BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//The Garrison Institute - ECPv6.16.3//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.garrisoninstitute.org
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for The Garrison Institute
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/New_York
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20250309T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20251102T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20260308T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20261101T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20270314T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20271107T060000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260826T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261028T131500
DTSTAMP:20260820T101049
CREATED:20260713T184551Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260812T193415Z
UID:50648-1787745600-1793193300@www.garrisoninstitute.org
SUMMARY:Speaker Series on the Living Earth Community
DESCRIPTION:Co-sponsored by the Pathways to Planetary Health initiative at the Garrison Institute and the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology \n\nModerated by Stephen Posner\, PhD and Mary Evelyn Tucker\, PhD\nThe Garrison Institute and the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology are co-hosting a 4-part speaker series on Living Earth Community. This series offers space for participants to deepen their understanding of the living Earth and renew their sense of belonging during times of ecological uncertainty and social fragmentation. \n  \nThe series invites participants to explore the Living Earth Community from multiple perspectives\, including science\, ethics\, law\, and ecological imagination. Together\, these sessions ask what it means to live within an astonishingly diverse community of life\, and how we might respond with greater awareness\, reverence\, responsibility\, and care. Inspired by Thomas Berry’s vision of humanity as part of a “communion of subjects\,” this series explores the Living Earth Community as a knowledge commons and a reason to reflect on the moral and practical implications of human-Earth relationships. Topics include the Intelligences of Nature\, Ecological Worldviews\, and Earth Law and Rights of Nature. \nThis series is a virtual companion to an inaugural Living Earth Community conference to be held on October 17\, 2026 at the Yale Peabody Museum at Yale University (register here). Webinar sessions before the conference will introduce key themes\, and sessions afterwards will help integrate learning and explore future next steps. \nCo-hosted by Stephen Posner\, PhD\, with the Garrison Institute and Mary Evelyn Tucker\, PhD\, with the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology\, this program contributes to a growing community of scholars\, artists\, practitioners\, and organizations seeking to renew deep relationships with Earth and respond to this ecological moment with wisdom\, creativity\, and care. \n  \nWEBINAR AND CONFERENCE DATES\n  \nPre-Conference Webinar 1\nWednesday\, August 26 at 12pm ET\nIntroduction to Living Earth Community knowledge commons and conference \n \nMary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim of the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology will introduce the Living Earth Community as a knowledge commons and a gathering place for multiple ways of understanding Earth’s community of life. This opening session will explore how science\, spiritual and philosophical traditions\, and emerging legal movements invite us to recognize the voices\, agencies\, and relationships of birds\, mushrooms\, trees\, rivers\, mountains\, humans\, and other members of the Earth community. Participants will be invited to consider their own place and responsibilities within the Living Earth Community and to prepare for the themes that will unfold through the October conference and speaker series.\n\nSpeakers: Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim\, Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology  \n  \nPre-Conference Webinar 2\nWednesday\, September 9 at 12pm ET\nLiving Earth Community: Engaging a World of Many Voices \n \nWe dwell within an intricate and evolving community of planetary life. The world speaks—to itself and to us—in a multitude of voices\, each representing a unique way of being and knowing: from the organic lives of birds\, mushrooms\, and trees; to the elemental bodies of stones\, rivers\, and mountains. Yet each of these voices is an integral member of the whole. Since our species emerged around 300\,000 years ago\, we have developed diverse systems of knowledge—spiritual\, philosophical\, and scientific—to understand and respond to the vibrant ecological community in which we live. This session will consider the confluence of these ways of knowing through the Living Earth Community project\, a multimedia knowledge commons exploring the complexity of the living world through multimedia resources on the intelligences of nature\, ecological worldviews\, and Earth Law. Drawing from the insights of cultural historian and “geologian” Thomas Berry (1914-2009)\, we will explore how contemporary science is conversing with ancient spiritual traditions – at a time of polycrisis – to recover our kinship with the Earth community. \nSpeaker: Sam King\, Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology \n  \nPre-Conference Webinar 3\nWednesday\, September 23 at 12pm ET\nEcological Worldviews \n \nLisa Dahill of