Trainings & Workshops

MPower Training

MPower trains youth workers from local community organizations on how to use contemplative practices to sustain themselves and help adolescents build skills in four areas:

1) Awareness and Insight—sharpening concentration, broadening conscious awareness, increasing comprehension of cause-and-effect
2) Equanimity—cultivating acceptance, patience and an inner source of positive mood
3) Empathy—discerning feelings, perceptions, values, bias, etc. of self and other
4) Foresight—predicting the consequences of behavior and learning to make behavioral choices that achieve more satisfying results.

Our goal is to empower participants with the skills necessary to develop, organize, facilitate and implement long-term social change by effectively incorporating contemplative practice into the lives of young people, their families, schools and communities.

 

i-2-i Training (heart2heart/soul2soul)

The i-2-i (EYE2EYE) Program is all about improving relationships and expanding our compassion capacity. The program activities focus on interpersonal interactions to foster a deeper understanding of ourselves and each other. We will learn how to enhance communication and generate authentic dialogue.

Much of this work involves exposing our inner beings to one another in a way that is safe and nurturing. Through this process, I-2-I creates a space for peer-to-peer healing. Fun and playfulness are the other vital ingredients in this concoction.

Participants explore the exercises themselves, and are trained to facilitate the activities as well as create their own workshops.

Read some sample exercises from this workshop.

 

Jedeye Project - the contemplative obstacle course

JP is a well-rounded contemplative training package for youth. Developed in 1999 as a workshop and later modified into a complete project, the Jedeye Project is designed to create and enhance the contemplative aspect of summer gatherings for youth (such as camps, conferences, etc.) and is facilitated by trained instructors. JP makes contemplative practices a fun and enriching summer experience for youth.

 

Peaceful Images Project

The Peaceful Images Project (PIP) is a project that is designed to provide youth with a contemplative and creative approach to self expression. By using writing, photography and/or video, PIP guides participants on an exploration of self, and the self in society. PIP opens doors for participants to learn about other cultures from the stories of their peers. The nature of the assignment allows the participants to reflect on their own lives, family, and community.

The objective is for youth to learn and/or reexamine:

• the use and importance of contemplative practices
• the importance of nonviolent means of expression
• the cultural roots of family
• their definition and methods of obtaining personal, family, school, and community peace
• how to manifest and document the autobiography
• technical skills involving the use of photo/video cameras

Read a guided walk-through of this project.

 

For more information about any of these trainings and workshops, please contact:

Dan Edwards, Youth Program Director
The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society
199 Main Street, Suite 3
Northampton, MA 01060

office: (413) 582-0071
cell: (413) 210-1999

dan(at)contemplativemind.org