James Jacobson

James Jacobson is not a dog whisperer or an animal behaviorist. He’s not an over-barking, highfalutin, woo-woo kind of guy. He’s a real person, who has meditated most of his life—the past twelve years with his dog, Maui. For more than a decade, he has taught classes in Washington, DC, Denver and Hawaii that introduce “newbies” to the joy of meditation by leveraging the love they already feel for their pets.

Jacobson is the president of Maui Media, LLC, a company dedicated to raising planetary consciousness by helping people to raise their own consciousness. Maui Media recently published an audio book by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, gaining nationwide attention with television appearances on CNN, Oprah and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

A native of Washington, D.C., Jacobson grew up meeting presidents and heads of state, and worked in the U.S. Senate as a page. From a young age, meditation kept him calm and focused, both at school and at work.

He graduated with honors from the University of Virginia with a degree in rhetoric, a background that he has drawn upon as a teacher and speaker on introductory meditation techniques throughout the U.S., including in his adopted home of Hawai’i. He began developing his articulate and personable interview style at the age of 16, when he started hosting talk radio programs. Since then, Jacobson has been on dozens of talk radio and television programs, and currently hosts a weekly show on talk radio KAOI in Maui. He has also successfully used his public speaking skills in Hawai‘i to fight the state’s strict animal quarantine laws.

Jacobson’s passion for conscious marketing has made him one of the most innovative entrepreneurs in the Body/Mind/Spirit market. His projects over the years reflect his creative facility with different types of media, from television and radio to Internet and print publications. How to Meditate With Your Dog is Jacobson’s first book. Ten percent of all profits from book sales go to nonprofit organizations that train service dogs, such as Hawai‘i Canines for Independence, a Maui-based organization that trains service dogs for placement with disabled citizens.