Dan Rotnem

About Dan Rotnem

Dan is an American scholar, mystic, and human potential enthusiast who thrives on exploring the edges of what is possible and lighting the way for others. His journey has shown him no path is true, but all paths lead to truths - so he collects, distills, organizes, and distributes different perspectives to enable others to cut their personal master key.

Dan connected to the sublime early in life, finding his own quiet spaces to meditate in church at three, and by age five, was enamored with zazen and personal refinement according to bushido-based martial arts. He stayed connected to religion as a practicing Lutheran who attended a Catholic (Jesuit) high school, where he discovered Aristotle, Plato, and Daoism in the philosophy section of the library. By the time he got to college, he was deep into Asian philosophy.

All along the way, he battled with existential crises, love and loss, pain and bliss. He was perpetually wondering “why” and seeking knowledge on… everything. The mystery of life and the universe always called; the darkest days came when he turned his back on this calling in favor of money and prestige.
After getting his BA and MA in Chinese Language and Culture from The Ohio State University, he began a career in international business, moving to China on a one-way ticket. After dabbling in multiple start-ups related to international education, he left that world behind in 2016 to re-focus on family, personal cultivation, spirituality, and martial arts (rotnemmartialarts.com).

About then, driven by a perfect storm of personal crises, Dan found “The Heart of Zen.” Deeply moved, he traveled from Ohio to Wisconsin to receive Mondo Zen Facilitation from Jun Po and experienced a radical transformation. Shortly after that, there came an onset of Functional Neurological Disorder, where a diagnosis was a remarkable journey. His experience with meditation and conscious embodiment was essential to his unlikely recovery. In 2019, Dan received ordination into the Hollow Bones Zen Order and became known as Umi no Nami, or Umi for short. He currently works as the Executive Director and senior teacher of Friends of Zen, as well as the head priest of his local sangha, Open Door Zen (opendoorzen.org)

In 2023, Dan founded YourTurn Meditative Living (yourturnml.com) and continues to devote himself to his passion for living, studying, and teaching the practices leading to unreasonable joy and true freedom.