Hartford International University and Erik Assadorian of the Gaian Way will explore how ecological worldviews shape human responses to a living Earth community. This session will consider ancestral and contemporary traditions\, stories\, rituals\, practices\, and lifeways that affirm interdependence\, kinship\, and belonging within the community of life. Participants will be invited to reflect on how renewing ecological worldviews can help address the objectification of nature and support wiser\, more creative responses to this ecological moment. \nSpeakers: Lisa Dahill\, Hartford International University\, and Erik Assadorian\, Gaian Way \n  \nPre-Conference Webinar 4\nWednesday\, October 7 at 12:00-1:15pm ET\nEarth Law and Rights of Nature \nGrant Wilson of the Earth Law Center\, Raffaele Saposhnik of the Yale School of the Environment\, and Amaya Carrasco-Torrontegui of the University of Vermont Institute for Agroecology will examine the growing awareness of Earth Law and Rights of Nature. This session will explore how rivers\, forests\, mountains\, and other living systems are being recognized through legal theories and practices rooted in Indigenous traditions\, Earth Jurisprudence\, science-law partnerships\, and ecological justice movements. Participants will consider how law and governance can help protect the integrity of the biosphere and support the flourishing of both human and Earth communities. \nSpeakers: Grant Wilson\, Earth Law Center; Raffaele Saposhnik\, Yale School of the Environment; Amaya Carrasco-Torrontegui\, University of Vermont Institute for Agroecology \n  \nThe Living Earth Community Conference \nSaturday\, October 17 at the Yale Peabody Museum at Yale University \nRegister here\n \nThis conference brings together a community of scientists\, humanists\, writers\, and philosophers to explore the vast intelligences of nature\, following the launch of the Forum’s new website: Living Earth Community. Drawing from novel scientific research and skilled nature writing\, we will explore different ways of knowing and relating with the complex lives of cells\, plants\, and fungi; mammals and birds; trees and forests. In recent years\, the differentiated sentience of nature is rising into popular consciousness–from the migrations of birds and insects to the mating rituals of mammals; from the signaling of plants to the communication networks of trees–an awareness Indigenous peoples and other cultures have recognized for millennia.  Beginning with reflections on The Nature Record–a major scientific report on biodiversity in the United States–this conference will foster a deeper appreciation for the extraordinary complexity of ecosystems and consider emerging pathways of protection–including the Rights of Nature movement. It will also feature a performance of Earth music by the six-time\, Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Paul Winter. The conference is hosted in conjunction with the Yale Peabody Museum. This conference is free and open to the public\, but pre-registration is required.\nFor more information\, to see the full lineup of speakers\, and to register\, go to the registration page. \n  \nPost-Conference Webinar 5\nWednesday\, October 28 at 12pm ET\nIntelligences of Nature \n \nRachel Petersen and Russell Powell of Harvard University will explore the expanding scientific and philosophical conversation about intelligence\, perception\, feeling\, and agency across the more-than-human world. Drawing from their work with Natalia Scott on the Harvard conference Thinking with Plants and Fungi\, this session will consider how plants\, fungi\, animals\, insects\, and other beings challenge inherited assumptions that intelligence belongs only to humans. Together\, participants will reflect on what the diverse intelligences of nature reveal about the living Earth and how this recognition can deepen awareness\, reverence\, responsibility\, and care. \nSpeakers: Rachel Petersen and Russell Powell\, Harvard University\, co-directors with Natalia Scott of the Harvard conference on Thinking with Plants and Fungi \n  \nCO-HOSTS\n  \nMary Evelyn Tucker\, PhD\, co-directs the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology\, which examines cultural and religious values for broadened environmental ethics. This arose from a series of 10 conferences at Harvard on world religions and ecology that she organized with John Grim. She has published several books on Confucianism including The Philosophy of Qi. She co-edited Confucianism and Ecology (Harvard) and two volumes with Tu Weiming on Confucian Spirituality. She is the co-author of Journey of the Universe with Brian Thomas Swimme and the executive producer of the Emmy Award winning Journey film. This was inspired by Thomas Berry whose books she edited and whose biography she wrote with John Grim.They have been traveling in China since 1985 studying Ecological Civilization. \n  \nStephen Posner\, PhD\, is Senior Fellow for Planetary Health at the Garrison Institute and Global Affiliate with the Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont. Stephen integrates science with contemplative practices to build understanding across cultures\, align human systems with nature\, and promote cross-sector collaboration. He has published over 50 technical and non-technical articles on sustainability science and leverage points for systems change. He currently leads initiatives related to nature assessment and ecological stewardship \n  \n  \n  \nPlease contact us for questions and inquiries at events@garrisoninstitute.org.
