Mary Anne Best, a practitioner of Centering Prayer, facilitated an hour of contemplation to help bind the wounds and anxieties being experienced right now. She opened with a quote from Fr. Thomas Keating: “By opening yourself in contemplation, you are praying for everyone past, present, and future. You are embracing the whole of creation. You are accepting everyone, everything, all…
Celebrated Buddhist teacher and author Ethan Nichtern joined Garrison Institute Retreats Director Jane Kolleeny for a conversation about some of the profound, often painful, and life-changing lessons being learned from the global pandemic and its effects on our psychological state of mind. They began by exploring the Buddhist teaching of groundlessness and its connection to this moment, as Nichtern said:…
The deepest roots of the highest happiness are in the living body. At the intersection of modern science, ancient wisdom, and practice—which could be called “neurodharma”—we can find very effective tools for resilient well-being. In this live webinar, psychologist and best-selling author Rick Hanson explained the foundations of neurodharma and the transformative potential it has to protect, nurture, and free…
In this live webinar, international philosopher and spiritual teacher Rupert Spira reflected with the Virtual Sanctuary community on the importance of self-knowledge; connecting with our essential, unchanging selves; and differentiating between awareness and experience. The first step to which Spira calls us is to recognize that we are awareness and to separate this essential identity from the content of our…
On Tuesday, May 26th Newsweek published a new op-ed by Garrison Institute CEO Jonathan Wiesner, which underscores the importance of finding virtual sanctuary during the pandemic. In this thoughtful reflection, Jonathan draws on both his experience leading the Garrison Institute in finding contemplative-based solutions to pressing social and environmental problems as well as his perspective as the chair emeritus of the International Rescue…
Lama Surya Das, an American lama in the Tibetan Dzogchen tradition, led the Virtual Sanctuary community through a guided meditation and reflection on how we can deepen our meditation practice and integrate it into our daily lives. We are living in unprecedented times of uncertainty, stress, and even bewilderment. We are called upon to pay attention and try to stay…
A leading teacher in the Garrison Institute’s Contemplative-Based Resilience program, Gayla Stiles teaches mindful practices for resilience and healing. Gayla joined her husband and fellow wellness practitioner, Aaron Stiles, to lead an embodied movement practice designed to transform stress into vitality. Identifying tools that help us move from a place of stress and anxiety into a space of resilience and…
A long-standing member of the Garrison Institute advisory board, Mary Evelyn Tucker, and her husband John Grim, joined Garrison Institute co-founder Jonathan Rose in conversation around how we as a global community can transition to an ethic of interdependence that can serve as an inspiring vision for integrating ecology, justice, and peace. The religious and spiritual traditions of the world transmit ecological and justice…