After some years of studying and investigating spiritual paths, Shamelle attended a talk with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Washington D.C. in 2009, where she landed rather close in proximity to him in the audience. Impacted greatly by His Holiness's presence and teaching, she formally became Buddhist soon thereafter when she attended an event in Miami, FL. where Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche of the Kagyu Lineage offered refuge. Since that time, she met and received teachings and transmissions from various venerable lamas in all four major schools in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

 

In 2015, Shamelle entered a strict traditional three-year three-month retreat at Katog Chöling Gön (USA) under the direction of Venerable Khentrul Lodrö T'hayé Rinpoche of the Katog Nyingma Lineage, who she has studied closely with since 2010. Upon the completion of that retreat in 2018, she was asked by her teachers to serve as editor of some previously untranslated Buddhist philosophical and historical texts, working on these multi-year-long projects alongside scholar lamas and translators who are intending to bring the precious teachings from Tibetan to English. She has also helped translate some smaller texts from English into Spanish.

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     Shamelle was the Druponma or Practice Assistant, for the third three-year three-month retreat at Katog Chöling Gön that ran from 2020-2024, and is the Coordinator for Katog Tingzin Ling in Miami, the Florida branch of Khentrul Rinpoche's centers. She also serves as the Social Media Coordinator for Katog Choling and Khentrul Rinpoche, and runs a personal Instagram account with several followers under the handle @PemaLotus, where she shares authentic dharma-based content.

 

On occasion, she leads workshops, retreats, dharma mentorship-exchanges, and does more retreats of varying lengths on her own.