URL:https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/event/speaker-series-on-the-living-earth-community-2026/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Forum,Virtual
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Toward-Ecological-Civilization-Reflections-and-Possibilities.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261007T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261007T190000
DTSTAMP:20260820T101049
CREATED:20260812T191053Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260819T185008Z
UID:51018-1791396000-1791399600@www.garrisoninstitute.org
SUMMARY:The Forest as Shrine
DESCRIPTION:A Conversation on Shinto\, Sacred Nature\, and Forest Bathing\nwith the Rev. Ann Evans\n  \nWednesday\, October 7\, 6 – 7 p.m. ET\nDonation-based registration ($25 suggested)\n  \nWhat does it mean to treat the forest itself as sacred? In Shinto\, a traditional Japanese religion\, the natural world is alive with kami (the spiritual beings of the universe)\, nature is scripture\, and shrines can be found in sacred groves of trees. Join us for a virtual conversation with Rev. Ann Evans\, Guji (High Priest) of the Shin Mei Spiritual Centre and a certified ANFT Forest Therapy Guide\, as she explores the contemplative heart of Shinto: its acknowledgement of the sacredness of all creation. \nRev. Evans will share how these ancient teachings inform her work as a forest bathing guide\, and how shinrin-yoku (the practice of forest bathing) offers a structured\, sensory path into the same qualities of stillness and connection that Shinto cultivates through ritual. We’ll discuss what it means to let the forest itself be the therapist\, how contemplative traditions and modern nature-connection practices intersect\, and what this convergence might offer those seeking a deeper relationship with the more-than-human world. \nThis live conversation will be held on Zoom; after registering\, you will receive a link to join the session. \n  \n***The Zoom link will be emailed within 24 hours of signing up*****\n  \n  \nSPEAKERS\n  \nRev. Ann Evans is a Shinto priest and is the Guji\, High Priest\, of Shin Mei Spiritual Centre. She is affiliated with Tsubaki Grand Shrine near Suzuka\, Japan and is the founder of Matsuri Foundation of Canada.\nShe has studied for 25 years under the tutelage of the Chief Priests of Tsubaki Grand Shrine in Japan; Guji Yukitaka Yamamato was the 96th generation priest in his family. His son\, Guji Yukiyasu Yamamoto continues the tradition and serves on the Board of Directors of Matsuri Foundation.\nShe teaches Shinto practice and principles as a way of finding joy and brightness in our daily lives. She has authored Shinto Norito: A Book of Prayers which provides western readers with a romanized pronunciation of the Japanese prayers as well as a translation.\nShe is also a certified ANFT Forest Therapy Guide based the tradition of Shinrin Yoku\, or Forest Bathing—a guided practice leading us to awaken our senses. In the setting of the Forest\, we can quiet our mind and find a deepened  connection with Great Nature and our selves. Your guide will take you through a structured experience with a sequence of invitations. Moments of silence\, meditation\, solitude and sharing build a rich experience where the Forest is the therapist\, and the guide opens the door. \nFruzsina (Fru) Molnar is Garrison Institute’s Senior Development and Strategic Projects Manager. At the Institute\, she is engaged at the intersections of growing initiatives and programs\, donor and grant stewardship\, special events\, and executive support. She is also a certified forest bathing guide with ANFT (Association of Nature and Forest Therapy guides)\, leading contemplative\, deeply embodied experiences of nature immersion designed to reawaken our innate sense of belonging and reciprocity with the more-than-human world. She holds a BA in English Literature from Dartmouth College. \n  \n  \n  \n  \n 
URL:https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/event/the-forest-as-shrine/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Virtual
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/The-Forest-as-Shrine.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261017T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261018T160000
DTSTAMP:20260820T101049
CREATED:20260806T205642Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260814T205524Z
UID:50944-1792231200-1792339200@www.garrisoninstitute.org
SUMMARY:Artificial Intelligence and Our Spiritual Imagination
