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Mindful U at Naropa University — Education
Mindful U at Naropa University

As the birthplace of the mindfulness movement in the United States, Naropa University has a unique perspective when it comes to higher education in the West. Founded in 1974 by renowned Tibetan Buddhist scholar and lineage holder Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Naropa was intended to be a place where students could study Eastern and Western religions, writing, psychology, science, and the arts, while also receiving contemplative and meditation training. Forty-three years later, Naropa is a leader in ‘contemplative education’, a pedagogical approach that blends rigorous academics, contemplative practice, and experiential learning. Naropa President Chuck Lief explains, “Mindfulness here is not a class. Mindfulness is basically the underpinning of what we do in all of our classes. That said, the flavor or the color of mindfulness from class to class is really completely up to the individual faculty member to work on—on their own. So, what happens in a poetry class is going to look very different from what happens in a research psychology class. But, one way or another the contemplative practices are brought into the mix.” This podcast is for those with an interest in mindfulness and a curiosity about its place in both higher education and the world at large. Hosted by Naropa alumnus and Multimedia Manager David DeVine, episodes feature Naropa faculty, alumni, and special guests on a wide variety of topics including compassion, permaculture, social justice, herbal healing, and green architecture—to name a few. Listen to explore the transformative possibilities of mindfulness, both in the classroom and beyond!

Latest Episodes:

23. Empowering Underserved Communities: Holistic Life Foundation Apr 23, 2018

Show notes

The Holistic Life Foundation is a Baltimore-based 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization committed to nurturing the wellness of children and adults in underserved communities. Through a comprehensive approach which helps children develop their inner lives through yoga, mindfulness, and self-care HLF demonstrates a deep commitment to learning, community, and stewardship of the environment. HLF is also committed to developing high-quality evidence-based programs and curriculum to improve community well-being. Listen as we discuss the Foundation and Naropa with its founders.

Special Guests: Ali Smith, Andres Gonzalez, and Atman Smith.

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22. Elaine Yuen: Engaging Our World with Contemplative Practice Apr 16, 2018

Show notes

How do we blend contemplative practice with service in the world? How can we extend ourselves, offer ourselves to that world in an authentic way? One where we're not burning out at the same time? How can we support people both at the peak of tragedy, getting over the most difficult parts, as well as the lasting repercussions? We meet people there, with them, where they are, with an open heart, acknowledging with them moment by moment by moment. I feel that's where our contemplative practices are most supportive, helping us be more present with that moment to moment disillusion. There is one moment - the one moment that is all of our life really. This thought is embedded deeply in Naropa's curriculum.

Special Guest: Elaine Yuen.

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21. Joey Marti: Healing Emotional Trauma Naturally with TiPi Apr 09, 2018

Show notes

T.I.P.I., the French acronym for “Technique d’Identification des Peurs Inconscientes,” or "Technique for the Sensory Identification of Unconscious Fears" in English, resets our emotional response to trauma naturally, using the body’s sensory memory to reconnect with the trauma's origin. Joey Marti discusses TiPi and how he uses it, and how Naropa's MA programs in transpersonal psychology helped him. A Colorado transplant who moved here to attend Naropa, Joey received his Bachelor’s Degree in 2014 in Contemplative Psychology with a dual concentration in Health & Healing and Somatic Psychology. While progressing through his studies, Joey realized that he wanted to further his knowledge within the myriad forms of natural medicine. This realization led him to the desire to be a Doctor; his ultimate dream is to assist in bridging the gap between the numerous fields of medicine, health, healing, and wellness.

Special Guest: Joey Marti.

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20. Mark Miller: Contemplative Approaches to Music and Improv Apr 02, 2018

Show notes

Improvisation is a wonderful contemplative practice–a mindfulness practice–a discipline that has to do with paying attention in a very precise way to what's going on in the present moment. It's about showing up–being open to whatever is happening musically, to whatever my colleagues are playing, or to the environment of the room–the acoustics, the audience, that sort of thing–and really drawing inspiration from that. Paying attention to all of that requires one hundred percent concentration. Music happens so quickly, so naturally, your intellectual mind really can't keep up with it. The brain can't be analyzing and explaining and interpreting why you're playing, you just have to play. To me, that means you show up and play who you are.

