Mindfulness Presentations for Mental Health Professionals, Veterinarians and More – February, 2016

We were delighted when cofounder John Bruna was selected to present at the annual conference for the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association. The conference took place earlier this month, and his presentation, The Myths and Benefits of Mindfulness in a Therapeutic Setting: An Integrated Approach, was extremely well received. Many of those in attendance have now joined our Mindful Life Community and John is still receiving requests for further collaboration.

In March, Dr. Derralyn Rennix, DVM & Brad LaRoche, both Mindful Life Program Certified Teachers, will be sharing the lessons from MLP with veterinarians at a conference held at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Caregivers suffer from a high level of emotional stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue which can lead to serious negative affects on health, career, and ability to care for others. Veterinarians and students of veterinary medicine are not immune to these negative effects and may even be at increased risk. Mindfulness is one technique that has proven benefits to promote self-care and methods to deal with stress and compassion fatigue. Derralyn and Brad will offer a presentation to allow participants to explore how mindfulness can help them become better, more resilient veterinarians and place them on a path towards a meaningful life. More info can be found here http://www.savmasymposium2016.com/.

More custom presentations are on the calendar, with audiences ranging from business executives to educators and the recovery community. If you are interested in a presentation for a group or specific audience, we’re happy to talk with you. Feel free to contact us.

Reviews for The Wisdom of a Meaningful Life: The Essence of Mindfulness – February, 2016

John’s new book, The Wisdom of a Meaningful Life: The Essence of Mindfulness, is due to be released this summer and we are already receiving wonderful reviews! Here are just a couple:

“In his timely and insightful book The Wisdom of a Meaningful Life: The Essence of Mindfulness John Bruna sheds clear light on the difference between hedonic pleasure and genuine well-being. While Albert Einstein compares the pursuit of the former to the ambitions of a pig, the Dalai Lama suggests that the cultivation of the latter is the very meaning of life itself. On this basis, the author brings a rich ethical and transformative context to mindfulness meditation, couching it within the framework of a meaningful worldview, set of values, and way of life. I highly recommend this book.”  – B. Alan Wallace, Buddhist teacher, scholar, Director of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, author of The Attention Revolution, and Mind in the Balance.

“This book is an absolute treasure and a life changer. John Bruna has a gift for taking potentially complex and weighty material and presenting it in a manner that is both profound and engaging. The Wisdom of a Meaningful Life is so clear and crisp and fun to read that it is difficult to put down. At the same time, as a therapist who is very familiar with the topic, I found myself grasping it in new ways and at a deeper level than ever before. I will be recommending this book to friends, clients and colleagues. It holds timeless truths and the wisdom of an author who has true range and embodies the compassion he describes.”  – Melissa Mose, MA, LMFT, Calabasas Counseling Center

To learn more about the book, visit http://www.ameaningfullife.us/book/

Mindfulness for Teachers Takes New Steps Forward  – February, 2016

( Photo: The Viewbank College teachers getting in the right frame of mind.)

While we’ve been offering various programs and presentations for teachers in the past and in a variety of locations, both our Colorado and Melbourne locations have begun providing professional development programs for teachers. In Melbourne, the second group of teachers from Viewbank College, a secondary level college are working with cofounder Mark Molony in the MLP Foundations course curriculum. The group will explore and practice the foundations of mindfulness practices and how they can be used to support themselves, their colleagues and their students.

In Colorado, cofounder John Bruna has been teaching professional development courses for the Roaring Fork RE1 School District since the fall of 2015 and the response has been very positive.

In addition, more teachers are taking advantage of the daily support offered through the Mindful Life Community. In fact, we are very excited that the staff at two different public schools have chosen MLC as a way to support all their teachers and administrators and have signed them all up for year long memberships. We are currently expanding the Mindful Life Community resources for members, and soon there will be resources specifically designed for educators. If you are an educator and would like to learn more about the support of the Mindful Life Community, please see www.mindfullifecommunity.org and feel free to contact us about group rates.

Mindfulness in Recovery

New Mindfulness in Recovery Program Launched – February, 2016

We are very excited to launch our new Mindfulness in Recovery program!  This has been a vision of our co-founder, John Bruna, for many years and it has come to fruition. Drawing upon his 31 years in recovery, experience as a substance abuse counselor, educator, Buddhist monastic, and mindfulness teacher, we have integrated the tools and resources of our mindfulness community with specific meditations and resources for people in recovery.

We are already working on our vision to grow our Mindfulness in Recovery component to be integrated into treatment programs, aftercare, and continued support. Soon, we’ll be offering a workbook and encourage weekly support groups in communities. Currently we have our first weekly group that meets on Thursday evenings at our center in Carbondale.

The Mindfulness in Recovery group is an inclusive recovery support program, open to anyone with a sincere desire for recovery. Our goal is to provide daily mindfulness activities and support that enhance our members current 12 Step program and to provide mindfulness tools and resources for those not in 12 Step programs. This is part of our Mindful Life Community. Members join the Community, receiving all of the members’ resources, and have access additionally to meditations and support materials specific to recovery. So far the results have been wonderful. Members with years of recovery have found new inspiration and a burst of inner growth.

MLP Weekly Groups See Growth – February, 2016

We are excited to see the growth of weekly groups as a way to support you in sharing your growth in mindfulness in person with others. We now have groups in three locations and a new group for our new Mindfulness in Recovery Program.

Those in the Durango, Colorado area can now take part in a group hosted by MLP Certified Teachers Cindy Schmidt and Tecumseh Burnett. A guided meditation is followed by discussion and support for creating your own consistent practice. Bring your questions and insights for manifesting a mindful practice and way of life.

We also excited that our Melbourne cofounder Mark Molony has reconvened the Wisdom on Wednesdays group after a short break. This program supports individuals who have completed the MLP Foundations Course and are looking to continue to develop their practice. The group meets on a fortnightly (2 week) basis.  The group meditates together and shares insights into our individual daily meditation and mindfulness practices. Currently the group is reading B. Alan Wallace’s book “Minding Closely” and using the Mindful Life Community as a foundation for their daily intentional practices.

We are very excited to launch our new Mindfulness in Recovery program!  This has been a vision of our co-founder John Bruna for many years and it has now come to fruition. Drawing upon his 31 years in recovery, experience as a substance abuse counselor, educator, Buddhist monastic, and mindfulness teacher, we have integrated the tools and resources of our mindfulness community with specific meditations and resources for people in recovery. To learn more about the program and the weekly group, see our news article announcing the program or the webpage dedicated to this new offering.