Your Stories

When did you first start practicing mindfulness and why were you motivated to do so?

I was motivated to start practicing mindfulness when I found myself at a very negative point in my life. I couldn’t seem to find a way out of the situation I was in without taking responsibility for my mind and changing the way I thought about my life and where I had found myself.

At first I tried reading about mindfulness practice as a means of learning, but that left me with a lot of information in my head and no real understanding of how to implement that information into real life practice.

When did you first start practicing mindfulness and why were you motivated to do so?

I began mindfulness practice when I began the M.A. program in Contemplative Education at Naropa University two years ago (Summer 2008). I was motivated to participate in the program because I knew there was something more I needed to bring to my teaching and to my life, in general. I began mindfulness practices because they were a requirement of the program. I continue to practice because being mindful has impacted my life in so many positive ways.

Did you take a class? If so, what sort of a class did you take?

The Masters program in Contemplative Education includes many different kinds of classes, i.e. Compassionate Teaching, Maitri, Aesthetics, Sacred Perspectives in Learning, and Presence. The summer classes (intensive, on campus) are very hands-on and experiential, though there is much reading and writing that goes along with it. The fall/spring classes are online, where posting is required several times during the week, as well as reading, writing, and the experiential component comes with assignments, observations, and personal mindfulness practices, i.e. shamatha meditation and loving-kindness practice.