Mindfulness has emerged from obscurity and has begun blooming in far-reaching fields. Whether in business or education, health care or athletics, law and criminal justice or any number of spiritual communities, increasing numbers of voices promote the practice. Better results through deeper presence, you hear. Success through non-striving. A practical panacea. These are heady times [more…]
Lighthouse–A new poem
Sometimes, insights come through straightforward experiences. This poem voiced itself as I headed up the lighthouse tower in Bill Baggs State Park at the tip of Key Biscayne, Florida. Some of my fellow climbers–a curious crew of kids and couples, old-timers and polyglots–may have wondered why I was pecking away at my phone keyboard on a mid-tower stair landing, but there you have it. The park ranger at the base of the tower enjoyed the poem. Here’s hoping you do as well!
5 Easy Ways to Introduce Mindfulness into Your Classroom
You may have heard that mindfulness practice—learning to pay curious and kind attention to the present moment—brings a wide-ranging host of benefits to the classroom or workplace setting. Greater focus, improved self-awareness and collaboration, reduced anxiety and hostility: the evidence-based, scientifically-demonstrated list goes on. Thankfully, you need not polish your pedagogy or meditate in a [more…]
Walking at Omega, 2014
Simple summer moments can prove so sweet. I just recently returned from a wonderful retreat at the Omega Institute with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) luminaries Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli. We spent most of our time in the first few days engaged in mindfulness practice, cycling through sitting, walking, lying down and yoga meditations. Six [more…]
9 Reasons Why Every Conference Needs More Introverted Experiences
Two years ago, I attended the Applied Improvisation Network (AIN) world conference in San Francisco. I had a blast: great games, provocative insights, big ideas, and loads of interaction with amazing yes-sayers from around the world. I also had trouble catching my breath. The conference designers that year had packed each day full with amazing [more…]
A Visionary Victory for Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks: How a New Way of Thinking Bonded a Team and Brought Home a Championship
Pete Carroll had heard it for years and right up until Super Bowl game time. The ridicule. The doubt. The derision. Pete Carroll’s too much of a players’ coach. That rah-rah style might work at USC, but it won’t work with grown men in the pros. Seattle’s too lax to win a championship. Now, after [more…]
The Wisdom of Mistakes
If you want to succeed, embrace failure. A year ago, I would have expected such paradoxical advice to come from a Taoist monk or a Jedi master. Now, after a sabbatical year away from school, I find myself touting that same refrain as I explore questions about teaching and learning. How do I encourage the [more…]
Stillness at Summer’s End: Reflections from a Silent Retreat
And, so, my sabbatical year off from teaching came to an official end. This post came just before school started back up again during the 2013-2014 academic year. Once again, I needed to move in concert with another’s clock. Once more, I had to work a bit harder to find time for reflection and integration. Thankfully, I decided [more…]
Calling Our World Into Being (Part 3 in a 3-part series on Improvisation and Spirituality)
Part 1 of this three-part post introduced a working definition for spirituality—the whole-person practice of awakening, feeling, and expressing a connection to larger Mystery and deeper meaning—and for improvisation—the in-the-moment art of active creating in relationship to the many offers coming from one’s inner life and immediately surrounding circumstances. Part 2 examined the ways that [more…]
Paths in Parallel (Part 2 in a 3-part series on Improvisation and Spirituality)
Part 1 of this three-part post introduced a working definition for spirituality—the whole-person practice of awakening, feeling, and expressing a connection to larger Mystery and deeper meaning—and for improvisation—the in-the-moment art of active creating in relationship to the many offers coming from one’s inner life and immediately surrounding circumstances. This piece will explore some first [more…]
