Contemplative Practice: A Harbinger and Sustainer of Wise Thinking

Insights like these don’t always come through experiences that are challenging, painful or even traumatic. Sometimes they do. Hardship is not a prerequisite for wisdom, however, it is at least part of the process – and a very potent part, at that. We all have hardship in our lives. How we respond to hardship is what reveals whether or not we have developed wise characteristics.

Emancipating Ourselves from Mental Enslavement

Saturday June 19 is Juneteenth, celebrated by many as the end of slavery in the United States.  The Garrison Institute is observing it with a daylong virtual meditation retreat for the Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) community. It’s designed for anyone who self-identifies as Black, LatinX, indigenous, of Asian descent, or as part of any other community of…

Health Care Workers Risk Burn Out. How Will They Get the Care They Need?

By Sharon Salzberg and Diana Calthorpe Rose This article originally appeared in Newsweek. It’s been a long plague year. COVID-19 hospitalization rates are declining, but the stress level of health care workers remains sky-high. We’re in the pandemic’s third wave, and only a few weeks away from peak hospitalizations in early January. New, more contagious strains of the virus could increase…

Justice from the Inside Out: Contemplative Practices for Correctional Workers

This thought-provoking forum discussion between Caroline Margaret Volstad, J.D., and Lama Justin von Bujdoss (Repa Dorje Odzer) explores the challenges of disrupting suffering through spiritual care within carceral facilities. Caroline and Justin spend this hour contemplating justice (which Justin defines as respect, agency, appreciation of value, and freedom from violence for all beings) in the context of Justin’s work as Staff Chaplain for the New York City Department of Corrections.

Martel Catalano – Beyond Our Battles: Coping with Chronic Illness and Disability

Martel Catalano is the executive director and co-founder of Beyond My Battle, a nonprofit focused on reducing the stress of serious illness, rare disease, and disability through emotional support and resources rooted in mindfulness. Martel is dedicated to helping individuals and families cope with health-related uncertainty by cultivating self-awareness, compassion, and supportive relationships. She has studied with mindfulness teachers in…

Michelle Maldonado – Leading Awake: Bringing Mindful Equity, Compassion & Wise Work to Action

“Our way of being informs our way of leading.” In this interactive webinar, mindfulness teacher Michelle Maldonado discusses how we can use emotional awareness practices, not only to find peace in ourselves, but also to cultivate spaces of safety and belonging in the workplace – a task of particular urgency in our current moment of paradox and transformation. Maldonado begins…

Robin Stern, PhD. and Marc Brackett, PhD. – Permission To Feel: Strategies For Healthy Emotional Regulation During Uncertain Times

Have you been riding a roller coaster of emotions lately? You aren’t alone. This virtual lecture from Dr. Marc Brackett and Dr. Robin Stern from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence provides tools to make the ride a little smoother. These research-based strategies can help support your own and your children’s well-being, healthy decision making, relationship quality, and performance during…