As a part of its exploration of pathways to mitigate human impact on the health of the Earth, the New York-based Garrison Institute will host an online forum titled “Pathways to Planetary Health: Dialogue on Meditation” on 14 September, examining how meditation can help to promote planetary health by transforming human consciousness. The interactive, live-streamed event will feature a conversation between the renowned meditation teacher, author, clinician, and pioneer of mind/body medicine Jon Kabat-Zinn and Garrison Institute co-founder and founder of the Climate, Mind and Behavior program Jonathan F. P. Rose. 

“The session will include guided meditations led by Kabat-Zinn,” the Garrison Institute shared. “He’ll offer suggestions for bringing our lives as we lead them and the life and wellbeing of the planet into meditation practice, so there’s no separation between them.” (Garrison Institute)

Kabat-Zinn is an American professor emeritus of medicine and founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society. He has been a student of Zen teachers such as Philip Kapleau, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Seung Sahn Sunim, and has earned international renown for his work as a scientist, author, and meditation teacher with a focus on bringing mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and society. Kabat-Zinn is the author of several bestselling books, including: Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness; Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life; and Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment—and Your Life.

Rose is an American urban planner and real estate developer known for developing communities that are affordable and environmentally responsible, and a recognized thought leader in the national infrastructure, green building, and affordable housing movement. His business and not-for-profit activities focus on creating an environmentally, socially, and economically responsible world. Rose is the author of several books, inlcuding The Well-Tempered City: What Modern Science, Ancient Civilizations, and Human Nature Teach Us About the Future of Urban Life.

This interactive online event will begin at the following times:

Auckland: 6am, Wednesday 15 September
Canberra: 4am, Wednesday 15 September
Seoul, Tokyo: 3am, Wednesday 15 September
Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei: 2am, Wednesday 15 September
Bangkok, Jakarta: 6am, Wednesday 15 September
New Delhi: 11:30pm, Tuesday 14 September
Moscow: 9pm, Tuesday 14 September
Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm: 8pm, Tuesday 14 September
London: 7pm, Tuesday 14 September
Montréal, New York: 2pm, Tuesday 14 September
Los Angeles, Vancouver: 11am, Tuesday 14 September

For more details or to register to join this event, click here.

“This interactive online event is part of a continuing series in the Garrison Institute’s Forum on Pathways to Planetary Health (PPH),” the Garrison Institute said. “Building on the Garrison Institute’s earlier Climate, Mind and Behavior (CMB) program, Pathways to Planetary Health explores the moral, ethical, and human behavioral dimensions of the search for regenerative solutions, including Half-Earth, Ecological Civilization, Regenerative Economics, and Societal Altruism.” (Garrison Institute)

Founded in Garrison, New York, in 2003, the Garrison Institute was created to “to apply the wisdom that arises from contemplation and insights derived from science to today’s pressing social and environmental issues to create a more compassionate, resilient future,” in the belief that “action in the world is more compassionate and more effective when infused with the wisdom and skill cultivated in contemplative practices.” (Garrison Institute) The institute aims to bring the transformative potential of contemplation and the sciences of the mind to bear on the social and environmental crisis facing the world. The objective is to work toward a more compassionate, resilient future through collaboration with scientists, teachers, practitioners, and leaders in diverse fields.

See more

Garrison Institute
Pathways to Planetary Health (Garrison Institute)

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