Mindfulness and Well-being: Peace in, Peace Out

Overview

The purpose of this course is to introduce mindfulness as a robust tool for spiritual development. Highlighting its rich traditional roots, the course explores the capacity of mindfulness to expand understanding about the nature of human consciousness and facilitate certain transcendent emotional experiences, including awe, wonder and flow. Designed for practical application, the course includes a variety of meditations, reflective exercises and activities to help make the material personally meaningful and is the culmination of a specialization created to promote holistic well-being through the practice of mindfulness.

Syllabus

Welcome to the Course!

Hello, and welcome to Peace In, Peace Out! In this introductory section, you'll be hearing more about what you can expect to learn in this course, as well as a little bit about me--your instructor! There's also an opportunity for YOU to introduce yourself, which I hope you take the time to do! All in all, you should finish this pre-module with just enough info to know what you've gotten yourself into, and who you've gotten into it with. 😊

Week One: Universal Truths

The primary aim of this module is introduce mindfulness as a robust tool for spiritual development. Highlighting its rich traditional roots, lectures focus on core philosophical underpinnings of the practice, with emphasis on the four noble truths, three marks of existence, and dependent origination/interconnection.

Week Two: Nature, Spirituality and Mindfulness

Building on the idea that all of life is connected, this module focuses on ways in which mindfulness can enhance our relationship to the natural world and promote transcendent emotional experience. Sessions will highlight the intersections of nature, spirituality and mindfulness and introduce the experiences of awe and play as personally significant and spiritually transformative.

Week 3: Let Peace Flow

Continuing with the theme of interconnection, this third module explores ways in which mindfulness can enhance personal relationships, support radical compassion and seed positive social change. Sessions will highlight the art of mindful communication, introduce students to four "sublime" attitudes and discuss the intersections between mindfulness and various social change movements.

Week 4: Walking the Mindful Path

The course concludes with interviews from three mindfulness practitioners at various stages of practice. Interviewees will discuss how their own practice has unfolded over time, share their most transformative experiences and offer students tips for their own mindfulness journey. I'll ask interviewees questions like, "What's a difference you've seen in yourself because of your meditation practice?" and "What tips or advice would you give to beginning meditators." It's an interesting way to see the potential arc of this path. I hope you see some of yourself in these interviewees. I know I did.