Special Guest: Mark Miller.

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19. Rev. angel Kyodo williams: Liberation Through Radical Dharma Mar 26, 2018

Show notes

Radical dharma and mindfulness - everybody is going to get a little taste of some meditation, and its great - whatever door you use to enter into practice is great. But - the conflation of mindfulness with a depthful practice that includes an ethic view is a problem. When mindfulness becomes yet another thing that we can modify, and we think is something that is there so that we can consume it, then it’s actually serving our ego. It's serving our ideas of who we are and who we would like to be seen as, in our performance as ourselves. In that way, it can become a factor in our incarceration rather than our liberation.

Special Guest: Rev. angel Kyodo williams.

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18. Lauren Ciovacco: A Journey of Discovering Sanity Mar 20, 2018

Show notes

I remember it was after the first year I came back to Naropa–I was actually upset with my professors. I was like, "What did you all do? Whatever you offered me, I see the world in a new way now!" I was upset because I saw the world in its fullness. There were things I saw then–when I came to Naropa I was all sunshine and rainbows. It was all "...the world is beautiful and the world is great, and I am going to study Buddhism, and I'm going to be one!" It was an 'absolute' kind of thinking. But Naropa gave me a chance to actually stop, pause, and feel -- the suffering that is here too.

Special Guest: Lauren Ciovacco.

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17. Lama Rod Owens: A Dialogue Between Love and Rage Mar 13, 2018

Show notes

"Dharma isn't sexy, or glamorous for me..., it’s just work. It's discipline and work, and I do it because the fruit is spaciousness; this openness. Where I can just be with my life. That spaciousness is where liberation actually happens. Over the years of practice, you realize you've become a different person. You begin to trust yourself more because you're always in tune with your experiences...and that is what I love. It just becomes very ordinary." - Lama Rod Owens

Special Guest: Lama Rod Owens.

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16. Anne Parker: Gross National Happiness - The Inner and Outer Practice Mar 06, 2018

Show notes

When people hear the words "gross national happiness," they tend to envision a sort of idealization of what's really going on in Bhutan, the country that originated the concept. I watch our students while we're in Bhutan sometimes idealize things, and then hit a sort of crash as they see the reality, and then come out with a really deep sense of excitement and amazement about what's actually happening. We'd like to take that idealization off its pedestal altogether.

Special Guest: Anne Parker.

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15. Ian Sanderson: Survival Skills Through a Contemplative Model Feb 27, 2018

Show notes

Think of the martial art behind the idea of "ninja," and the associations that pop culturally in all our heads when we hear that. Ninja art is still around, and it really is an art. Ninja literally means "persevering person;" Someone who faces life and is able to win - not just for themselves, but for everybody. As indigenous peoples, we've had to learn how to keep going in the face of enormous, overwhelming adversity. also, the spiritual lineage of ninjitsu is Buddhism, and a whole lot of that is about how to keep going.

Special Guest: Ian Sanderson.

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14. Joy Redstone: Compassionate Therapy, Counseling, and Poverty. Feb 20, 2018

Show notes

A person can look far less healthy than they actually are in moments of extraordinary stress. When we put ourselves in another person's shoes and we have some sense of the weight and the burdens and the stresses and the different directions they're being pulled in, it makes more sense, but we all seem to fall away from remembering that. When someone is fed, their kids are ok, they're housed, and they have what they need - that in itself makes a person infinitely more healthy. We teach a lot about the DSM in the clinic because it’s the language of the mental health field, but it's only a snapshot. I encourage people to remember that - that we're seeing a person at a snapshot in time. Whatever our judgement is about them–despite the fact that we're working in a system that calls for judgement and diagnosis–that it’s just a snapshot.

Special Guest: Joy Redstone.

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