IN PERSON ~ Introduction to Mindfulness Practice

We will learn and discuss the basic premise of mindfulness practice, to help us all get started on the same page, whether we are new to or already familiar with mindfulness. This will include participating in basic practice exercises of mindful meditation. 

Mindfulness can be “used” in many ways, as you will discover reading the book chapters. There are 2 very positive uses we will explore: mindfulness for immediate stress relief or calm; and mindfulness as a habit that may foster longer-term effects like greater awareness of our own feelings of reactivity or judgement as they arise when engaging as spiritual directors. 

Participants will leave with choices of exercises to practice on their own, and ways to experiment with integrating these into existing prayer practices.

Required reading: Liberating Mindfulness: From Billion-Dollar Industry to Engaged Spirituality by Gail Stearns, chapters 1, 2, and 9

You may attend this event on its own, or purchase the series of all four Deepening our Spirituality with Mindfulness: Practices for Spiritual Directors sessions: 

January 27, 2024 - Introduction to Mindfulness Practice

May 18, 2024 - Relational Mindfulness

August 31, 2024 - Mindfulness of Thought and Emotion

October 26, 2024 - Mindfulness for Living Our Christian Faith in Service 

For spiritual directors only. 

About the Presenter:

Gail J. Stearns is Dean Emerita of the Wallace All Faiths Chapel at Chapman University, where she served as Dean and Associate Professor of Religious and Peace Studies. An ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (USA), Gail holds an interdisciplinary Ph.D. from Washington State University and a Master's of Divinity from McCormick Theological Serminary. She received her Certificate in Teaching Mindfulness from UCLA, and is a certified teacher with the International Mindfulness Teachers Association. Her most recent book is Liberating Mindfulness: From Billion-dollar Industry to Engaged Spirituality.

Gail has worked with students, community members, religious leaders, businesses and healthcare industries to understand how mindfulness may be understood and adapted. She is particularly interested in re-covering the roots of mindfulness and helping spiritual leaders utilize the very helpful tools of mindfulness within the context of faith, toward a deeper experience of dwelling in the present and the Presence of God.