DESCRIPTION:Virtual Conference \nHosted by the Garrison Institute\nOctober 17–18\, 2026\n  \nFor the first time in human history\, we are living alongside technologies that can generate language\, images\, music\, code\, and ideas with startling speed and sophistication. Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping education\, business\, healthcare\, governance\, creativity\, and nearly every domain of human life. \nMuch of the public conversation has focused on questions of productivity\, economic disruption\, existential risk\, environmental impact\, commercial competition\, and geopolitical power. These conversations are necessary\, yet they are not sufficient. \nBeneath the headlines\, market valuations\, policy debates\, and technological breakthroughs lies a deeper set of questions: \n\nWhat is this moment asking of us as human beings?\nHow is artificial intelligence changing the way we think\, create\, learn\, relate\, and imagine?\nWhat happens to our sense of meaning\, purpose\, identity\, and spirituality when intelligence is no longer understood as uniquely human?\nHow do we preserve our humanity while remaining open to transformation?\nWhat new forms of wisdom are needed in an age of artificial intelligence?\n\nThe Garrison Institute invites scholars\, technologists\, contemplatives\, artists\, educators\, spiritual leaders\, researchers\, activists\, and curious citizens to gather for a two-day exploration of one of the defining questions of our time: the relationship between artificial intelligence and our spiritual imagination. \nThis conference emerged from an ongoing dialogue between Dr. Angel Acosta and philosopher Dr. Bayo Akomolafe. Their conversation invited participants to move beyond familiar debates about efficiency and control and toward deeper inquiry into consciousness\, intelligence\, mystery\, relationality\, and what it means to be alive during a period of profound technological transformation. \nAt a time when many institutions are racing to deploy AI as quickly as possible\, this gathering creates space to slow down and make sense of all the rapid change in this field. \nTogether we will explore: \n\nArtificial intelligence and the future of human flourishing\nSpirituality\, contemplation\, and technological transformation\nConsciousness\, intelligence\, and the boundaries of the human\nCreativity\, imagination\, and meaning-making in the age of AI\nAncient wisdom traditions and emerging technologies\nAI\, loneliness\, belonging\, and human connection\nEthics\, responsibility\, and the preservation of human dignity\nIndigenous\, ecological\, and relational perspectives on intelligence\nThe future of education\, leadership\, and community in an AI-shaped world\nPractices for remaining grounded\, compassionate\, and fully alive amid rapid change\n\nAs artificial intelligence continues to evolve at an exponential rate\, humanity faces the profound challenge of relating to intelligent systems\, while also deepening our own capacity for discernment and compassion. \nJoin us for two days of dialogue\, contemplation\, inquiry\, and collective imagination as we explore what it means to remain deeply human in an age of artificial intelligence. \n\n\nDETAILS\nDates: October 17–18\, 2026 \nLocation: Zoom  \nFormat: Keynotes\, dialogues\, contemplative practices\, panels\, workshops\, and community conversations \nAudience: Educators\, technologists\, researchers\, spiritual leaders\, artists\, organizational leaders\, students\, and anyone seeking deeper reflection on the human implications of artificial intelligence. \n  \n\n\nAGENDA\n\n\n\n\n	Artificial Intelligence and Our Spiritual Imagination\n\n\n\n\n	\n\n\n	Saturday\, October 17\, 2026\n\n\n	10:00 AM - 11:30 AM ET Session 1\n\n\n	The Inner Life of the Future: Leadership\, Consciousness\, and Human Flourishing in the Age of AI\n\n\n	With: Dr. Angel Acosta\, Tim Leberecht & Amy Elizabeth Fox\n\n\n	11:30 AM - 12:00 PM ETBreak\n\n\n	12:00 PM - 1:30 PM ETSession 2\n\n\n	Sensuous Knowledge and the Future of Intelligence\n\n\n	With: Minna Salami\, Wakanyl Hoffman & Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz\n\n\n	2:15 PM – 3:45 PM ET Session 3\n\n\n	Technology in Service of Collective Healing and Liberation\n\n\n	With: Dr. Sará King & Samar Younes\n\n\n	3:45 PM – 4:15 PM ETSession 4\n\n\n	The Age of Supraintelligence: An Interactive Journey Exploring Human Connection and Collective Wisdom\n\n\n	With: Vincent Hunt\, Dr. Angel Acosta & Peter Cobabe\n\n\n	\n\n\n	Sunday\, October 18\, 2026\n\n\n	10:00 AM - 11:30 AM ETSession 5\n\n\n	When Intelligence Cracks: Exploring the Edges of Technology\, Consciousness\, and Our Spiritual Imagination(s)\n\n\n	With: Dr. Bayo Akomolafe & Dr. Angel Acosta\n\n\n	11:30 AM - 12:00 PM ETBreak\n\n\n	12:00 PM - 1:30 PM ETSession 6\n\n\n	The Oracle and the Machine: Ancestral Wisdom\, Art\, & Re-Imagining AI\n\n\n	With: Delphine Diallo & Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz\n\n\n	1:30 PM - 2:30 PM ETBreak\n\n\n	2:30 PM – 4:00 PM ETSession 7\n\n\n	The Future We Choose: A Community Dialogue on Responsibility and Collective Action\n\n\n	With: Dr. Angel Acosta & Special Guests\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSPEAKERS\nImage by Rog Walker\, Paper Monday \n\nFor the last decade\, Dr. Angel Acosta has worked to bridge the fields of leadership\, social justice\, and mindfulness. He holds a doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College\, Columbia University\, and develops learning experiences that weave leadership development with conversations about inequality and healing through contemplative and restorative practices. Lately\, he has become curious about the ways technology can be used as a force for advancing racial equity and dismantling structural