Dr. Naamleela Free Jones is a scholar-practitioner, educator, and musician deeply immersed in the world's religious and esoteric traditions. 

She holds a Ph.D. in the History of Religions and an M.A. in Gnosticism, Esotericism, and Mysticism from Rice University in Houston, Texas, along with a B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. Her work focuses on comparative esotericism, with a particular interest in new religious movements, Gnostic spirituality, modern yoga and Tantra, and consciousness studies. 

Grounded in both lived experience and critical inquiry, Naamleela explores the cross-cultural currents of Eastern and Western thought in American metaphysical religion. She studies how these transmissions continue to shape the contemporary spiritual landscape, with attention to how gnosis, nonduality, and the sacred are being reimagined in global, post-traditional contexts. She currently teaches at Naropa University, Pacifica Graduate Institute, and the Jung Center of Houston and serves as an associate editor for Correspondences: Journal for the Study of Esotericism.

 A musical composer, classical pianist, and sound healer, Naamleela has performed at prestigious venues such as the Teatro della Pergola and the Bargello Museum in Florence, Italy, as well as intimate settings in North America, Europe, and the South Pacific. Her music, like her academic work, integrates themes of embodiment and transcendence.

Additionally, as an ordained minister, she is honored to perform weddings and other sacred ceremonies, helping people to connect with the transformative power of ritual in their lives.