Two Lives, One Rhythm: A Chronicle of Devoted Time

The Tempo Isn’t Always Smooth—But the Song Is Ours.

Fifteen years of marriage!!!

In a world that often measures success by the velocity of our hustle, we chose another rhythm. It was not slower, nor was it idle—it was deliberate. When Mina and I married on 11 July 2010 in a Sunrise Service, we knew that our life together would not be arranged around the traditional scaffolding of modern adulthood: commuting, clocking in, juggling the aftermath of our absence from one another. We instead chose presence as the cornerstone of our union.

Since that day, fifteen years ago today, we have walked through time in parallel—teaching Transcendental Meditation, raising children, disagreeing, coming back together, and crafting a life not around separation, but shared space. We live and work alongside one another, and though it is not without its challenges, we have cultivated a deep appreciation for what it means to truly see one another through each season of growth. What began as a promise between two people has since flowered into a family of six, each child a reflection of that original harmony: Chloë Rose, Emerson James Warren, Tennyson Blake, and our newest light, Malcolm Aurelius—Our Four Seasons.

Our days are filled not only with the practicalities of life—teaching, writing, parenting, preparing meals, tending to the countless needs of a home—but also with the quieter, subtler moments that make a life meaningful: morning meditations in silence, children’s questions blooming into philosophical inquiry, evenings spent revisiting classical texts or listening to jazz musicians as the sun sets through the windows of our home in Cambridge. And yes, even disagreements.

It was here, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that a pivotal chapter of our shared purpose began. In May of 2013, after visiting during Spring Break that year, we returned to Cambridge so as to reconstitute the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program after a nearly seventeen-year absence from the region. What had once thrived had grown dormant. And after having been recruited “. . . at the highest levels of the Foundation” at the conclusion of my Teacher Training Course (TTC) to become a Certified TM Teacher, we felt called—perhaps even summoned—to breathe life back into a tradition and region that had once served so many. Since then, our home has served as a sanctuary for our shared journey of learning, reflection, and transformation for us as we endeavour to aid those seeking a deeper connection to consciousness, health, and self.

While Mina and I have always considered our life a form of study, I chose to continue, with the tremendous support of my then Dissertation Chair and Advisor, Dr. Fred Travis, that inquiry through doctoral research. My dissertation explored the mystical experiences of Freemasons, investigating how esoteric rituals and inner transformation converge within perhaps one of the world’s oldest of initiatic traditions. What emerged was a model I now refer to as the Model for Perpetual Growth and Progress—a framework for personal and collective development grounded in both ancient wisdom and modern neuroscience. At the center of it lies the understanding that Pure Consciousness is not a distant ideal, but a lived reality accessible to all who cultivate inward attention.

This model did not arise in isolation. It was forged in the crucible of daily life—including fifteen years of study prior to decamping Atlanta to resume Grad School in Iowa in 2008 and meeting Mina that December, to that of raising a family while wending my way through the Doctoral program, of meditating in the margins between teaching and dinner, of holding hands with Mina while reflecting on the eternal truths that undergird our shared work, as well as those moments when we greatly annoyed each other. In reflecting on the totality, it is the synthesis of everything we have lived and learned together that bring us even closer.

When we recently estimated how much time we have spent in one another’s company since our marriage, the number startled us: just over 127,000 hours and counting—more than double that of the average couple in today’s society and adjusted to account for the six months we were apart and sequestered from society to complete our respective Transcendental Meditation Teacher Training Courses (TTC). But this was never our aim. We were not trying to outspend others in presence. Instead, we simply kept choosing to build a life that centered around togetherness, inquiry, and intentionality. Key word—choosing.

In many ways, our life is a living meditation—one that unfolds not on a cushion or a stage, but in the mundane and miraculous moments of everyday life. We wake each morning with a renewed commitment to one another, our children, our vocation of service to our community, and the evolution of consciousness. And while we acknowledge the obvious, and not so obvious, sacrifices inherent in this path, we also recognize the richness it has afforded us: a kind of wealth that cannot be measured in dollars or accolades, but in moments, meaning, and memory.

If there is a lesson here, it is not prescriptive. We do not claim to have found the perfect formula—trust me on this one. But we do hope to inspire a gentle reconsideration of what is possible when two people align not just in love, but in purpose. In choosing to spend our lives in presence—real, tangible, daily presence—we have found a rhythm that is both ancient and new. It is a rhythm of partnership, of family, of practice, and of unfolding. This is our life. Your mileage may vary.

This is our chronicle.
This is our devotion.
And this is our time—shared, sacred, and still unfolding.

Happy Anniversary, Beb!

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Dr. Baruti KMT-Sisouvong, along with his wife, Mina, serves as Director of the Transcendental Meditation Program in Cambridge and the larger area of Metropolitan Boston. They are parents to four beautiful children. To learn more about him, visit his website: https://www.barutikmtsisouvong.com/.