Bridging Wisdom from Contemplative Traditions with Ecological Ways of Life The Pathways to Planetary Health initiative hosted a conversation to explore contemplative approaches to the critical ecological challenges of our time. This online Garrison Institute Forum focused on the growing recognition of ecological realities and the integration of traditional Asian spiritual traditions and philosophies in addressing modern environmental issues. Stephen…
On January 14, 2021, Garrison Institute presented a rare conversation with Joanna Macy, exploring our relationship to the earth and the pathways to healing during this critical time. As Macy has asked, “How can I be fully present to my world–present enough to rejoice and be useful–when we as a species are destroying it?” Drawing on her work at the intersection…
We live in a time of great uncertainty, with the triple threat of increasingly volatile climate change, political polarization, and income inequality. It feels like the political, economic, and governance systems of our civilization are not only unequal to these challenges, but being fractured by them. In times of great uncertainty, people tend to grasp at leaders with views they…
A workplace flourishes when its leaders prioritize the health and well-being of their most valuable asset: people. Organizations are powered by the teams behind them: the employees who keep the operation moving, growing and evolving. An investment in their health and well-being is an investment in the health of the business. Many organizations are taking strides toward ensuring their teams…
Excerpted from HOW CHILDREN THRIVE: The Practical Science of Raising Independent, Resilient, and Happy Kids, by Mark Bertin, MD. Sounds True, May 2018. Reprinted with permission. The day ends and you pull into your driveway. You open the mailbox and, groaning, take out a two-inch pile of mail, 90 percent junk, but needing to be sorted. Riffling through it as…
Being an immigrant to the US, a person of color, and genderqueer, much of my life I never felt I belonged fully to any particular group or community. A coping strategy I learned early on was to conform to the dominant culture so that I didn’t stand out with the hope of being accepted and loved. That stopped working for…
There’s an iconic scene in the movie There’s Something About Mary in which Ben Stiller picks up a sketchy hitchhiker played by Harland Williams. Williams tells Stiller about a groundbreaking idea he’s had. “You heard of this thing, the eight minute abs?” he asks. “This is going to blow that right out of the water. Listen to this: seven minute…
I recently spoke to Jamie Bristow, Director of The Mindfulness Initiative—a charitable policy institute which works with politicians in the UK and internationally to explore the case for mindfulness-based programs across a range of spheres of public policy. Dan Nixon: Jamie, the intersection of mindfulness and policymaking must be a fascinating area to work in. Can you tell me a…