About Brandon

Brandon Thompson is a writer, a scholar of ecstatic poetry, and a Buddhist practitioner and teacher. He is a transpersonal educator and served for over a decade as core faculty in the Global Master’s Program at Sofia University (formerly the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology). He has been a student of Mahayana Buddhism for over twenty years and has taught in this tradition since taking his bodhisattva vow in the summer of 2007. Brandon's first published book of poetry, “The Long Road Home: A Collection of Poems from an Open Heart,” is currently in its Second Edition. His second collection of ecstatic poetry, "From the Back of a Thirsty Camel: Ecstatic Longings," was released March 2016. His exploration into Buddhism through ecstatic poetry, "The Medicine is in the Poison: Poems from the Path of Lojong" began its journey in November 2016. Brandon published “Fire and the Moon: Poems for my Daughter” in August 2018 as a gift for his daughter’s second birthday. His most recent book, “This is Not My Kingdom: Ecstatic Sovereignty,” is his deepest dive into the realm of the ecstatic. He regularly facilitates ecstatic poetry workshops across the United States.

Brandon's current work involves bringing ecstatic poetry more fully into his life and into the world. Through his publications, scholarly writing, teaching, and workshops, Brandon is seeking to engage with ecstatic poetry as a visionary art: an art form with transformative potential and mystical underpinnings. Entering into this visionary art dialogue is at the forefront of Brandon's work at present. 

If you are interested in contacting Brandon to discuss workshop/retreat offerings, please view the contact page.