An Engaged Life

Our mindfulness practice began in earnest when Shawn was battling complex and painful medical symptoms that went undiagnosed for over 10 years. During this time, not only was she dealing with erratic pain, but was also in midst of earning her PhD and was uncertain about gaining employment during the economic downturn in the US. Shawn also underwent two surgeries during this time to alleviate the symptoms.

Searching for answers to relieve Shawn’s health symptoms and tools for managing our stress, we enrolled in a wellness program that included meditation.

That was a turning point for us.

We were both introduced to meditation in our late teens. Starting again wasn’t easy. We became aware of many things that were leading us to live our lives in a kind of trance– our thoughts, habitual choices, unconscious feelings, numbing behaviors, and beliefs that were no longer serving us.

Our first ah-ha moment was to understand the nature of awareness itself, that we were not prisoners to our thoughts, habits or feelings but rather we had choices in every moment. This insight led to a growing understanding of the many ways we were living unconsciously.

We began to experience life differently. Shawn is a person who stutters and mindfulness changed her relationship with stuttering. She still stutters, however how she experiences stuttering is different. If you are interested in learning more, Shawn was interviewed about her experiences and how mindfulness caused a shift in her perspective. Resilience & YOU

We made other changes in our lives, deepened our meditation practice and became certified meditation teachers under Deepak Chopra and Roger Gabriel at the Chopra Center. We also completed the 2-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program taught by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. We deepen our practice by participating in communities of practice that meet weekly and we have built strong relationships with mentors and peers by attending Vipassana residential silent retreats, dharma talks and sangha gatherings.

This path has led us to continue learning and opening to life as it is. Here’s a sample of our ardent learning; Mindful Mentoring, Indigenous Canada, Advanced Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness, Mindful Leadership, Healing Trauma with Compassion, Foundations of Somatic Abolitionism, Advance Training in Mind-body Medicine and Wisdom of Trauma.

Our dedicated practice in the Insight tradition, certifications and teaching experiences assist us, and we are always learning, to teach and mentor trauma-informed mindfulness meditation.

With three decades of consulting in change management and education, and over a decade of deepening our own mindfulness practice, it is difficult to separate them – so we don’t! We bring our full selves to what we do.

We regularly present at wellness days, team meetings, organization seminars and workshops.

Connect with us.

Mindfulness Meditation Blog Posts