Richard Mendius, M.D., is a board certified neurologist in private practice in Marin County, California. He graduated from Stanford University, then attended medical school at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he received his M.D. in 1977. He trained in neurology at the Wadsworth VA Medical Center in Los Angeles under the direction of Dr. W. W. Tourtellotte, then did fellowship training in clinical electroencephalography and clinical epilepsy under Dr. Jerome Engel at UCLA Medical Center. He also did simultaneous training in neurobehavior under Drs. Frank Benson and Jeff Cummings. He has held faculty positions at UCLA School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, and Stanford University School of Medicine. During his teaching career, he received the OHSU Silver Hammer award and the Stanford University Lysia Forno award for teaching excellence.

Dr. Mendius has a subspecialty in the neurobiology and practice of meditation. His meditation practice began in Los Angeles, with training from Shinzen Young in the 1980s. Since moving to Marin County, he has made Spirit Rock his home base and has taught classes and participated in retreats with Jack Kornfield, among others.

He is the single parent of three children -- Courtney, Taryn, and Ian. They are three of his main teachers. One of the main lessons is that reincarnation is not necessary when you are the father of three wonderful children.