“The Art of Seeing Takes an Effort”

As part of Community Free Day at Dia:Beacon on Saturday, October 13, Dia Art Foundation and the Garrison Institute will present a joint program. Taking its title from sculptor Richard Serra, who said that “The art of seeing takes an effort,” the program invites participants to explore different ways of connecting with art on view at Dia:Beacon while considering spiritual…

Addressing Contemplative Palliative and End-of-Life Care

Contemplative palliative and end-of-life care is the focus of an groundbreaking symposium that Garrison Institute is presenting in partnership with the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care in November. The Buddhist Contemplative Care Symposium, November 8-11, 2012, brings leading experts in palliative, hospice and contemplative care together to explore how contemplative care techniques can improve healing and reduce suffering.…

Dr. Adele Diamond on “Child Development and the Brain: Insights to Help Every Child Thrive”

Creativity, flexibility, self-control… What qualities do people need in order to succeed, and how might children best gain these abilities in the classroom? We’d like to draw your attention to a very informative presentation video we recorded recently, in which Dr. Adele Diamond explores the science underlying the emerging fields of Contemplative Teaching and Learning (CTL) and Social and Emotional…

Bringing Mindfulness and Contemplative Practices to K-12 Education

A host of interactive workshops inviting participants to explore approaches to enriching learning in K-12 settings by supporting the development of attention, insight, emotional self-regulation and empathy are on offer at The Art and Science of Contemplative Teaching and Learning: Exploring Ways of Knowing. This wide-ranging symposium will be held November 16-18, presented by the Garrison Institute Contemplative Teaching and…

Meet our new Executive Director, Robyn Brentano

We are delighted to welcome aboard our new Executive Director, Robyn Brentano, former director of The Tibet Fund, beginning September 4. Quoting our Board Chair Diana Rose: “We feel very lucky and optimistic about having Robyn at the helm, steering us into our second decade of evolution. She brings to the Institute a wide range of mission-critical skills and experience…

David Rome’s Mindful Focusing Work

We want to let you know about some of the activities of Garrison Institute Honorary Senior Fellow David Rome this fall, which include: Finding the Felt Sense five-session telephone class, starting Tuesday, September 18, introducing the practice of Mindful Focusing with key concepts, demonstrations of how to work with the felt sense, guided exercises, and group discussions. 
 Embodied Listening weekends…

Roy Staab’s Wheel of Time

If you haven’t visited Roy Staab’s site-specific sculpture Wheel of Time on the Garrison Institute’s riverfront lawn, we recommend that you do. Made from bamboo collected from the grounds, the fine yet sturdy structure exemplifies Staab’s approach to environmental art, of which he is a leading practitioner. He strives to integrate his work seamlessly into its natural setting, enhancing and…

A Retreat for People of Color

Like many of our allies in the American contemplative community, Garrison Institute has a longstanding commitment to the role of contemplative practice in communities of color and to the deepest involvement of people of color in our contemplative endeavors. We held two major retreats for people of color in our first two years, 2003 and 2004. Key parts of the…