inequality. \n  \n\n\nBayo Akomolafe is a philosopher\, writer\, public intellectual\, and internationally recognized speaker whose work explores complexity\, posthumanism\, decolonial thought\, and new possibilities for social change. Founder of The Emergence Network\, he challenges conventional ideas about progress and transformation\, inviting individuals and institutions to cultivate deeper relationships with uncertainty\, ecology\, and one another. \n  \n  \n\n\nWakanyi Hoffman is an Ubuntu philosopher\, African Indigenous Knowledge scholar\, author\, and global speaker. Her work explores how Indigenous wisdom\, storytelling\, and Ubuntu ethics can shape education\, human flourishing\, and the future of artificial intelligence through more relational and sustainable approaches. \n  \n  \n  \n\nThomas Hübl is a teacher\, author\, and facilitator internationally recognized for his work on collective trauma healing\, systems transformation\, and conscious leadership. Through his teachings and the Pocket Project\, he integrates contemplative practice\, neuroscience\, and systems thinking to help individuals and communities heal historical and collective wounds. \n  \n\n\nSamar Younes is a leadership strategist\, facilitator\, and systems thinker whose work focuses on complexity\, organizational transformation\, and regenerative leadership. She partners with leaders and organizations to cultivate relational practices that strengthen resilience\, imagination\, and collective capacity in times of rapid change. \n  \n\n\nVincent Hunt is an educator\, facilitator\, and leadership practitioner whose work centers healing\, racial equity\, and transformative learning. He helps organizations and communities develop leadership practices rooted in compassion\, belonging\, and human flourishing while navigating complexity and systemic change. \n  \n  \n\nTim Leberecht is a business strategist\, author\, and co-founder of the House of Beautiful Business. His work explores beauty\, belonging\, and human-centered leadership\, challenging organizations to rethink success through purpose\, imagination\, and meaningful human connection. \n  \n\n\nDr. Sará King is a neuroscientist\, educator\, and contemplative practitioner whose work bridges neuroscience\, meditation\, social justice\, and the healing arts. She explores how contemplative practices can transform individual well-being while supporting collective liberation and more compassionate futures. \n  \n  \n\nMinna Salami is a Nigerian-Finnish and Swedish author\, social critic\, and former Senior Fellow and Programme Chair at THE NEW INSTITUTE. She is the author of Can Feminism Be African?: A Most Paradoxical Question (2025) and Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone (2020)\, and is a leading voice in contemporary feminism who collaborates internationally as a writer\, lecturer\, advisor\, and keynote speaker. She is also a Full Member of the Club of Rome and a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader. \n  \n  \n\nPeter Cobabe is on a mission to empower people and contribute to our collective evolution through technology. As the Cofounder of RLTM AI\, he combines expertise in artificial intelligence\, organization theory\, cognitive psychology\, and systems thinking to drive transformative growth and innovation while creating technology that shifts our mindset from “Time equals Money” to “Time equals Creativity & Art.” \n  \n  \n\nDelphine Diaw Diallo is a French-Senegalese visual artist whose work explores the relationship between image\, consciousness\, and cultural narrative through photography\, collage\, moving image\, and artificial intelligence. Her work has been exhibited internationally at institutions including the Louvre Abu Dhabi\, the United Nations\, and Somerset House\, and she continues to explore regenerative visual languages through her ongoing artistic research project\, The Oracle Codex. \n  \n  \n  \n\nSince 2005\, Amy Elizabeth Fox has served as one of the founders and Chief Executive Officer of Mobius Executive Leadership\, a global transformational leadership firm. For the last twenty years she has served as a leadership and culture change advisor to eminent professional services firms and Fortune 500 companies and facilitated immersive executive development programs for senior leaders. \n  \n  \n  \nImage by Rog Walker\, Paper Monday \n\nDr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz is an award-winning educator\, poet\, author\, and nationally recognized scholar whose work explores the intersections of race\, literacy\, equity\, and healing in education. A professor at Teachers College\, Columbia University\, she is the creator of the Archaeology of Self™ framework\, which invites educators and leaders to examine their identities\, beliefs\, and experiences as a pathway to greater compassion\, justice\, and transformative leadership. Her work has inspired educators and organizations around the world to cultivate deeper self-awareness and more humanizing approaches to teaching\, learning\, and social change. \n  \n  \n  \nPlease contact us for questions and inquiries at events@garrisoninstitute.org.
