In May 2021, the Garrison Institute is partnering with renowned mediation teacher, author, and co-creator of the Contemplative-Based Resilience (CBR) Project, Sharon Salzberg to deliver Contemplative Resilience Tools for Social Change Makers – a 6-week live virtual course – for up to 300 participants from nonprofit, community, and grassroots organizations working on the front lines of social change. These change makers work tirelessly to provide services and advocate for those most vulnerable in our society – essential work that they continued to provide throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Improved care for individuals within this cohort ripples out to positively affect the communities they serve by strengthening both individual and community resilience.
Drawing from elements of the Garrison Institute’s CBR Project and from Sharon Salzberg’s most recent book, Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World, this offering invites participants to engage in a 6-week interactive course to strengthen their resilience. This course blends live instruction, cohort coaching, and on-demand resources to create an accessible curriculum for advocates, community organizers, professional service providers, and change makers of various backgrounds. Contemplative Resilience Tools for Social Change Makers offers participants the chance to deepen their awareness, balance, and connection in their work and in their lives.
Course Objectives
- Leave with a working understanding of the psychology and physiology of stress, vicarious trauma, and burnout.
- Learn how to detect, monitor, and improve their own reactions to stress.
- Practice contemplative-based resilience skills like meditation and mindful movement.
- Deepen their individual sense of purpose.
- Cultivate a community of support with other change makers.
- Build a strong foundation for increased resilience through awareness, balance, and connection.
Course Overview
Live, Virtual Workshops: 6 Weeks
Each 90 minute to 2-hour workshop will feature teaching from Sharon Salzberg, CBR faculty, and stories from the front lines with leading change makers of various backgrounds. In addition, each session will include opportunity for guided contemplative practice, self-reflection, and community connection. Topics covered throughout the course include:
- Week 1: Contemplative-Based Resilience: Awareness, Balance, and Connection
- Week 2: Activating One’s Agency and Sense of Purpose
- Week 3: The Need for Resilience and Building Resilience
- Week 4: Moving from Empathy to Compassion
- Week 5: Remembering the Joy
- Week 6: Cultivating Equanimity & Balance
Cohort Coaching: 6 Sessions
CBR faculty will provide weekly 45 minute, live virtual cohort coaching sessions in between workshops. These additional sessions provide participants with an opportunity to deepen their learning from the course, and engage in additional contemplative practices related to the CBR pillars of Awareness, Balance, and Connection.
On-Demand Resources
The Garrison Institute has created a Care for Caregivers App to empower professional service providers and caregivers with the essential practices of the CBR approach for use in their day-to-day lives. This app enables practitioners to select and enjoy any of the eight short meditations or movement exercises, according to their preference, need, and time available.
In addition, each participant will receive a Participant Course Journal. The journal serves as both a space for personal reflection and resource guide as individuals go through this course to support them in cultivating awareness of their stressors and wellness habits.
The course is open only to a select number of participants from our partner organizations.
If you are interested in supporting the Contemplative Resilience Tools for Social Change Makers program, please contact us at development@garrisoninstitute.org.
For other inquires regarding the CBR Project, or to learn how you can bring CBR to your organization, please email us at CBRProject@garrisoninstitute.org.