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health

Following
His Heart

Brandon Klein’s
journey takes him to
teach others to grow
through meditation.

Made in
Michigan
Open
House

DEBRA DARVICK CONTRIBUTING WRITER

M

Saturday, February 24th
12 - 4 p.m.

Come visit with some of the
“Hometown Classic” businesses that are made in
Michigan, including:

Eastern Market | Grand Traverse Pie Company
National Coney Island | Faygo | Vernors | Better Made
Saunders Ice Cream

And other local artisans!

Enter to win a Michigan made basket full of locally
made products.

Tours of Waltonwood will also be offered

editation teacher Brandon
Klein typifies his genera-
tion’s inclination to pursue
a career that melds personal fulfill-
ment and helping others.
“When we talk about medi-
tation,” says Klein, founder of
WiseMindGentleSoul meditation
center, “we talk about returning to
a state of mind not conditioned by
fear. Growing up is the placing of
rules, limitations and fears [upon us]
and we begin to limit ourselves. But
look at kids. They take leaps. They
stumble and get back up.”
Klein took a big leap in 2016,
when he left a Ph.D. program after
two years to start a blog he envi-
sioned would be an online commu-
nity of “like-minded individuals on a
journey of self-growth.”
Klein earned his bachelor’s
degree in honors psychology from
the University of Michigan and a
master’s degree in clinical psychol-
ogy from Hofstra University in New
York but had grown disenchanted
with Hofstra’s program. “The system
required a set of principles I wasn’t
willing to adhere to. I had an intu-
ition there was something else in
store for me that I couldn’t put into
words.”
Not surprisingly, Klein’s parents
were concerned and had doubts.
“From their perspective,” he recalls,

RSVP or call and
schedule a personal
tour today.

248-567-2060

Independent Living | Licensed Assisted Living | Memory Care

27475 Huron Circle, Novi, MI 48377

Located across from Twelve Oaks Mall

wwwWaltonwood.com | www.SinghJobs.com

64

February 22 • 2018

jn

RIGHT: Detroit City Moishe
House members: Brandon
Klein, Aryeh Perlman, Ethan
Siegel and Abby Rubin.

“it was fair for them to be fearful.
To say I wanted to leave a Ph.D.
program $50,000 in debt? To write
a blog? It didn’t make any sense. I
didn’t have the privilege to brush
their concerns aside. It was better
to respond to their fear with love. It
was a journey for us all.
“Believe it or not, I didn’t have
much self doubt. I’d moved to New
York with my girlfriend and we
broke up. I’d enrolled in a Ph.D.
program and left it. Given the real-
ity that my parents, ultimately, all
concerns aside, were behind me and
willing to support me, what was
there to be afraid of ?”
A series of chance occurrences led
Klein in the direction he had envi-
sioned back in 2016. An affordable
office space in Farmington came
up for rent. His mom told someone
about him who told a therapist who
wanted to offer meditation to her
adolescent clients. Meeting with
Rabbi Dan Horwitz about creat-
ing a meditation program for The
Well, Klein learned that the Detroit
Moishe House was looking for a
new resident. The contact Horwitz
shared turned out to be someone
Brandon had reached out to about
bringing meditation to Moishe
House residents.
He moved into the Detroit City
Moishe House in December and is

