Jack Kornfield is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. He holds a PhD in clinical psychology and is a founding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Meditation Center. He is the best-selling author of many books, including After the Ecstasy, the Laundry, The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal…
When we use the word compassion, in one way it is a word that touches our heart deeply. We feel that it somehow takes our breath completely to think about it. On the other hand sometimes we use the word compassion so much that it begins to numb us. We lose the value and the meaning of the word, and…
During the recent Mind & Life Summer Research Institute at the Garrison Institute, neuroscientist Richard Davidson presented on the neuroscience of fear and anxiety. He discussed new findings that suggest that mindfulness and other contemplative practices can make a great impact on the recovery from fearful stimuli. Before Davidson’s presentation, we spoke with him about his recent research. Watch a…
“How’s it going?” I asked Susan, a second-grade teacher participating in the federally funded research project being conducted by the University of Virginia. Susan had completed the first session of the CARE for Teachers mindfulness-based teacher professional development program, and I had called her for a phone coaching session to see how she was doing as she practiced bringing a…
Journalist Daniel Goleman is the author of many books, including the international bestseller Emotional Intelligence and Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama. His latest book, A Force for Good: The Dalai Lama’s Vision for Our World, is another collaboration with His Holiness, in which Goleman outlines the Dalai Lama’s theory of change and his vision for the…
Vidyamala Burch is the founder of Breathworks, an organization offering mindfulness and compassion-based approaches to living well with pain, stress, and illness. Living with a chronic back condition due to spinal injuries and partial paraplegia, Vidyamala knows how distressing it can be to live with ongoing pain. She also knows that it’s possible to manage pain, and to flourish while…
When the Garrison Institute first launched its Contemplative Teaching and Learning (CTL) initiative in 2004, contemplative education was just emerging as a professional field. By supporting the work of pioneers in the field, convening major forums with thought leaders in the field, creating the seminal CARE for Teachers program, forming a CTL Leadership Council, and publishing a groundbreaking mapping survey…
“Resilience” is a big buzzword these days, increasingly invoked in relation to violent conflict, natural and manmade disasters or climate change. The concept can be vague, but a new white paper by Teri Sivilli, manager of our Contemplative-Based Resilience Training (CBRT) program and Tad Pace of Emory University articulates a clear, evidence-based theory of resilience. Reviewing evidence from psychology, biology and neuroscience, it finds resilient communities…