URL:https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/event/artificial-intelligence-and-our-spiritual-imagination/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Forum,Virtual
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/AI-2026-Virtual-Summit-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261104T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261216T000000
DTSTAMP:20260820T101049
CREATED:20260730T190559Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T182415Z
UID:50901-1793750400-1797379200@www.garrisoninstitute.org
SUMMARY:Changemakers 2026
DESCRIPTION:November 4 – December 16\, 2026 \n  \nLive on Zoom\nWednesdays 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. ET\nIntegration Sessions Fridays 12:30-1:30 p.m. ET\n  \n \n  \nThe work is worthy. And often\, the pace is not sustainable. \nThe people who hold the front lines of social change – caseworkers\, advocates\, organizers\, legal aid attorneys\, youth workers\, crisis responders – are navigating enormous external pressure while being asked to show up fully for the people they serve. The cost is familiar to anyone in this work: chronic stress\, secondary trauma\, and burnout that drives experienced\, deeply committed people out of the field – and leaves communities without their most experienced and committed champions. \nResilience is not a personality trait\, and it is not one more thing to feel behind on. It is a set of learnable skills. For more than two decades\, the Garrison Institute’s Contemplative-Based Resilience (CBR) Project has taught cutting-edge evidence-based skills to humanitarian aid workers\, service providers\, and caregivers around the world\, on a simple premise: be well to serve well.\n \nSession one opens Wednesday\, November 4\, the evening after the midterms. After this tumultuous period\, Changemakers will spend the following six weeks holding their clients\, communities\, and colleagues through exhaustion or uncertainty. This course is where you come to resource yourself to sustain and expand your capacity to serve\, lead\, and build the future those communities need. \n  \n\nTHE STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE\n  \nSix weeks\, structured around our Contemplative Based Resilience Project  the “ABCs of resilience”: Awareness\, Balance\, and Connection. Every 90-minute session includes a brief guided practice\, a teaching from an internationally recognized contemplative teacher\, small-group discussion with your own colleagues and peers\, and a closing integration and application session where leaders from across the social impact world answer the question at the heart of the program: how do you resource yourself? Each week ends with one small\, concrete practice to try in your real life and work –  and each new session begins by asking how it went. \nYou’ll learn with faculty including Sharon Salzberg\, Kaira Jewel Lingo\, Oneika Mays\, Atman Smith\, Ali Smith and Andres Gonzalez\, alongside CBR teaching faculty and guest leaders from frontline organizations. \n\n\nWHAT YOU’LL LEAVE WITH \n  \nA working understanding of the science of stress\, secondary trauma\, and burnout; a toolkit of brief\, portable practices tested in your actual workweek – not on a retreat cushion; a personal and team resilience plan; a cohort of colleagues who share the practices and the language; and continued access to session recordings\, a guided practice library\, and the program community after the course ends. \n\n  \n\nWHO IT’S FOR\n  \nThis program is for the people others turn to: the advocates\, organizers\, caregivers\, and community leaders carrying complex challenges while working toward a more just and compassionate world. Changemakers attend together because resilience grows in community. Organizations enroll teams of 10–20 colleagues\, allowing these practices to spread through the communities and teams doing the work every day. \n  \nTESTIMONIALS\n  \n“Our staff are tasked with caring for the most vulnerable individuals and groups in our communities. Working during this time has increased staff feeling of vicarious trauma\, burnout\, COVID-19 fatigue and racial stress and trauma. One of the hallmarks of this time is disruption access to the things and people that help staff remain well and able to serve our clients. The partnership with the Garrison institute to allow staff access to the course [Changemakers] is key to helping our workforce continue their lifesaving work.” – CBR Participant (Safe Horizon) \n“Our staff work directly with low-wage and immigrant workers across New York State who are experiencing trauma every day. From sexual assault\, abuse\, workplace violence\, racial discrimination\, and the constant fear of deportation\, our clients are in the process of overcoming many traumas. The secondary