Mindfulness Weekend Recap

We are thrilled to report that the mindfulness training weekend, Making Friends with Our Minds, that took place on the weekend of October 15-17 went incredibly well. Daniel Rechtschaffen inspired both adults and teens with his authenticity, insight, and skill. Fifty people attended Friday night’s Mindful Community Night, in spite of the dramatic weather. The evening provided both an introduction to mindfulness, some instruction and sitting practice, as well as a discussion of how mindfulness can be integrated into school settings. Clips from the video that we took of Friday night will soon be available on our website.

On Saturday, over fifty adults gathered for a day-long retreat that included talks on mindfulness, several periods of meditation, a silent lunch with walking amidst the spectacular fall trees, and ample opportunity for questions and answers.

Twenty-six teens participated in the Teen Mindfulness Training on Sunday. The amazing group of five young adults who formed the “Teen Team” designed a day that flowed from council circle to mediation instructions to mindful eating to movement. The participants were very enthusiastic about the day and, like the adults the day before, expressed interest in The Karuna School creating an ongoing practice group. We are in the process of creating a mindfulness practice group for adults and another one for teens and will let everyone know the details of time and location very soon.

Click here to view a slideshow of the weekend!

Dalai Lama Donates to Center in Wisconsin

This article from the New York Times is so heartening.  Imagine a school where the simple practice of mindfulness could “change the habits of the heart” of students and teachers, fostering an environment of kindness and compassion.  What a joyful school that would be.

Click here to read the full story

Time To Unplug

Traditionally summer has been a time to wind down, to step away from work and our normal routines, to take a vacation and reconnect with who and what is important to us. However thanks to the continual evolution of technology, we find ourselves increasingly unable to disconnect ourselves. Instead of enjoying a relaxing summer, we can become exhausted, unable to step off the treadmill and recharge our body and mind.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society and member of The Karuna School Board of Advisors says “we are 24/7 connected, but not to our bodies, our self or our awareness.”

One way to reconnect with our self is through mindfulness, the practice of living in the present moment and experiencing things as they are without judgment. Mindfulness is universal human capacity that can be cultivated, sustained and integrated into every day life. Mindfulness practice can be a formal meditation practice involving following our breath, thus increasing our ability to be present to our bodies, thoughts and feelings. It can also become a way of living that can lead to increased awareness and fulfillment in all aspects of our life.

This summer we could all consider following the advice of Jon Kabat-Zinn and unplug ourselves from the distractions that keep us from experiencing what is happening in the present moment. We could consider limiting our use of technology and cultivate a renewed sense of balance and awareness of what is most important to us.

We also encourage you to participate in the mindfulness meditation training for adults and teens that The Karuna School is hosting this October: Making Friends With Our Minds. Please visit our website for more information about this invaluable training.

Post by Kyle Greaves

Online Bullying and Schools

Since our film screening and community dialogue this past April around the PBS Frontline special: Growing Up Online, the issue of cyber-bullying has continued to make news. The New York Times recently published a story called “Online Bullies Pull Schools Into the Fray”. The author profiles a Middle School in NJ as case study for how cyber-bullying is affecting school administration and faculty, and discusses what schools are currently doing and not doing to combat this growing problem.

This article seems to raise more questions than answers and despite several high profile deaths linked to cyber-bullying in recent years, it is clear this issue will remain tangled in a web of contradictory court rulings that will continue to tie the hands of school administrators. After reading this article I wonder whether or not it is even possible to define a universal legal ruling that can navigate the fine balance between first amendment infringement, privacy rights and the digital safety and welfare of our teens in and out of school.

What is clear is that parents must be the leaders in teaching their children the implications of digital responsibility. This is not as easy as it seems. At our April discussion Dr. Sharon Maxwell pointed out that the Internet has created a huge generation gap that can only be compared to the experience of first generation immigrant families in which the parents and children increasingly find they are speaking different cultural languages. Having not grown up with this technology, parents and educators find it difficult to identify with and supervise the highly private, online lives of their children and students.

Dr. Maxwell also stressed the importance of parents reaching out to other parents. Parents are learning on a trial by fire basis and communication between parents in every community about what is and what is not working is paramount to keeping youth safe on the Internet.

If you missed our April viewing of “Growing Up Online,” you can watch the entire documentary for free on the PBS web site. This next fall we will restart our film series and will be hosting an additional evening with Dr. Sharon Maxwell. Please check our web site later this summer for more information.

Post by Kyle Greaves, Account Assistant with The Karuna School

Welcome to The Karuna School’s New Blog!

The Karuna School would like to welcome you to our new blog. We have created this space with the hope that it will serve as the platform for reaching and engaging our greater community. We invite you to join us as we work to create a new model of education that addresses the current issues of our times and enhances the traditional learning experience by awakening the heart as well as educating the mind. Please comment on or alert us to any news, individuals or resources you may find that foster the seeds of compassion, mindfulness, sustainability and peace in ourselves and in those around us.

Summer 2010 Update

Summer 2010 Update:

This past February our Board of Directors made the difficult decision to place the development of The Karuna School: A High School for Peace on hold in order to allow our co-founder, Prajna Hallstrom, to put her full energy into regaining her health. We are happy to report that Prajna’s health is improving and she is feeling much stronger.

Although we have decided to postpone our opening day, the dream of a high school for peace remains alive.  This spring we have worked hard to continue our growth as a vibrant learning community, finding new ways to inspire educators, teens, parents and community members to move in the direction of compassion, sustainability and mindfulness.

Throughout the summer and fall we will continue to provide inspiring educational offerings. Of special note is a three-day Mindfulness Meditation Training that we will be hosting on Oct 15-17, 2010. Please visit the “Events and Workshops” section of our site for information on this and other upcoming Karuna School events.