Workshops

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Intuitive Guidance at Work

Creative Power at Work

Emotional Intelligence at Work

 Work Visions: Clarifying and Living Your Calling

Mindfulness at Work

Mindful Communication at Work 

Overcoming Stress and Adversity with the Wisdom of Psychology and Poetry

The Contemplative Classroom

INTUITIVE GUIDANCE AT WORK   

Staying attuned to our inner guidance is essential to our best work.  When you follow your inner guidance, your work is supported by inspiration and insight, purpose and passion, conviction and courage. You feel empowered to act with integrity and confidence.  The inner guide has been called intuition, presence, integrity, soul, spirit, higher self, inner voice, still small voice. However you name it or conceive it, it is the fountainhead of your personal wisdom, vision and values.  In this workshop, you will learn several practices for discovering, deepening, and sustaining your connection to your own guide. These practices include cultivating positive psychological, ethical, and spiritual qualities; fostering optimal states of awareness and understanding; and minimizing or transforming negative qualities and states. You’ll also learn methods for inviting, receiving, testing and actualizing authentic guidance.

CREATIVE POWER AT WORK 

 This workshop will help you be more creative, productive and fulfilled at work.  You will learn time-tested techniques for freeing up your innate creative powers.  You’ll also learn powerful insights and methods used by creative entrepreneurs, artists, scientists and sages.  Practices include: a 5-step method for inviting and elaborating your creative intuitions; techniques for overcoming your fears; meditations that clear and focus the mind; and approaches that activate the diverse creative energies inhering in your body, mind, and soul.  Creative thinking, writing and drawing will be explored.  Emphasis will be placed on enjoying your creative process and applying your creativity to the workplace. 

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AT WORK 

 Emotional intelligence is at the core of well-being, growth, maturity, and success. By optimizing our awareness, understanding, and regulation of our own emotions, we are also able to empathize with, understand, and effectively relate to others.  Mindfulness not only builds mental focus, clarity and creativity but also has been shown to be a powerful approach for cultivating self-awareness and emotional intelligence.  It enables us to be fully present and aware of our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors and to consciously guide them.  It also strengthens empathy and intuition and so helps us to attune to the emotions, communications, and behaviors of others. As a result, we become wiser, more compassionate and more joyful human beings.  Research has shown that mindfulness and emotional intelligence improve both individual and group productivity and create a more innovative and collaborative workforce that is able to effectively meet challenges and manage stress. 

MINDFULNESS AT WORK

Mindfulness is the art of paying attention and is at the center of most wisdom traditions. In recent decades, it has become a powerful practice for individuals of every background and orientation. Decades of research have shown that the regular practice of mindfulness yields a wide range of benefits that can revolutionize the way we live and work.  The evidence indicates that mindfulness can strengthen attention, perception and memory; quiet mental chatter; facilitate self-awareness; boost social-emotional intelligence; foster creativity; reduce reduce anxiety, stress, depression, and illness; enhance performance and productivity; and increase quality of life.  Moreover, neuroscience has demonstrated that mindfulness can even sculpt our brains in life-enhancing ways. Mindfulness is both a conscious, intentional way of relating to our lives and a meditative practice.  Although mindfulness can be practiced in daily life without the support of meditation, research shows that regular meditation does fortify the daily application. In this workshop you will learn what mindfulness is, how to practice it as a meditation, and how to apply it to your life and work.  You will also be introduced to the ample scientific evidence supporting its widespread effectiveness.

MINDFUL COMMUNICATION AT WORK

  In this integrative and experiential workshop, you learn powerful principles and practices that will dramatically improve your communication skills at work.  These proven approaches help you to listen and speak more effectively.  They also help you to be an effective facilitator of group/team discussions.  The workshop integrates methods from psychology, communications and mindfulness meditation.   You will learn to: listen with empathy, understanding, and appreciation to your co-workers; speak with authenticity, clarity, conviction, respect, and persuasive power; mindfully attend to and honor your own perceptions, thoughts, feelings, needs, values, and aspirations; express vital needs, communicate difficult feelings, and offer useful feedback with honesty and kindness; make requests that address your needs and values; calm the mental chatter that distracts you from listening and speaking well; clear and focus your mind; and facilitate group discussions that optimize participation, interaction, understanding, and respect.

 OVERCOMING WORK STRESS AND ADVERSITY WITH THE WISDOM OF PYCHOLOGY AND POETRY  

This workshop will help organizational members to face and work through the difficult emotions and thoughts that arise in a turbulent economy and stressful workplace.  Current economic instabilities and insecurities, coupled with unprecedented technological and industrial changes, have intensified fear and anxiety at work.  Debilitating stress and recurrent injuries are commonplace.  These difficult situations can only be overcome by facing them with courage, wisdom and compassion. This workshop will draw on the insights of the great poets to help us confront and work through adversity and stress. These poets offer deep insights into the need for courage, trust, intuition, creativity, patience, perseverance and compassion.  We will also examine some psychological approaches to working with painful emotions.  Both poets and psychologists agree that emotional intelligence is key to health, happiness and creativity at work. 

 WORK VISIONS: CLARIFYING AND LIVING YOUR CALLING 

 In this workshop, you’ll experience a unique, meditative approach to career planning that will help you discover and manifest your work vision.  This holistic approach has catalyzed life-changing breakthrough for hundreds of individuals in dozens of different fields and professions.  Through guided meditation, visualization, freewriting, drawing and dialogue, you will discover the work vision that taps your innate passion, joy, insight, creativity and compassion.  You’ll also have a chance to reflect on the lessons gained from painful work experiences and to release blocks that keep you from whole-heartedly embracing and pursuing your vision.  You will learn practical techniques for manifesting your vision, including: planning and organizational strategies, communication tools, mindfulness and centering practices, relaxation exercises, and daily affirmation and visualizations.  

   THE CONTEMPLATIVE CLASSROOM

  In this workshop for teachers, you will learn how to effectively, safely and respectfully use contemplative techniques in your classes.  Research has shown that contemplative approaches improve student learning, academic performance, social relationships and personal well-being and self-understanding while furthering their overall growth, development and sense of empowerment.  These approaches include meditation, mindfulness and inner inquiry as well as other processes that focus attention, strengthen concentration, widen awareness, refine perception, deepen understanding and catalyze insight.  Contemplative practices have a holistic impact that optimizes intellectual, intuitive, emotional and physical capabilities.   You will learn about the nature and benefits of contemplation as demonstrated by both scientific and traditional sources.  You’ll learn how to develop your own contemplative practice as well as lead contemplative exercises in your classroom. Guidance will be offered on how to overcome common obstacles such as anxiety, distraction, mental chatter and boredom.  You’ll receive tips on how to tailor contemplative instructions to the diverse needs of your students and subject matters and how to respond effectively to student questions and concerns. For detailed descriptions of organizational workshops,