In September, the cast and crew of Vireo: The Spiritual Biography of a Witch’s Accuser, a made-for-TV-and-online opera, shot two episodes at the Garrison Institute. The setting both inside and outside the Garrison Institute was perfect for these chapters of the Vireo story, which is about the nature and uses of female hysteria through time, as witch-hunters, early psychiatrists, and modern artists variously…
These are deeply upsetting times for everyone concerned about our planet, its climate, and the life on it. As the initial shock of the election passes, and a more sober reality emerges, it’s time to pause, breath, and find a still center from which to plan and act as we consider next steps. This is where spiritual practices can be…
As part of our “Garrison Talks at the JCC” event series, Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison, Sensei Robert Chodo Campbell, Rabbi David Ingber, and Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie had an intimate conversation about their experiences giving end-of-life care and the many lessons it has taught them. The evening centered around the new book, Awake at the Bedside: Contemplative Teachings on Palliative and End-of-Life…
Hope Martin and David Rome are co-leading an upcoming retreat at the Garrison institute entitled “Embodied Listening: Uncovering Our Bodies’ Natural Wisdom,” on December 2 – 4. No matter how we feel about it, we’ve all gone through a lot this election and continue to as we watch the aftermath. It might be hard to know how to handle our feelings, or what…
Welcome to episode nine of the Climate, Mind and Behavior Podcast. Each episode, we’ll explore groundbreaking intersections between climate change, resilience, contemplative practice, and human behavior. Kristin Barker is the director and co-founder of One Earth Sangha. The group’s mission is to bring the essential wisdom and practices from the Buddhist tradition to collective engagement on critical ecological crises. A native…
During his recent retreat at the Garrison Institute, we spoke with scholar and meditation teacher Alan Wallace about how to cultivate stillness, increase productivity, and determine whether an activity is worth doing. Many people have the sense that they are too busy or distracted in their daily lives. What’s on the other side of that? If a person practices meditation regularly, do…
Composer, singer, filmmaker, choreographer, and director Meredith Monk recently led a workshop at the Garrison Institute entitled “Voice as Practice: Instrument of the Heart.” We caught up with her before the workshop to discuss art as a spiritual practice and the pervasive sense of busyness that so many of us seem to feel these days. Monk was in New Mexico when we…
Kids and screen time cause considerable parental angst these days—and for good reason. Research shows children spend on average seven hours a day glued to computer, tablet, smart phone, or television screens. This reality has created such a stir that last month, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) updated its decade-old recommendation on childhood screen time. Far from a radical…