For the past few years, as my interest and practice of mindfulness have increased, I’ve sought out the guidance of a single teacher. 

I recall talking with Dr. David Creswell (CMU) and he suggested I read Mindfulness in Plain English.  Nearly two years since that conversation, and my seeking of a teacher, the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to come together for me.

Last summer I attended the Summer Institute for Educators at the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. One of the many speakers we heard from was Meena Srinvasan, author of  Teach, Breathe, Learn.  I was enthralled by her talk and the work she is doing, she shared that she studied under Thich Nhat Hanh. After the talk I spoke to her briefly and expressed my awe of her being a student of Thayś.  She smiled at me and said ¨you can be too.¨ At first I took that in literal terms, Meena had studied in India and other countries, I thought, I can´t afford to do that. Now, in reflection, I know what she meant.

At the same Institute, one of the co-conference leaders, Dr. Brooke D. Lavelle told us about a Care program for teachers she was working on/researching and with good fortune, my school was able to participate in the program this past year. Brooke, along with Dr. John Makransky have founded Courage of Care. I highly recommend their program. Click on the previous link to see their online courses, workshops and retreat options. At the onset of the program, Brooke asked us, ¨what would it be like if when you came to work it felt more like coming home?¨ That was a powerful question for me, I internalized it, what if my school, my district, my community could be more compassionate? How could I help to make that happen? (More to come on that later.) Check out Brookeś recent TedX talk The Presence of Care.

A few months ago I had the great opportunity to attend a workshop with George Mumford, author of The Mindful Athlete: Secrets to Pure Performance. First off, the book is a great read whether you´re an athlete or interested in elevating your performance in any field. George gives an honest, touching account of his own path with inspirational lessons along the way. In the workshop we did a number of practices and then had discussions. In that workshop, with a few simple questions and statements, I felt like someone saw me, really saw me, it was so powerful, hard to put into words. Mumford is a very special teacher.

These micro-moments, as Dr. Barbara Fredrickson would call them, have helped me
come to the realization that my mindfulness teachers are all around me. Dr. Creswell, Dr. Lavelle, Dr. Fredrickson, Dr. Turksma, Dr. McGonigal, Dr. Shefali, Chade Meng Tan, Thich Naht Hanh, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, Sharon Salzberg, the dear-loving George Mumford and many more. And finally, when I breathe and I´m still, in the quiet, I´m reminded of one final teacher, the one that lies within – me.

Wisdom 2.0 was a catalyst for change in my life in 2014, this past February I returned and two of my favorite teachers/speakers from two years ago, Jon Kabat-Zinn and Michael Gervais were back in 2016, and in this talk Pete Carroll joined them on stage. Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn is a master mindfulness teacher and created the MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in the late ’70s. Pete Carroll, coach of the Seattle Seahawks brought sports psychologist Dr. Michael Gervais in to work with the team in 2012. In this talk Gervais teaches us there are no BIG moments, that every moment is as valuable as every other moment. This was echoed by Carroll, when Kabat-Zinn asked Carroll about the moment immediately following their Superbowl loss. Carroll eloquently described the moments/events after the previous year’s win, followed by the loss. Carroll said the moment began when he stood up, he knew that it was in that moment that the opportunity to move forward and grow began, that if he and his team were willing to learn from the truth that just occurred, this was the learning, the wisdom. He also described something that my dad has taught me my entire life “work on what you can control and let go of what you can’t control.” 

Kabat-Zinn, Gervais & Carroll continue to discuss grit, mastery and the difference between response and reaction in this fantastic talk. Here’s a link to the talk in its entirety Mastering the Mental Game.

“Elevate those in your organization, and your organization will be elevated.” Words of Wisdom from Michael Gervais. You can learn more about Gervais on his website, and click on Finding Mastery podcasts to learn from elite performers in a variety of fields, they are fantastic!