We create knowledge with our bodies. I teach the theory and the practice.
Gut feelings carry real information and real bias. Most of us were never taught how to tell the difference.
I'm Jes Golden, a philosopher, Jewish meditation teacher, and researcher at the Center for Possible Minds and Harvard Medical School/Mass General's Meditation Research Program. My meditation teaching—grounded in Jewish wisdom, philosophy, and contemplative science—offers a method for attuning to and interpreting the emotions and information communicated through the body. My research explores embodied experience and contemplative phenomenology in Buddhist and Jewish meditation. Through my workshops, keynotes, writing, and teaching, I show people who live in their heads how to use the body to find the still, small voice that leads to greater authenticity, clarity, and discernment.
- Want to practice meditation or find community? Sits, classes, and retreats grounded in Jewish contemplative tradition. Go to Practice →
- Booking a speaker or workshop? Keynotes and trainings on embodied knowledge for communities, campuses, and teams. Go to Speaking →
- Need support for a writing project? Developmental editing, grant writing, and application support. Go to Writing Mentorship →
- Here for the research? Dissertation, publications, and ongoing philosophical and scientific work. Go to Research →
Practice & Community
Monthly sits, classes, retreats, and one-on-one work grounded in Jewish contemplative tradition.
Enter → Keynotes · Workshops · SeriesSpeaking & Workshops
The theory and practice of embodied knowledge for communities, organizations, and teams.
Enter → Philosophy · Contemplative scienceResearch
Embodied epistemology, gut feelings, and the phenomenology of Jewish contemplative practice.
Enter →The Body Inherits: Gut Feelings, Ancestry, and the Craft of Knowledge
I'm writing a book (working title above) about how our most visceral intuitions can reflect our emotions and desires as much as our biases and trauma—and how Jewish contemplative practice teaches us to read them with discernment.
I teach a workshop on this called What Grows Wild—about accessing and refining what we can know through the body.
Current offerings & ways to learn
Segula: A LGBTQ+ Monthly Mindfulness Sit
An affinity sit by and for LGBTQ+ Jews with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, hosted by Jes, with rotating guest teachers each month.
Sign upMerhav Community Sit
An open monthly sit for Jewish meditation starting Fall 2026: wordless melody (niggunim), a teaching grounded in Jewish wisdom, and 30 minutes of silence followed by sharing and Q&A.
Interest formTehom: Deepening Practice
You've practiced a little but it hasn't stuck. Over six sessions, sustain and deepen a practice of your own in community. In-person and online cohorts.
Interest formReturning Anew: Silent Retreat for Younger Adults
Shevet's 3rd annual silent Jewish meditation retreat for adults in their 20s & 30s, with Rebecca Schisler, Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife, Yael Shy, and Jes.
Register