Self-compassion - A Healthier Way of Relating to Yourself Home Meditation and Mindfulness Mindfulness is not thinking, interpreting, or evaluating; it is an awareness of perception. It is a nonjudgmental quality of mind which does not anticipate the future or reflect back on the past. Any activity can be done with mindfulness. Talking on the telephone, cleaning your home, driving, working, and exercising can all be incorporated into a mindfulness practice. Throughout the day, inwardly pause and become very aware of where you are, what you are doing, and how you are feeling. When mindfulness is the primary tool of meditation, the awareness that we apply to our breath (or to whatever our object–or focus–of meditation is, such as a word, image, sound, or physical sensation to which we return our attention after becoming distracted) can be expanded to include all physical and mental processes so that we may become more mindful of our thoughts and actions. It is commonly thought that meditators hope to stop all thoughts and rest their minds in thoughtless peace. by Steven Smith
The Tree of Contemplative Practices The Tree illustrates some of the contemplative practices currently in use in secular organizational and academic settings. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list. Below the Tree you will find links to descriptions of many of these practices as well as a more in-depth description of the Tree and image files for downloading. Some of the practices on the tree link to further information–either on our website, or on Wikipedia. © The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society Concept & design by Maia Duerr; illustration by Carrie Bergman Understanding the Tree On the Tree of Contemplative Practices, the roots symbolize the two intentions that are the foundation of all contemplative practices. The branches represent different groupings of practices. Because this illustration cannot possibly include all contemplative practices, we offer a free download of a blank Tree that you can customize to include your own practices. Downloading and Reprinting the Tree For printing:
"Be the Change" - His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Inverness, Scotland Ethics - Educating the Mind and Heart Harry's Last Lecture on a Meaningful Life: The Dalai Lama Start Now: Accept Personal Responsibility / My Notes / Collaborators / Summary Awake to Wisdom Home Edo Shonin & William Van Gordon Finding Happiness in Troubled Times Professional Education and Training - Mindfulness - UMass Medical School Oasis Institute began in 2001 as a school for a new generation of health care and other professionals interested in learning, from the inside out, how to integrate mindfulness, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), and other mindfulness-based approaches into disciplines and communities all over the world. While this is our primary focus, Oasis Institute has a more fundamental objective, which is to foster a direct, experiential understanding that inner experience, intuition, imagination, and non-conceptual awareness are as crucial and valid as objective, evidence-based knowledge to an understanding of the world. Oasis Institute is a rigorous forum for the development and integration of these mutually effective, interdependent approaches to knowing, caring, and serving. BECOMING AN MBSR TEACHER“Cultivating wisdom is the teacher’s path. ~Saki Santorelli, EdD, MA, Executive Director, Executive Director, Center for Mindfulness Phase 1: First Steps Program at a glance Program in depth