About Dan D’Agostino
I’m a certified teacher of Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT), a program originally developed at Stanford University to help people build resilience, deepen emotional connection, and live with greater presence.
Since receiving my certification from the Compassion Institute in 2019, I’ve taught hundreds of people from all walks of life—helping them reclaim their attention, reconnect with others, and navigate difficult times with clarity and compassion.
In addition to teaching meditation, I pioneered a course at the University of Toronto called Mindful Reading, designed to help students reclaim their focus from the grip of the internet and social media. This course helped participants recover their capacity for deep reading and sustained attention, reconnecting them with the richness of focused, immersive learning.
My Approach
For me, meditation is a tool—not the goal. By itself, meditation isn’t necessarily helpful. It becomes transformative only when we approach it with the right mindset: valuing focus, presence, and compassion enough to change how we think and live.
That’s why my work begins with shaping the mindset that makes these qualities matter to you. Once that’s in place, meditation and related practices become powerful ways to condition the mind—shifting habits, calming reactivity, and opening us to deeper connection.
I draw on a wide range of practices—from mindfulness and emotional regulation to contemplative traditions rooted in lived experience. But more than anything, it’s about being real with ourselves and others. This isn’t about perfection—it’s about presence.
Ready to reclaim your focus and reconnect with what matters most?
Explore my courses or get in touch to learn how we can work together.