trauma our staff experience does not go unnoticed. Not only are many of our staff from the communities they serve\, they are also experiencing their own personal issues on top of being a source of strength and support for their clients. Being able to provide this critical training to staff will help provide mindful coping techniques\, decrease burnout\, and strengthen our organization’s ability to help other.” – Organization Leader (Worker Justice Center) \n\n\nHOW TO REGISTER\n  \nIf you’d like to express interest as a sponsor or as a participant organization\, please email lily@garrisoninstitute.org. A limited number of individual seats opens October 5. \n\n\nLIVE COURSE SESSIONS\n\n\n\n\n	November 46 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. ET\n\n\n	Integration SessionNovember 6 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET\n\n\n	November 116 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. ET\n\n\n	Integration SessionNovember 1312:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET\n\n\n	November 186 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. ET\n\n\n	Integration SessionNovember 2012:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET\n\n\n	December 26 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. ET\n\n\n	Integration SessionDecember 412:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET\n\n\n	December 96 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. ET\n\n\n	Integration SessionDecember 1112:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET\n\n\n	December 166 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. ET\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\nFACULTY\n  \n\nSharon Salzberg is a meditation pioneer\, world-renowned teacher\, and New York Times bestselling author. She is one of the first to bring mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation to mainstream American culture over 45 years ago\, inspiring generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers. Sharon is co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre\, MA\, and the author of twelve books\, including the New York Times bestseller\, Real Happiness\, now in its second edition\, and her seminal work\, Lovingkindness. Her latest release is a children’s book\, Kind Karl\, is from Shambhala Publications. Her podcast\, The Metta Hour\, has amassed seven million downloads and features interviews with thought leaders from the mindfulness movement and beyond www.sharonsalzberg.com \n  \n  \nKaira Jewel Lingo is a Dharma teacher with a lifelong interest in spirituality and social justice. Her work continues the Engaged Buddhism developed by Thich Nhat Hanh\, and she draws inspiration from her parents’ lives of service and her dad’s work with Martin Luther King\, Jr. After living as an ordained nun for 15 years in Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastic community\, Kaira Jewel now teaches internationally in the Zen lineage and the Vipassana tradition\, as well as in secular mindfulness\, at the intersection of racial\, climate and social justice with a focus on activists\, Black\, Indigenous\, and People of Color\, artists\, educators\, families\, and youth. Based in New York\, she offers spiritual mentoring to groups and is author of We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons in Moving through Change\, Loss and Disruption and co-author of the forthcoming\, Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors\, Joy and Liberation (Feb 2024) from Parallax Press. Kaira Jewel is also the co-facilitator of the Garrison Institute BIPOC Meditation Sangha. Her teachings and writings can be found at www.kairajewel.com. \n  \n  \nOneika Mays (CMT-P\, E-RYT\, LMT) is a multi-hyphenate facilitator who leads with joy\, passion\, and wisdom.  As a Black\, queer feminist she brings a poignant lens to building a world that is more compassionate and understanding. With deep roots and knowledge in Buddhist and yogic teachings\, Oneika delivers practical application and authentic connection through her facilitation.\nOneika has been practicing yoga for more than 20 years\, and guiding yoga and meditation for more than a decade. Since then\, she has used her knowledge to support social justice nonprofits and historically excluded communities. She served as the Mindfulness Coach at Rikers Island Correctional Facility for 4 years and is currently a teacher for Yoga International\, an inclusive and accessible online studio with classes designed for every level of practice. She is your teacher\, your auntie\, your friend\, and an intuitive soul here for the work of personal and collective liberation. You can see Oneika on the docuseries Lost Resort on TBS. Oneika’s memoir You Can Sit With Me was published by Harper One in April 2026. Learn more at