a Japanese garden around the Empty Gate Zen center in Berkeley, CA.

I went to Burning Man festival (www.burningman.com) for seven years in a row from 1998-2004. This is where I originally created and tested the concept of Women’s Temple. Don Lattin included a chapter about Women’s Temple at Burning Man in his book Following Our Bliss: How the Spiritual Ideals of the Sixties Shape Our Lives Today, published in 2003.

I have a life time project

My life time project is to build Women’s Temple center in Moscow, where women can empower each other to live the best lives they can imagine.

I listen to the cries of the world

I listen to the laughs of the world

Namaste

Diana Soline