Julia Ferganchick Hilton, PhD, earned advanced degrees in writing, language theory and philosophy from the University of Arizona. She taught university-level philosophy, writing, and linguistics courses, and gave national presentations about language theory and practice during her career as a college professor (1992–2001).
Julia’s nationally-funded research focused on the nature of language acquisition and the influences of technology on literacy. During this time, she also started a small business, a café/bookstore, which she ran successfully in Little Rock, Arkansas.
In 1999 she survived a major airline crash, which set her on a new course of study about how we deal with trauma and life.
Julia began a serious practice of meditation in 2005. She completed the Asian Classics Institute’s extensive program of Buddhist philosophy, and traveled to Europe, Asia, and India to further her studies. In 2007 she spent two months volunteering and studying in a remote monastery of the Kagyu lineage in eastern Tibet.
She completed advanced studies in meditation and eastern philosophy at Diamond Mountain University, and has completed certification in the Yoga Studies Institute Classics of Yoga and Tibetan Heart Yoga programs.
In 2006 she began teaching meditation regularly both in her hometown of Tucson, Arizona, and throughout the world. Julia specializes in teaching meditation practices that are accessible and beneficial to a wide range of people who seek to improve their lives.
Julia cared for her husband, Charles Hilton, after his diagnosis of terminal cancer in 2012 with the help of home hospice. During that time, Julia herself was diagnosed with breast cancer and the BRCA 1 gene mutation. She underwent a radical double mastectomy in April 2013. She now uses her experiences as a cancer survivor and meditation as a basis for her writing, which can be found on her blog: http://prajnaja.wordpress.com.
Contact Julia at: julia@meditationpracticeinstitute.org.