oneikamays.com. \n  \n  \nAli Smith was born and raised in Baltimore\, Maryland. He is a graduate of the Friends School of Baltimore and the University of Maryland\, College Park. Ali started his journey with contemplative practices as a small child\, learning meditation from his father and attending the Divine Life Church of Absolute Oneness\, run by Swami Shankarananda. He deepened his practice and learned the art of teaching as a young adult\, studying many forms of yoga\, meditation\, mindfulness\, and breathwork from his teacher and godfather Will Joyner. Ali has almost 20 years’ experience teaching these practices to a broad demographic spectrum\, internationally. He is a published author\, and is a pioneer in the fields of yoga and mindfulness in education\, as well as trauma informed yoga and mindfulness\, developing best practices that are used around the world. He co-founded the Holistic Life Foundation in 2001 and The Involution Group in 2019. Ali is also a co-host of the Look Again Podcast which you can find at www.theinvolutiongroup.com \n  \n  \nAtman Smith is a Co-founder of the Holistic Life Foundation\, where he served as Director of Youth Programming for ten years Director of Fundraising for five years and currently serves as the Director of Development. Since 2001\, he has been teaching yoga and mindfulness to a diverse population including underserved and high-risk youth in Baltimore City Public Schools\, drug treatment centers\, wellness centers\, and colleges. A native of Baltimore\, Atman attended the University of Maryland\, College Park where he was a letter award winner for the University’s men’s basketball team. He graduated with a B.A. in Criminology and Criminal Justice. His work with the Holistic Life Foundation has been featured on Making a Difference on the NBC Nightly News\, CNN\, and CBS\, as well as O the Oprah Magazine\, The Washington Post\, Upworthy\, Mindful Magazine\, Yoga Journal\, Shambala Sun\, and many other publications. https://www.theinvolutiongroup.com/ \n  \nAndres Gonzalez is one of the Co-Founders of the Holistic Life Foundation. For eighteen years\, Andres has taught yoga to diverse populations throughout the world\, including Baltimore City Public School students\, drug treatment centers\, mental crisis facilities\, homeless shelters\, wellness centers\, colleges\, private schools and other various venues throughout the nation and throughout the world. He has partnered with John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health and the Penn State’s Prevention Research Center on a Stress and Relaxation Study and is a published author in the Journal of Children’s Services. His work with the Holistic Life Foundation has been featured on Making a Difference on the NBC Nightly News\, CNN\, and CBS\, as well as O the Oprah Magazine\, The Washington Post\, Upworthy\, Mindful Magazine\, Yoga Journal\, Shambala Sun\, and many other publications. He is a certified Health Coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition\, maintains a B.S. in Marketing from University of Maryland\, College Park and an MBA from the University of Maryland\, University College. https://holisticlifefoundation.org/  \nIsabel Saez\, LCSW\, is a bilingual Latina\, first generation born in New York City\, unceded Native Lenape lands.  A graduate of New York University in clinical social work\, she has practiced for over 20 years with adults\, couples\, and families on a range of life challenges from abuse\, family\, marital & other relational conflicts\, anxiety\, depression\, grief\, trauma\, and the impacts of systemic injustice. \n  \n  \nChia-Ti Chiu has over 23 years of experience teaching movement\, mindfulness\, meditation and resilience building\, leading domestic and international yoga retreats through her business onelovewellness. Her movement modalities include yoga\, qigong\, fascia release\, and somatics\, and her passion is making connections between wellness and social justice through a trauma-conscious\, strengths-based lens. \n  \nJennifer Winther\, PhD\, specializes in creating the conditions for you to nourish a practice of mindful\, embodied movement\, stillness\, and contemplation that can create powerful ripples in your life. In her work as teacher and facilitator\, Jennifer focuses on the real\, the accessible\, and the simply profound benefits of regular practice. Proudly mixed race. Japanese American. Breast cancer survivor. Motherless mother. LGBTQIA+ parent ally. Teacher. Writer. Buddhist. \n 
URL:https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/event/changemakers-2026/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Virtual
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Copy-of-Loving-the-World-as-Our-Body-4.png
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR