Paul Kendel was born in Hawthorne, CA, in 1967. Following a three year service in the active army, he graduated from college with a master’s degree in both History (emphasis in the Middle East) and Anthropology. Following the 9/11 attacks he deployed in early 2002 to Saudi Arabia with the California National Guard. In January 2005 he started his training for deployment to Iraq with the Georgia National Guard. In 2011, he retired from the army and his book Walking the Tiger’s Path: A Soldier’s Spiritual Journey was published. He has been working with Mindfulness Peace Project, a nonprofit organization based in Niwot, Colorado, to develop secular mediation programs for combat veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. He has also participated in nondenominational mindfulness based meditation workshops for incarcerated prisoners across the country.